Back Blogging

Hopefully I'm back blogging now.  It's been a while and a lot has changed since I last wrote back in June 2016.

There have been a number of reasons why I have been AWOL, the main one being that I could no longer access the page.  Blogger was swallowed by Google at some stage and I lost track of my passwords and user names and it all became rather complicated.  Coupled with life without electricity and easy internet access discouraged me further from taking the time and energy to find a way back.  

But here I am, fingers crossed that this isn't going to be a 'one off' posting, with news and a huge update on snippets of what's been going on in my life.

I'll try to put them in chronological order, but can't promise complete accuracy........

I've moved from France to Spain, well, more accurately Catalunya.  I found a property soon after my last blog posting, in the summer of 2016 and bought it in the heat of the summer.

With plenty of land, mainly planted with hazel nut coppice, along with some olives, almonds, figs and other fruit trees.  A considerable amount of clearing is needed as the previous owner was unwell for some time, but I know basically what I'm needing to do and am sure that the weeds won't grow back half as fast as they did in France.  It's far too dry.

The house is just outside a village of 400 inhabitants with a small general store, a couple of restaurants a bar and summer pool, so I'll have much more chance to be sociable (so long as I make the effort). and only fifteen minutes from the sizeable town of Reus, with all the amenities imaginable, including an international airport with flights back to the UK and beyond.  Twenty five minutes from the coast and golden sandy beaches of the Costa Daurada and within easy reach of Barcelona by road or train.  

ten days in....

ten days in and I find myself unexpectedly in an internet cafe, having read loads of comments on my last post asking how I am getting on, so a quick visual tour of things I have done and I shall write further now that I have charged my computer.  Life is rather basic, but very enjoyable here for the moment.

Strimmed everywhere just to get in

the veggie plot I dug this spring

cleared of weeds, the fruit bushes survived (to left)

with these, that I planted earlier

turned into this in a couple of days

from this

to this, an old pig shed

thrown in for nothing,  completely hidden with brambles

outdoor living

signed, sealed and delivered

On the 26th February I signed my deal and am on the way to being a property owner in France.  

Sealed and delivered, this morning the postman delivered a sealed bundle of papers that I had to sign for in person.  It’s the dossier of paperwork that accompanies the proposed purchase.  All 113 pages of it.  

There are only two possible hurdles to cross that would negate the purchase.  

The first is that the Mayor has the right to cancel planning permission on land as it changes hands, I doubt she will as in such a small village an extra inhabitant increases the population by 2% and the village revenue similarly.  I shall be asking to renew the outline planning permission in due course.

The second is the work of SAFER, a government sponsored agency that is responsible for keeping as much land in agriculture as possible.  It has three months to check that none of the local farmers want to buy the property.  This is only happening because I am purchasing some adjoining land which is agricultural .  Thankfully, any interested party would have to buy the whole lot, not just the fields and with the planning permission it works out rather expensive for a farmer to acquire an additional couple of acres.

Fingers crossed until mid May.....................

I spoke to one of the owners after the signing and he is more than happy if I make a start on clearing the brambles, turning a bit of soil and starting a vegetable garden.  Just as well, as earlier in the week I bought a huge collection of seeds on offer in the local supermarket.  They’ll get to grow this year some way or another.

I can also get on and apply for connection to electricity, water and phone, arranged for after the completion date, and also make provisions to insure the land from when I take possession ( a legal necessity here in France).  I need to ask the mayor too, for permission to put up a temporary cabin until such time as my house is built, apparently is it normal practice and permission is often granted for four years, I don’t imagine using it for that long.  There’s plenty to be getting on with in the mean time.

We, me and my current hosts, celebrated with a lovely meal and a bottle of champagne amidst the chaos of their moving.  Five more days and everything will be moved, the house cleaned and the keys ready to hand over.  That’ll be the end of my time here, onto the next.

a date

I have a date.

No, a date for signing the initial agreement for my land.  Not a date date, though that would be good too.

