Category Archives: Closerie Falaiseau

War declared by next-door neighbours

October 24, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 29 Comments

Today I did something I know I am going to regret for the rest of my life.

A little background first. Our house in Blois, Closerie Falaiseau, where we will be moving permanently in October 2014, was built in 1584, just like a similar house on the left (the houses were built by two brothers). Apart from the main house, we have a barn, a former pigsty, an open sheltered area and a workshop on the left, and another barn and a little house, built much more recently in steps and stages, on the right.

The barn next to the pigsty; the little house is on the left

For the moment, we have divided the main house into two, upstairs and downstairs, and we are renting out the bottom part as tourist accommodation until we move. After that, Jean Michel is going to demolish the unattractive half of the little house, leaving the other half to form a double garage. He will then convert the barn behind it into a gîte (vacation rental).

The back of the little house on the right and the barn that will be renovated on the left

On the right of the little house, there are three modern homes, all built along the same lines, on quite large plots of land. Our neighbours are not keen gardeners and the area closest to the little house is rather unkempt. We recently had to ask them to lop part of their weeping willow which is threatening to damage the roof of our barn. There is an old wooden lean-to up against our barn inside their property.

They have a wire fence and a somewhat incongruous, expensive remote-controlled gate that was installed last year.

The first two panels erected between our wall and the neighbour's gate — The first two panels erected between the wall of the little house and the neighbour’s gate

When we arrived last weekend, we were surprised to see that two panels of wood had been erected along the fence on the side near the stone wall of the little house. We initially thought they were going to continue the panels along the entire fence.

The enclosure, with the lean-to on the right which is up against our barn and the house that is going to be pulled down to form a garden for the gîte

But no, the panels were then continued at right angles to the first, ending at the lean-to. Strange. Then next thing we saw a wire fence WITH A GATE on the other side, forming an enclosure, the sort you keep poultry in.

The side panels taken from inside our property where the garden of the future gîte will be — The side panels seen from inside our property where the garden of the future gîte will be. Unfortunately they are higher than the stone wall which will be renovated and continued as far as the barn

Great! A chicken yard, just next to the future garden of the gîte. Noise, smells, etc. Not to mention the eyesore created by the wooden panels. How is this going to affect the popularity of our rental accommdation? We tried to find out more but the workers claimed they didn’t know why they were building the enclosure.

Looking down the street from the neighbour's house towards ours — Looking down the street from the neighbour’s house towards ours

This morning, after phoning the local authorities and being told that there are no regulations about keeping poultry unless there are more than 50 birds, I decided to go and have a look. And lo and behold, the enclosure now contained a goose and a few chickens. The neighbour’s three children were standing watching them.

That is when I committed the fatal error. I took a photo of the poultry. For the blog. As I did so, I heard someone shouting, “What are you doing? You can’t take photos. It’s private property.” The mother marched down to the gate, repeating the same thing.

When she arrived, I explained that we were worried about having the poultry yard next to our future gîte. She said everyone else in the street had poultry yards and it was for the children. I said that I perfectly understood but wondered why it was on our side, when they had such a large property.

It seems the lean-to was originally built for that purpose and that they have had poultry cooped up in there for the last month. They’ve already lost two ducks. Well, they might all just die off, I thought.

Then she started on about the photo again, so I proceeded to take it off my camera. The problem was that I couldn’t really tell her I had taken it for my blog ! She told me that she herself was a very calm person but that her husband had a terrible temper and would be furious if he found out I was taking photos.

She also complained that the dormer window in the barn, which unfortunately for us fronts onto their property, prevents her from walking around in her nightie in the yard. Considering there’s only a wire fence, you’d wonder why that would matter! In any case, I apologised and said I hadn’t intended to offend her in any way.

I then went off to tell Jean Michel about the incredibly stupid thing I’d done. He said it was a pity but I shouldn’t worry. I went back to my planting and suddenly heard shouting. The neighbour’s husband was upraiding Jean Michel over the fence at the back of the house and threatening to go to a lawyer to stop me taking photos.

My heart sank. After he stormed off, I suggested I go and apologize but Jean Michel said I had nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t as though I was on his property or taking photos of his children. I could have kicked myself for being so stupid. “Don’t worry. C’est un caractériel“, he said, which roughly means he’s totally unstable.

But when we came home after shopping in the afternoon, the neighbour had parked his car in one of the two parking areas that Jean Michel has cleared in the vacant lot across the road that is non-constructible because it’s next to the Loire. Warfare has been declared!

