Charley

ok good idea, although I cant see two mid twenties lads (getting rougher by the day from building) doing patch work quilting!! anybody know of any other local activities around Gemozac? Thanks, Charley

ok, I went to the library in Gemozac (its hard to ask about French lessons when you dont speak much French!!) and they told me that I might get some joy at the Marie. So I went to the Marie and a lady that could communicate with me said the following... she did'nt know of any free French courses in Gemozac told me about the Royan and above mentioned Pon course and of more interest to us, that they had been thinking about setting up a community course (but its difficult blah blah blah). So I was thinking that if there are enough of us that we could maybe persuade something to happen. I'm not sure how it works.anyone got any ideas? anyway, thats all I found Charley

ok people it will be my mission, I'll post the infom on this thread as soon as I get to Gemozac (maybe a few days). see you around, Charley

Hello, Just wondered if anyone had been on the intensive French course at Royan as my brother and I are thinking of joining quite soon. There seems to be alot of choice of the level you start at and we are a bit worried about going into a really basic class and wasting our money or doing the same in a diffcult class. We have also heard there might be some free lessons going in our local town Gemozac? anyone know of this? Thanks for reading Charley

heres a different example for you to study.. I'm not sure that Im a typical case but its at least something to look at in a modern educational context, I studied for a music degree ( I was encouraged to choose a subject that I was interested in plus slighty good at). Like alot of kids I worked through my degree to pay for it ( in my case restaurants, shops and selling grass). Well hooray and joy above joy I got my degree (I know it's some version of a first but I can't be bothered to call the relevent people to find out, whats it going to prove?)_ I think all the spitting thats going on about the uni of life VS eduction is alway going to happen.(probably someone is going to say that my spelling and grammer is terrible but hey ho). The main thing for me though is.... I had a really great time, I made lots of friends who will always be around for me and no matter what people say about degrees..its still bloody hard too get one and Im happy/proud to get there. So here it is, Im in France trying to bash walls to bits rather than writng crappy comercial music .I guess you take ya choices. mine is a good one for me . My parents supported me in my paths. but im still no better off than when I moved to france. I dont think I really have a clear point to make here. apart from the fact that your kids are doing to do what they think is best and there are so many crappy degrees to choose from. so really you have to let it all roll and see what happens. Charley xxx

After ripping the rendering off our house and pointing with chaux I'm wondering if anyone knows of any kind of protection I could use on the stone. I used a powder with the chaux mix to stop damp here but still worry about the faces of the stone against weather and time. Cheers Charley

scart is scart man

I have found that when recycling the chaux that has dropped on your plastic (or whatever) its best to use this in any deeper holes or gaps and then cover with nice fresh chaux. Even if you clean your wall real well I have found you always get bits of dirt and dust mixed in, which may effect the colour a little. Also my neighbour finally helped me out a bit and reminded me that you must apply plenty of pressure and get it right into the wall. It aint just a pretty finnish. Charley

Bye gosh your a strange lot in western France, wish I'd kept my mouth shut!!! Love Charley

I don't know of anything like that but I'd be up for it!! no good at cricket but sounds like fun. Charley

Thanks for the local info GRT17 (I am quite near to Gemozac). Although I'm not sure my spindly musical wrists could cope with a pool cue!! Charley boy

HE has been rather busy working as usual. However HE has a push bike for a start and a phone number to call for french lessons when HE gets a chance. By the way I'm a male.

No worries Gill, I did'nt take it like that!! Suggestions are welcome thought my friend Charley

I got my music composition degree, got a job I did'nt like (IRS!), broke up with girlfriend of five years, quit job and then thought...what now? Fortunatley my parents had just bought a huge Charente farmhouse that needed completely renovating. I'm really enjoying the renovation and we are thinking of doing some more places up (how original!!). I think I just need to get a bit more involved locally and I'll be fine, Charley

Right I'm getting wheels!!! Which side of the road is it polite to curl up and die on in France? Thanks guys, feeling better for eight hours of chauxing and reading the above. Charley

Hi, Been living in Charente Maritime for 7 months (helping family renovate an old farmhouse) since completing my degree. The trouble is we are quite a drive (can't drive either!!) away from a bar or anything and getting quite bored with being isolated in the sticks. I love the area and life style but really would like to start doing things on an evening other than watching Tv or writing this message. Anybody out there? or any sugestions for places to go (other than back to the UK you miserable f**ker!). Thanks Charley

thanks again for your input guys, any other ideas on cleaning the stone faces?

Charley and Olly Dearden (both pre 30!!) living just outside Gemozac (17). Helping parents renovate a Charante farmhouse, would like to meet up with other humans.

Thanks guys, Some interesting points to try out, just bought some chaux with 3.5 NHL to see how that makes a difference. Charley

Thanks for the reply Alexis, I have just had an attempt at pointing a small section on one of the old barns on my property and came across a few problems.... 1.I mixed to the proportions that the bag of chaux I bought (35kg bag = 10-11 buckets of sand, so I did 1 bucket of sand and 3.5kg of chaux). I found that this looks too gray- almost like concrete! Does that mean I add more chaux or sand, I think I need quite a creamy white finish. Also this bag of chaux was NHL 5, I read in a renovation book 3.5 is most common. Does this make a big difference? 2.The finish is quite rough at the moment (trowl lines etc). Does anyone know how to smoothe it down and when to do it? 3.I tried to make the chaux all flat and level but im finding this difficult to achieve. Is this just a learnt skill or is there a secret trick to it? Thanks for reading again, any links or advice really welcome!! Charley

Hello everybody, I am just about to start pointing the outside of my Charante house and looking at my neighbours excellent finish makes me quite nervous! Just wondered if any kind people could give some advice on getting that flat and smoothe look. I was also wondering if it is best to clean the stone faces before or after 'chauxing' and how to do this. I cant really use sand blasting because of the environment around me. Thanks for reading, Charley