Progress

Progress at last, 20 months after Pierre chopped out the most fragile parts of the façades.  The bit round the back was really bad, since there was insufficient overhang of tiles to stop the water getting in under the render.  Pierre saw to that last year with the co-operation of the neighbours, whose workshop roof had to come off to get the scaffolding in.  This year's projects are patching up the rendering on the end wall, and replacing the rotten glazed brick window that lights the bathroom from the terrace.  Pierre and colleague, who are used to working from ropes when maintaining Gulf of Mexico oil rigs, applied the last coat of a rather startling lime wash today, and we await the comments from the powers that be.  We'd originally planned to have the render stripped off and the stone wall re-pointed, but that would have been deadly expensive, and the experience of the back wall suggested that the wall was unlikely to be a thing of beauty.  The rendering was in generally good condition, give or take a bit of patching and filling, so it was a case of leave well alone.

 

Nice little walk along the valley after lunch.  The birds are in good voice, and the vegetation is glorious.  We picked some bits of thyme and rosemary, and admired all sorts of flowers: broom, cistus, mallows, wild rose and much more.  

Off to Mèze tomorrow for lunch with friends and then the corso fleuri, which seems to afflict the town about as badly as our July rock thing.  (We have booked digs in Barcelona for the duration of the Abracadaconnasses, returning in time for the piano festival, which we're supporting.)