And my head is going to explode...

If we can't get this (insert several non printable words) replanting forms/ customs/ INAO mess sorted out soon my head is actually going to self-detonate.

We've just noticed another problem (or six) with various bits of paperwork, and I can feel my blood pressure ascending like some kind of natty pressure cooker.

I really really hope that once and for all we can go to see the cave and get everyone singing from the same song-sheet.

I've been out hitting things with a machete in an effort to calm down, our vignes are being de-shoot-ed perhaps a little too vehemently.

And to top it off we have some sort of unspecified unidentifiable maladie which chemical D is coming to look at tomorrow..... excellent way to start the weekend! Please God can it be nothing serious, I'm not sure my arteries can take much more.

Frustration and the levels thereof...

P got up to an email this morning from our Cave saying there is a problem with our replanting this year and can we please call them urgently.

After a very frustrating meeting, in which I'm sure I babbled incomprehensibly in very poor angry, tired french we are frankly non- the wiser. We do however have a meeting on wednesday am with the Duanes.

Basically it seems that back in the dark-ages when some of our vines were planted they were registered as being on a bit of land, when in reality they were on three. No-body corrected it and when we did our pulling out forms and things were looked at on the satellite it became clear. Now it seems that we have another problem because our Ugni-blanc is only a table wine, or rather, was, as we've pulled it out. They now say we can't replace it with AOC without filling in a form, paying some money and waiting. The most important part of this is, we can't replant all the parcels we've arrached, because, wait for it, you can only apply for the AOC when there are no vines in the ground. One lot of bureaucrats won't talk to another and P is loosing his sense of humour!

My frustration at not being able to speak good enough French is building, sadly not at the same rate as my french is improving.

Everyone think nice calming positive thoughts for Weds and lets hope it's one of those occasions where it does all get sorted out, as opposed to those where, we leave with more problems than we arrived with.

Beams and big bits of wood.

Well James has been here this past week and we now have the main beam up! All 1 ton of it. James and P spent all week doing complicated joints (James) and making pegs and big holes (P). We then managed some how ( I say "we", I kept safely out of the way) to get in in place with some strategically placed acro poles and a block and tackle... 3 englishmen and a passing frenchman. Xavier bowled up at the crucial point, lit up and watched! Apparently we and our green oak, carpenter with whom he wouldn't pick a fight and apparently thought was canadian (it's the socks James)  and traditional methods was just too fascinating!

 Getting the beams into the building was the first major undertaking...

 I made those trestles.... and that was the extent of my help!

Three Englishmen and a Frenchmen...

P making the hole a bit bigger.

Ta Da!

The tenacity of vines.

You have to admire and love a plant that gets mullered by frost and is not defeated. The second (rather blurry) photo shows the new growth appearing behind the damaged shoot. We all just need to keep our fingers crossed that there is no more frost and that the reds recover like these whites.

Right then we are off to try and manoeuvre a beam weighing over 500kg into the gite. Our wood has arrived and our carpenter arrives this afternoon... about the same time I need to be collecting the cat from the vets and that's an entirely different story, involving a lot of vocabulary that never in my life did I think it would be necessary to learn.