On the 26th february I shall visit the notaires office, pay a deposit and sign the agreement to buy.  The discussions with the neighbouring farmer have been formalised and are now legally binding, the owners are still keen to sell and the date is getting closer.  I am so excited.

I’m not entirely sure which way to turn or what to do first/next or in what order or when.  So I started with a list, this is now a list of lists and is gaining some semblance of order.  I’m not concerned yet about how it will pan out, I am trying to get as many thoughts down on paper as I can, so that as my thoughts evolve the order can be changed and things added and moved as a timescale becomes apparent. 

Thankfully I’m being kept busy with the move, otherwise time could be passing rather slowly.   I’m learning plenty there too, namely, to throw unnecessary things away, declutter and keep life simple.  Their collection of belongings is an enormous gathering from previous houses and marriages.  Things that have been packed away in the rush of moving last time and never  since sorted, they move again with the same promise and join more belongings from parents and items, the story goes on. Plan ahead so things don’t need moved several times, pack non essentials well in advance to lessen stress in the weeks before moving and remember that everything takes longer than expected.  

I get to escape to the garden too, preparing the veggie plot, pruning and tidying and planting the seemingly never ending trickle of plants that keep arriving.  I’ll be back when the time is right later on for a few cuttings and divisions when they have had time to grow.

My latest reading is a book on Permaculture gardening, the subject is fascinating and turns on it’s head much of the theories that I learned back at horticultural college all those years ago.  I’m not sure that I’ll be following every morsel of advice, but know for sure that things’ll be done differently than before once I get going.  When I put learning into practice, I’ll be letting you know.  For the moment all that is growing is my beard.

more land?

Having Percy is great, I can just head off for the day and do as I please, without begging or, borrowing a car or trying to work out how to get to the middle of nowhere with public transport.  I visited another couple of agencies, one of which had nothing and the other that showed me a possible three plots.  We went, another day, to visit them, though nothing so far rates nearly as highly as the plot with the ruins and the old oak trees.

not bad, facing SSE, with a stream passing one side, sloping

looking back up the plot.  Half the field only

a NO even before I got out of the car

another NO.  3Ha with a tiny building plot 300 m away in the village

I visited the town hall in the village where my favourite bit of land is to ascertain how certain it was that planning permission would be granted, the lady mayor was great but couldn’t give me a definitive answer but directed me to the local planning office and hour and a half away.  I headed there after making a phone call to make sure that there would be someone to see me.  I arrived and the person wasn’t there after all.  The receptionist made me an appointment for early the following morning so I stayed over in Percy, saving myself a ‘there and back’ for nothing and got to check out the heating properly for the first time.  Temperatures got down to minus seven overnight but I stayed snug and warm, bothered only by the hum of the fan blowing warm air into the van.  

The visit was worthwhile.  The planning officer could see absolutely no reason why any but the most unimaginable of plans be passed for this plot of land.  I can rest easy now, with no concerns to do with planning.  He even told me where to go to get free advice on design and how to present the plans without using an architect.  Now I need to make the next steps.

27 november

November 27th. A day, this year, that I wasn’t particularly looking forward to.  In the past it had been a day of celebration, my Mothers’ Birthday, a day that I always tried to be at home for, but as she had passed away earlier in the year I was not so sure how I would feel at this time.  Additionally I had a dental appointment for a wisdom tooth extraction and the weather was foul.  Just warm enough to be raining but bitterly cold, windy.  What a day it was going to be.

Percy managed the descent without so much as a shudder and felt much better on flatter ground.   I had time to stop in at the estate agents to discuss the land with the ruins that I had seen before and clarified a few points.  Suffered the french dentist with much less pain and discomfort that I had been led to believe (the noise of the tooth leaving the jaw bone was the worst part) and some excellent advice - to take pain killers  as the anaesthetic wears off before the onset of pain as it is easier to keep the pain at bay than to dissipate it after it has arrived.  I dislike taking pain killers, but on this occasion was more than happy to take his advice and it worked a treat.  

