by Hugh Schkok »
Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:23 pm
I bought two renoves around 25-30 years ago in an amazing part of southern France in the district of Provence-Alpes Cotes D'Azur around 150K from Avignon. One of the houses was too far gone and so I intentionally bought it for the oak and stone materials and of course the hardcore it provided. Some window frames and doors and frames were re-usable however some made a great bonfire. House two was cleaned up and with some English artisans we replaced the entire roof the walls needed repairs, pointing and rendering. We made the window frames and equally the doors and frames also. We set fire to the recovered oak joists and sand blasted them off and they were like brand new. They were soaked with horse pi55 and wood stain and left to bake in the sun. All this renovation was reviewed by the mayorie and the mayor himself often visited as he grew up not 5k from the place. I bought it specifically as a Pied dans le L'eau and it is has a huge 2000 Ha lake and a small river connecting it to an adjacent lake owned by a French celebrity, I dont' see them much and when we do meet we drink al my wine, eat my fromage and quaff down pile of fresh baguettes and thus far always at a set table outside. Many a time several of us have awoken in the morning with tilted glasses in our hands and all the food either eaten of bitten into and kept hold of. My greatest issues have always been with the mayorie and their planning rules which I am sure they make them up as they go along. Knowing and getting on well with the mayor is essential to make any progress and he has often told me to continue on and they will get the paperwork and sort that side of it later
We dug out and replaced the foundation. Installed a turbo and a wind turbine generator and on my island I have a wind turbine and PV panels which power my cabin. We replaced the comms satellite system and can no call anywhere we need on the earth. We build two heated boat sheds and already had twi datiments. One is my sooper doper workshop the other which was built earlier and to a high standard that housed the crews from England during the builds and is now a office and gun store with a view that people would happily kill for.
I often load up my boat that has and electric motor powered by batteries that are charged by two PV panels on top of the wheel house and a fresh water storage and cooler. I build one of my boats myself then other was renovated but both are electric driven. In my cabin on my island I have a very comfortable bed, a sjhower, a TV, Fridge,running filtered fresh water and fullelecrical power all comms are by walkie talks to my little pit viper who don't really go a bunch on island living but has been there several times and of course the cell phone the chargers are always on. Recently I have had fire sprinklers installed Tgey initially spray a fire retardant foam and if the fire is still going it sucks water from the lake. On the front side I have a stoop and would sit out at night just thanking the Big Yin for looking out for me.
I totally agree with an earlier poster you must have live in house sitters. We have a great family who we have built on an annexe for them and there is Gillles and Marie Claude mon et mdma and a garcon who is a former Gendarme.
They have full run, rent free and simple live there as their own. In our bedroom we have a magnificent balcony suitable for 50 people and often party up there I have a lift discretely hidden at the side of the house and that can be hand cranked or an additional motor at ground level allows me to get out if my very ferocious and physical ******* appetite gets out of control and set the bed alight. We can easily get my scooter and two people in and down to safety and the stair cases are front a former manoire in Hungary and look absolutely amazing. Our house guests polish them and clean them to look fit for a Princess to descend down.
I have accrued a lot of 'toys' over the years and the compulsory tractor, an Argonaut and work barges are no exception. We have my most favourite car ever invented my Citroen 2CV Called Misty and consume around a pint of fuel a week, and my Argonauts is able to get materials to my island with ease.
I do not allow any one and I mean anyone to fish, picnic or even visit my heaven on earthe excluding those we personally invite for a bloody good blast out. Oh boy they know how to party. I like them and respect them and will help them in any way as they do me.
The Mayor is delighted that France is being bought back to life by British architects, builders and farmers and does little to block our progress. However he was alittle hesitant in my keeping chickens as he began to visibly shudder when I said "what I don't know about chickens has not been hatched yet, oh and by the way how deep do I plant them and how far apart?" He looked rather concerned and said he would contact the ministry of furry animals and water fowl before he would be able to afford me permission. That was 9 years ago. My neighbour supplies all the eggs we need and milk and the occasional chicken but he seems to grow them without the polyethene skin that they have in the supermarket. How does he do that? He also has elephants that moo. I just have to have some of them. also he has piggies without slots in their backs - again a true enigma of agriculture. It's hard coming from a city and being released into the wild. It is therefore essential you make good friends with the neighbours and understand that they eat food from the wild. Tough to understand but tastes real good.
I'm going out there again soon for possibly some time and Let those that heed to know roughly when I'll be there and fill my cabin fridge with vin rouge and biere blonde et beucoup de la.
Au revoir et bon nuit Je suit dormer nmauntenant.
