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Published: February 20th 2010
Le Cher
Reflecting the slow pace of lifeIt's funny, I never thought I would write about any of our voyage in retrospect. I thought there was a clear line between travelling, as we did from October till April, and working for 6 months in France. But of course it was just another part of the journey. I guess we have always been tavelling in some way so I intend to keep the journey chronicled, now.... where was I.
We arrived in England in April to the same temperature that the air con was set to when we left Mumbai. After some mad frantic days of preparation the van was ready and we set off to France, to sunny Franceuil and our summer job working at Camping Moulin Fort.
34 Euros! That was the first shock 34 Euros for the main toll road to Tours plus maybe 10 on smaller tolls out of Le Havre towards the A10.
Oh and our map was out of date so we missed the A85 which by-passes Tours and goes so close to Blere and Camping Moulin Fort. Anyway we found the campsite, after a drive alongside the Cher and met John and Sarah as they were
coming back from the pool.
The family Scarrett (John, Sarah, Rebecca, Danielle and Melanie) inhabit an old water mill living upstairs while the ground floor contains the kitchen bar and restaurant. There is a good sized swimming pool and kids paddling pool next to the mill; and the grounds are laid out with camping pitches dotted with specimen trees and bushes, about a third of the pitches are next to the river. It is a perfect setting alongside the meandering Cher and a short walk away from the fabulous Chateau Chenonceaux. I never liked French at school but I am sure I recall there was a poster of Chenonceaux on the wall of the French classroom.
4.40 a pint! That was the second shock. Helping out in the bar on the Saturday before we were due to start work on the Monday. 4.40 a pint (or half litre) after travelling around China, India and Asia complaining if we had to pay over £1 this was quite a shock. However, Rob soon put things into perspective when he explained that beer was 6.90 in Cannes and 10 plus in St Tropez, we were well and
Scarrett juniors
Rebecca, Melanie and Danielle truly back in Europe.
We sat down with Sarah on Monday morning to go through the work rotas. Sue was to run the shop in the mornings and try to match up the bread delivery with customer orders from the night before. She endured some crazy mornings when the bread delivery was wrong or the camper forgot what they ordered or the child sent to collect their order spoke neither English or French!
My job was to test the pool, check the filters and top up chemicals before sweeping up and arranging sun loungers and umbrellas. I also kept my DIY hand in by repairing decking and the pool gate. Sue finished an hour after me but we invariably got back to the van together for breakfast coffee and warm croissants or pain au raisin.
In the evenings our jobs changed and Sue became camp cook while I became barman/waiter.
From initial panic Sue soon took charge of the kitchen dealing with cooking a pre prepared daily special alongside fresh prepared salads omelette's and pizzas. At the height of the season she regularly cooked over 60 meals (between 6.30 and 9.0) peaking at a season record
Home
Sooze and the rig! of 80! In contrast all I had to do was take the food orders and serve drinks. I did some waiting but as it got busier John took up station between the kitchen and restaurant ensuring a smooth flow of orders and service. The trick with my job was to keep a tally of everyone's consumption ensuring all bills were paid by the end of the evening and to kick out the tardy drinkers at closing time all with a smile!!
In between shifts our time was our own and we enjoyed our vie Francais.
We had two minor problems to solve now we were here, first find a manifold pipe for the van water system, second get the scooter going.
We got the manifold pipe at the second attempt and the second motor home shop, off the shelf and after 2 or 3 goes at tightening the seven plastic pipe nuts we were watertight with water on tap.(as opposed to the floor!!)
John agreed to pop the scooter, (John called it a moped until I complained and he relented by adopting the term Scoo-ped!), in the back of his van and we dropped it off for
a service.
The suitably over weight, disheveled and greasy garage owner had originally complained of being too busy and quoted 3 weeks with a Gallic shrug, but it was ready after a week and his good nature and wicked sense of humour became evident when we went to collect it. He had explained to me that the engine oil had become too thick for the piston to move, he explained the same thing to Sue by describing making syrup in a pan on a cooker. He was quite disparaging about Chinese bikes but it was fixed and ran really well.
We used the scooter a lot, despite early trepidation, I actually started to enjoy zooming off to the shops, even though I had to kick start it every time because the battery was knackered.
Sue and I scooted about the local countryside, visiting Chenonceaux, Blere, Montrichard, Vouvrey, Amboise, including Da Vinci's house, and Loches.
We also used our bikes and cycled through the fields and along the river for picnics. This was made easier when Bob liberated some panniers for us helping to distribute the weight of victuals and making back soaking rucksacks redundant.
We met
Chenonceaux Garden
View through the wall Bob soon after we arrived, he worked for Belle France a cycling holiday firm, ensuring bikes and luggage were where his customers wanted them and when. However he was considered part of the Moulin Fort team and helped out in the restaurant on busy nights and was a helping and happy hand to have around. He had some great stories to tell but he surpassed all when he became “Cool Bob”
When Bob went off one morning to a hotel in Amboise to collect some cyclists, they were late (as usual) and he chatted with the patron before settling down with a coffee and a local paper. A voice interrupted his thoughts asking if they could sit in the spare chair at his table, “of course” he said and then looking up “of course.....Mr Jagger”
Bob and Mick Jagger sat sipping coffee and chatting, Mick asked about Bob's work and when he explained Mick said “that's cool man” Soon their respective people appeared and they bade farewells and parted. Of course as soon as Bob told Ken about it the word got round and Bob was regaled and soon feted as Cool Bob.
The first team
Amboise
Lovely chateau, pretty town member to arrive in Francueil was Ken and he had been busy sorting the grounds out for a few weeks before we arrived. Tall, lean with a similar hairstyle to mine, Ken and I soon struck up a friendship that kept us going through the busy times and kept us giggling every time we worked together. We shared a love of and sometimes opposing view of football but I have ended up checking to see how his team Scunthorpe United (The Iron) have done every Saturday since.
As the season progressed so more staff arrived, Pete and Nigel, Sarah (Woody), Margeux, Claire, Kevin, Violaine and Hannah.
On a busy night mid-season, particularly if there was a band on, there could be 10 of us scurrying about the place. High points for me were quiz nights when John and I would team up and try to answer questions whilst keeping up with drinks and dessert orders. We were unofficial champions, never having been beaten but as staff, never being awarded the prize. We still had the satisfaction of knowing we had won and finished the evenings sharing knowing looks and wearing smug smiles.
Montrichard
A bike ride down the river Quiet mornings were regularly interrupted by the sound of what Bob called “Dragons Breath” (he is Welsh with a poets heart), as hot air balloons (Montgolfiers) inflated and drifted by for an aerial view of Chenonceaux sometimes dropping down to river level to “kiss the Cher”.
We enjoyed experiencing local life at markets and village fetes through the summer, culminating in helping raise funds for the local junior school by assisting locals in picking grapes at the beginning of the harvest and joining them for lunch on long tables set out at the end of the vineyard.
Campers came and went changing the vista from our van window and the faces in shop and restaurant. Although many countries were represented, most visitors were from Holland and England, the Dutch in particular proving to be easy going and great fun to be with.
The holiday season ran its course from quiet to busy and back to quiet again. We put a lot of hours in during the 6 weeks of the peak season and were grateful and ready for our first day off at the end of it. We sat watching the sun go down over the river in contemplative mood,
Tours
Concept audio visual installation chatting about the joys, trials and tribulations of our summer in the Loire and wondering what the coming winter months held for us.
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