satisfied customers

Calvin with an amazing electric cheese grater one lunch time

My thoughts precisely.......

Justin, Mark, Calvin, me

Ann and me

The holidays are over and the chalet is quiet once again. There were still several guests staying last week, but it is completely empty now after being filled to capacity for almost a month. Clare, the owner, Mark the chef and I are feeling a bit dazed from the experience and looking forward to a change of pace until the end of the season.

Unlike last year when the team remained the same throughout the season, people have come and gone sporadically this time, which has meant constantly training new arrivals to get them up to speed, checking that chalet standards are met, adapting to new characters and their requirements then saying good bye to folk every couple of weeks and carrying on as usual. Clare described her management style the other evening as “somewhat Basil Faulty” so there is never a dull moment.

Now that the season has quietened off a bit I have time to reflect and ponder some of the characters. Earlier ones that were here when I arrived went before I had really gotten to know them that well. Ildi, the Australian Hungarian girl had been here since December left a couple of weeks into my stay, she was great at chat, chat about anything and everything, even stuff that had nothing to do with you, within hours of my arrival she wanted to know what I thought about her relationship with James, someone who I had never and would probably never meet, having declined to comment I was then offered her mobile later in the evening to have a chat with said James and was momentarily put out when I said I didn’t want to. She bossed and organised everyone in a fun and jovial manner and was great to have around.

Graeme left about a week later, right at the start of the busy season, not entirely his fault, more an issue of visa expiration, another Australian, he had to leave Europe as his visiting time was up. He annoyed me immensely to start with, with his constant questions about random things, he would ask and ask the most trivial and detailed of questions during dinner service or when someone was in the middle of working. He had a great smile and was easily amused which made up for most of his annoyance. I put a stop to me being annoyed and started to enjoy the challenge, beating him at his own game from time to time and supplying him with inordinate amounts of trivial detail that he loved. As the best skier in the group Graeme and I had the best times on the slopes even though opportunities were limited and he was gone before I had really gotten to know him, after his departure I continued to learn snippets from Cameron and Clare and think that we would have had a great time.

Cameron stayed the longest and has only been gone just over a week. Another Aussie with dual nationality, Scottish this time, had come to experience the snow and mountain life at the end of an eight month trip round europe. We found common ground in obscure comedy shows from the past and had lengthy discussions about the state of the world and the influences that come to play. There is nothing like repeating a long lost line from some comedy scene or other to start the banter and laughter going. He was great company even though he was more than ready to return home and get on with life. Unfortunately tried skiing and had not found it the exhilarating sport that some (I) do and was bored with the lack of inspiration living high in the mountains. He should do well with stand up comedy when he gets back to Perth and I may surprise him one day by visiting and seeing him perform live.

Ian came and went in a fortnight. A trainee trainer for a financial institution in London, he came to learn to ski, improve his French and use two weeks of annual leave. He didn’t really fit in that well as he already had all the answers and knew how everything worked even as he walked through the door. (no experience necessary). He proudly announced that he was achieving all the targets that he had set himself for his time here without enquiring as to his efficiency or performance, talking over any comment or advice that anyone tried to give him. Chaos behind the bar and a pro at providing guests with random made up information He wanted me to help him learn to ski which I patiently did for half a day before dismissing myself as a hinderance as I clearly didn’t know what I was talking about. His crowning moment was when Clare returned from the town with loads of provisions including a large box of table place settings. He took one look, saw the 500 pieces written on the side of the carton and declared that he would do the jigsaw after lunch. The tension took several days to subside after his departure and I have severe concerns as to the safety of my money if the whole bank is trained by people like him. One piece of advice to you if you read this Ian, you cannot just know everything, often you have to learn it.

Ann was whirlwind of a completely different temperament, the very model of german efficiency, what is it they say on the Audi commercial? “vorsprung durch technic” and there you are, Ann. Before she had taken her coat off she was making notes of how everything worked, she was serving drinks and taking orders before lunch and had everything down to a tee before the end of the day. A day later she was up serving breakfasts and snowboarding like a professional on her first day on real snow. She did have prior service industry experience which gave her a head start in the chalet and a three hour snowboard lesson in a frozen shed somewhere in Holland that helped the boarding somewhat. We spent a couple of days on the slopes together and on the Saturday it was really quiet, there was no one waiting for the lifts yet Ann had to go right the way round the barriers on her snowboard instead of taking a short cut through the ski school entrance. The second time she did this I was just about to tell her to stop being quite so german when she did it herself. She laughed on the lift as we discussed countries traits and the fact that germans are hugely law abiding and find it so difficult even to bend small rules, hopefully she will learn during her time at university in france. She was great.

