Well the builder has been plodding on and hasn't given up the ghost yet. The kitchen fitters have not come this week, but were hoping to come on Friday to fit the last panel with the kitchen door in it, as apparently they are holiday from the 15th for 2 weeks. Damn. They couldn't come on Friday in the end, but will come Monday pm. However, the extraction motors are in and the wiring sorted for the mezzanine, so the builder shouldn't need to wait to do stuff around them. The mezzanine is nearly done and looks just like I imagined it would.

So this is the mezzanine before, with a scarf hiding the banisters

The mezzanine with kitchen walls and the bones going up

 And here it is all boxed in!

However, the 15th came and builder didn't - it's a bank holiday here and boy watch those temperatures chute! It went to 28° at night to 14° overnight. Ugh. Bad timing, really, as we had a couple come and stay from the Dordogne and It would have been really nice to have eaten outside, but it was too cold!It's still overcast and a bit nippy. Yesterday we went to watch our friend participate in an off-road biking event that was being held at one of the lower ski resorts a 40 min drive from here. They had had snow in the mountains overnight and it was 6° there in the morning. Brrr! Bring back the hot, I say. They came laden with champagne, strawberries and smoked salmon, so they can come again! On the way back from the bike event we called in at Mont Louis to have a quick look round - it has just been named a Unesco world heritage site, along with Villefranche-de-Conflent which is just down the road from here and 10 other Vauban military sites around France.

They may have jinxed us just a little bit as Dave impaled the car on a breeze block lining the path that goes around our house. He was making room for them to park their car. I cant imagine how one brick made so much damage - there was green fluid dripping out of the car like an alien had been injured. A light that is under the bumper had broken and the bumper is mashed. Damn! He only broke the windscreen last week. We have breakdown insurance, so a truck came out very promptly and picked up the poor car and took it away. We are also insured for a replacement car for 7 days, but 15 August? No chance. This weekend has to be the busiest of the year, so we were well out of luck. However, they are trying again on Monday for us. In the meantime, I walked to the supermarket today, and was surprised to find it only took 10 mins down - a bit longer on the way back- uphill all the way! Still, good exercise. I shall have to try to make a habit of it when there is not much to get. There are some jolly nice houses to spy on on the way down as well!

So we are grounded for the moment. I think the opening date is getting shifted a bit as well...we'll be lucky to get it open in September, I think. Damn.

Here is a pic of our friend in action:

Looks impressive doesn't it! We are watching from the bar, enjoying a barbeque!