Persistant little devils these house martins.

This one made its way upstairs in the house and it took me, Henners and Fleur to catch it. Good job too it was trying to take a shower.

I have been plastering this week. Pretty full on after getting back in the groove after the recent go slow. In three days we have managed to finish the bathroom (apart from tiling the new shower), the landing and the main bedroom.

Its amazing that an old scaffold plank bought from Coomers of Oakhanger in about 1994 can do in making a window sill.

In 1990 Patricia Atkinson moved to South West France to take on a small vineyard. She spoke little French and knew nothing of wine making.

Today the wines of Clos d'Yvigne’s vineyard are internationally acclaimed for their high quality. The vineyard is three times its original size. And the story of the struggle and the success has reached a wide audience through Patricia Atkinson's bestselling books, The Ripening Sun and La Belle Saison.

The vineyard estate includes two beautiful country houses that are available to rent as luxury holiday accommodation. Les Amis de Clos d’Yvigne is a club that provides its members with the vineyard's wine and holiday houses at special prices.

Its been a few days since the last update. Mainly due to having Kristy, Oli and William visit through Easter.

Whilst we worked, it was a little on go slow which was nice although Mat kept things flowing.

Easter monday, which is the only holiday here in France of the Easter period we walked. Oli, Henners , Fleur and Will to Monflanquin where we had lunch.

The kids took a ride back with Donna and Kristy in the car whilst Oli and I and Hector walked back.

On the way we passed around an old chateau which lies empty. Sad to see but was a fantastic ride back in time.

The red shutters which remain closed seem to be crying and the red tears stain the walls.

The old stables fell silent a long time ago, the hroses long gone.

If you close your eyes it is nearly possible to take in the atmosphere of the days of opulence of days gone by!

We walked past so many houses which are empty and in need of a creative charm. Mainly a factor of the inhertitance laws.

milestone reached.

A year ago today Henners underwent surgery. A year on we ponder and remember.

60 years Mum, not forgotten,  The flowers are not real but the memories are, God Bless.

It had to happen, or at least as far as I was concerned!

The second Fosse Septic which is a 4000 litre tank situated behind the main house needed to have a filtration/drainage bed attached. It has been on a priority list for a while so we decided it was a perfect job, not too physical that we could do to end the week before the easter break (Good Friday not a holiday here).

So, digger fuelled up and trenching bucket secured, Mat and I dug out 90 metres of trench, removing the spoil to level along the drive. Next, we infilled the first layer of 20mm gravel to support  the pipe  and then laid and connected the black plastic perforated pipe.

Everything went very well, the weather was excellent. The warmest of the year so far I think, the soil was an easy dig and the water content exactly right so that it wasn't boggy nor too dry.

The last bit of trench was across the track which we planned to concrete the last 200mm of depth  so that the pipe could not be damaged by vehicles passing over it. The digging was still easy once I was through the crusty layer of stone that formed the surface and under that was soft.

Then disaster! Very aware of the telephone cable, its depth and its route (but not its exact location) I carefully scraped into the soil being particular not to repeat the debacle of the time we aere connected originally.

Your guessing the outcome arn't you?

Yep, snap! straight through it. I could not hide my frustration and let out a double expleative to which I heard Fleur, who was paddling in a blow up boat in the meadow, rebuke me for my outburst.

Time for tea I think!

I felt such a wally encore!. Luckily the electrician was here so I scrounged a water proof junction box and elecrical block connector and fixed the break. The box was then filled with a waterproofing silicon and then closed to waterproof the connection.

It rounded off badly what was a promising and productive day. Anyway, we completed the pipework and today we will concrete over the pipe and fill in the trenches.

Planning a visit to the region?

5 minutes drive from Monflanquin yet set into the peaceful beauty of the countryside is found the Pigeonnaire.

A simple house tastefully converted with the addition of the Pigeonnaire, thus creating a spacious and exemplary house for a group of 4 people. (there is the facility for a pull out double bed downstairs should it be required.

There is a purpose built swimming pool in an attractive design to compliment the architecture of the house which looks out over the unspoilt countryside.

The Gite is set centrally within the grounds of the owners property who are on hand for any help, tips or advice throughout your stay. The grounds are very private and indeed are surrounded as far as the eye can see with fields hills and woodland and can only be accessed by the 300m long Chemin (track) serving the house.

When you arrive you will be greeted by the owners, Phil and Donna Voice who will introduce you to your accommodation. After this it is up to you! A dip in the pool to refresh the weary travelled body, a cup of tea or something stronger awaits with pleasure from your hosts.

Inside you will find a welcome pack  consisting of a French loaf, cheese, butter a bottle of red and white wine a few of the essentials freely provided.

Bookings can be made by contacting [email protected]

What price to pay?

It is fair to say that when we all go on our holidays we try to combine quality, comfort with value for money. At Perigord Vacance we aim to provide all of these and that little bit more.

Your time with us must be one of the best experiences you can have.

Be it pure peace and relaxation, quality time with your family that you may not be able to spare during a busy year, or maybe to tour the countryside, small towns and bastides to sample life today while breathing a life gone by, then this is the perfect base.

Just as a taster, imagine this view as you sit and drink an aperitif before a nice supper after a restful day by the pool.

Please click here to be taken to the French Connections page with relevant pricing and availability.

Please check the availability of the accommodation before contacting us to make a provisional booking - either by e-mail at [email protected] , or by telephone on (00 33) (0)553 01 26 14

We have hooked up with VideoEgg to try and provide a bit more depth to our blog. I was once asked if I could post an all round view of our property here and now we have the facility we can.
Hopefully it will give a three dimensional view of what we are doing and also allow a higher degree of powerful marketing to assist in the holiday sales.
Today, the cloud doesn't do the scenary justice, when conditions and time allow I will hop onto the roof and give a wider view of this stunning place.

The elusive cat, Meli is getting more adventurous. This afternoon she ventured down from the hot tin roof and laid on top of the rabbit cage in the warm sun.

Not sure if she was weighing up the size of the quarry or was just interested?

..........down!

To accomodate the new spiral staircase we needed to remove a 500mm solid stone wall.

So Mat, who loves a challenge set to with power breaker and sledge hammer and removed the obstacle.

Today a new block wall was erected as well as a new plasterboard wall for the bathroom.

Trust us to change the plan so drastically so late in the day but all will become clear when you visit us.