Slightly numb, I revisited the land at Vieuzos, with the huge oak tree, discovered the real site of the well, with it’s huge concrete safety cover, located more fruit trees and paid much more attention to the ruins and their possible future uses.  The space felt good again, better in fact than the first visit, it is ticking loads of boxes and has character, something that most of the plots I look at lack, definitely one to persue further. The rain held off whilst I visited and later in the day, rays of sunlight streamed through a distant gap in the clouds, illuminating the hazy landscape beneath, as if angels were shining lights from above, letting me know that life was rosy on the other side.  I continued north for a while, aiming for my good friends Vanessa and Lisa in their new abode to see how the renovations were coming along and to help with the planting of two hundred trees.   All in all a much better day than I had expected.

it's in ruins

So that’s a ‘no’ for all those plots that have brought me to the conclusions above, which is all but one of them I have visited so far. This last one, for the time being, is holding my imagination.  A third of a hectare, with three ruins of buildings, a huge oak and several fruit and nut trees.  Views to the south and west, over an inhabited valley with the mountains in the distance.  Space for a house and barns, a big garden, polytunnel, chickens and maybe even a goat.  There is a well, water, phone and electricity not that far away, along with neighbours and a little village.  

spot the distant mountains

a right proper ruin

and another one

beautiful oaks

plenty of space for veggies and chickens

boundary on the left with village beyond

I’d love to go and visit again, but for the time being, Percy is in the garage.  His exhaust pipe has rusted through and driving anywhere draws everyones attention. The noise is unbearable.  I spoke to the garage last Friday, but Ford don’t take parts orders on Friday afternoons here!! Monday was Armistice Day, so all was quiet and on Tuesday the part was ordered, promised for Wednesday, it is now Friday and has yet to arrive.  Patience required; I’m just happy to be staying with a good friend, Pierre, the baker who I met and skied with last season.  He’s happy of the company and chance to speak english, after 18 years in England he has a better accent than me, loves explaining the intricacies of the french language.  We’ve been out walking, cut wood for the stove, made soups, baked cakes, for after the village Armastice speech (attended by almost everyone in the village 25 inhabitants) made christmas puddings and mincemeat, collected chestnuts to make purées and desserts, watched french TV (a rarity for me).  I’ve spent hours and hours trawling through estate agent listings on the internet and made myself a good and proper list of visits.  It’s been good being here.

Friday evening and finally I have caught up with myself.  I am writing now, about today.  The garage called today and Pierre took me down to get Percy through the snow.  All fixed, managed to get back up to the village at 800m in the twilight, everything white and the snowflakes seemingly flying straight at the windscreen the whole time.  Great slabs of snow keep sliding and crashing down of the roofs there is the smell of woodsmoke in the air and even though the snow is blowing in the wind there is a certain stillness in the air.  Winter has arrived.

quinta libelula

Still, we got there in the day.  I had sent a text to say we were on our way in and as we arrived, stopped to send another, Peter emerged in his 4x4, ready for the ride down his newly installed track to the house.  It was a good twenty minutes by foot before.  Luxury of a different kind.

I had tried to prepare Joy for our visit, but after a tour of the property, realised that I had not done a very good job. It was on steeper terrain, with more precipitous drops off narrow, uneven paths, more basically equipped, far more remote, with high unfenced terraces (some easily 8 metres) about the place.  She did amazingly well and later, after talking with my brother, discovered that NO ONE who has visited has embraced the spirit of the place without at least a day or so acclimatisation.  It is steep, uneven, almost inaccessible in a beautifully forested valley with no neighbours, only the noise of the birds and trickle of water in the stream, sheltered from winds from most directions, incredibly still and tranquil.  The little house has solar electricity and a solar heated shower, a fully functioning compost toilet, the freshest spring water piped direct to the kitchen, a functional terrace with tables and chairs, a beautiful view over one of the vegetable gardens, olive grove, forest and valley.  