Most recently we have two young South African lads helping, well, I say helping, they are now that they have been taught how to do just about every task they have been asked to do. I guess their stay has been the biggest learning experience for me. Some people, through no fault of their own have no idea of how to do anything domestic. With a privileged upbringing in a country where domestic help is the norm, why should they know anything. Most helpers have some idea of how things happen and have done some chores about the home. No such luck here. It has been a challenging few weeks discovering how easy it is to assume without meaning to and teaching skills when I have had to think hard to break them down into individual parts. How to clean a bathroom suddenly becomes a minefield of unexplained tasks and washing up miraculously takes five or six times as long to complete. How do you sweep a floor? hold a brush or use a potato peeler? How do you get a duvet into a duvet cover, lay a fire or set a table the same way every time? Frustration has been overtaken by a great feeling of achievement now that these two guys are suggesting things that need doing like setting the table before meals, taking the rubbish out and ironing without being constantly prompted. Unfortunately there is little practice now that we only have guests at the weekends. We make up for it by skiing almost every day on empty pistes, having a great deal of fun and relaxing by the fire in the evenings. Hopefully they will remember their newly learned skills for the future and that we will have contributed to their lives. More satisfied customers and they don’t even realise it yet.

chalet life continues

This blog thing just isn’t happening at the moment. Since I arrived back at Chalet Lou Rider so many things have been going on that I have just not found the mood or inspiration to write. So I apologise to those of you who keep checking to see what I have been up to. The time to write will return, as it always does and I will resume a more normal service.

Until then, a quick synopsis.

Since I wrote last, there has been snow, loads of snow and some great skiing, followed a couple of days later by some ‘wonderfully’ warm sunny weather, the pistes turned to ice and the mountains lost their beautiful white blankets of cover, returning to an unseasonal brown colour. Days later the same thing happens, a good dump of snow followed by a couple of excellent days for skiing before more warm melty conditions. Diane, a guest, who stayed a week or so ago provided me with some excellent tuition and we skid together most of the time she was here, improving our english and french language skills and having a great laugh together. My skiing is much improved and hopefully I have shaken off some of those lazy habits that I had gathered from last season. Dynamic skiing is the way forward, I love it.

We have just had the biggest snowfall of the winter so far, it came down constantly for over 24 hours, blown by fairly high winds most of the resort stayed closed for a day as the workers on the mountain dealt with a multitude of avalanche threats by blasting unstable snow off the mountain with controlled explosions.

Here in the chalet two helpers have gone and after a short gap, one new one arrived. Ildi took a weekend off, returning fleetingly to collect her belongings, not to be seen again and Graeme had to leave Europe before his visa ran out. So suddenly there were two of us where there used to be four, right in the busiest part of the season. Fortunately the new guy, Ian is a bright spark and is getting to grips with chalet life fairly quickly, he is only here for two weeks to learn a bit of french and also to ski. Cameron and I are filling in with a bit of extra work and have an arrangement with Clare to compensate. New postings have hit the helpX website and reinforcements should hopefully be arriving soon. Cameron is with us for another three weeks before heading back to Oz after a good stint of traveling and exploring the world.

I am amazed that ski fanatics are not queueing up to be here as it is in the most excellent location and there is an opportunity to ski almost every day. Come join us for the remains of the season, in another two weeks the school holidays will be over and the resort will return to its normal tranquil self. More snow is forecast, along with some seasonable cold to replace the warmth that has dominated the region for most of this winter.

change of plan

So much has happened, I got the ski bug big time and a few days after my first ski trip with Vanessa, I hit the slopes again, a different resort in the Pyrenees, Peyragudes, in fact, again with Vanessa along with one of her english village neighbours and a couple of friends.

The resort was quite different to Saint Lary, dropping off two sides of a mountain ridge rather than nestling mainly in a large bowl, faster more modern lifts, more challenging and longer runs, but further by car and no where local to stay. Luckily we were only there for a day and it was great fun to ski with more proficient skiers too. I was somewhat distracted throughout the day, wondering if I had made a wrong decision, or if I should have stuck to my original plans.