Closerie Falaiseau

The Hornets’ Nest

October 15, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 3 Comments

We’re very worried. Our guests have been telling us about large bees in the kitchen at Closerie Falaiseau that appear to be coming from the inside. When we arrive, the first thing I do is look for the bees. There are several dead insects in the birdbath but I can see instantly that they are not bees or wasps but hornets! Thank goodness no one got stung.

When Jean Michel cleaned the bedroom fireplace when we first bought the Closerie, he discovered an enormous, fortunately empty, hornets’ nest, so he immediately assumes that the hornets must be in the kitchen chimney. Sure enough, we can see a lot of activity around the top of the chimney stack.

The hornets nest that fell out of the chimney stack in the bedroom fireplace

But the fireplace in question is completely closed off with a board at mantle level. We check it thoroughly and can’t see any way the hornets could possibly be getting from the chimney stack into the kitchen. They must be coming through an open door or windows.

We call the fire brigade who explain that early autumn, especially when it’s mild, is a favourite time for hornets. They tell us we should call a company specialising in désinsectisation. We check out the yellow pages and start searching for someone who can come next day at the latest as we have new guests arriving on Saturday.

After calling several numbers, we get a positive response from Mr B. who turns out to have been born and bred in our neighbourhood in Blois, Les Grouets. He says he can come late afternoon the next day. We’re relieved.

He turns up with his van and ladders and starts setting them up. He has a regular alumium telescopic ladder and two wooden ladders to climb across the roof without damaging the slate. He sets up the aluminium ladder then climbs up with one of the wooden ladders in his hand. He places it flat on the roof then puts the second wooden ladder next to it.

After that, he climbs up the first wooden ladder then pulls the second one up so that it is an extension of the first. Now he can get to the chimney. No harness of any sort we notice. He has a look at the chimney and says it has a concrete plug that is somewhat deteriorated and is letting the hornets get in.

Mr B.'s protective overalls — Mr B.’s protective overalls

He climbs down. “Yes, a belt would be good”, he says, and gets one from the front seat of his van. I’m wondering what the belt’s for. Maybe to tie the two ladders together ? He then proceeds to thread it through the loops of his jeans ! “That’s better”, he says. “I have some overalls”, he explains to no one in particular, “with a mask and everything, but once you put them on, you can’t see anything. No much point.”

Mr B. taking his spray cans up the ladder

Armed with four large spray cans (two instant insecticides and two softer environment-friendly ones), he climbs back up the ladder and over to the chimney. He starts spraying the hornets that are clustered around the top. I have to confess it seems very amateurish to me.

Let me know if you see any coming from behind, he says. So, there we are, standing on the ground, watching out for any hornets that might attack him, and when one comes along, he sprays it. It’s a family business, he explains, handed down from father to son, so I suppose he knows what he’s doing. “I like it up here”, he says.

Mr B. climbing up the roof with his spray cans — Mr B. climbing up the roof with his second lot of spray cans

He comes down for more ammunition. Jean Michel sees a hornet rapping on the kitchen window. Since everything is clean for our next guests, I volunteer to go and let it out since I can take my rubber clogs off easily. I walk in and can hear a very loud buzzing noise. It seems to be coming from above me.

“Watch out”, says Jean Michel, sounding very alarmed. “Don’t panic”, says Mr B. And I look down. The floor is covered in writhing hornets. I get a terrible fright and leap out of the way. How on earth did they get in ?

The hole in the corner of the fireplace through which the hornets were passing

It turns out there is a small space between the wall of the fireplace and the board closing off the chimney. That’s where the hornets are getting out ! Mr B uses his environment-friendly spray to finish off the ones on the floor and his potent spray near the hole they are getting through.

I get the broom and sweep them all up. Mr B. climbs up his ladder again to get rid of the last few stragglers. We check there are no more in the kitchen and he packs up his gear, promising to come back again next day if there is any more activity. But his sprays have done the trick and the hornets are gone.

Closerie Falaiseau, Cycling, Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley, Loire Valley châteaux, Photography

Last of Summer in Blois and Stendal

August 20, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 3 Comments

Today was our last day of summer in Blois. And, despite the sun, there was a slight chill in the air. We know that the next time we go there, in mid-September, autumn will be on its way. We had hoped that waiting until Monday night to go back to Paris after the Assumption weekend would mean less traffic, but we’re not so sure.