The ground is being progressively cleared and I was amazed by the progress that had been made since my last visit a year ago.  We could walk from one end of the property to the other at valley floor level, via seven terraces of varying sizes.  The ancient irrigation system and much of the flat areas have been completely cleared of impenetrable bramble thicket, revealing more and more olive trees, ancient vines and other fruit trees.  A magnificent cork oak that had lain unnoticed for decades revealed in all its splendor.  Two terraces of vegetables planted harvested and restarted for the winter, chickens, goats and even a trout have arrived during the last twelve months.  The house has been re-roofed and re-floored inside and the upstairs is completely livable until the rest gets done.  

Whilst I was there, Dad visited for a couple of weeks.  We were all rather concerned with how he would cope before his arrival, especially after hearing stories of others that have visited, even for short periods of time. We needn’t have worried, he managed admirable and frequently surprised himself with his achievements on the exploratory front.  He coped with the vegetarian diet with easily and went home with renewed vigour and a determination to get out and do more, get a rail card, visit friends and places he’s never seen.  I sure hope he does.

my bedroom for a month 

4x4 on the new track with house roof visible to the left 

the yellow brick road, I built that

unlikely best mates

new improved 'facilities'

trying to get things into scale

newly cleared access to opposite gives new perspective

Dad and Windy surveying the latest clearing work "Goat terrace"

vegetables in for the winter

land at Barbazan

I found some land on the internet.  It looked like a great deal, and not that far from the chalet, so I went and had a nose.  I recognised the village from a visit four years ago, though I hadn’t put two and two together and had no idea that I was in the same area until I really thought about it.  Anyway, all looked promising, the village had an old thermal baths, abandoned in the seventies when some restoration work on the source caused it to stop flowing completely, rendering the whole complex unusable.  It’s rather a sad affair, but the village is lovely and well positioned for the mountains and further afield.

The agent was already there.  In france you can’t just go and have a look at property, in case you contact the owner direct and come to some arrangement, you have to be met and sign a form that states the you have officially visited and they were involved.  Once signed, she didn’t stay long,  I asked all my questions and was left to inspect on my own.

It was a great plot, sloping away from a quiet country road, on the outskirts of the village, view across the valley to fairly distant hills, a stream at the bottom, needed a bit of clearing but nothing disasterous so I started to get excited.    I positioned the house, greenhouses, pond and gardens all in my head.  There were woods on the other side of the road and a walking track.  The local village had a railway station and the motorway  passed not that far away.  All good.  Then there was a break in the clouds and I really got my bearings, I calculated south, then east and west to see the passage of the sun and realised quite fast why the land was such a good deal.  The enormous hill behind, just across the road was to the south east, where the morning sun rises, by looking at the sun at five in the evening it was obvious that there would be no sun in the winter till mid afternoon and probably very little morning sun except in the height of summer.  

It was a NO.  There’s no way, with the lifestyle plans I have in mind, that I could pass the winter without sunshine, or try and raise a garden on land that stays shaded most of the day.  I imagined being cold and in the shade, looking out on a sunny view of the valley and waiting till the earth rotated enough for the sun to arrive.  It wouldn’t do.  Later I spoke to a couple of locals who confirmed the situation, they also added that the valley suffered terribly from cold winds in the spring till the mountain snow had melted and from frequent cloud cover, though not so much rain, as the warm atlantic air circulates and is forced to rise by the mountains.  I’ll take their advice and adjust my region still further for my continued hunting.

a bit of clearing to do

the only neighbours

pretty good view

what remains accessible of the old thermal baths

touring round

Since leaving the barn in the mountains, we visited the market at Cauteret, way up on the mountains, a summer tourist resort and ski station in winter.  The organic Market Halls in Pau, a largish town in the region.  It was disappointing to pass the regular food halls and see the throngs of people clammering to buy produce, only to discover a less populated organic location in a different area.  Personally I think that I would choose the regular market hall and pitch my wares to all then try to attract customers from a much smaller section of the population who probably already have their favourite stalls.  Arthes d’Asson market, again hugely seasonal for the tourists, but much better situated down on the valley floor, didn’t have a brilliant vibe, but good to visit none the less.

