Apr 11

Apr 11 Swallows and hippopotamuses

House Tour, Shop the House, Projects, People, Barfleur and the Cotentin

Finally, and after an incredibly cold, dull and wet start to the year, Spring has sprung in the Cotentin.

Although we’ve yet to hear the first cuckoo, swallows are already darting in and out of the buildings; the old rooves and eaves in Barfleur give plenty of scope for nest-building and there’s a thriving community that returns year after year. It always amazes me how they manage to avoid crashing into us as they swoop low along the narrow streets at top speed scooping up insects as they go.

This week we’ve been working on the second gable end wall; I’ve been joined by my partner, Mike, who’s lending a hand – it makes progress quicker and a bit less lonely.

It’s just as well he’s helping, as removing the mortar on the second wall has proved more difficult than the first; the mortar seems to be harder.

Chatting to Guillaume we agreed that artisan building is a bit like artisan baking – lime mortars and other traditional materials are more susceptible to weather conditions so will change in consistency from day to day. No one part of a building is identical to the next, and I like that idea.

It's filthy work. The mortar is simultaneously dry, flaky and strangely moist. We wonder how long ago it was trowelled into place and who put it there and find ourselves wishing to discover a secret note or other fragment of the past tucked into one of the many cavities that we expose as the mortar is removed.

It's not all glamorous work; note the double dust mask :)

Thankfully we now own a trailer, and had fun yesterday afternoon in a sudden torrential downpour attaching it to the car and practising reversing techniques. If you’ve ever tried it, reversing a trailer is quite difficult and the moves are counter-intuitive. You’ve also got to have a light hand as a false move can result in a sudden jack-knife. YouTube again came to the rescue for steering tips and at least we didn’t embarrass ourselves at the tip when we dropped off yet another load of rubble in the Spring sunshine.

After a gruelling few days working up in the attic, we decided to take a break and pick up the custom ridge tiles I’ve ordered from the Poterie de Barfleur. This local pottery is long established, and is the only local maker of the traditional ridge tiles (tuiles de faitage) and roof decorations (épi de faïtage) for which the Cotentin is well known. Ingrid, the charming potter, as well as making tuiles for the local roofers items is also a sculptress and ceramicist, with a wicked sense of humour.

You can find her work throughout Barfleur, from house numbers decorated with mermaids and fishermen, to street names and flowerpots. It sounds kitsch but actually it’s whimsical and delightful; in a limited colour palette it strikes just the right note. If you’re in the area do please visit.

Ingrid in her gallery at the Poterie de Barfleur

We’ve carefully packed our roof decorations into the boot of the car and they’ll be dropped off at Nettie next week ready for Guillaume to mortar them into place. He'll also be fitting the Velux window into the back of the top floor and that should provide some extra light making the bedroom at once cosy and luminous. I can’t wait.