Before we left the house this morning, we chatted with our current guests at Closerie Falaiseau, Karin and Lothar from Stendal in Germany which is a mere 2,200 kilometers from Blois. They drove 1500 K the first day and 700 K the second , which sounds very Australian, doesn’t it? Karin explained that their home town of Stendal has a French connection. The well-known French author, Henri Beyle, author of Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme (1783 to 1842), is believed to have chosen the pseudonym of Stendal in hommage to the German writer Winckelmann from the town of Stendal.

Blois Cathedral seen from the esplanade along the river

The first thing on the programme for the day was a photo shoot in Blois as we wanted to take enough photos for Blois Daily Photo to last until we come back again. I just took my iPhone but Jean Michel took his Canon 1DS 24/36 which has a special lens that takes photos of buildings without distorting them, unlike mine where I have to stand as far back as I can.

A bench casting shadows in Jardin de l'Evêché in Blois — A bench casting shadows in Jardin de l’Evêché in Blois

We parked along the Loire on the Mail which is what they called the Esplanade here and wandered up the hill to the Jardin de l’Evêché (Bishop’s gardens) behind the Cathedral, feeling very much on holidays. I love the shadows cast by the morning light.

Our last port of call was the Saint Jacques fountain which I had discovered on a previous occasion. It’s just next to the Restaurant de la Fontaine Saint Jacques. I asked the waiter if it would be alright if we momentarily took down the Sangria sign and he very kindly removed it until we’d finished our photos.

My favourite photo in the Blois photo competition

Before leaving Blois, we checked out this year’s amateur photo competition on the banks of the Loire. Next year, we hope we’ll be able to enter it. This year’s theme was “L’insolite” – the unexpected. My favourite photo was an old gabarre flat-bottomed fishing boat by Thierry Thomas.

And, coincidentally, what should be parked just next to us on the Mail? This very snazzy rouge et noire Smart Car!

A gabarre flat-bottomed boat ready to take tourists on the Loire at Château de Chaumont

After a late lunch, we packed the car and drove to Chaumont to try out a new cycling itinerary, upriver a short distance, then down to Valliers les Grandes, across to Souvigny en Touraine, up to Mosnes, then along the river again to Rilly sur Loire and back to Chaumont.

A lavoir with an interesting fountain head in Valliers les Grandes

It turned out to have lots of hills, especially quite a steep one at the beginning. We saw two lavoirs, four churches and several historical homes and lots of sunflower fields which in French are called tournesol . I always thought they turned in the direction of the sun. However, these were facing east and not west. Perhaps someone has an explanation.

I had just remarked that we hadn’t seen any hot air balloons – you can usually see a half a dozen in the sky at once late afternoon and early morning – when we saw one just ahead of us and quite low down, travelling very quickly towards Chaumont and no doubt on to Chenonceau.

A hot air balloon on the bike path near Château de Chaumont

The original 25 kilometers somehow turned into 35 because we changed the starting point and took a wrong turning at one stage and it was 8.30 by the time we got back to the Little House for our last barbecue of the season. And now we’re sadly on our way back to Paris and work.

Closerie Falaiseau, France, Loire Valley, Paris, Travelling

Beyond the Eiffel Tower: An Insider’s guide to Paris with Frugal First Class Travel

June 10, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp Leave a comment

Regular readers will already be familiar with Jo Karnaghan and her Frugal First Class Travel blog from my Wednesday’s Blogger Round-up series. She recently asked me if I would agree to an interview and here is the result. And click on some of her other posts while you’re there – Jo has some wonderful suggestions and information for those who like to “travel in the most luxurious way we can afford, at the cheapest price – spending money on the things that are important to us, but saving money on the things that are less important”.

BEYOND THE EIFFEL TOWER: AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO PARIS

Hi Frugalistas!

Do you wish you had a best friend who lived in Paris? One who could fill you in on all those places that only locals know about? Or are you someone who is terrified at the thought of tackling Paris on your own? Either way, help is at hand! Rosemary of the blog Aussie in France agreed to an interview with me recently to share some of her favorite secrets with we Frugalistas. Having lived in Paris since 1975, Rosemary is the perfect person to help us find the best of Paris beyond the Eiffel Tower and I was delighted she was willing to share her experience with us. Read more

Closerie Falaiseau, France, French customs, French language, Loire Valley

A Neighbourhood Party – New French Words – Holidaying in the Loire Valley

June 4, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 1 Comment

For this Wednesday’s Bloggers Round-up, I’ve chosen a description of France’s neighbours’ day by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, the latest French words to be included in the Larousse and Robert dictionaries by Stéphanie from Blog in France and, to finish up, a guest post I wrote on visiting the Loire Valley for Carolyn from Holidays to Europe. Enoy!

