Tag Archives: belgium

Monday 28th February 2011 – I’m back at home ;-)

Well, for less than 24 hours as it happens. I’m speaking at this doodah thingy tomorrow evening at 20:30.

And so this morning I loaded up Caliburn with all of the wood and shelving that I’ve had lying around in the garages for years. It’s all quite good stuff and suitable for various products. Also in Caliburn is a pile of vegetable oil for running the diesel Escort on, some leftover construction material (some of which needs to go back as it happens), a few bits and pieces, and my motorbike.

I bet you didn’t know that I have a motorbike. Most people would say that it isn’t very exciting but it’s certainly special. It’s a CZ125 of early 1980s vintage – the first of the “post-angular” series – but was one of six unassembled ones in crates that was “overlooked” in a CZ dealership that closed down. When the premises were cleared in 2000, they were discovered, built up and sold on eBay. I paid £395 for it. It’s done just about 150 miles since I’ve had it – the journey from Dover to Brussels and then a lap around the town.

Back in the flat we’ve hit a major problem. There’s water infiltration in the wall next to the front balcony and when we took off the radiator, half the plaster fell off as well. So we chiselled off the rest and we plan to plasterboard it with the hydrofuge stuff, having first sealed in the balcony and weatherproofed the walls.

And so I set off down here at 15:30, and was in my room at 00:15 and that includes stopping for tea in Auxerre. Caliburn seems to be in good form right now after his stay at the garage, although he’s more thirsty than before.

Tomorrow I’ll unload him, go to this meeting, and then head back to Brussels to see how the troops are doing. It’s over 5 weeks since we went there and everyone is quite fed up of the place but soon we will be back home permanently. And I shan’t be sorry.

-1

Sunday 27th February 2011 – Sunday today.

And I woke up at the comparatively early time of … errrr … 10:30. Definitely feeling the pressure, I am. I shall be glad when all of this is finished.

And so apart from helping Terry for 10 minutes with some wiring I’ve done nothing else of note.

I say nothing else but that’s not really true. One of the things that I have been doing while I’ve been in Belgium is to write up the story of my stay in Canada. There won’t be enough time for that and so I’ve restricted myself to the Trans-Labrador Highway. Over the past 5 weeks I’ve been doing this and at the moment I’m just pulling into Mary’s Harbour on the Labrador coast. Here I’ll be staying for my final night in Labrador prior to taking the ferry from Blanc Sablon over to Newfoundland.

There are lots more interesting things to encounter on the journey and I’m quite looking forward to finishing it and seeing it all in glorious technicolour. But it won’t be for a while though. Tomorrow night I’m off on my marathon drive back home.

-3

Saturday 26th February 2011 – I haven’t been here long today.

This morning I went to the dechetterie and threw another huge pile of stuff away. Much of it wasn’t really worth anything at all but there was some stuff that was rather significant in my past and it was surprisingly difficult to hurl it into the waiting jaws of a huge digger that was about to carry it off into the incinerator.

While I was there Terry rang me and asked me to pick up a three-phase circuit breaker. And I was halfway to the tile shop before I realised that I was supposed to be going to the electrician’s. Anyway, to cut a long story short … “thank you” – ed … they didn’t have one in and needed to order it. Could I come back this afternoon?

So after lunch and a little desultory sanding down of woodwork and polyfilla in the second half of the living room, I went out to pick up the circuit breaker. Terry rang again and asked me to pick up three packets of tiling cement and so this time I did indeed go to the tile shop where I had a lengthy chat with the owner while the minions searched for the cement.

On the way back the canal bridge was all closed off and there were loads of police cars about – whether someone had thrown themselves in the canal I don’t really know but the circulation was difficult to say the least and it was about 18:30 when I returned home.

It’s Saturday night of course and so once the rugby had finished we hit the streets. Up to Schuman where we found a decent Italian restaurant. My penne al arrabiata was the best I had ever eaten and everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their meal. A pint in the James Joyce rounded off the evening perfectly and then we came back home – at about 11:15.

What an enjoyable day!