The following day Lisa dropped me in Lannemezan and I got the coach to Saint Lary again, this time it was for a longer term visit. I had been liasing with Clare during the week as an opening to helpX had arisen in the chalet, I needed no second asking and as some of you who know me well have already deducted, I am now installed at Chalet Lou Rider for the rest of the season, doing the same as I did last winter. It has been a hectic couple of weeks adapting to the new routine, getting as much skiing in as possible, fitting into a different team and catching up with all the little changes that have been implemented since I was last here, not many, but enough to tax me slightly at times. The boiler and oil supply were playing up so I spent much of my first week doing my best to stop water leaking into the oil supply and keeping the chalet warm. The weather was unseasonably warm and the mountains changed from white to a browny green in a matter of days, especially at lower altitudes, the heights continue to hold the snow well even with a week of daily daytime melt. Thankfully it has cooled dramatically since then and snow has fallen a couple of times, returning the mountains to their rightful colour for the start of the school holiday season. The chalet, busy with adults last week is now full of families and buzzing with afternoon games as soon as the slopes close in the afternoon. The atmosphere is great and we will be kept busy for quite a while as business is much brisker than last year. I will be making the most of my free time during the day on the slopes and enjoying my work in the chalet.

Late winter school holidays are different here in France to those back home in the UK, for a start, the mayor holiday is in February or March, allowing everyone two weeks off during the ski season, they only get a short week off over Easter, secondly, the country is split into three zones and the holidays are staggered on a rotational basis. The first zone starts, then the second zone starts a week after. The third zone starts two weeks later as the first zone finishes. Thus the two middle weeks are the only ones that overlap out of the month. This season the two more local regions come first and last, giving us a full month of business potential rather than the overlapped format of last year. The chalet bookings sheet is looking pretty full for the complete month already and more enquiries arrive every day. Me thinks that we will be in for a busy time.

Fingers crossed for some more decent snow interspersed with some good cold sunny weather to keep everyone happy. With any luck there will be plenty of snow left way into March when the schools go back and the mountain calms down again.

absolutely amazing

Skiing was amazing, absolutely amazing. There had been fresh snow over the weekend and the mountains looked beautiful as we drove up to the resort. The snow cover was extensive but not terribly thick, wooded areas stood out as large drifts of dark green against the new whiteness, the sky a bright blue and although it was very cold there was warmth in the morning sunshine. It was easy to see the road winding up the side of the mountain to Espiaube and the chalet, I knew exactly where to look but as ever the hillside hid the buildings from view. We weren’t particularly early but the car park was deserted, probably the fact that it was a Monday had something to do with it, Vanessa and I popped into Chalet Lou Rider to say Hi to Clare and have a quick drink before changing into out ski gear and hitting the slopes. I had left my skis at the chalet at the end of last season, unable to carry any more luggage back to England and happy that someone else adopt them should I not have returned. Thankfully they were still there, unused and ready for my boots once again.

I had a moment of apprehension on the way up the mountain on the lift. Will I still be able to ski? Have I forgotten everything, it has been ages since I stood on skis, I was going to be completely rubbish and fall over straight away, for most of the journey up we discussed where we wanted to ski and tried to guess which pistes were open.

Conditions were as good as the best day I can remember from last year, I didn’t fall over and my skis remembered exactly what to do. Almost immediately I started having thoughts of why I wasn’t in a ski resort for the winter? what was I doing elsewhere when it just felt so good to be out on the snow in the sunshine? As runs disappeared under our skis and lifts whisked us back to the heights again and again I tried to contain my thoughts to the moment and embrace the immediate wonder of the day, it worked most of the time and we had a great day. Unlike last winter when we could just pop back to the chalet and the slopes were available day after day, this was a treat, something we had to make the most of. We timed it right and ate a late lunch after everyone else had finished, the choice was limited and the chips were cool when they arrived but it didn’t matter, we were on the slopes for the day and making the most of it. Vanessa’s skiing had improved since last year, she has already had a couple of lessons and her increased confidence was definitely showing now. We were able to explore areas of the resort that she hadn’t ventured to before, gently increasing that confidence and realising how much fun it all was. People has asked me back in the summer if I had been bored by the end of a whole season in the same resort, I had told them no, and now that I was back, that still stood, it was as good to be back here on the snow as it would be to have had a day on the snow else where.

