The heat is on!

We all have days and weeks in life which turn out to be little landmarks and which we will remember in years to come. This week has been one of those for Mr. Fix It and I. Yes, you guessed it: our central heating is on, fully operational, fired up and HOT! The bespectacled “monsieur” turned up again just a few hours ago, inserted our gas meter in the wall outside and put the gas on. With a flick of a switch – actually 2 switches since we have 2 boilers in the cellar – Mr. Fix It swung the heating into action. I have watched him pottering to and fro, in and out of the rooms where he has painstakingly fitted these old radiators, as proud as a child who knows he has written a great essay at school.

We look back a mere 5 weeks and note this fine achievement: the road being dug up outside to create the gas run to our house, endless holes drilled into floors and alcoves to receive over 150 metres (!) of copper piping, 2 boilers fitted in the cellar, 9 radiators plumbed in on ground and first floor, sheer hard graft on the part of both Mr. Fix It and the lovely Justin, our English boiler engineer. I feel a small celebration coming on, perhaps that good bottle of red wine I mentioned last week. This one should do the trick…



I confess I would not know where to start when it comes to installing heating in a grand old house such as this one. Mr. Fix It never fails to amaze me with his knowledge of such basic matters. This is more than DIY. He could, in my view, so easily have been a plumber, tiler, car mechanic or heating engineer and his attention to detail is meticulous. A standing joke here in France has been when we meet friends and neighbours around the village and get chatting, as we have done this week at a huge “vide grenier” in our village and I am complimented on my French – to which Mr. Fix It chimes in: “but have you seen her plumbing? Not a pretty sight…” So yes, you guessed it again, we make a good team, he and I, and my lack of knowledge of HOW to plumb notwithstanding, I sure have learnt a lot of French plumbing vocabulary (well, you never know when you might need it).

I am not sure how comfortable it would have been living without heating until mid-November in the UK. Lovely though it is to be up and running, we have in truth not really needed it to date; such is the mild climate down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. Each day has offered full sun, the colours remain outstanding and the sunsets magical. November 11th was a holiday here, to remember the Armistice of the First World War. The weather was sublime and we had a day out in the lovely city of Narbonne.

Village celebrations continue as the lovely autumn season is now in full flow and Friday night we attended a wonderful “soiree deguisee” or fancy dress evening at our local bar. I had no qualms about dressing up as a Spanish dancer, sleeveless in the mild evening air. Mr. Fix It was a cowboy, a persona that does not become him: his work is of anything but a cowboy! We danced the night away, Mr. Fix It’s French coming along apace now as he enjoyed a well-deserved glass or two of red wine. I am not sure I can say the same about my plumbing ability but please continue to watch this space: you just never know.



Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
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