Sunday 10th May – Hayloft Refurbishment Completed
OK, so I was planning to post this blog last night. I had started to write the text yesterday morning and had every intention to upload it in the evening when we had updated some photos on the website. However, as the weather was so fantastic mid-afternoon we thought we’d go for a walk around Lac du Drennec. Near the end we stopped for a quick beer with our friends Mercedes and Jean-Pascale in ‘Au Lac’ who were keen to celebrate the completion of Hayloft. Our ‘quick beer’ quickly became more beers, then some more, a return home shortly before 2am and a painful hangover this morning! It was a great afternoon / evening and we met some other fun people – thanks Mercedes and JP.
So below is the blog I started writing yesterday morning which also started with an apology …
Apologies for not posting a blog last week – so much to do led to a number of late nights after which I didn’t have the energy to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!) However, after 2 weeks there has been so much change there is lots to share.
But, before Kergudon progress I want to mention a couple of major events at home. Firstly, and re-miss of me not mentioning in my last blog post before the event, our friends Jamie and Richard got married on May 2nd – many congratulations to them. While we really missed being at the wedding and celebrating with them in person the photos look amazing and we wish them both every happiness.
Also, fantastic news for other great friends, Tim and Nikki Perkin, who have had a baby daughter, Alice Emma, as a sister to Edward. Fabulous news that Mum and daughter are doing well – looking forward to seeing you all in the summer and meeting the new addition.
So, to Kergudon. Two weeks ago we had Dave’s parents with us who assisted with the redevelopments and applied almost 40 litres of white emulsion throughout Priory and Granary so we are in a position to add the colour. They left us with bad cases of painters’ elbow but also our thanks. These pictures show the before and current state of the eaves bedroom in Granary which looks so much better painted and, we believe, is a much more useable space sub-divided into a twin / double and single rooms rather than the 1 large space it was previously.
The major focus of the 2 weeks have been getting Hayloft ready for our first guests to stay in a refurbished gîte including an unexpected need to dig a trench between Kergudon and Hayloft to bury the new satellite feed.
I know I have been saying repeatedly that the finished result will be amazing, and now it has arrived, it really is stunning.
We are so pleased with the result and hope, looking at the before and after pictures (I hope its obvious which is which!) and the brochure which Dave has produced (available on the link), you agree that it has become the perfect place for a couple to spend a relaxed and romantic retreat. Be good to hear your thoughts – please do leave a comment via our website.
We are also very grateful to the Perkin family for donating a great sofa which fits perfectly and has influenced our colour choice that looks great.
To say that we were cutting things fine isn’t exaggerating as we completed the last task, fitting the door mat and edging, about 15 minutes before our guest arrived having driven from London via the tunnel with her 3 dogs! Our guest had been (possibly rather nervously) monitoring our progress via my blogs and our facebook updates but I am pleased to say that she was delighted with the finished result which greatly exceeded her expectations.
One down, 3 to go and next week the focus shifts to Priory and Granary after a couple of days off for us both to take a breath and sort out our own home which is (again) full of boxes and ‘stuff’ – hasn’t been this disorganised since we moved in! We are now at least able to move around some of the gîtes rather more easily as we have donated many of the large items of furniture that used to be in the gîtes to an anti-poverty charity, EMMAUS, so hopefully it will be put to good use and benefit others.
Life in Saint Cadou continues to be amazing – although socially we have cut ourselves off for a couple of weeks while we work on Hayloft. The variety and amount of nature continues to amaze with huge numbers of swallows flying around – including through any open doors or windows they find! We have also seen, my first ever, wild hedgehog in the garden. Sadly, on the second day he (or she) seemed distressed and very disorientated and, following some research Dave did online, was likely to be suffering from hypothermia. After some recommended first aid, Dave nursed him (or her) back to a position when they (that’s easier!) ate some chicken. During the night they checked themselves out of Dave’s clinic and hopefully has made a full recovery.
No taking our feet off the pedal with 3 more gîtes to complete but I will blog again next week of, I hope, a less frenetic week!
À bientôt.