-1

Friday 25th February 2011 – It’s been another day …

 where we have made huge strides. We’ve also done a fair bit of work too.

This morning while Liz put the second coat of paint on the first half of the living room, Terry and I concreted the terrace outside the front and the side of the apartment. We cracked on at it at quite a pace, fixing some simple shuttering and then me mixing while Terry spread and tamped. It was all done by lunchtime and for an encore I filled in the spaces on the back terrace where the shuttering had been.

After lunch, while Liz and Terry sorted out what needed moving from up here, I went downstairs into the garage and began getting the stuff ready to throw away. Terry came down to help me later on and now Caliburn is chock-full to the roof of rubbish for the tip. I really can’t imagine just what I was doing with half of the stuff in there – I really can’t.

Anyway, by tomorrow lunchtime it will all be history.

Once it’s all away I can load up Caliburn with more stuff to move to the Auvergne. There’s a meeting of CREFAD – the organisation in the Auvergne that helps people set up small businesses – on Tuesday evening. They are discussing self-employment and how to register for this new minimalist self-employment scheme, and I have been invited to speak at it. Shameless self publicist that I am, I’m not going to miss out on some free publicity and so I’ll be there, hopefully. It means I have a good reason to go there with a van full of stuff.

-1

Thursday 24th February 2011 – Happy Birthday to me!

Although you wouldn’t think so. I’ve had one of those days.

Despite my marathon drive in the blizzard yesterday evening, I didn’t have much time to lie about and recover. There was work to do.
First thing was to go shopping (as if we haven’t done enough) Brico and IKEA at Zaventem were the destinations today and it’s another occasion where we saw the marvellous Belgium customer service in operation.

And on the way back, I fell into a police barrage and ended up being fined €50 for not wearing a seat belt. The policemen wished me a happy birthday but I could ell have done without all of that.

We came home to find that the expensive halogen oven hob that I liked so very much has ceased to function, which is a disaster. Luckily, Terry is here and he can give it his full attention.

But at least there is home-made ginger cake for my birthday. Liz defied Global Warming by lighting all the candles and when I tried to blow them out I was driven back by the heat.

I’m glad that today is now over anyway – it’s not been my best day today has it?

0

Wednesday 23rd February 2011 – We are back in Brussels again

Liz, yours truly, and also Caliburn who is much better and thanks everyone for the best wishes he was sent.

So yesterday I went back to my farm in the Ka (which I got to like much more than I did the first day I drove it) in order to hunt down some paperwork. It didn’t take me long to break in and once there I did some chilling out. Quite literally as it happened as the temperature was a mere 5.6°C in my attic. While we were away the temperature there had dropped to as low as -0.6°C which is hardly surprising as the temperature outside had dropped as far as -12.4°C on one occasion.

We then headed off to Riom for shopping and it was there that the garage rang to say that we could pick up Caliburn and so once we had sorted ourselves out we set off for here. On the way home the gorgeous sunny day slowly descended into a grey miserable wet evening and by the time we were climbing into the Ardennes at the back of Chalons sur Marne it was snowing heavily. Crossing over the Ardennes into Belgium was fraught, having to pick our way around abandoned lorries, sliding around roundabouts on the handbrake and so on. Poor Liz went about 50 miles with her eyes closed. It was not a journey that I would particularly like to do again unless I have to.

03:00 when we arrived back in Brussels after all of this, and Terry was waiting by the window for us. He’d heard about the weather and was rather anxious for our well-being which was quite nice of him.

But now, I’m off to bed to make up for what I’ve missed out on. I’m exhausted.

-2

Tuesday 22nd February 2011 – Poor Caliburn

Caliburn is not very well at the moment and is currently at the menders awaiting spare parts. And so Liz and I are still here and Terry is still there.

We started the morning by a quick breakfast and a quick search for stuff that we needed to take back to Brussels, and then we had to shoot off to Marcillat to record Radio Programme Number 1. But Caliburn was coughing and smoking a little too much and was not in the best of health so it was more of a leisurely drive.

