Sunday, 28 February 2010
Present from Mum
One of the self-seeded Christmas Rose plants that my Mum gave me from her garden last year is flowering. Cool.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Warmer climes
Yay! The plumber has connected up the hot water to the pipes under the floor, and it's all working! Not too much heat at the moment, because the concrete's not dry yet, but the floor is at a steady 15 degrees, and is warming the place gently. Lovely.
This is the installation. The warm water comes into the big red mixing chamber via the thick red pipes coming up from the floor, and via the left-hand pump. The pump to the right of the chamber takes the warm water and circulates it through the pipes under the floor, via the distributor on the far left, mixing it on the way with some of the cooler water returning from the floor so the whole thing doesn't get too hot. The electrics and electronics that manage it all are in the two smaller boxes attached to the wall.
The two pipes on the right, and the right-hand pump that all lead nowhere, are there ready for radiators to be installed in the rest of the house, later.
Soon I will enclose the whole lot in a little cupboard, but right now I'm just pleased it's all in and working.
This is the installation. The warm water comes into the big red mixing chamber via the thick red pipes coming up from the floor, and via the left-hand pump. The pump to the right of the chamber takes the warm water and circulates it through the pipes under the floor, via the distributor on the far left, mixing it on the way with some of the cooler water returning from the floor so the whole thing doesn't get too hot. The electrics and electronics that manage it all are in the two smaller boxes attached to the wall.
The two pipes on the right, and the right-hand pump that all lead nowhere, are there ready for radiators to be installed in the rest of the house, later.
Soon I will enclose the whole lot in a little cupboard, but right now I'm just pleased it's all in and working.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Here at home
Well, back in the throbbing metropolis of St Pierre sur Erve (pop. about 150 depending on who's on holiday), everything seems to be running as normal.
The Euphorbias I bought last year seem to have survived the Winter, and are presenting a lovely splash of colour, deep red, unusual at this time of year.
The snowdrops are out. Lots of them about at the moment, but they're still pretty.
There is a shelter being built for the Aurochs, just down the road. Opportunity for a conflab.
But the big gossip is that someone has knicked the gate to the Aurochs' Summer field. (French for to nick: piquer) Here it is... gone!
The Euphorbias I bought last year seem to have survived the Winter, and are presenting a lovely splash of colour, deep red, unusual at this time of year.
The snowdrops are out. Lots of them about at the moment, but they're still pretty.
There is a shelter being built for the Aurochs, just down the road. Opportunity for a conflab.
But the big gossip is that someone has knicked the gate to the Aurochs' Summer field. (French for to nick: piquer) Here it is... gone!
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Ski holiday -4 Back home
The last skiing day it clouded over, and started to snow. A pretty send-off, then, and some nice new snow for the people coming on holiday next week, after us.
The snow was falling at the hotel when we set off, and the cloud completely blocked out the view of the valley when we got to the ski slopes.
The following morning, the train picked us up only 5 minutes late, but that's a bit worrying since the first connection was ten minutes. When we arrive home after an uneventful journey, we find that the concrete floor has at last been poured, as belatedly planned. Yay!
On the way back, during the change of trains at Lyon, I wandered into the Virgin shop. They were selling new CDs for 10 euros each which I thought was pretty good, but then I saw they were two for 15 euros. (Say, 13 quid) I bought Lilly Allen and Shakira. Can't be bad.
The snow was falling at the hotel when we set off, and the cloud completely blocked out the view of the valley when we got to the ski slopes.
The following morning, the train picked us up only 5 minutes late, but that's a bit worrying since the first connection was ten minutes. When we arrive home after an uneventful journey, we find that the concrete floor has at last been poured, as belatedly planned. Yay!
On the way back, during the change of trains at Lyon, I wandered into the Virgin shop. They were selling new CDs for 10 euros each which I thought was pretty good, but then I saw they were two for 15 euros. (Say, 13 quid) I bought Lilly Allen and Shakira. Can't be bad.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Ski holiday -3 The Aiguille du Midi
The weather was forecast to close in a bit later on in the week, so we chose to visit the Auigille di Midi while there was still only a little cloud about. The Aiguille du Midi is one of the peaks of the mountain range around Chamonix. You access it via two cable cars and a lift, and you find yourself at 3842 meters high, or just over 12,000 feet. In an aeroplane you'd start needing oxygen at about this height. It was high, and very cold, but the views were spectacular.