The late lunch fueled us for the rest of the day, we definitely got our moneys worth and were herded off the slopes as they closed at the end of play. I could have gone on for longer so made the most of the last descent by using the slope to its max. Huge sweeping turns, traversing from one side to the other, enjoying the sun and the view and the fresh air and hoping that there would be more opportunities in the not too distant future for us to enjoy. I stopped more frequently than I had been, in order for Vanessa to catch up, the day was taking its toll, her legs had had enough and she tumbled several times on that last descent, a sure sign that it was a good time to call it a day.

Clare welcomed us back at the chalet with a good cuppa and I spent a few minutes chatting with the new team of helpXers that were there this season. It felt a little strange to be there for such a short time, but great to meet yet more welcoming , friendly helpers and get a tiny glimpse back into the life I had enjoyed so much a year ago. We left in the car, returning to the safety of the valley floor before the icy darkness fell on the mountains once again. Home was only an hour away, where a welcoming log fire and dinner awaited.

waiting for snow

It’s a dull and grey Sunday afternoon, the fire is giving great warmth to the room and an Elvis movie is playing on the television my hosts are snuggled on the sofa watching and I am hoping for a glimpse of the mountains today. It has been overcast for a couple of days now, with the promise of snow on higher ground, the bitterly cold clear days of last week were great for clearing brambles and walking the dog but the word was that new snow was needed in the hills. If it clears, I will be able to see the pyrenees from where I am sitting and hopefully the new layer of snow will be obvious. Our skis are packed in the car and if the forecast is right we will be heading up the mountain for the first time tomorrow morning for a day on the slopes.

It will seem strange heading to St Lary for a day, last time I was there, I stayed for nearly five months, working for board and lodgings at Lou Rider, a cute little chalet nestling in a valley just below the slopes. I arrived there through helpX in early December and skid for the whole season. This time it will be day trips and a good chance to check out some different resorts in the region.

I am staying with Vanessa and Lisa in their rented farmhouse about an hour from the mountains, the view from the property is amazing, especially on a clear day when the mountains tower above the hills on the other side of the valley. We met last winter when they visited Lou Rider to ski and enjoy the mountains, and have been in contact ever since. I visited the farm last summer and we joked about skiing again this year, I was sure that I would be in California by now and was sure that it wouldn’t happen, but it has. Funny how things turn out.

Life here has a slow, relaxed pace, a bit lazy in fact. We get up after nine, have a cuppa and walk the dog. Plan the day over breakfast. There isn’t a huge amount to do, a bit of garden tidying, maybe some writing, Lisa has plenty of painting work to do, elsewhere, but only three or four days a week, Vanessa marks papers for a college from time to time, a trip to the supermarket, dinner with neighbours, I use neighbours loosely, as many live several miles away, but are friends and so come under that umbrella. We have had some fun nights out, a great evening in a tiny bar that we battled through the freezing cold night to get to, a fifties tribute band that played great music in a bar that was so small and packed that we actually felt warm for the first time in several days. This morning Vanessa and I headed to the local woods to walk with Tim. He has a house in a neighbouring village and knows the area well. We followed the trail through the arboretum and woodland, checking out the occasional named specimen and marveling on the mini canal that brings water to the village, it was built at the turn of the last century and flows for miles, following the contours of the land winding tortuously through the woodland and out the other side. Within the woods, a team of local men were busy felling and chopping timber. Tim explained that it was a community owned wood and all the villagers have the right to remove a certain amount of wood each year. He showed us the section that he was working with another couple of villagers, ten metres by one hundred and twenty five, it stretched up from a muddy track into the distance. The wood that could be harvested was marked in advance by a woodman then the team work their way through clearing brush and scrub and felling their crop, mature trees are left and sold for the commune, the resulting firewood is then theirs to take home or sell on as they choose. He was loving the involvement for several reasons. Learning french, involvement with the local community, a sense of camerarderie, learning new skills and also the cheap firewood. it was a great walk on a dreary morning and inspiration again for plan B should my visa not appear.

two thousand and eleven

The news was not what I had expected. Another delay, this time caused by the inefficiencies of Homeland Securities themselves. It took me several days of quiet contemplation to fully absorb the news and for a little while kidded myself that a definitive no would have been easier to deal with. Of course that isn’t true all, I would be off in an instant, just give me the news that my visa is ready and I’ll collect in record quick time.

Anyway, I found out from Cynthia, thought I should give her a call to see how she was and if she had had any news. That was back in November when I had figured that the 16 months suggested waiting time was well and truly up and I still hadn’t heard anything. There was plenty of news, mostly good and very exciting, though unfortunately the one bit that I really didn’t want to hear was another delay. Cynthia had been following the progress of the visa online, something that I had been unable to do, and explained that after initial submission, the authorities has taken over four months to pass my paperwork to the relevant department for processing.