A Neighbourhood Party

by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, a traveller, francophile, expat, mum and foodie now living in Roquefort les Pins where she runs a gîte after many years of travelling and living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia

It was around 9 o’clock on a lovely sunny evening at the end of May when four young Singaporeans appeared at the end of the lane, dragging heavy suitcases and dodging the potholes in the gravel. It was an unusual sight as 40 or so of us were enjoying an outdoor aperitif. Our lane is not made for suitcase dragging – it’s barely made for 4 wheel-drive cars – and nobody ever attempts to navigate it on foot with large luggage. That was from our point of view. As from these strangers’ point of view, I imagine they didn’t expect quite such a public arrival at Lou Messugo nor so much going on in a quiet village street. Yes, these were the latest guests turning up several hours late and without their car right in the middle of the annual neighbourhood street party! Read more

New French words

by Stephanie, the Llamalady, from Blog in France, an Irish llama and alpaca breeder living in the centre of France, who also runs a carp fishery and a holiday gite

The 2014 editions of Le Petit Larousse and Le Petit Robert will be coming out in early June and here are a few of the new words you’ll find in them.

chelou: this is the verlan (French slang that reverses the two halves of a word) for louche = shifty, seedy, weird

choupinet = cute, sweet

flash-mob = well, flash-mob ie a group of people who organise via the internet or mobile phone some sort of display in a public place

Googliser = to use Google to find information

nomophobe: great word this! It describes someone who is addicted to their mobile and can’t cope with being without it.

textoter = to communicate by text

by Rosemary Kneipp guest posting for Holidays to Europe, an Australian based business passionate about sharing their European travel expertise and helping travellers to experience the holiday in Europe they have always dreamed of

Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont, Cheverny. Do these names mean anything to you? They are just four of the many pleasure castles or châteaux in the rich undulating landscape of the Loire Valley, just 200 kilometres south of Paris, many of them overlooking France’s longest river, which runs from Ardèche in the Massif Central to Saint Nazaire on the Atlantic seaboard.

The Loire, with its many sandbanks, is no longer navigable and much is untamed. Because it easily overflows its banks, a long dyke runs along each side, with very few constructions. Charming villages dot the countryside in between larger towns such as Amboise and Blois each of which has its own château. Read more

Closerie Falaiseau, French language, Loire Valley

Friday’s French – chien assis

March 28, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 20 Comments

Whether you’ve heard the term chien assis – literally sitting dog – or not, you probably don’t know its correct meaning. I didn’t until a couple of days ago although I thought I did. The windows in the photo below have always been referred to by the people I know as chiens assis, but I’ve never been able to fathom why.

Our "capucine" windows — Our “capucine” windows

It’s because they aren’t chiens assis at all – they are lucarnes à croupe or capucine. What we call dormer windows in English are lucarnes which comes from the Latin word for “light” and they all have different names in French. The chien assis which, it seems, is a word used in the Loire Valley, is actually quite rare and so far, I haven’t found any! Below is a photo from one of my very favourite dictionaries – Dicobat by Jean de Vigan – and it’s full of lots of wonderful definitions and sketches. You may wonder why I have such a dictionary but it’s because I do a lot of translations in the field of building.

Lucarnes in Dicobat by Jean de Vigan, Editions Arcature

So you can see in the photo above, second from the left, what the real chien assis looks like and it does sort of look resemble a sitting dog. The one of the left is a chien couché or lying down dog. It’s also called a lucarne rampante, meaning “creeping” or “crawling”. Below is an example in our street in Blois.

Most dormer windows are capucines, but we did find quite a few examples of “lucarne-fronton” on the more bourgeois houses in Blois.

In one of the little towns in Sologne called Mur-de-Sologne, I found examples of pignon and meunière dormer windows.

And this house, which we came across in a forest area in Sologne, has a lucarne rampante à jouées biaises which literally means a “crawling light with sloping reveals”. What a mouthful!

Now just in case you tried to click on the link to my competition post on the Top Ten Châteaux in the Loire Valley yesterday and it didn’t work, you can try again here. All comments welcome!

Closerie Falaiseau, Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley, Renovation

Making the Most of Spring in Blois

March 12, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 13 Comments

I don’t know how it got to be 10th March when just a couple of days ago, it was still February. All that R&R we were supposed to have this week doesn’t seem to have happened. Even though the fireplace smoked, we still could have spent time stretched out on our new sofa or relaxing in our armchairs reading.