The cable car building in Chamonix is a fine piece of architecture, modern in style.
The Aiguille is the peak you can just about see silhouetted against the little cloud -it's a long way up! The view down into the town is really impressive: those things that look like little hills in the middle distance are the mountains I was skiing on yesterday.
But it was cold up there: -20, and windy. I took my gloves off to take some photos, and in 5 minutes my little finger had frozen. I could still move it, but I couldn't feel it. Weird. It seems to have recovered though.
The cable car building in Chamonix is a fine piece of architecture, modern in style.
The Aiguille is the peak you can just about see silhouetted against the little cloud -it's a long way up! The view down into the town is really impressive: those things that look like little hills in the middle distance are the mountains I was skiing on yesterday.
But it was cold up there: -20, and windy. I took my gloves off to take some photos, and in 5 minutes my little finger had frozen. I could still move it, but I couldn't feel it. Weird. It seems to have recovered though.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Ski holiday -2 The Mer de Glace
The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is a glacier near Chamonix that you can visit. In Summer, the frozen surface is undulating, and topped with lines of frost and snow, so it looks like waves, hence the name.
You access it via a rack railway that takes you to a station up in the mountains. When it was built, the glacier was about at that level, but nowadays, having taken the train up, you then have to take a new cable-car down, and then some 300 more steps down to reach the ice. The glacier is a lot smaller than it used to be.
Every tourist season, caves are carved out into the ice, and you can see there a small exhibition showing the discovery and early exploration of the glacier. If you're mad, you can ski down it too, access and departure being managed by helicopter.
The old train that took you up was this steam-powered one, burning 400 kilos of coal for each trip. The new one is comfortable, but less quaint.
These are the holes carved in the ice, and a small view of the exhibition.
A helicopter collects skiers from the glacier surface. And a view of the glacier from the other side of the valley. You can see the V-shaped glacier valley between the two mountains. 150 years ago the glacier came up to the level of the black line of rocks; these days you can barely see it. The railway line is the higher of the two tracks you can see on the mountain to the right.
You access it via a rack railway that takes you to a station up in the mountains. When it was built, the glacier was about at that level, but nowadays, having taken the train up, you then have to take a new cable-car down, and then some 300 more steps down to reach the ice. The glacier is a lot smaller than it used to be.
Every tourist season, caves are carved out into the ice, and you can see there a small exhibition showing the discovery and early exploration of the glacier. If you're mad, you can ski down it too, access and departure being managed by helicopter.
The old train that took you up was this steam-powered one, burning 400 kilos of coal for each trip. The new one is comfortable, but less quaint.
These are the holes carved in the ice, and a small view of the exhibition.
A helicopter collects skiers from the glacier surface. And a view of the glacier from the other side of the valley. You can see the V-shaped glacier valley between the two mountains. 150 years ago the glacier came up to the level of the black line of rocks; these days you can barely see it. The railway line is the higher of the two tracks you can see on the mountain to the right.
Ski holiday -1
Some good friends invited us to go skiing with them, so we went. The wife did most of the organising in fact, and as a result we had a great time in Chamonix. The French railway company SNCF lay on some special trains for the skiing season so we took the train direct from Le Mans that connected to a short commuter train ride from the resort. Our TGV turned out to be a Train of Great Slowness and we arrived an hour and a quarter late for a half-hour connection. But we got there anyway, settled in to the hotel, and sussed out the ski hire for the next day.
The view from the hotel room, and Chamonix town square
Our wonderful instructor Annette. Her real name is Anne but she is tiny, and the suffix -ette in French means little. And the first view of the ski slopes... It's been a long time since I skied so I hope it all comes flooding back.
Skiing is an activity, but it's also an atmosphere, a feeling. The quiet of the slopes, the rush of speed, the feeling of stillness when you stop, the cold, fresh air. And the views, of course.
The view from the hotel room, and Chamonix town square
Our wonderful instructor Annette. Her real name is Anne but she is tiny, and the suffix -ette in French means little. And the first view of the ski slopes... It's been a long time since I skied so I hope it all comes flooding back.
Skiing is an activity, but it's also an atmosphere, a feeling. The quiet of the slopes, the rush of speed, the feeling of stillness when you stop, the cold, fresh air. And the views, of course.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