The sixteen months that I had been counting down were in fact twenty, and there were still another four months to go. February 2011 is now the crunch date, the time when the next, hopefully, three years, of my life will be decided. A YES means that I head to California and Love Apple Farm as quickly as humanly possible and a NO opens a selection of attractive alternatives that I have yet to put in order or become too enthusiastic about, I may share these with you if I don’t get bored of writing just now.

Good news is that Cynthia and the farm crew are all well and enjoying the most exciting time imaginable, transferring day to day business to a new and much larger location. The new farm sounds like an amazing venture, allowing for huge diversification into fruits, herbs, possibly livestock and other produce. It has a collection of buildings that are being converted into classrooms and learning facilities to expand the educational side of the venture and so much more. We had a wonderful chat about the goings on and I grasped the enthusiasm and excitement even through a painfully disjointed transatlantic phone call. I get the occasional glimpse of the farm through images on the lovely Facebook along with snippits of information, although am cautious of getting too excited about the venture myself, lest the chance of becoming involved in person never materialises. I ache to find out more, to be there and to hurl myself into the project wholeheartedly yet continue to find myself kept at a distance.

Hairbrain suggestions and devious plans have been concocted and banded about to see if I can get to the farm under false pretenses, perhaps I could visit the US east coast for a holiday, then travel on to the west coast, extend my stay for a couple of months and get stuck in. These plans are always highly tempting on the first read, questionable on the second and then reality sets in. Why jepordise the right and legal route? What if it didn’t work, the whole process would be wasted and I would never go. There are only a few more months to go now. How could I get involved again with the possibility that I don’t get to return long term, I just don’t think I could do that again, it stirs up too much passion and energy, I need to keep it under wraps until the time is right or contain it until I have another project to release it onto in its own right. I can fill the waiting with exciting and memorable challenges, learn new skills and enjoy the rich tapestry that lies before me,I can help out, encourage and participate in the lives of others, but until I know for certain the results of my visa application, the life that I want to follow remains illusive.

The not knowing sometimes becomes a challenge. This morning I had much less of a plan than I do right now. I was feeling quite purposeless and unrequired by the world until I realised why, I could not see enough of my immediate future apart from knowing that I still had to wait, my immediate train journey takes me from Nottingham where I have just had a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and start to 2011 with my dear brother Windy, his partner Michael family of dogs, lodgers and friends to London, then a week later in the direction of Salisbury to visit my parents, thereafter I had no idea where I was going to be and it was beginning to get me down somewhat. A little research and a few discussions on line and I have extended my known journey through to the end of the month and beyond. An exciting train journey from London to Toulouse for little more than the cost of a cheap flight and without any of that airport security nonsense, the prospect of visiting friends in the mountains, skiing, discovering an area that have come to love during the summer in the depths of winter, I have just opened the door to another adventure and it feels marvelous.

We then spent the afternoon earnestly discussing the prospect of buying a cheap house, perhaps at auction or a bank repossession, this spring, to work on, improve and then sell at a profit. It could be a good plan B, it may never get talked about again but the spark is alight again and that is all that matters.

the potager

I haven’t spoken much english since I arrived which is brilliant, rather daunting and restrictive when it comes to anything but the simplest conversation but never the less, brilliant.  Everyone here is extremely patient, understanding and encouraging and although I make mistakes, I am making myself understood and am able to follow conversations better than I thought I would.  French television is great for learning, as the images give good clues as to what is going on, but you need to follow the conversation to really get it.  I seldom do really get it, but just enough to follow dubbed episodes of “Bones” “CSI Miami” “The Mentalist” and the like.   I have my vocabulary book where I write new words and phrases that I come across and study in my free time.  Unfortunately it is so long since I have done any learning like this that I appear to have forgotten how to learn.  Practical items stay put much easier than others, drawings tend to help too, the grammar book that I brought with me is OK in the tiniest of doses but my brain turns to mush far too fast for my liking.  Can I get a new one please?

When I arrived I was given a few initial tasks and then a choice of possible projects to get my teeth into during my stay.  That was good as I had time to mull over the possibilities whilst I cleared several borders of summer annuals, did a bit of general weeding and tidying about the place.  It was then that I discovered that I could probably work without a break for the rest of the year and not really make a huge dent on this park.  

