The not so perfect storm — La Tania, France
Never mess with technology. As I write I am sat somewhere between the French and Devon coast at stupid O clock because I accidentally over rode the automatic clock up date on my Blackberry and got up an hour before I needed to, woke up Stefan, had a shower and got dressed before I realised the correct time!
It's been a bit of a mad scrabble to get ready for winter these last few weeks; the last wood collection, plants and last veg in from the garden, anti-freeze in the cars and the final bits of painting. A few ago, when both sets of parents were here, they arrived to a dusting of snow on the upper slopes and then were able to enjoy warm, bright Autumn sunshine when we visited Lourdes and drove over the Col. The next day, we woke up to high winds that felt like standing in a hair dryer, followed by torrential rain when we took a trip across to Spain and then once the sun appeared again found that the beautifully painted house and polished cars were covered in a thin layer of sand. Combined with the rain and warmth it proved very hard to remove. Now I know why the houses up here are just left the colour of crepi or render!
It really did blow and whistle and we had a few trees down and some had tiles taken off. We escaped with a brown stain in one of the bathrooms, where the tiles had been lifted by the wind and the rain had got in underneath. We called Scott, our American roofer to take a look and there appears to be nothing much wrong. The angle of the roof is not greatly pitched like the older buildings here, so certain winds sometimes force the rain through. It’s a 50-year-old roof too with no felt underneath, so that doesn’t help. It will cost 10,000€ to completely replace, so I think we will just continue to re-paint the stains!! Besides when I see the results of Sandy in the States, it seems a small price to pay…..
Several days after the storm, the weather was glorious again and we went up to the station to buy our lift passes at an early bird discounted rate. It seemed a bit incongruous to be thinking about skiing with the sun on the green mountains, but we had only a few more days to wait before all that changed. Stefan had to do battle with a donkey to buy the passes. He was pushing his nose through the glass barrier heehawing at the billeterie staff to give him a biscuit. I think he thought that Stefan was going to get one before him and kept trying to nip him. When Stefan tried to pay with his pink bankcard, he mistook that for a cookie and there was a bit of a battle to complete the transaction before the card disappeared!
The rain and latest full moon finally brought out the mushrooms. I still have not been able to find any Ceps, but Mum, Dad and I did manage to collect a huge basket of parasol mushrooms from the meadows around Payolle. I made a rich mushroom soup, which was lovely and it was good fun collecting them. Sorry Dave for the mushroom reference again!
The day we took Mum and Dad back to the airport, the weather changed on the way to Toulouse and it rained heavily in Moissac where we stayed on the boat overnight to sort out over-wintering, before going back to the chalet via Ikea the next day. Couldn’t believe the valley when we returned. There had been a violent storm after we left resulting in a very swollen and brown Ardour river, mountains covered in snow almost down to our level, the Col closed and an icy wind bringing more snow even round the chalet. The temperatures dropped and the ground froze solid over the next few days turning any uncovered plants black.
While I was away, some friends of ours ordered a pig for us to share and I missed out on the butchery day. The butcher came to the house with the pig and cut it up, with the friends packaging it into freezer bags and everyone ably assisted by red wine. They then took minced pork and sausage skins across the Raymond and Odile’s place to use their sausage machine and made batches of different flavoured sausages. Andrew delivered a huge box of meat for me, including 2 pig’s ears to dry for the dog and all the trotters. They didn’t know what to do with them so thought I should have them. I do actually have a recipe for Rillettes de Porc so will have a go at that some time. I asked what had happened to the head, but it had gone back to the butcher. I wouldn’t have minded having a go at Fromage de Tete or brawn. Maybe next time. The next plan is maybe half a cow between us.
Michel and the family arrived to sort out the nets on the fruit cage and make their little farmhouse secure for the winter. They will not return until late March, preferring the warmth of Bordeaux to the cold of the mountains. We had a four -hour lunch with them, Michel’s brother Jean-Francois and his wife Chantal. We were presented with our very own Mounaque puppets, which Marie-Helene had made us to say thank you for all we had done for them this year. They will need a bit more stuffing and personalisation before we put them at the end of the road in the summer. I felt very touched and quite emotional, as this is a sure sign that we have really arrived in the valley.
Martin and Steve came to stay with their touring motorbikes the few days before we left for the UK – hope they liked it enough to come back even though the Col was closed. They didn’t get to see the famous Tourmalet but perhaps can ski it instead.
So we are now coming to the end of our 2weeks tour of the UK. We have slept in 7 different beds and poor Dodge has made the back of the Landrover his home. The longer we spend in France, the more we notice the contrast between our way of life here and the life in the UK.
What do we miss?