The Pierre Ronsard rose bush after pruning

So what did we do? Well, we made the most of spring. When the weather suddenly got warmer – 15°C – and the sun came out, we dashed into the garden where we discovered we were late with most of our pruning. We cut back the Pierre Ronsard and Meilland roses which already had new buds sprouting. We pruned the grape vine (not that the grapes are edible), the wisteria and honeysuckle.

We cut back all the hydrangeas in the hope that they will flower again as well as they did last year. The timing seemed to be right in any case. We cut down the remainders of the tall-stemmed daisies. I’d already pruned the hollyhocks in the autumn and they all seem to be doing well.

Jean Michel planted potatoes, onions and garlic in the rain by himself this year while I was upstairs working. But it’s OK, I didn’t really feel I was missing out on anything …

We couldn’t resist a visit to the nursery though. Our aim was to buy a clematis for the wall you can see on the other side of the front yard when you’re having breakfast. We nearly didn’t plant it because it turns out there’s a lot of water under that flowerbed but there was absolutely nowhere else to put it so we’ll see what happens. The lavendar and Saharan rose seem to be doing OK.

I spent a couple of hours trimming back all the geraniums we’d left inside the little house for the winter. When Jean Michel saw them the day we arrived in Blois, he said I was going to be disappointed because they were all dead. Not so. After only a week, there were new bits of green sprouting everywhere. However, since it’s going to get cold again this week, with temperatures below freezing, I cut them back, gave them a bit of water and let them in the little house until our return.

We also wanted some peonies. I love pink peonies.The man at the nursery said to plant them in pots and put them with the geraniums. That way we can plant them in garden when we come back in a month’s time. I’m not really sure where though. We really do seem to be running out of room.

Our little wood full of daffodils and primroses

In the meantime, the little wood is a mass of daffodils so we were very sad to leave. There are two lilacs we should have pruned in the autumn so I don’t know it we’ll get many blossoms. That’s another flower I love. We’ve started a garden book so we’ll do all the pruning at the right time next year. I’m looking forward to seeing the native Touraine orchids bloom in May.

A native Touraine orchid with spotted leaves

All the bulbs I planted in autumn are starting to come up and last year’s fuschias are just sprouting as well. However, we decided not to plant any gladiolis. They look a bit messy when you aren’t there to look after them all the time. I’ll wait until we live there permanently. The little pansies came right through winter without batting an eyelid.

We’re supposed to be going down to Blois again in a month’s time, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to resist that long. I just love watching everything coming out of the ground in the spring! Driving back to Paris, we’ve just learnt that we’re in for a very cold week, with snow expected tomorrow. The temperature has already dropped from 8° to zero. I’m glad we made the most of spring in Blois!

Closerie Falaiseau, Loire Valley, Renovation

Four Fireplaces, Two Fire Starters and No Fire

March 6, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

Last Friday night when we still thought we might be able to have a fire in the renovated fireplace upstairs in Closerie Falaiseau, we thought we would order a fire starter on-line. We first became acquainted with the Cape Cod fire-starter, under the name of pierre à feu (fire stone) when staying in Valérie’s beautiful gîte in Mesnil Jourdain, which incidentally is no longer available for rental.

The principle is simple: a pumice stone soaked in lamp oil is placed under the logs in the fireplace and lit with a match. After 15 to 20 minutes, the stone is removed using a special hook and set aside. When it’s cool, it’s returned to its ceramic (or cast iron) pot. This eliminates the need to use newspaper (which is now coloured and no longer burns properly), small firewood or briquettes. Neither of us had ever heard of it before. I thought it might be French but Jean Michel couldn’t imagine rural France coming up with such an invention so I’ve tracked it down and discovered that it’s an American invention.

We found an on-line store (Roncier) and ordered one which we found quite expensive at 69 euro including shipping but when we tried to pay, my Visa card was refused. I tried another one card and it didn’t work either. After checking my emails to make sure the order hadn’t gone through, we went searching for another website. It turned out there is actually a huge choice of fire-starters and Roncier is among the most expensive! This time we chose a Turgis which costs 33,46 euro plus 10 euro shipping. The whole process must have taken about an hour!

Next morning, I received an email from each of the websites saying my order had been registered. However, since Roncier said it would only be shipped when payment had been accepted, I wrote and cancelled the order. On Monday, I again received emails from both sites saying that the order had been processed and was on its way.