Revamping the rose garden was discarded first.  I am not a fan of roses in the first place and the fact that the whole border was wall to wall Oxalis did not fill me with joy.  Oxalis is one of those dreaded weeds than people end up hating with a passion, it is small and quite pretty when it first arrives, probably by seed or hidden in the compost of a purchased plant, it looks as if it can do no harm.  At the end of the season when its pink flowers are over and the grey green clover like foliage start to look untidy, is probably pulled or dug up and thrown away, that is when the fun starts. For clustered around the main roots is a gathering of tiny bulbils, they don’t hang on very tight, and unless you know that they are there, most of them will end up scattered over the surface of the flower bed as the plant is removed, ready to start the next generation the following spring.  That is what had happened here, probably for the last several years.  The border would have looked good for a few months, then wham, up they’ll all come again in the spring, as if nothing had been done at all.  Been there, done that with countless other weeds, and given the option, didn’t fancy doing it again.

Pruning and cutting down trees would be much better left for another month when all the leaves have fallen.  The sap will have returned to the roots for the winter and salvaged trees will fare much better.  Those to be removed will be easier to see, cut, fell and clear away afterwards, it would have been great fun though.

I wanted to leave a lasting improvement behind, and also, hopefully inspire Daniel into gardening with a bit more passion.  He mentioned the potager a couple of times and was proud of the tomatoes that he harvested and served at dinner, we had courgettes too a couple of times but it was nearing the end of the season so there probably wouldn’t be many more.  There was talk of a lettuce glut earlier in the summer where he had planted a dozen tiny plants from the market and immediately sowed a whole packet of lettuce seed at the same time.  The result, hundreds of lettuce ready at the same time, everyone gets sick of eating lettuce and no more are planted.  Easily done and a good lesson learned, just sow a few every few weeks through the season, vary the varieties and leave gaps in production so that the pallet gets a break.  Do I need to say more?  I took the potager challenge.

My task, to create an interesting, easy to care for, well defined vegetable garden in an area  amongst the trees.  Initially I tried to convince Daniel and Patricia that a sunnier position would be favourable, but after hitting resistance, a lack of suitable alternative sites and spending plenty of time out there, it’ll probably do just fine. The soil is terrific, much better than elsewhere, I learn later from Michael, an old chap that pops in to help with the horses and feed the chickens, he used to live here, and likes to see what is going on, that it is the same the area used to be for vegetables years ago.  Much of it has been swallowed by the advancing army of trees, but a sizeable area is clear, cultivated and ready for a makeover.

The idea was simple.  Just gather some smart looking, flat stones from around the place, there were enough of them lying about, form a border around the outside of the area, a path up the middle and “voila” one potager ready to go.  Set the stones into the soil so that they retain the garden on one side and provide a good edge to mow over on the other, it suddenly becomes easy maintenance and very smart.

In practice it was two weeks of hard work. To start with most of the easily accessible stones were far too large to handle easily, even with two people, then the whole area was much more uneven that initially imagined and thirdly, the underlying soil was hard as rock after the long dry summer.  None of this deterred me, it just became more of a challenge.  I rolled rocks out of bramble thickets, hefted them over piles of rubble and gathered them for transportation by tractor trailer.  Then I set out string lines for guidance, dug, raked and positioned my stones.  None of them were the same thickness, so it meant a lot of placing of stones, removing, scraping of soil, replacing, stamping and general faffing about to get each one straight and level.  The sides of the first half went in without to much difficulty, the central path was more interesting, it was much more difficult to get the stones back out if they were not immediately flat and level, which, of course none of them ever were.  Daniel assisted when he wasn’t otherwise occupied which was a great help and also excellent for my vocabulary skills.  

After two weeks the major construction stage was over.  We weeded the plot and removed as many perennial weed roots as we could, it’ll make life a lot easier next year, I am sure.  Then the rotorvator came out of the shed and made quick work of turning the soil into the most wonderful fine tilth, I hope that I end up with soil like that to grow my veggies in.  We moved the strawberry plant collection to their new home, set to and planted onions, shallots and broad beans for the spring, built supports for the raspberries and replanted them to profit from the sun. Demolished high areas of ground and used the spoil to fill in the dips around the outside, ready for a handful of grass seed at some stage. On my last working day we constructed a compost bin near by for easy use, I was asked to signe my name on one of the stones for posterity and over lunch made a long list of other things that need doing around the place for the next lucky volunteers.  The weekend off and then on to my next adventure.