Renovation project - Disaster strikes

Renovation project - Disaster strikes

We are having a great trip visiting family and I have visits planned with friends and my big birthday treat, tea at the Hilton, I am really excited about this and have new clothes and everything, but then the unthinkable happens, my mum is taken ill following a simple hospital procedure yesterday, this means a trip to the hospital, but I have had a glass of wine, luckily my daughter can meet my parents at the hospital, hopefully they won’t be too long.

We keep in touch by phone until my daughter tells me my mum is being transferred to another hospital much further away, I wait a few hours and drive to be with my dad, still hopeful that it will be sorted quickly.

It isn’t and a few days later she is transferred again to a specialist hospital in Liverpool.

I arrive to meet her there, this is not a nice drive, I am going into a city I don’t know and driving on the wrong side of the road!

I wait all day until I know the operation was successful. She will still need to be kept in for quite a while. This is the thing that we have been most scared of moving too France, what happens if serious illness strikes, both sets of parents are not getting any younger.

I am just so glad that we were actually in the UK, but those nagging doubts start to creep in, we only have one set of parents and we are leaving them behind when they may need us the most.

We stay in the UK until I know that she is as recovered as possible, but it is now difficult to leave, we have been here much longer than we had ever planned, but I am still in two minds about going, what if something goes wrong, what if she needs me? I have been acting as go between with all the different departments will this now fall to my daughter, should I put her in that situation? So many questions and no answers, I am leaving my brother and sister and my daughter to do what should traditionally be my job.

Am I selfish? 

Is this how life should be? 

Will we be able to carry on enjoying our new life if we are living with guilt?

The real answer is nobody knows what will happen in the future, but you can’t live a life based on what if’s, if you do nobody would do anything, we are going back to France, we know we can get to the UK quickly if needed and we know that my parents will need a nice holiday as soon as they are up to it.

So if the idea of aging parents has put you off making this move, this is something you will have to live with, but if you stay in the same country it does not necessarily mean you will be available, we can go back at any time without the worry of work, so maybe I am in a better position than I thought.

Ludlow, Shropshire

Ludlow, Shropshire

After a beautiful drive through stunning scenery we arrive in Ludlow, Shropshire for the wedding, I can’t wait to see my old friend again. It is so emotional, she looks stunning and I worry about the tears ruining her wedding make up.

It was a truly wonderful day it just ended far too quickly, even John photobombing the photo was done with a smile

But as we looked around at the wedding we really could not think of a more beautiful setting then Ludlow

The following day, I really want to see my friend again before we leave but even I am not so thoughtless as to interrupt their first morning as a married couple.

Instead we go too visit Ludlow, this is a beautiful small town in Shropshire, we stop for some lunch at a little cafe.

I will not write anymore but just show some of the photos we took. But if you are in the area, definitely try to visit.

What to do, see and eat in a quick visit to Gloucester

What to do, see and eat in a quick visit to Gloucester

I have a brother that lives near to Gloucester so we are spending a night there to break up our Journey to the north of England, he has lived there for many years, yet I have never actually visited the city.

As we have plenty of time to spare, we take a trip to the city centre. We park by the docks and I realise that it is really quite small compared to other cities in the UK.

We stroll by the docks and head into the centre, as we are trying to decide what to eat for lunch we see a food market. Some of the options look fantastic. This is a local farmers maket called Fresh N Local (click on link)

I opt for a funky falafel and cannot recommend it highly enough. There is more than enough food and you watch the person make it fresh in front of you (not sure how happy she was with the photos though) here is a link FUNKY FALAFEL (and no I’m not on commission I was just so impressed)

John opts for a pig roast sandwich, and I couldn’t help noticing the difference to a pig roast in France, there was not a pig head in sight, again the food was really good.

The cost was £5 (GBP) each and was worth every penny.

We continue our walk around the centre and see some great buildings, 

But the most impressive had to be the cathedral, we were able to enter and walk around for no cost (a rarity in the UK, but we did leave a donation)

Just outside the cathedral on a little cobbled lane is a small cafe called The Comfy Pew, as the sun was shining we stopped for a drink and the staff were so friendly and helpful, we didn’t actually have the cake, (mainly because we were still so stuffed) but they did look very appetising.

As I said it did not take long to walk around Gloucester as it is a small city, unless we missed something, but if you are in the area it is definitely worth a visit, especially on market day.

Renovation project - What are Brittany Ferries like?

Renovation project - What are Brittany Ferries like?

We have a trip planned to the UK and we are leaving today, I am so excited about going to see the family and friends and actually spending a birthday with my family. We also have a wedding to go to.

The sailing is a breeze and we have booked ourselves one of the premier cabins on the ferry.

We always wonder about the cabins as the premier cabins are quite expensive, but as I am not good at sea travel, we feel the expense is definitely worth it.

What do you get? Well for starters you get a large cabin with table and chairs as well as beds, you also get a TV (very good for taking your mind of the urge to throw up), you get tea and coffee facilities, which can be topped up. In the room there are newspapers, a fruit basket and a box of macaroons (which are very nice). There is also an en–suite bathroom with Clarins toiletries and the mini bar is at no extra cost.

Once you add up the price of all the extras and the comfort, the price of the room is not bad at all.

There are other options available with varying prices dependent on level of comfort.

If you do not want a cabin, recliner seats are available.

The journey is uneventful which is the best thing you can say about a sea crossing. The boat itself is very spacious, with a selection of bars, a restaurant and a self service food restaurant.

 There is also a cinema and children’s play area. The stores on board include a duty free and a shop selling newspapers and souvenirs, plus all those little extras that make a journey more comfortable.

The reception desk is manned throughout the journey with staff that speak both French and English (I'm not sure about other languages) and we have found the service and attitude of all staff is friendly, efficient and courteous.

If you have a long day journey, you really can’t beat the premier cabin on Brittany ferries. For the night journey it may be worth spending less as you will not get to enjoy all of the extras (as hopefully you will be asleep).

If you have mobility difficulties, Lifts are available to each floor.

This is an independent personal review of Brittany ferries

And now, we are back in the UK.

Renovation project - Removing internal walls

Renovation project - Removing internal walls

We have almost made a decision about the old bathroom, we know we are definitely removing it and hoping to turn it into a dining room, but we are still unsure as to whether or not to apply for patio doors, if we go for the patio doors, it will add 2 months to our timescale as we will have to apply for permission and we are undecided if it will actually add any value. If we keep the windows the room will be bright enough and we realise will keep the room private if the little house is ever used as a gite.

If we have the patio doors and the little house is used as a gite it will mean that people can see right in to the room as they walk past. The dilemmas in this house come with every decision we have to make.

But one thing is for sure the bathroom needs to be removed. First job is to remove all of the old water pipes; we have already bought the isolation valves which means that we will only be without water until these are fitted.

Isolation valves do not seem to be used as much in this part of France, we have struggled to buy them before, but Brico depot does stock them periodically, but they are much more expensive than in the UK at almost 8 Euros each, which doesn’t sound a lot, until you add the cost up for 2 valves for every sink and toilet and major water appliance, but compared to the problem of not having them and having to turn the entire supply off in case of problems, even at this price they are worth it.

Once the pipes are removed it is time to remove the sink unit and toilet these come out without too much problem. The shock that John gets is when he removes the bathroom cabinet, this has a plug socket in it that we had not noticed and is connected to the electrics by the thinnest wires John has ever seen, we really think that we cannot be shocked any more by French electrics, then we find something like this. 

The walls come down 

The rubble is bagged, but it is 5.30 and the tip is shutting and closed tomorrow, we can do no more until we clear the rubble. But the size of the room is fantastic.