This morning, both turned up within a half an hour of each other, one by carrier and one by post. When we didn’t answer the door bell straight away (do I dare admit we were both asleep?), the delivery man climbed halfway up one side of the fence, put the parcel over the top with one hand then used his other hand to lower it as far as he could on the other side, before letting it drop to the ground. Fortunately it didn’t break! By the time the postman arrived, I was dressed and could go and open the gate for him.

We can’t quite work out the 23 euro price difference although the more expensive one has a wooden handle which Jean Michel rather favoured until I pointed out that it looks remarkably like another type of recipient I know, so we’re going to put the one with the iron handle upstairs and the wooden handle downstairs where it will be less conspicuous.

So now we have four fireplaces, two fire starters and no fire.

Closerie Falaiseau, Loire Valley, Renovation

First Fire in the Fireplace

February 28, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 15 Comments

We’re at Closerie Falaiseau. We’ve had dinner and are sitting on the sofa in front of the non-operational fireplace downstairs . Why, you may ask, are we not upstairs, drinking champagne and eating foie gras in front of our beautifully renovated Renaissance fireplace. Well, the answer is simple. We’ve lit the first fire and discovered it smokes.

Mr and Mrs Previous Owner came over this afternoon after lunch so that Mr PO could help Jean Michel take the 150 kg fireback upstairs. It was an amazing operation and I have finally understood how a chain hoist works.

The manual chain hoist at the top of the landing

First, Jean Michel attached the chain hoist horizontally to the railing at the top of the steps (chain hoists are usually used vertically). Then he put a plank under the chain. After that, he put two thin planks on the steps.

Mr PO and JM then lifted the fireback onto the first planks. JM put a super strong strap around it and attached it to the hook on the end of one of the two chain loops.

The fireback is now attached to the chain hoist

Mr PO, on the landing, started pulling one side of the other chain loop. This turns a pulley mechanism inside the chain hoist housing. When the pulley turns, it lifts up the end of the other chain loop with the hook on the end. Pulling on one chain enables the hoist to increase the mechanical work that is being done. Now isn’t that clever?

It was amazing to see Mr PO pulling on the chain loop while the 150 kg fireback slid effortlessly upwards. He did tell me not to stand at the bottom of the steps though, just in case the whole load crashed back downwards and crippled me forever.

Mr Previous Owner effortlessly pulling up the 150 kg fireback

The planks weren’t quite long enough, so a little adjustment was needed halfway up and again when the fireback reached the top of the stairs.

JM and Mr PO then had to lift it onto the landing. Using another set of planks they lifted and slid it upright into the room. I could see by this time that Mr PO needed a break so I forced JM to go downstairs and get the trolley so they wouldn’t have to lift it all the way across the living room to the fire.

Just then, one of our neighbours went past on his bike so we called him up to help. That way, there were three men to carry the fireback across to the fireplace. Once it was in place, JM drilled a hole in the wall and screwed in the bracket he had made previously to stop the fireback falling forwards.

He then brought up some firewood from our little wood, which incidentally is now full of snow drops and budding daffodils, laid the fire and lit the first match.

Our wood with crocuses and daffodils — Our wood with snow drops and daffodils

It was a very moving moment and we were about to cheer when we realised that the room had started to fill with smoke. We opened the door to let it out, hoping it would soon go up the chimney. But it didn’t.

Jean Michel had suspected this might happen but thought we would just have to have a smaller fire, not no fire at all. You may remember the story of the delinquent owner who removed the crest stone when he had to sell the house. Well, the exact same person bricked up the top of the chimney, reducing it by one-third (we don’t know why), thus preventing the smoke from going up the chimney properly.

The next step in the operation is to have the chimney opened up again. Tomorrow, we’re phoning the roofer so he can come and give us a quote. But I think the champagne and foie gras in front of the fire might have to wait until next winter! Sigh.

Closerie Falaiseau, Loire Valley

Winter has come to Blois

December 13, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Winter has come to Blois and the fireplace at Closerie Falaiseau is not ready. Which is to be expected. Snow came surprisingly early this year, but didn’t last long thank goodness. We’ve had some very cold nights (-5°C) which challenged the underfloor heating system upstairs but when Relationnel woke up to 15°C in the bedroom the first morning, he read the literature and made the necessary adjustments. Today, however, I decided to add a layer of clothing, particularly on my legs. I’m not used to this in my overheated flat in Paris! The first of the photos below was taking from my office window on 5th and the last on the 12th so you can see how quickly the leaves disappeared.