 Pont d'Espagne, with all the tourists

Between market visits we have been making the most of our free time, taking energetic mountain hikes, cooling ourselves in arctic mountain streams (accidental canyoning incident in my underpants that amused everyone on the bank no end), soaking up the sunshine and never for a moment finding time to do absolutely nothing.  There is always a distraction or a discovery to be made or something to discuss, even if it is only deciding where to sleep rough for the night, which we did for a long weekend.

temporary sleeping arrangements

We spent the following week helping Denis, a young farmer who has bought several hectares of abandoned agricultural land above his parents farm and is busy clearing old pastures that have been reclaimed by nature.  There won’t be a shortage of firewood for many years, but it takes an extraordinary amount of effort to gain even the smallest parcel of land back from the wild, his project is truly of enormous proportions.  He produces organic meat for consumption, grows fruit for jams, juices, jellies and sorbets that he sells locally, along with various balms and creams from cultivated and wild sources.   Our work involved strimming bracken to reduce its vigour, apparently if you cut if every time it reaches the three leaf stage it slowly weakens the root structure and eventually the whole plant gives up.  Another task that will take several seasons.  We harvested blueberries and blackberries and enjoyed delicious sorbets and also provided the manpower to erect a machinery store that he had had in mind for ages but never the hands to get it done.  It was good to feel appreciated and to achieve obviously beneficial projects for someone who works so very hard every day.

 Vallée Arthes d'Asson

looking for land

Julien, Vivien and I have been traveling together now for a couple of weeks, we are getting to know each other better, having spent hours discussing our dreams, needs, requirements and aspirations for our future projects.  They are all a bit different but follow the same main criterion.  

We all want to buy some land, we all want to set up some sort of agricultural / horticultural project, we all want to build our own houses and all want to remain as independent entities.  That bit is simple.

The more challenging part is our budgets, I thought my 50k or so was stretching it somewhat.  Vivien has around 30k and Julien just over 10k.  I was struggling last year to find building land that was large enough for my project that still left enough to start the project and buy materials for a small house.  Their approach is from a different angle.  Somewhat like in england, there are certain agricultural projects here that will permit the farmer to construct a dwelling once need has been demonstrated.  If animals are involved it is almost a certainty and the decision can be made with minimal interference from planning within two or three years.  They both have such projects in mind.  Julien is more than happy to rough it in a shelter or old caravan for several years to get his project off the ground before even considering construction.  By then he will have increased his income and had chance to source local materials at minimal cost.  Vivien already has a camper van that he has lived in for nearly two years so is totally self sufficient on that front and also wants to take building slowly.

The thought is, that combined, we have more purchasing power, less legal costs and any suitable land that we find can be divided at purchase to suit our budgetary input.  We will end up with neighbouring parcels of land for our projects, decent neighbours that are willing to share a hand or get involved with larger projects and the possibility of shared purchases such as a trailer, cement mixer, perhaps washing machine, certain tools and, to start with, shared facilities and shelter.

Finding out rules and regulations is always a challenge.  Local folk often offer differing information that they swear is correct.  Differing communes and departments interpret national rules in all manner of ways, so until we find some land that looks promising, it is very difficult to be sure of anything.

My ideal project is somewhat different and will involve the purchase of building land.  I believe that I have enough money to construct my property and have no urge to become encumbered by a flock, herd or gaggle of any kind.  Being single and without dependents, I am keen to keep “freedom to roam” as an option and any project will be the type that can be put to bed for a while from time to time.  For the moment I have a strong urge to settle down and stay in one place for a good long time and I think that the possibility of  being able to leave will actually make staying put more achievable.  We shall see.

