Wallpaper

No more ponging
I had the best start to the day I have had so far this morning. I had a hot bath in Suite 1 in the old Victorian bath that came with the chateau. They finished fitting the hot water tank the previous evening. After 2 days of no washing I was starting to hum a bit so having a bath was great but having it in our newly retiled bathroom was even better. I normally struggle to stretch out in baths but this one is huge and I could have stayed there all day. I should explain the photo some more. Mr Laine has tiled the bathroom with Limestone and re-boxed in all the pipe work on the left of the picture which goes to the basin. The bath is yet to be repainted and the floor needs attention too. The plumbers fitted the new taps, generously supplied by Watermark PHS Ltd (they’re in Oakley near Oxford and come highly recommended if you need a new kitchen or bathroom).

Clermont calling
I let the chickens out for their last day of freedom. I was going to close them in from today but I had run out of pellets so I let them out so that they could go foraging for food in the undergrowth.
After giving Joe a nice long walk I set off for Clermont to find wallpaper and lights. I was successful too. I checked out quite a few stores having been given a huge list by Eddy. I was quite surprised because the nicest stuff was in Castorama which is the equivalent to B&Q but it is a little bit smarter in France and the staff are actually quite helpful (I noticed other people getting lots of help!). They stock Graham and Brown wallpaper. You probably know but this is very fashionable wallpaper that you find in magazines like…well, “Wallpaper” (stupid name for a magazine isn’t it) and Elle Decoration etc. I picked out one for Suite 1 that I was not sure about. It has a great print on it but I wasn’t sure if it is exactly the right colour red. I risked it and bought 4 rolls.
Having seen it in situ since I think it will work.
In Suite 2 we want to go for bluey silvery colours and I came across this one and I immediately knew it was right:
The photo doesn’t do it justice because the blue is so subtle that unless you see it for real you can’t make it out.
I also bought some lights for Suite 3’s bathroom and I found this light which I want to use as bed side lights in Suite 2.
I think they are great because the have the right mix of contemporary and classic looks that we are striving for all over the chateau.
Snails in a tin
On my way home I popped into Leclerc’s for some food. The one in Clermont is huge and has incredible choice. I probably spent too long in there but it is all research! The most fascinating thing about French supermarkets is the importance they give to canned and jarred food. It is incredibly popular and you find many more gourmet products that have been jarred or canned in France than you do in England. The Jar aisle is massive and I couldn’t resist picking out a few classic French things once I’d watched what the locals had been choosing (stalker!). Here is a photo of my strange selection:
From the left: Chateau de L’Hospital Bordeaux wine; Mackerel in Dijon Mustard; Puy Lentils; Twinings Tea (you need some home comforts!); Petits Pois and baby carrots in a jar; Camembert (I have eaten this stuff since I was 6); Hot Chocolate; Coffee; Escargots de Borgogne (I am looking forward to this one – its snails in a tin!); Grilled Peppers in a Jar; Brussel Sprouts in a Jar (I couldn’t believe it when I found these so I had to have them); Pate; Sausages and Lentils in a tin (they had loads of different varieties/makes of this, I think it is their equivalent of Baked Beans (which I couldn’t find unsurprisingly)).
Good Intentions
When I got home Joe was all over me. Think he got a bit lonely on his own all day. The chickens and ducks wolfed down the pellets I got for them. I got all the shopping in and with all of my new food products I was keen to sort out the kitchen because it currently looks like this:

Yep, it is covered in boxes and these are just the ones for the kitchen (I have a silly amount of cooking equipment). I knew that the Kitchen had to be gutted by Mr Laine so I didn’t think it was wise to unpack it all in here. So I went into the store room at the back and spent a good hour clearing out more of Mr Martin’s stuff. Here are a couple of before and after shots:

I fully intended to put up our metal shelves and unpack everything into this rear store room. However my Dad rang and I spoke to him for ages (I am normally really bad at talking to people on the phone but I have got verbal diarrhoea out here due to the lack of human contact). Then Em called and then I took all the photos of the wallpaper etc and then it was 11pm and time to write the blog before going to bed. So I will try and do it in the morning before I go on another big journey which I can’t tell you about because it is a bit of a surprise so you’ll have to tune in again tomorrow!