My last blog (2 week ago (again!)) said that I was in a position to start applying paint in Hayloft as we continue with its refurbishment. And over the last couple of weeks I actually have managed to do that but, as of last Sunday, it was only the ceiling which didn’t make great pictures as we have painted a white ceiling, white.
The week started on another task when a friend gave me some assistance with a plumbing issue. Over the last 10 years, the top of taps we had bought for the gîte had rubbed so the ‘Chaud / Froid’ text had disappeared and, on one, the painted top was starting to chip. We liked the style of the tap and wanted to replace them with something similar.
Unsurprisingly, the DIY store we bought them from a decade ago no longer stocked them, or anything else we liked, but we did find the same tap with a supplier online. While it probably means that the top will rub off again (although we will try to do something to prevent it) we have decided to use the same ones.
I had hoped this would be a relatively simple task of taking the old tap out and putting the new one in. No! Thankfully, while we initially thought that we would need to dismantle the entire unit, we managed to do the job with just removing the sinks from the top.
We also took the opportunity of replacing the plug in Stable’s sink. When we installed it, it was a ‘Click / Clack’ type that popped up and down. Two years ago the click (or perhaps the clack) stopped working and the plug wouldn’t stay down so the sink wouldn’t hold water. Thankfully, very few guests raised this as an issue, although I suspect it meant we were using more water than we needed, but we have now changed it for a more reliable system – although also had to remove the entire sink from the top!
Having successfully done both I was able to start painting. While the ceiling was previously white, over the years it was starting to look tired and the old roof had sprung a couple of leaks that has caused some staining in places. Now, for the first time in a long while the ceiling is uniformly white.
I have also given a few coats to the walls covered with lambris. Again, we have used the same green sage colour as previously so, while it may not make a huge difference, the walls are again all the same colour with no scuffs or scrapes.
The biggest change will come next week when we paint the remainder of the walls. Initially, we didn’t repaint the living space and left it white, but we painted the bedroom area a dark beige. Over the years we felt the beige was a little too dark and we want to paint the living area a more interesting colour which I will start next week.
In preparation I have started cleaning off some of the ‘feature slates’ that were left exposed when it was painted initially. However, while those slates were not completely painted, most had lots of cement render and paint where the previous refurb (before us) hadn’t been very careful with the edges! Hopefully I will be better.
A difficulty with this time of year when our focus is internal, is when the weather is good there is also lots to be done in the garden as things start to grow rapidly. I did manage to, finally, give our wisteria its winter trim and cut the rhododendron bank opposite our drive.
We had also hoped there may be some progress on the pool project late last week with some groundworks which would have allowed us to level and repair the back lawn. Before we would have been able to do this we needed to clear a pile of branches that I had created when I cleared the oak and willow trees felled in Storm Ciáran.
It is one of those jobs that only required a day’s effort but that we hadn’t focussed on. We are pleased that we have got it done as it has both cleared the area of the lawn and also produced a fresh later of mulch for the champignon flower beds. Disappointingly, while it wasn’t stacked right next to the holly bush the lower branches of the hedge have lost their leaves. Hopefully they will recover quickly. Sadly, the pool work we’d hoped would happen, didn’t!
Today and last Sunday we continued with our dog walks and exploring new areas of the region. Last Sunday we headed to the north coast just to the west of Roscoff and walked along the estuary of Guillec; today we were inland east of Morlaix and walked a rural circuit starting in the pretty village of Plouégat-Guérand.
The Guillec walk had some amazing views both on the coast and a little inland, including from the top of the Saint-Jacques viaduct which was the route of an old narrow-gauge railway. There was also a convenient spaniel bath near the end of the walk in the Prat Coulm fontaine to wash off any salt from their swimming!
As we always do after our walk we looked for a local bar for refreshment. It is surprising how few bars choose to open on a Sunday near us and we ended up in Landerneau where we thought there would be a couple. As it turned out, there was only one, the Bar Keltia on the old inhabited bridge (Pont Rohan).
We have used this bar before and thought it was OK but nothing great however, when we went last week we saw they had expanded into what was an old restaurant next door (which had never been open since we’ve lived here) and converted it into the nicest part of their pub. Now, we would definitely recommend it.
We are pleased that in the last few years a number of bars have opened or re-opened which are relatively convenient to us some are more getting closer to a what Brits would call a pub but they do all retain their French bar style (although even the French are starting to move away from their beer in demis (25 cl) and are increasingly having their expanding choice of local beers in pints.
Another we were invited to on Friday night to celebrate a friend’s birthday, is the Chouette Bleue which has recently re-opened following a major refurbishment in the very popular town of Huelgoat.
Where once it was more difficult to recommend places guests could visit for a drink, now there are many we would happily suggest.
Hayloft continues next week, as too some gardening as the forecast looks great – it will help the paint dry! Our weekends may even become more productive now the Six Nations is, sadly, over for another year – although at least F1 has returned to fill the void!!
À bientôt.