So, to progress, we are networking with the locals, discussing our plans with everyone that we encounter and spreading the word as far and wide as we can.  Each market we visit we try to chat to local producers and frequently pin notices to event boards asking for pointers to land.  Everyone is very encouraging and interested, but as yet there have been minimal leads.

what could you do with this?

and this 

there is even a barn

16Ha along a river, unfortunately it's north facing and probably 

gets no sun in the winter, but it's a start.

NEXT!

above Lourdes

view from our new location.  

I climbed one of those distant peaks a couple of years ago.

 I have moved on again.  I have no idea when I will get to post this, as I am at nearly 1000m altitude, high up in the mountains above Lourdes.  The view is breathtaking, the weather good so far. but absolutely no chance of internet access and only a tiny, occasional phone signal.  It’s worth every penny.

In fact, we only found this host a week ago.  The original proposition cancelled and suggested some friends that needed help.  We contacted them and started to make arrangements but things didn’t go smoothly,  easier to abandon a host before arriving than to arrive and find things in complete disarray.. So Vivien quickly did some research and found our present location on a “Chantier Parcipatif’(a building site that welcomes others to learn and help out at the same time) website and there was a positive response within an hour of us asking if we would be welcome.

Our hosts are renovating a fabulous old barn situated several miles from the last village of the valley, way up high, accessed by a dirt track that becomes practically inaccessible in winter.  They, husband, wife and daughter live here part time in the summer, flying in from their current home in Martinique.  This summer they have friend staying with them for the season. Running water is from the nearby stream and for the moment there is electricity when the generator is running.  It is used whilst there is a need for power tools and produces enough extra to chill the fridges, charge lights, mobile phones and run a dilapidated old washing machine.

summer kitchen, shelter and shower room OR car port in winter

the encampment with restored barn in al its glory

Several days later........

We should have been a bit more wary about the mega fast response requesting us to come and help, also the fact that there were no other willing hands about.  It’s not that the place was chaotic, far from it, it was one of the neatest well thought out building sites I have been on so far.  The difficulty that we stumbled upon was one of communication.  Our host was 60% or more deaf and not attuned to building sites or giving directions, his friend was more than willing to dispense advice, whether asked for or not and took every opportunity to direct us, even when we had already been given tasks to complete.  With the generator running almost constantly, plus power tools, chain saws and hammering it was difficult for anyone to have a decent conversation, let alone an in-depth discussion on the finer points of construction detail.  In addition for me, the second language and two new and interesting accents to contend with made even light going a challenge.  So you can imagine how smoothly things went.

Suffice to say, after three exceedingly frustrating days of miscommunications, along with the heated discussions between our two ‘bosses’ as to who was in control, the fact that we could have decided ourselves how to do several of the tasks easier, cheaper and with a more robust result, we decided to leave.  A week early.

Our hosts were surprised and individually both strangely sympathetic to our plight and apologetic for the behaviour and attitude of the other.  Neither really got the gist that it was of their making and will probably continue in the same vein in the future.  An interesting week that did little to forward our cause in finding land, but a great deal in learning about communication skills, taking control and team guidance.  Duly noted as we move on for an unexpected long weekend of recreation.

project complete

 The yurt is now ready for guests, it looks so inviting with the shadows filtering through the canvas walls and the sound of the breeze in the trees.

Glass wash basin in the roundhouse with a sneaky reflected glimpse of the

 hole in the roof and stunning cordwood wall.

Peak inside the composting toilet, all that's missing is a toilet roll holder

leaving the yurt, looking up towards the roundhouse.  it looks a bit stark at present, but the forest will soon reclaim the bare patches.

somewhere quiet to carry out business in the woods

Matty's steps.  Simple, effective and very inkeeping

Looking down from the roundhouse towards the yurt.

None of this was here two months ago.

There is even a pole lathe in the woods, should guests want to try it out, I'll 

have to blog further about pole lathes in a few days time.

Awaiting the first guests.  I hope they are as happy to be here as I have been building it.