The Story so far
Incredibly, it is now more than a month since we arrived back in Montréal. It has however been less settled and idyllic than that sounds, but I have to admit that there have been some pretty nice bits amongst the chaos! It does feel great to see the progress (however slow it may seem) of our new house. Steve has been working really hard, and has now pretty much demolished all the internal walls and the new roof is currently sat in the garden waiting to go on next week. It is also a real buzz to be back amongst the beautiful countryside and particularly the backdrop of the Pyrenees, which still take my breath away every time!
So a month in and the blog is still lying dormant waiting for life to be breathed back into it!! So, as there are so many people I feel guilty about not yet e-mailing, I am going for the easy option of a one size fits all blog entry!!
The journey
Anyone who read the last blog will remember that within the first 24 hours of leaving home, it had seemed that something was trying to stand in our way of even getting to France!! I am pleased to report that although it makes for much less entertaining reading, the journey down was pretty uneventful. The worst thing that happened was that Cassi’s beloved Pandy was mislaid at a motorway services. When there are camels to ride and bouncy castles in the shape of cows, (oh yes, it's a far cry from Membury!) is it any wonder that poor Pandy was forgotten? But even that story has a happy ending, as after a few embarrassing phone calls and a 15 euro postal charge he was located and the happy pair were reunited!
Arrival
On our arrival on 20th August we were lucky enough to have some very kind friends who were away on holiday and let us have the use of their house, which meant that for the time before our stuff arrived from England, we had the comfort of a fully furnished house (including toys and even a trampoline which proved particularly popular with Edie). They even had a cat which needed looking after so we were able to convince ourselves that in some small way we were doing them a favour!!! Having said that, Edie harassed poor Patch to such an incredible extent, that if cats could talk I am sure that when we left, she would have said “thank God for that!!”
During our time at Martin and Wendy’s the weather was fab, and although I could barely keep Steve away from getting stuck in at the new house, we did manage to have a couple of days out, myself and the girls became regular visitors to the Montréal outdoor pool and we really enjoyed catching up with friends.
We also set about ordering roofing materials as well as seeking permission from the Mairie to erect scaffolding to do the job. This was when we discovered that all the streets around our house were imminently to be closed for the water board to dig up the roads to replace the lead pipes with new ones, and that the delivery of our materials as well as accessing the house to put the roof on may not be possible. It was the first major test of my French (or more specifically my confidence in speaking French in a public arena) to attend a meeting at the Mairie about ”les travaux”, where having arrived late, I had to explain in front of about 20-30 people who I was and what our plans were, fortunately to be told that the bit of road by our house would be unaffected and the delivery and work would be able to go ahead. What a relief!On our arrival on 20th August we were lucky enough to have some very kind friends who were away on holiday and let us have the use of their house, which meant that for the time before our stuff arrived from England, we had the comfort of a fully furnished house (including toys and even a trampoline which proved particularly popular with Edie). They even had a cat which needed looking after so we were able to convince ourselves that in some small way we were doing them a favour!!! Having said that, Edie harassed poor Patch to such an incredible extent, that if cats could talk I am sure that when we left, she would have said “thank God for that!!”
During our time at Martin and Wendy’s the weather was fab, and although I could barely keep Steve away from getting stuck in at the new house, we did manage to have a couple of days out, myself and the girls became regular visitors to the Montréal outdoor pool and we really enjoyed catching up with friends.
The Move to the Gite
On the 1st Sept, we moved to the place where we will now be staying until our house is ready or until Mick and Inga get fed up of us (whichever happens first)!! They had worked fantastically hard over the summer to get their gite - which they had lived in for 3 years whilst doing up their house but has been uninhabited (apart from chickens) for the last 2 years - into a suitable home for us. They did a brilliant job and we feel very lucky (in spite of the teething problems with the plumbing!!) to be here. They even have a pool but we are hoping that Cassi and Edie don’t get too used to getting in from school and going for a swim!
On the 1st Sept, we moved to the place where we will now be staying until our house is ready or until Mick and Inga get fed up of us (whichever happens first)!! They had worked fantastically hard over the summer to get their gite - which they had lived in for 3 years whilst doing up their house but has been uninhabited (apart from chickens) for the last 2 years - into a suitable home for us. They did a brilliant job and we feel very lucky (in spite of the teething problems with the plumbing!!) to be here. They even have a pool but we are hoping that Cassi and Edie don’t get too used to getting in from school and going for a swim!
Cassi and Edie
The next big event between moving in and getting our stuff was Cassi’s first day at school and Edie’s first day at the crèche on the 2nd Sept. Cassi’s arrival at school summed up why I was so keen to move back to Montréal rather than another village and that was because of both the reception we got from other parents who recognised us, (not to mention a handshake from the Maire to welcome us,) and most importantly the fact that a little girl called Laura (who had looked after Cassi at the école maternelle) padded up to Cassi, held her hand and off they trotted to the whole school photo and then to their classroom, with big smiles!! Edie’s start at crèche was a slower affair, taking her a week or so to stop crying as I left, but I realised we had made it when last Sunday she asked if she could go to school! She now has an agreement with the ladies there that she will teach them English as they teach her French.
