ournormandylife

The Roof Comes Off

Mar 18, 2018Mar 19, 2018 ournormandylife

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Having done a two week stint in 2014, Mr Normandy headed back out in 2015 to crack on with the works. This time to take off the roof. Initially we had plans for dorma windows but subsquently decided against it due to time constraints and various problems with rentals etc. By the way, the plaques on the building were made by Mr Normandy – we had a whole range of them which we used to sell and some pet RIP headstones. Another blog post for another time!

This time the weather wasn’t so kind and whilst he is an astonishingly fast worker, even he ran out of time. He had to leave the roof and cover it with tarpaulin. This wasn’t ideal at all and, after a fierce storm, we received an email from our neighbour to say this was hanging off together with the baton in April 2015. Continue reading “The Roof Comes Off” →

Our French Life, our relocation life

The Trouble With France Forums

Mar 11, 2018Jan 25, 2020 ournormandylife

Okay so gone are the days when you simple log onto Anglo Info and chose your particular region in France for research purposes. Sorry Anglo franchises the world over but it’s true. Yes, they are still a relative good source of information but nowhere near as good as the hundreds of facebook groups out there for living in France. Or any country for that matter. Continue reading “The Trouble With France Forums” →

Our Renovation Life

And Then He Was Back – 2014

Mar 7, 2018Mar 7, 2018 ournormandylife

Recently I posted about the renovation works that started in 2013. If you missed it you can read it here

Mr Normandy went back out a year later in 2014 to spend another two weeks working on the house with a young chap called Tom. Tom set up his tent in the garden whilst Mr Normandy roughed it in the house. The house that had no water, heating or toilet facilities. I remember him saying once that we could all camp out for two weeks with the kids in the summer. Needless to say that never happened. There’s camping and there’s camping – call me old fashioned but having a wash and somewhere to go to the toilet are this gal’s basic requirements. Continue reading “And Then He Was Back – 2014” →

Our French Life

Top Ten Tips To Learn French

Mar 4, 2018Mar 4, 2018 ournormandylife

Okay, so let’s be clear, I am no where near being fluent on the French front. In fact, even when you ask people how long did it take you to become fluent – you won’t get an answer. Why? Because you never really are. It’s never-ending. A bit like ancestry of which I am a bit of an ancestry nerd – we can talk another time and I can bore you then. There is no real beginning and no real end. You see, I will know what someone means when they say, for instance, Mrs Slocombes’ pussy or “I’m free” or “Betty” or if someone was to say “it was so farcical I could hear the Benny Hill theme tune being played in the background.” Continue reading “Top Ten Tips To Learn French” →

Our French Life, Our Renovation Life

The Consuel and Enedis

Feb 27, 2018Feb 28, 2018 ournormandylife

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Now, I haven’t really braced myself for this post. I’m just going to write and hope for the best with regard to my mental state at the end. The scars run deep so they do.

So for those of you that haven’t glazed over on the intricate details on how to get electricity in your French home – here’s your next installment. And for those that missed the first one – put the kettle on you can read it here

So, we had a temporary supply in August. However, temporary means just that and we now had to start the process of obtaining a permanent supply. Now initially we thought that this would be September 2017 but the sheer amount of work involved meant that this was a tad optimistic. Given that Mr Normandy was more or less doing it on his Jack Jones. Continue reading “The Consuel and Enedis” →

Our French Life

Carry On Doctor

Feb 24, 2018Oct 30, 2019 ournormandylife

kenneth williams

Now, at some stage in your new life in France you will need to pay the doctors a visit. Unless, of course, you’re a bloke as they tend to only visit when they’re actually dying or have been dragged there. The rest of us tend to go willingly and with kids in tow. Continue reading “Carry On Doctor” →

Our Renovation Life

The Building Works Take Off..

Feb 18, 2018Mar 6, 2018 ournormandylife

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It has not escaped my notice that whilst I’ve been writing about all sorts of stuff – I haven’t really shown you the progress of the house. So without further ado and somewhat of an album filler on the blog (although I don’t do many of those #promise), here are some pictures to keep you going. I will keep popping up pictures over the next few weeks until you are up to date. Continue reading “The Building Works Take Off..” →

Our French Life, Our Review Life

Review Of Granville Carnival

Feb 14, 2018 ournormandylife

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Ok so we were toying with the ideal of going here. Could we be bothered? When Sunday comes around we’re all pretty tired. The boys usually have cycle training in readiness for the season and Miss Normandy has horse riding lessons on a Saturday morning – at the incredibly reasonable amount of 20 euros a lesson. Did I mention that things to do here are far cheaper than in the UK? Yes, you have blah blah. Well I’m telling you again! Continue reading “Review Of Granville Carnival” →

Our French Life, Our School Life

French School v British School

Feb 10, 2018Apr 7, 2018 ournormandylife

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Now I did touch on this slightly in a previous post but I don’t think I did it justice really. I’m going to talk about the primary school here in France. In particular, the type of work the children do. Given that I’m not in the classroom and my little fella doesn’t go into massive detail about his day – I’m going to tell you how I see it sitting in my ivory tower. You have to give our children credit. They really do just get on with it. Continue reading “French School v British School” →

Our French Life, Our Renovation Life

Where Are Orange On The Bureaucracy-O-Meter?

Feb 7, 2018Feb 14, 2018 ournormandylife

20180207_211030 (1) — Send message – I’ll send you a message alright

Okay, so judging from my recent poll it seems you would like to hear more about renovation woos or maybe whoops? Could it be that Orange are up there on the bureaucracy-o-meter and ranked number 1? One being the easiest company to deal with in France? Could it be that they have got this internet, telephone and wifi thing sussed? Well I’m about to tell you, so grab yourself a cuppa, as I don’t know how long this could take. Continue reading “Where Are Orange On The Bureaucracy-O-Meter?” →