Having moved into our house more than a year ago, we decided
that it was now high time that we unpacked the last of the boxes which have
been stored down in the cellar for all this time. During that period we have established one thing with certainty and that is that the cellar is not damp,
which is a good thing because in those last boxes are all our books for which
there is simply no room in the house. Having weeded them out ruthlessly before
we packed, we couldn’t bear not to have them accessible to us so a plan had to
be made. At about the same time as this decision was made we received an
advertising booklet in the post from one of the hardware shops in Villefranche –
one that we visit quite regularly. In the folder was a large advertisement for
workshop shelving at a bargain price. We thought that if the shelving was
intended for workshop use, it would probably be quite sturdy and be able to
support the weight of the books.
The shelving came in a remarkably small box and was in ‘flat
–pack’ form. The sort of thing that boasts that one man with no tools can
assemble it in an hour. Okay-y-y-y! Let’s
see. It took two days for the two of us to put it together and I really don’t
think either of us is completely stupid. I DO think that it would have gone a
lot quicker if the pieces had been marked with the same numbers which were on
the assembly sheet but hey! We did it. The shelves are two widths with deeper
shelves at the bottom and narrower ones at the top, and it was only once we had
got the bottom part finished that we realised that there were legs of two
different lengths because the back legs projected above the top of the lower
shelves in order to anchor the top part in place. That little detail was also
not clearly marked on the assembly sheet, but it just meant taking the back
legs off again and replacing them with the right ones before we could carry on.
When it was complete it turned out to be very stable and rigid and was perfect
for the books. The next day we started pulling boxes around and an hour later
we were both dripping with perspiration but everything was unpacked and arranged
on the shelves. Another job done. Thank goodness the cellar is always cool
because it was a cooking 31 degrees outside. Naturally that also means that in
winter the cellar is freezing but it’s just a matter of making the work suit
the season.
I think this is why we relish the thought of being on our
own and being able to get on with what still needs doing without having to
consider anyone else’s needs. If we are busy and only get to have lunch at
three o’clock, it doesn’t matter but it would bother me a lot if we had guests.
This week I also had the second of my scheduled five eye
treatments. After the shock that preceded the first one and due to the fact
that the treatment appears to be working, we could afford to be almost blasé about
this one. When I originally saw the eye specialist he was horrified at what e
discovered and told us that if we had waited longer, I would have been blind by
November and it would have been irreversible. Not the sort of news anyone wants
to hear. But he squeezed us into his schedule two days later for the first
treatment to both eyes. A month later, this last week, the right eye was done
again and next Friday will be the left and then another month later it will be
the same again. If progress continues at the same rate as it has been so far, I
have no doubt that by November I will have pretty good sight again. I might
have to wear glasses all the time but that wouldn’t upset me – at least I would
always know where they are.
I have to take my hat off to the medical fraternity in this
part of France. I think they are marvellous! Firstly, our GP who recognised
what I was describing when I mentioned my sight problems in passing when we
went to get a new prescription from him. I had already made an appointment with
the eye specialist but the first I could get was in………….you guessed it –
November. The GP used the ‘hot line’ between doctors and my appointment was
jumped up to two days later. The specialist was calm and unfazed when I saw him
but squeezed me in two days later. He only told us at the second appointment
how much of an emergency the procedure was. I can’t tell you how grateful I am
to all involved.
Apart from that bit of minor excitement and the hard slog of
making the shelves and then filling them up, the week has been very quiet.
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