Live Television

When we bought La Matha, it came already fitted with two satellite dishes - one angled to pick up French satellite TV and one for UK TV.  This worked well, as we had a "Freesat" digibox, which could pick up all the UK free to view channels.

Then, someone in charge of Astra 2, the satellite transmitting the UK TV signal decided that they should narrow the transmission beam so that it only covered the UK.  This meant that we could no longer watch any UK TV.  If we wanted to watch French TV, we would have to buy a different digibox and connect it to the other dish.  We weren't that interested in French TV, though.

The solution was internet TV.  We subscribed to a VPN provider called "My Expat TV", which made it look as though you were using the internet in the UK.  This, together with a Now TV box, we were able to watch BBC, ITV etc through iPlayer, ITV Hub and so on.  We could also use our Amazon Prime account with our laptop.  This was OK up to a point; however, in the evenings, the broadband speed was so slow (probably with the extra routing required) that it was virtually impossible to watch.

That was fine for about 18 months, but then, the UK TV companies got wise to the commercial VPN providers, and now block their IP addresses.  Therefore, this avenue is now closed.

As a result, we have now given up on providing any form of TV service.  There is a good television there, and we will be installing a blu-ray player if visitors want to take their own HD or normal DVDs.  You can also use a laptop - there is a spare HDMI cable to connect.

This is a shame; however, we'd like to think that our visitors will be spending their evenings enjoying lovely meals on the terrace, casually (and responsibly!) drinking local wine, rather than glued to the TV!

December Trip

Each year at the beginning of December, there is a Christmas market in St Emilion.  This is not your typical German Christmas market, but one with lots of craft stalls - things made out of old wine barrels, or chopping boards made with local wood.  A lot of charming stuff.

We went again this year, and had a fantastic time.  The weather was beautiful - at the start it was frosty in the mornings, with clear blue skies.  It got warmer, but not before I was able to take a few frosty photos. 

We met the plumber to discuss the plans for refurbishing the bathroom downstairs.  It is likely that will all be done at Easter next year.

Since returning, we have just bought a new table and chair set for the terrace.  The existing ones are looking a little shabby - they have lasted eight years, and have done well; however, this time we have bought a good quality solid table, with some comfortable chairs.  This one will last much longer!

Next post will probably (hopefully) be some before and after photos of the new bathroom!

Indian Summer!

We're now at the end of September; Pip and I have spent the last week here at La Matha.  The weather has been fantastic - swimming and sunbathing every day.  We have taken it easy this week - normally when we are down here, we have a list of tasks to do, which takes up a lot of our time.  This time, there was none of that; OK, there was a bit - I did have to get my screwdriver out to sort out some of the bolts for the barn doors, but that was it.

We nearly did a market a day - Duras on Monday, Bergerac on Wednesday and Eymet Thursday, and we ate out at lunchtime most days.  It's easier that way with the dog - we feel more comfortable with him sitting at our feet outside. In Duras we went to Don Camillo for a pizza - hadn't been there for ages - Tuesday, Comptoir de Genès in St Genès de Castillon; Wednesday we ate in La Moutard in Bergerac (a new one for us, and very good!); Thursday we went to Gensaké in Gensac and this evening, we'll be eating out at La Terrasse in Duras.

Whilst here, I read through the historic blog posts, and realised that it has been some time since I last posted here - six months, in fact!  So I ought to do some updates...

The big improvement for the year was the new lining to the swimming pool.  This has been a success, as the pool has given no trouble at all this year.  I've now been in it, and am very impressed.  The other improvement was the tidying up to the rear of the house, and it still looks good!

A number of the posts in the past have been about what we are planning to do to improve the house for next year.  Well for 2017, we are planning to refurbish the downstairs bathroom - re-tiling and replacing the loo, washbasin and bath.  In addition to that, we want to replace the table and chairs on the terrace.  The old set has been in use every year since 2008, and, considering it was not expensive, it has lasted well.  We want to get a good quality solid set that will last forever (well that's the plan, anyway!).

As for bookings - we already have three weeks in the summer booked.  They are two bookings from previous visitors, which is always encouraging.

Hope to be back before the end of the year...

Wood Burning Stove

We have now had the wood burning stove fitted in the living room area.  As I've mentioned before, this is not something that will be of interest to summer visitors, but will improve comfort for us in the winter months.  The chimney was originally a source of cold air when the open fire wasn't lit, and when it was, most of the heat went upwards rather than out into the room.

We did use it one evening - just getting the hang of it.  We will probably be using it properly towards the end of the year.  Will update then.

Easter at La Matha

We've just come back from Easter Weekend at La Matha.  Bits and pieces of DIY to be done, but despite working, it's always great to be out there.

One thing we were keen to see was the progress on the refurbishment of the swimming pool.  Visitors over the last couple of years will have seen the problems our pool maintainance men have had in keeping the pool clean.  They concluded that the cause was the deterioration of the surface of the lining.  We've owned La Matha eight years, and the pool had been there for at least 10 years before we bought it - the lining was getting to the end of its life.  The deterioration was allowing fungal growth, which was proving difficult to keep at bay.

In order to resolve this, the pool has been emptied, the mosaic tiles removed around the sides and the paint sanded down.  Here is a photo of the progress so far:

In the coming weeks, BLM Piscines will clean all the sand and dust, and coat it with a polyester lining.  This should last around 20 years - crystal clear water again!

Au Fil De L'Eau

Last Saturday we had lunch at Au Fil De L'Eau - a restaurant in Port-St-Foy, just over the river from St Foy La Grande.  Out on the conservatory covered terrace, we had a fantastic view of the river and St Foy on the other side.

We had been to this restaurant before in the evening and had enjoyed it, so I feel a bit guilty for not going more often.  There were three set menus - two of them fish based, and the other very much perigordine.  We both went for one of the fish menus - the food was just superb.  We will definitely use this place more often, and thoroughly recommend it to visitors who want a "good" meal out.

January Trip

Last weekend we had a flying trip out to La Matha - we could only do one night due to work commitments, flying out early on Saturday and returning on Sunday.  It was a lazy sort of weekend - a good lunch on each day: Au Fil de L'Eau on Saturday and Chai Pascal in St Émilion on Sunday and a nice dinner at the house.

There was one thing that we sorted out - the problem with the fire.  When we were over for a few days in December, we realised that a lot of the heat generated by the central heating was just going up the chimney.  Also when we had the open fire working, most of that heat was going up the chimney as well, and not much came out into the room.  This clearly won't be an issue for our summer guests, but clearly it is something we need to sort out if we are going to be spending more time there.

As a result, we've organised for a wood-burning stove to be installed, and that will happen at Easter when we're over for the long weekend.  I had been resisting this for a while, but I had bowed to the inevitable.

Pip took this photo to mark the end of the open fire.