Our UK family and friends, though we do keep in contact regularly and get to see them a lot.
Well-stocked DIY stores with knowledgeable staff and reasonable prices.
Stefan misses his 'herbeting’ – knowing who to speak to and where to go to for ‘stuff’
I miss some of the glitzy glam of the shops and having my nails done. I can do it here, but still struggle to gossip in French, essential when having treatments!!
What don’t we miss?
Traffic like you wouldn’t believe and badly maintained roads. Our only rush hour is at midday when they all go home for lunch!
Poor quality and cheap food loaded with saturated fat. We noticed so many deals for kids to eat free or for £1, but this usually meant deep fried food and desserts high in sugar. Don’t get me wrong, Stefan and I could do with losing a few pounds and have indulged in some of this awful food for convenience while we have been away, but I feel quite unwell because of it.
The weather! It never seems to dry out in the UK and the winters are so dark making everyone so miserable. The UK should definitely go onto European summer time.
Keeping up with the Jones’s – everyone hangs on to their cars and furniture here until they wear out and then they get re-cycled.
The rubbish and fly tipping. Doesn’t seem to happen here as everything is re-cycled and there is nowhere near as much packaging.
Not being able to park where you want and having to pay so much in car park charges.
I think that’s it!
So now we are in the Alps. We had a really good trip down with no dramas with the hot tub on the back and got here in one piece. It’s very cold and the ground solid with a good covering of snow on the upper peaks, but still nothing yet at 1400m. It feels good to be here in our old chalet and the new double one, Baikal, that Ralph is marketing this year for the first time, is lovely. Very Alpine, very Haute Savoie and very …empty. Yes it’s got to be kitted out completely and Stefan has his work cut out with repairs and building stuff. He came a few months back before the cold weather and built a terrace for the hot tubs, the owner likes it so much that she wants it extended and her wealthy neighbours want him to build ones for them too. Shame it’s a 10-hour drive to do it!!
We have spent the time as always repairing and this year equipping two chalets from scratch. Sounds fun spending someone else’s money, but is hard work. I’ve driven the Landrover to Les Arcs to collect timber for a hot tub frame (we got some for ours too for nowt), up and down the mountain for various bits of DIY kit, over to La Plagne for linen being sold off and today we spent 1500€ in IKEA. At least there’s been no cleaning or cooking as one of the chef’s is already here and has been looking after us.
Catching up with the usual crowd, who have begin arriving bit by bit this week, has been good. Boy are there some odd people up here! I think it is a pre-requisite for working the season. I think a lot of the slightly older guys are up here to run away from reality sometimes. Ulf, the only gay in the village is nearly 50, drives a car that barely goes, is drunk most nights, but is hilarious in his tales of the pistes. His latest job is sommelier in a 5 star restaurant – talk about temptation. Tim’s crowd have started to arrive and all the grungy dudes in their beat up camper vans have merely changed a summer season surfing on the Atlantic coast for snow boarding.
For the first time in living memory, the Christmas lights here in La Tania have been erected and switched on a month before the season starts instead of the usual 2 days. At least they make an effort here and can afford to. The only lights on the way up to our ski station are on my balcony!
I met dear Madame Roux whilst walking the dog; she was cleaning her balcony. We chatted for quite a while – can’t believe how much my French has improved. Her old cat has finally died and she hopes to spend more time in her house in the Gers near to us. She has spent lots of money on Charmille and really likes the new ski firm; she still managed give a verbal side swipe at Silver Ski though!
Moira and Pete have returned to la Tania and rented an apartment for a year here. Last year Moira, in her early 60s and an amazing skier, was found unconscious on the slopes. She had had a stroke and because it was over 2 hours before she was airlifted the damage was very severe. She is an amazing determined lady, and whilst she will never ski or cycle again, she is walking with a stick and looking forward to being amongst friends and in the mountains again. She has totally lost the use of her right arm and struggles to remember words; she is clearly frustrated. It is a risk her being here with the health issues she has, but she doesn’t want to sit in a chair waiting for something bad to happen, when it might not. It was a risk skiing the day she had her stroke, but she can at least remember the years of skiing and cycling up the Tourmalet near us. I salute her and sincerely hope that the mountains help her healing.
So only a few hours and we will drive the last 850km home with the trailer and get ready for our season. Had a text today to say that there was snow falling in the resort, but not enough for them to open as planned on Saturday. You really need to be Val Thorens for that! There is a big dump forecast next week for us. I sort of envy the guys here the resort and the busy season ahead of them, but wouldn’t want to run the chalet again.(Good luck Jeremy and Renee – you know what I mean! )Stefan and I are happy to be doing it for ourselves.