After that, it was round to my place and to unload him of all the things that he had brought down from Brussels. While we were there, Radio Arverne asked us to come a little earlier to record the programmes for them – this meant dropping everything and shooting off to Gerzat. But Caliburn was a little worse by this time. Stopping for fuel for the return journey at the Carrefour just outside Riom and it was clear that we would be struggling to make anywhere, never mind Brussels, so it was off to the mender’s on the outskirts of Riom.

What is happening is that there’s a valve in the emissions circuit that controls the air intake and exhaust, and it has stuck closed. There’s insufficient air reaching the combustion chambers and so Caliburn is running far too rich and that is the reason for the unburnt fuel and sooty smoke. A new valve has been ordered and hopefully will arrive tomorrow. At the same time, Caliburn can have his (overdue) service and hopefully he’ll be feeling much better and normal service will resume.

ford ka sauret besserve puy de dome franceMeantime, we have a hired Ford Ka to bring us back to here (it was cheaper than a taxi and of course there is no public transport around here since the railway line closed down 2 years ago) and that will give us a chance to do those things that we were going to do.

I was planning to go back to my house and find some papers that I need but it seems that I have .. errr … left the keys to my house on Caliburn’s keyring which is of course with Caliburn at the menders.

D’ohhhh!

-1

Monday 21st February 2011 – Now talk about a change …

… here I am sitting in the Auvergne. But not in my little attic but in front of a rip-roaring fire at Terry and Liz’s.

This morning, having fuelled up Caliburn, we went to load him up with another pile of stuff and to load up the trailer to with stuff to take back here. But Caliburn is a little poorly right now – the pump-timing has slipped out one notch so he’s not pulling as well as he might – and in any case with the new plan which involves throwing away most of the stuff in the garage, there didn’t seem to be much point in dragging a quarter-full trailer 750 kilometres to here and then dragging an empty one 750 kilometres back.

Without the trailer, Caliburn bounced along quite happily. Leaving Brussels at about 09:40 and stopping for lunch and for afternoon coffee, we were back here (through the snow in the Ardennes and the rain from Auxerre southwards) by 19:45.

clamecy twinned with grandes piles quebec canada franceThere are some beautiful spots along the old road south of Auxerre so I took a little time out to show Liz some of the scenery.

Clamecy is a particularly beautiful little town and one of these days I’ll spend some time there to have a really good look around. In the meantime though, I shall just tantalise you by letting you look at the town in Quebec, Canada, with which Clamecy is twinned. My imagination is boggling – I dunno about yours.

Back here at Liz’s, it’s really cold and in a stone house that has been empty and unheated for a month in midwinter, it’s even cold inside. But with a huge blaze going it’s quickly warming up. Mind you, after driving all this way it won’t be long before I’ll be climbing the little wooden hill to Bedfordshire.  

-1

Sunday 20th February 2011 – And today was Sunday.

And so, we …. errr … worked.

Liz finished painting the woodwork in the toilet while Terry and I went a-breaking and entering. Those of you with long memories will recall that I lost the keys to the apartment while I was at an OUSA meeting at Wyboston in 2008 and although I cobbled together a spare set of keys, there was no garage key to be found.

So this morning we drilled it all out and replaced the lock and then sorted out the stuff in there. A third of it went into Caliburn – all my tools and so on – another third I’m undecided about, and the remainder is destined straight away for the tip without any further discussion. I cannot think why I reckoned, even in my befuddled state, that I needed three double beds for in here. There’s tons of stuff like that which is better off down in the dechetterie.

Mind you, I found all my skiing gear and I washed my ski suits. I quite fancy going on the piste some time in the future but I reckon that I’ve missed my chance for this year. However Banff in British Columbia looks quite exciting – I wouldn’t mind going on the piste over there. I have to admit that I’m disappointed in the facilities down the road at Super Besse. There’s never usually any snow and when there is, there is a low hanging cloud that obscures the runs and you can’t ski there anyway. No wonder everyone is piste off.  