The truck with all our stuff in it from England actually turned up unexpectedly 24 hours early, also on the 2nd, so it was lucky that we were already at the gite, and that we bumped into a friend at school when we were picking Cassi up for lunch, who said that our truck was parked at her house!! It was a mad afternoon but apart from there being one side of our L shaped sofa missing, all was well and it was good to be able to begin getting things settled.
Since then, it has really been business as usual, with the girls settling into school, having good and bad days, and with Cassi having lots of homework to do. Our biggest issue there has been that whilst we thought that she would have a big head start by the fact that she can read pretty well already and has done really well with her writing over her year at school in England, the different French handwriting and their insistence on forming each letter in exactly the right way, is a real challenge- for me as well as Cassi! But we will get there and although the language issue generally is tough for Cassi, she is doing really well and already says “aie” instead of “ouch” when she hurts herself and Edie welcomes Steve home in the evening with “bonjour papa” and goes to the loo to do a “pipi-weewee”!!
The next big event between moving in and getting our stuff was Cassi’s first day at school and Edie’s first day at the crèche on the 2nd Sept. Cassi’s arrival at school summed up why I was so keen to move back to Montréal rather than another village and that was because of both the reception we got from other parents who recognised us, (not to mention a handshake from the Maire to welcome us,) and most importantly the fact that a little girl called Laura (who had looked after Cassi at the école maternelle) padded up to Cassi, held her hand and off they trotted to the whole school photo and then to their classroom, with big smiles!! Edie’s start at crèche was a slower affair, taking her a week or so to stop crying as I left, but I realised we had made it when last Sunday she asked if she could go to school! She now has an agreement with the ladies there that she will teach them English as they teach her French.
The truck with all our stuff in it from England actually turned up unexpectedly 24 hours early, also on the 2nd, so it was lucky that we were already at the gite, and that we bumped into a friend at school when we were picking Cassi up for lunch, who said that our truck was parked at her house!! It was a mad afternoon but apart from there being one side of our L shaped sofa missing, all was well and it was good to be able to begin getting things settled.
Since then, it has really been business as usual, with the girls settling into school, having good and bad days, and with Cassi having lots of homework to do. Our biggest issue there has been that whilst we thought that she would have a big head start by the fact that she can read pretty well already and has done really well with her writing over her year at school in England, the different French handwriting and their insistence on forming each letter in exactly the right way, is a real challenge- for me as well as Cassi! But we will get there and although the language issue generally is tough for Cassi, she is doing really well and already says “aie” instead of “ouch” when she hurts herself and Edie welcomes Steve home in the evening with “bonjour papa” and goes to the loo to do a “pipi-weewee”!!
Our first visitors
No prizes for gu
essing who our first visitors were! It was actually a real coincidence because my Mum and Dad had already booked ferry crossings to France and back from Bilbao, before we even knew we were moving out here, but they couldn’t pass by so close without popping in for a visit, well not if they wanted to be invited back anyway!! So first of all, we took a day trip to the Camargue and to Aigues-Mortes where they were camping, one glorious Sunday in early September and then the following Tuesday they came over to stay for a few nights in Carcassonne and were able to see the house in its ‘before’ state and managed to show a reasonable level of enthusiasm for it, not 
seeming to think that we had just made the craziest move of our lives! We spent a lovely evening at the Cité and a Wednesday with the children off school around Montréal and in Mick and Inga’s pool. It was brief but much valued time with Nanma and Dats.
No prizes for gu
essing who our first visitors were! It was actually a real coincidence because my Mum and Dad had already booked ferry crossings to France and back from Bilbao, before we even knew we were moving out here, but they couldn’t pass by so close without popping in for a visit, well not if they wanted to be invited back anyway!! So first of all, we took a day trip to the Camargue and to Aigues-Mortes where they were camping, one glorious Sunday in early September and then the following Tuesday they came over to stay for a few nights in Carcassonne and were able to see the house in its ‘before’ state and managed to show a reasonable level of enthusiasm for it, not seeming to think that we had just made the craziest move of our lives! We spent a lovely evening at the Cité and a Wednesday with the children off school around Montréal and in Mick and Inga’s pool. It was brief but much valued time with Nanma and Dats.Employment
My prospects took a major turn in the right direction last week, when I started working at Icam –a private university for engineering students in Toulouse. It is only one morning a week at the moment, (and it’s an 8.00 start and an hour’s drive away, which I actually managed for any doubting Thomases out there!) I am still looking for more work, but it is a start and all good experience. I really enjoyed my first session, so with a bit of luck it may lead to more hours. Watch this space.
My prospects took a major turn in the right direction last week, when I started working at Icam –a private university for engineering students in Toulouse. It is only one morning a week at the moment, (and it’s an 8.00 start and an hour’s drive away, which I actually managed for any doubting Thomases out there!) I am still looking for more work, but it is a start and all good experience. I really enjoyed my first session, so with a bit of luck it may lead to more hours. Watch this space.
