Last week’s blog said that, by today, I’d have hoped that both the bathrooms would be finished other than the decoration. I also mentioned that the project was progressing more slowly than I’d have liked. You may know where this is going …
The last week has continued to progress Priory, and principally still plumbing. While the bathrooms are not in a ‘ready to paint’ state, they do now have the sanitary ware generally fitted. The plumbing has also included the kitchen, cloakroom and new water heater so progress is happening.
There have been 2 major additions / visual changes to the mezzanine and lounge area. Both of these look great but I won’t share photos just yet and leave that ‘hanging’ (there’s a clue) for a week or so.
This week the blog will be short and principally focussed on the current situation with the Covid-19 / coronavirus situation which continues to escalate.
As other European countries, France has seen the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus rapidly increase in the last 72 hours and, sadly, the number of fatalities too.
Previously the French state had banned gatherings of over 500 people and announced that schools, universities and nurseries would close for an indefinite period. Yesterday they went further and reduced the gatherings to 100 people although, in reality, are asking people to avoid all social contact. Now they have also shut all ‘non-essential’ business. This latter category is defined as ‘non-essential to the life of the country’ and, as it includes restaurants and bars, it shows how seriously the French are taking this!
There are a number of ‘cluster-zones’ across France where there are a higher number of infections. This includes the neighbouring département of Morbihan. However, one advantage of visiting this amazing part of the French countryside is that you really can avoid people as much as you want!
As part of the measures, the gym David works at has closed until further notice. At least this means there is another pair of hands to get on with some of the projects here! However, there is also now a risk to completing Priory on time as we will inevitably need some additional items and materials. The cooker and fridge freezer which are on order won’t be delivered under current restrictions (although should have been here 2 weeks ago!) Thankfully, we did a shop for litres and litres of paint a couple of weeks ago.
I fear 2020 will be an ‘interesting’ year. The minor disappointment of ruining what would have been a fantastic weekend of sport with the culmination of the Six Nations tournament and the first Grand Prix of the year, is likely to become a frustrating extended period of limited opportunities.
All that said, we do understand that the virus can be extremely dangerous to a percentage of the population. We hope these measures are effective in reducing the spread and so minimising the potential fatalities. Above all we hope everyone does manage to stay fit, healthy and safe.
I will continue to post blogs as we progress Priory and other projects and hope that normal life will be resumed as soon as it can be.
Salut.