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Initiation To The Vendee
August 2001
When we returned home I started collecting things on my 'wanted' list that I started at the house. First was the three wall lights for the lounge, then the odd cans of paint that we either ran out of or wanted new. I had already bought a couple of slabs to cover the 'fosse septique' pipe that ran above the ground but we couldn't take last time due to the weight. I made a window for the 'borrowed light' above the new bathroom door and suddenly there was a car full ready for the next 'holiday'. Jan wanted to go next time so we had to fit the visit in with holidays from work etc and eventually ended up with ten days from August 21st to 31st.
When we got there the temperature was over 100 degrees and was expected to stay that way for many days. I got on attacking the grass with my new Hayter lawn mower which has a very high blade setting and should cut long grass. Alas the grass at the house had not been cut for at least three years and the mower had met it's match. We perservered and together Hayter and me managed the deed after a fashion but it took four days and we ended up with a shed full of hay.
In the meantime Jan was attacking the brambles - that has grown again in our absence - with the help of our neighbours scythe, so we now had another heap of prickly things.
I fitted the wall lights and sealed the bedroom floor. Rerendered the front wall where it had fallen off over the years and by the Sunday we were Sandtexing the front of the house. I was doing the top bits and Jan was painting the door and window reveals and all the bottom bits. It was now looking better and I was feeling phsycologically better. We had passed that point where suddenly things start to come together.
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On our time off we visited the inevitable supermarchés. We went to Vouvant to see Jeremy the estate agent but he was on holiday. We went to Mervent with it's forest and spectacular views of the meandering rivers but we were surprised that there weren't any people around. In England it was August Bank Holiday and in places like that it would have been heaving.
We were going to go to Futuroscope on the Saturday but it was so hot we thought we might pass out when we got there so gave it a miss this time.
The walks around the village are good. Some of them have been marked out by the locals.
We eventually left on the Friday at 4.30am and reached St Malo just before 8am. The ferry left at 10.45 so ended another few successful days.