Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Lifes greatest mystery .


A great day for Wilf. Five white vans parked in the courtyard. Time for the serious business of sniffing wheel arches and christening tyres. Aude, the bib overall wearing decaratrice, arrived with a pack of biscuits. She received a lick. The other workers were greeted with a warning bark. The canine house rule : Biscuits = Acceptance. No biscuits = Disdain.

Few things on earth as mysterious as the plumbing system in the rickety old farmhouse. Pipes appear, then disappear into the ground, only to reappear again in improbable places far,far away. Faucets exist where no faucets should be. Water flows in enigmatic ways. The whole labyrinthine system a gurgling tribute to two and a half centuries of gallic improvisation. Logic and an understanding of the laws of gravity notable by their absence.

Two large, track suited, gentlemen arrived in the late morning to conduct a survey of the village septic tanks. Could this possibly be the worlds worst job ? They poked around in the garden for three hours, returning with the news that we have two ancient and hitherto unknown, fosse septique, by the front door. A plumbing enigma inside a pipework riddle.

They'll be back this morning for 'further explorations '. Wilf slept solidly from ten last night until six this morning. No early morning pit stops for him. A dog completely and delightedly exhausted by the discovery of fresh, highly pungent, odours . Heaven.

16 comments:

  1. Good Day Wilf and Angus! its raining hard here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and flooding everywhere..

    There is simply no drainage system installed..and we do have sewage seeping out to the streets..

    Stormy..

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  2. Obviously christening tyres promotes a good night's sleep. Remember to keep Wilf's fluids up.

    He looks thoroughly tousled.

    XXXOOO Daisy kendra & Bella

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  3. So they all turned up. Hooray! But did they actually do anything other than provide entertainment for dear Wilfy?
    And do white van drivers have the same reputation in France as in the UK??
    Cheers,
    Gail.

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  4. Well, well, well - he needs a large herd to be occupied - and buscuit bringing admirers - female preferable - he is a wise guy - so good to hear good news - plumming seems as mysterious as it is in Italy - my septic tank has not been found yet! So you are lucky.
    Love from the sunny isle of Ischia from a pre-spring garden (starts to blossom here) and two happy dogs and their butler Susanne

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  5. And heaven for us too, to read how well Wilf's doing. : )

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  6. One of the French houses that we looked at (but didn't buy) had its drains quite obviously flowing uphill. They had been installed by the owner of the property ready to comply with the new drainage regulations........but were not connected up yet. I sometimes wish I had been there to witness the moment of connection, just to see what happened.

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  7. I'm betting that all those tires to christen left the boy's bladder a bit depleted. He probably needed to sleep for a while to replenish himself!

    I'm glad to see he still enjoys the simple biscuit!

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  8. A great day for Wilf is a great day for all of us! Hugs for our furiend. :)

    Blessings and Love,
    Janelle and Maggie Mae

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  9. So very glad Wilf had the opportunity to greet old friends again. His hair looks like he had plenty of head-rubbing happening, which is bound to wear out the little fellow. Keep up the good work Wilfie, these workmen need your supervision.

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  10. I hope that the rest of the crew got the memo about biscuits for Wilf. Very important.

    Christening that many tyres must be tiring and dehydrating! Leave the boy a very big bowl of water today. Smiles about his happiness from here.

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  11. The workmen actually showed! Now there's a treat. What a busy day for Wilf. People to greet, biscuits to investigated, tyres to be christened. A dog's work is never done! Hope the workers didn't sneak him any extra goodies. He' quite irresistible and people are of the mind that just the little morsel that they offer won't affect him. Plumbing, done correctly, is a real art. Unfortunately we have never met a real atist. Rather, a real artist has never come to our house. Plumbers! Keep them happy. It tells in their work.

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  12. Happy that Wilf is up to the task of guarding and christening! Cheers!

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  13. Fresh new odors could be topped by a bit of coconut ice cream perhaps.... Glad things are underway in your neck of the woods!

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  14. We share, not only similar dogs, but the perils of old houses. We have seen the electrician twice this week, and the plumber is expected. But we wouldn't dream of living anywhere else. At least in this country.

    And the London trip is on!

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  15. How exciting!!! Wilf's herding instincts kick in, don't they, when lots of folks are around!

    Angus, was the Moscow airport that just had the terrible attack the one you traveled through? How frightening this all is for frequent travelers.

    As for the plumbing, one of the shows my husband likes to watch is Holmes on Homes -- Holmes an expert called in to fix what incompetent contractors have wrought -- like water expected to run up hill, wires not properly connected, etc. Your plumbing sounds like a case for Holmes (HGTV).

    Hugs to Wilf!!

    xxx Joan

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  16. Life's greatest mystery to me is how Wilf manages to create the punk rock hairstyle so masterfully and carry it off so well.

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