A Gardener in France

We are getting very excited as our first visit "home" to Chabris approaches. We have bought a few kitchen things so we can prepare basic meals while we are there: yes, I know we will have to change all the plugs but I insist on my coffee on the first morning.

We have bought a cheap multi-pack containing a kettle, toaster, cooffee maker and, of all things, a juicer. A microwave/ oven that we had earlier donated to work is now in the back of the car and we hope the electrician is going to provide us with a fridge.

We are finding that there are few tradesmen locally with faxes, let alone email facilities. We are not interested in dealing with them if we cannot easily communicate: this is a major project and communications are important. We have fax at home and at work but often when we try to send a letter the machine at the other end is switched off. This is frustrating our attempts to get things moving before we go over so that we do not spend the whole of the time hunting for plumbers.

While we would prefer to trade with local suppliers, we are every day finding French internet sites offering electrical goods and more. One or two are very good indeed, while others are still over-excited by the whistles and bells available to modern internet designers. For us this is an easy option, although arranging deliveries could be tricky. We may need to talk to the neighbours and do a few deals. I gather there is an English couple nearby who offer a key-holding service but we will chat to the folks next door first. Which reminds me: I must dig out a few pots of home-made jam as pressies - there will be no room in the car for our usual gifts of plants.

Pixie the Poodle is very excited about the trip and has been practicing her accent. There's a Poodle Parlor in the village so it looks like her social life is sorted. If she needs us just tell her we'll be picnicing down by the river.

I keep calling Chabris a village. It had 2,656 inhabitants in 1999....is that a village or a small town, I wonder? Our village in the UK (Greenfield, Flitton and Pulloxhill) has 2,062 but has only one shop and a couple of pubs for whole whole, rather spread out community. Compare that to Chabris, which has a dozen or more, a hotel, several bars, a bank and a trading estate on the outskirts with a decent supermarket! Then there's the swimming pool, the tourist information office, the vibrant Saturday market......you get the point!

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