| I had spent many months planning my escape. It | | | | on, and then cut. As my house relies totally on |
| relied on so many factors that I felt like a player in | | | | electricity for cooking, heat and hot water, this was |
| the Crystal Maze. All the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle | | | | mildly alarming. Inside temperature was nudging zero |
| were starting to take shape and I was about to cut | | | | degrees C. |
| free! | | | | The next day, more snow fell, and still no electricity. |
| I was moving lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels to | | | | The river Cesse was rising at an alarming rate and |
| France from London to start a new life after 15 | | | | could threaten to flood the village. I continued to |
| years stuck in pollution and the rat race. I had bought | | | | work, wearing 4 layers of damp clothes. My hands no |
| a 300 year old house 3 years previously in a small | | | | longer belonged to my body and my feet were |
| village in SW France, in the Languedoc. A small | | | | suffering from rising damp. I ate some cold food and |
| amount of work had been done on the house, but | | | | dreamt of a hot cup of tea. By 5 pm, the whole |
| was in no way it habitable. | | | | village was covered by 12 inches of still falling snow, |
| I had sold my house in London after many false | | | | electricity was still a distant memory, and the river |
| starts, lies from potential buyers and finally, in vague | | | | was about 8 inches from causing flood damage. The |
| desperation, accepted an offer at a lower price than | | | | fire department was evacuating old people who may |
| the asking price. On the web, I had found a South | | | | be threatened by flood, the Mayor was in |
| African guy who specialised in moves to France. The | | | | attendance, and doorways were being blocked |
| date was set. The furniture and 37 boxes were | | | | against rising water. |
| packed and I was ready. | | | | I decided that my life hung in the balance. I needed |
| The removers arrived. 2 hours later, a small van that | | | | heat, hot food and a dry, warm bed. So, armed with |
| looked like it had seen better days was filled with my | | | | a 5 litre box of red wine, I ventured out to see if |
| worldly possessions, driven away and I was | | | | friend number 1 was at home. She was not. I was |
| requested to join van and man later on that day. I | | | | soaked through by now in minus zero temperatures. |
| duly arrived at the mans' home to be told by his wife | | | | Knocked on friend number 2s door. They were in! |
| that their best friend, who also does deliveries to | | | | Also, they had a log fire burning, electricity and a |
| Europe, was killed in a crash a few days previously. | | | | beef stew cooking! Paradise! They took me in, |
| She asked me to make sure that I kept her husband | | | | looking and feeling like a dog that had fallen into an |
| awake during the long trip! Into the very | | | | Artic flow. I took off all my 4 layers of wet clothes, |
| uncomfortable van, Mike, the van driver, told me that | | | | borrowed dry ones, and sat , unmoving, by the fire |
| he had never driven this van before. The gears | | | | for an hour. My voice had returned, as had my |
| groaned and crashed and we swayed along the main | | | | appetite and thirst. I spent a blissful 24 hours with |
| route from London to the port of Dover. Our ferry | | | | them- fully recovered, but with a sore head form too |
| crossing was due at midnight. He happily announced | | | | much red wine. I returned to my home, and was |
| that he had no intention of stopping during the trip, | | | | overjoyed that the electricity had returned and that I |
| but was annoyed that the small diesel tank of his van | | | | was able to continue my work. |
| meant that he was going to be forced to stop more | | | | The floods did not arrive and no damage was done. |
| than he desired, to fill her up. | | | | The electricity had been cut due to trees falling on |
| Try making conversation to a stranger, who was on | | | | the wires. I have to admit that I did have |
| a different planet to the norm, at 4 am, while the | | | | momentary thoughts of questioning my madness of |
| van was being stretched to its beyond maximum | | | | leaving an efficient city like London and decamping |
| speed! No sleep- did not dare to- many coffee and | | | | into a small 1000 population village of Bize Minervois, |
| diesel stops- a bad sandwich and a sore brain from | | | | Aude, Languedoc. |
| creating conversation on subjects that I didn't know | | | | Summer is now here. The weather is now 35 C |
| anything about. 24 hours later, we arrived in my | | | | every day and the river is my swimming pool. The |
| village. All stores and restaurants closed, so had to | | | | cigales are screeching outside, the swallows and |
| visit neighbours to beg for food and beer. | | | | house martins swoop through the village in huge |
| My house was now filled with boxes and furniture. In | | | | numbers, and all is wonderful in the world! The |
| order to be able to live vaguely comfortably in the | | | | property market is very slow, though it is a perfect |
| house, I had about 6 weeks of renovation work. Day | | | | time for buyers looking for a retirement home and/or |
| 4- all went very wrong. Being the end of January, | | | | a holiday home on the west coast of the |
| the weather can be very unpredictable. Well, I | | | | Mediterranean. |
| awoke to a light falling of snow. This was the first fall | | | | My baptism of snow seems like a distant nightmare. |
| for 15 years. I continued to renovate. Snow started | | | | Copyright 2006 Propertysolutionslanguedoc. |
| falling more heavily. Lights flickered, cut, came back | | | | |