Merry Christmas

Another year is coming to a close at Chateau Larcombe, that’ll be five we’re up to now, and once again I find myself looking back over the last 12 months and trying to consolidate the years events onto one side of A4 paper. Normally I have no struggles to fill a side of paper with stories of great adventures, mad inventions and humorous interactions with the locals but this year, and on attempt number 5 to write this I am, to say the least, lost for words. I may be able to sell a couple of the other attempts mind you as the first read more like a vicars sermon and the 3rd would have been a mean speech for a presidential candidate.

At the beginning of the year, after a fair few nights of insomnia, I came across an idea for one of my biggest projects to date. Those following the blog or friends on facebook will have seen the roundhouse progress from conception to reality and I must thank all of the numerous people who gave up their time and energy to assist in its construction. There’s still a little work to do on it but it can all wait until the weather is a little more forgiving. On the 9th November, we had the official opening party where “Erics Bar & Grill” played host to over 60 guests for a delightful evening drinks and partying. The roundhouse has been dedicated to my grandfather who sadly passed away this year. He always loved to entertain and was in his element surrounded by friends and family.

Our annual party, normally over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May, split this year into two separate events because the Queen decided to hijack our weekend for her Jubilee. For the planned weekend, we had numerous friends over from the UK and France and, as always, had a complete blast of a party. The second party was very close to my heart as we managed to get over 30 members of my family together for a long weekend of drink and conversation. Judging by the bottle count for that weekend, there is no doubting that alcohol consumption is hereditary. For those interested in joining us next year, the dates will be 24th to 27th May.

The softball has been condensed to one tournament a year and, apart from some stressing about hay and the numerous downpours in the run up, this year has been the biggest success to date. Friends flew in from the States and Malaysia to join us, as well as the usual crowd from the UK, plus a fair few new faces. 2013 dates are 2nd to 5th August.

Fortunately there have been no more additions to the livestock here however we have been suffering an insurgence of moles and mice this year. The usual methods of trapping have had minimal effect and even the poison seems to do little to dissuade the new super mice.

The kids are continuing to progress well at school scoring above class average in all subjects. Their French is exceptional and Peter regularly corrects daddy on his poor vocabulary and accent.

Jane has had a year crammed full of exams which created a small amount of stress on occasion. Her job at the bank is going well and she even managed to get a couple of days experience in the local branch in Aunay.

As always, I have a head full of ideas for the coming year here, swimming pool, lake, hot tub, giant aerial runway. All highly practical and of long term importance in my mind, however I think I may have to focus some more time on the house itself as roof repairs should really be the number one priority. Only time will tell.