There is a reason for our haste today. On Tuesday we need to record our radio programmes in Marcillat and Gerzat but we are a long way away from finishing here. So we have decided that Liz and I will take Caliburn and the big trailer, duly loaded, down to the Auvergne tomorrow, record our programmes on Tuesday and then unload Caliburn and the trailer, and then come back here on Wednesday to carry on. That will mean that half of the stuff will have gone and that will save a trip or two – we may as well combine what we can.

With the radio programmes, it meant that I had to dash off not one but two scripts – firstly one on education for Radio Arverne and then rework the script on Building Regulations for Radio Tartasse. And so I’ve been a busy little bee and it isn’t long since I finished.

And so with all of the travelling that I need to be doing over the next few days, I’m heading for the hills earlier than usual.

-3

Saturday 19th February 2011 – It was Saturday today…

…and so, just for a change, we worked.

Terry started the day by fixing the sink in the toilet with the bits that we bought yesterday and now we have a working sink. While he was doing that, Liz and I put the first coat of paint on the wall of the part of thee living room that we papered yesterday, as well as a fair amount of paint on the floor as well. Liz may have a steady hand and a keen eye when it comes to painting but she’s working with me and a line of masking tape across the edge of the floor is never going to be sufficient. Mind you, it’s looking quite good in there and a second coat will work wonders for the wall.

Back in the toilet, Terry finished off the grouting of the little mosaic tiles that he fitted and once he was out of the way  Liz painted the woodwork in there too. Now it’s almost completely finished in there. Just the shelf and the towel ring, the second coat of paint and a bit of touching up, and that will be that.

After lunch while Liz was painting the toilet woodwork, Terry put the damp-proof membrane down on the terrace at the back of the apartment and I rubbed down the door to the cupboard under the stairs. That door was filthy – I don’t think that it had ever been cleaned at all, ever since the apartment had been built.

As an aside, if you don’t know the story of the apartment, it was built in 1969 and the first occupant was an old blind man who was unable to clean up after himself. He died in 1997 and the apartment stood empty and untouched for three years with no takers until I bought it as a ruin at a knock-down price.

Anyway, after all of that it was 16:00 and we were exhausted. We should have been out shopping and then going for our Saturday night meal but no-one was in the mood. Domino’s special Saturday offer of large pizzas at just €7:99 each take-away swung the decision for us. My vegetarian with no cheese was absolutely delicious and there is enough left over for Sunday lunch.

So that was that – we are all worn out again and so in a moment I’ll be off to bed. The others crashed out a while ago.

-1

Friday 18th February 2011 – There’s some light …

 now at the end of the tunnel – and we aren’t talking about roaring express trains heading our way.

Terry has made a start on the big terrace, and that’s his last major project (but there are a couple of smaller ones). He’s poured some waterproof sealing all over the old waterproof covering and then stuck some new waterproof covering over the top. That’s kept him out of mischief all day, except that he lost his Stanley knife. We are now expecting to hear a news report of a local Belgian wandering around with a Stanley knife firmly embedded in his head. After all, we are 6 storeys up.

Liz and I started to wallpaper the first half of the living room and despite me having to nip out for an hour for various errands, that part is now finished. Tomorrow morning we’ll be putting the first coat of emulsion on the wall in there while Terry seals the small terrace at the back.

We had to nip out to Brico for a few things too and we were looking at the paint on offer. We need to overpaint the wallpaper in the hallway and some 10 litres or so of emulsion would do the job. Having some properly mixed the colour that we like would be perfect, burt at … gulp … €140 for 10 litres we can forget that and it’s going to have basic magnolia and like it. Mind you, at €50-odd for 10 litres that’s not cheap either. I’m going to start importing and reselling job lots of paint. I’ll make a fortune at these prices.

-2

Thursday 17th February 2011 – I’m not going to be here much longer tonight either.

Yes, it’s taking it out of me. And early though it is (for us, anyway) I’m the last one up. Everyone else has retired a while ago.

This morning while Terry carried on in the toilet Liz and I uprooted the tiles and cement and sand and everything else from off the terrace at the front of the apartment. And then we took it all down and loaded it into Caliburn.

