We made a brief foray by car in June, laden with curtains and other weighty items. We had now contracted for a new fosse, a new bathroom in the old dressing room adjoining our eventual bedroom in the pigeonnier, a swimming pool, and, finally, a new boiler. This last had been something of a problem. We had yet to learn that estimates do not always arrive promptly in France, and after several unanswered reminders to the so helpful plumber who had saved us from the cold in April, we had finally accepted an estimate from someone else.

There was little sign of progress, save that the fittings for the bathroom had been purchased, and were liberally distributed over the study floor where we were to pick our way around them for the next several weeks.

We were due back in July and had asked the builder to avoid any work on the fosse during our visit, as we had no wish to spend our holiday without sewage or water. It should have come as no surprise, therefore, to receive an e-mail 2 days before our return, advising that work on the fosse had started, but a plumber was required, as plumber number 1, who had contracted for the work, had taken umbrage at our not accepting his quote for the boiler, and would not now do the work on the fosse either. Happily plumber 2 was persuaded to step into the breech. We returned to a building site!

Miraculously we did have water, and a Rolls Royce of a fosse complete with pumps, bells and whistles, apparently a 10 person fosse was required as theoretically the house could sleep that many, no matter that there were only two of us.

The plumber, having got started, decided to replace the boiler as well. Installing the new one was no problem, getting out the ancient monster proved more of a challenge, but they eventually managed, and took it away in a JCB.

The new bathroom was installed. We still couldn’t move into our bedroom. Close inspection had revealed why this small room, just big enough for a double bed and a wardrobe, was equipped with two large radiators, there were large gaps between the bottom of both french windows and the thresholds. Replacement windows were ordered, in the end for most of the house, along with insulation for the roof spaces, as we had jumped at the suggestion of geothermal heating and proper insulation was deemed a necessity. Another idea which did not go entirely to plan, as the initial proposal was that we use our vast amount of land to lay a heat collection mat below the soil. It soon became clear, however that there was hardly any depth of soil, the rock coming close to and in places forming the surface, a problem that arose again as we started on the garden, so wells had to be dug, along with another trench from house to garage where the geothermal kit was to be based.

By the time we left, however, we felt we were making progress. We had a fosse, we had heating (we thought, no need to test it in July), we had a new bathroom which we might use one day, they had even started digging the pool.