After that we stripped the terrace at the back of the apartment and loaded that all into Caliburn too. What with the old toilet and cistern and other bits and bobs we were pretty well loaded up.

After lunch it was down to the dechetterie with all of the rubble. And €12.10 later, Caliburn was empty. And that was quite astonishing as there was quite a load, as I have said. We then took a few bits back to Brico for a refund and came home to find Terry looking for the drain hole for the toilet sink
“Where did you put it?”
“On top of the old cistern while I cleaned the pipework
“Errr …. ohh dear”
So finishing the sink will have to wait for another day.

We also have a shower screen for the bath and it looks splendid. It really sets the bathroom off. It cost about €80 if I remember correctly but it was well-worth the money just for the aesthetic pleasure. And while Terry was fitting it I went through all the boxes of tools, fittings and the like, sorted eveything into the correct boxes and threw away a pile of stuff.

Me! Throwing stuff away! Whatever next?

-1

Wednesday 16th February 2011 – I’m not going to be here much longer.

I’m all thoroughly exhausted again.

I slept right through last night until about 08:45 and it’s been a long time since I’ve done that. And afterwards, while Terry carried on in the toilet, Liz painted the woodwork in the living room while I painted the ceiling and did some more sanding on the floor.

Once Liz and I had done that, we carried in ripping up the tiles and the old infilling on the terrace. We managed to make enormous inroads into that, and it was all put into dustbins, bin bags, crates and the like.

After lunch we went to the tip where I disposed of one of the sofas from here, an old carpet, some wardrobe doors and some other odds and ends. Back to the apartment via LIDL, we loaded up again with all the tiles, sand etc etc off the terrace and took that down to the tip. You have to pay to dospose of that and I’m sure that they make up the prices there. The first load a couple of weeks ago cost €68:00 – the second last week cost €36:00 and today’s, which was probably the heaviest, cost €12:10.

But it’s exhausting mauling all of this heavy stuff about. I’m not as young as I was. And so I’m going to bed early to recover my strength ready for tomorrow.

0

Tuesday 15th February 2011 – I’ve been falling asleep here.

Yes, it’s only 22:25 and I’m worn out. I’m clearly working too hard.

So what did we do today? Terry has spent all day in the toilet – but that’s nothing t do with Liz’s cooking of course.He’s been tiling. It’s not easy for firstly there isn’t much room to move around and secondly, there are too many crooks and nannies (“as well as nooks and crannies” – ed) in there and they all need to be tiled. And so for most of the day we have been without … err … bathroom facilities which has been something of an inconvenience, if you pardon the expression. This evening though, there’s a toilet connected to the wastepipe with a bucket of water for flushing, and that will have to do.

Liz finished off painting the bathroom while I washed down the walls at the inner side of the living room and then I painted that part of the ceiling with two coats of paint. Following that, we sanded down and painted all of the woodwork in that bit. We are doing the living room in halves because it’s so big, and using the “other half” of the living room as a place to store the tools.

Once all the woodwork was painted we had a go at sanding down the wooden flooring in there. It seems like at one time there’s been one of those rubber-backed carpets on there and the rubber back has melted, staining the wood. So on our hands and knees, we scrubbed away at the damaged part of the floor with 80-grain sandpaper. And you have no idea just how tiring that can be.

-1

Monday 14th February 2011 – AND SO …

… having decided upon a new plan for the apartment, we cracked on with our work today.

Terry started off in the toilet this morning. He ripped the toilet and the sink out of the WC and ripped all of the tiles off the wall in there. Liz finished off the painting in the bathroom while I washed down the walls and part of the ceiling in the living room.

While Terry was tiling the WC floor, Liz and I went to the tiling place in Schaerbeek and bought some wall tiles for in there. We saw some nice glass mosaic tiles that would make a pretty border like we did in the bathroom and so we added them to the list of shopping. We may as well make this apartment into a place of which we can be very proud.

Mind you, whether the bank balance can afford it is another matter completely. But I’m not going to spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar. I need to concentrate on the long-term ciew and keep on going.

0