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Showing posts from June, 2006

Aïe aïe aïe!

The recording on Sunday worked. Now some time, when I feel up to it, I'll have to listen to it and stress out about my vowels!

Well did we have fun!

There we were - on the rebound after missing out on the super little half-bungalow in Pessac. We had 1/2 hour before picking the kids up for lunch. What do you do? What we did was to go to the agent we had meant to begin with so long ago but had never quite got to. (It's just 2 weeks, but it seems longer!) Anyway, the agency was wonderful! Like an estate agency run from a wardrobe by Charlie's Angels. The office was tiny, just two desks, and was full of women in their 20s and 30s dressed as Carmen in frilly blouses with chunky jewellery. And a small dog who put his cold nose on your bare toes. They said "What about the Landaise?". I said that we had seen it once with another agent but we were concerned that it hasn't sold though it is with almost every agency in Bordeaux, at wildly differing prices. They said people were scared off by the new houses to be built in front, and that their price was lower because they charge less commission. (The prices vary by abou

DEFLE Marks

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19/20 for history? Impossible! Anyway, I spelt the Prime Minister's name wrong. Bit embarrassing, too - he was long time mayor of Bordeaux. Instead of Chaban Delmas, I called him Charbon-Delmas! I think a rough translation would be "coal from the farm"? Preparation for university research was this thing where we had to attend two classes, have a guided tour of the library (the librarian was not a gifted tour guide) and produce a bibliography. I missed half the course because one class was when I was at the synod, so although I didn't have much idea what she had asked for, I handed in any old thing for homework because if you don't hand something in you are defaillant - you missed an exam and you fail the whole thing. I'm pleased with my civilisation exam mark. That was the one where they asked how the francophonie is organised and I didn't have the foggiest idea! It was a real Nigel Molesworth moment. "I neither kno nor care."

Pipped at the post

We saw this house. 3 bedroom bungalow. Nice size lounge. Nice walled garden. Carport for bikes etc. Shed with power for freezer. Utility room that would become my (small) office. Long gravel drive. Very private. We went back to the estate agent's office. Pat liked it. I liked it. We were ready to go. We entered the office just as a couple were filling in the form to make an offer on it! Oh, and I got my marks and diploma from the DEFLE. The marks are quite comical. Somewhat skewed. You'll see.

Report on the house visit

The house above the garage. House OK. Three bedrooms. Lounge with windows both ends for cooling breezes. Rooms big enough, though no study/office. TV aerial point in every room! Oil central heating, with another baffling boiler. Downstairs there's one 'through' garage with doors both ends, and then another massive garage with a pit and a high ceiling and two roll-over doors. This looks like it's been used commercially for servicing cars. It could easily become a church room or meeting room because the ceiling is pretty high (3 metres?) EXCEPT: It's on a very busy road, just between a roundabout and the TGV railway line, and parking will be limited. The house and its garden are being sold in three lots - 1) front garden to build a "maison de ville", 2) house and pool 3) rear garden for another couple of houses. Also the wiring in the house is idiosyncratic, to say the least. It looks to me like they have rewired it and saved money by removing most of the li

Furore

Pronunciation: few-rory or few-roar? I have never been sure.

Biblical Theology Books Review

I tried posting a link, but the link didn't work. So here's the article. It's a bit long. Sorry. 9Marks God's Big Picture, Gospel & Kingdom, and According to Plan By Vaughan Roberts and Graeme Goldsworthy Reviews by Nicholas Piotrowski I wanted to start this review with a great quote from Calvin, or Edwards, or Spurgeon on the importance of understanding how the entirety of Scripture teaches Christ and His work of redeeming sinners. I found a few lines, but none of them seemed to say it just right. Then I thought, why not quote Jesus himself? "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me" (John 5:39). Or maybe one of the evangelists: "Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27; cf. v. 44). Or Peter: "What God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would s

The Valley of Vision album

Many people know about the book of Puritan prayers published by Banner of Truth called "The Valley of Vision". A couple of years ago they brought out a posh binding of it because it is so popular. Well Sovereign Grace Ministries are producing an album of songs based on the some of the prayers. It should be released in the summer. You can find out more about it at: http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/music/projects/valleyofvision/

Transplant day

My dead computer has not died in vain. Its memory and hard disk are going to be transplanted into Sammy's computer today, I hope. His poor machine labours on with 256MB of memory and 10GB of hard disk for Windows and all his programs. After surgery we hope he'll have double the memory and an 80GB disk. And all his software reinstalled, which would be good enough news on its own. Sammy's existing disk will become an external USB drive that he can use for transporting data between computers. Also today I must phone our friend Emmanuel the estate agent, who passed on our number to his colleague in Pessac, who phoned on Friday when I was in the meeting and left a message, which I listened to but then lost, and whose (the colleague) name and number I need so I can ring her back and apologise. Confused? Wait till I try to explain all that to Emmanuel in French!

Live in Hope, die in Caergwrle

A North East Wales saying that may have more than a grain of truth: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/walesnortheast/2006/06/fellas_wrexhams_bad_for_your_h.html

Latest on the house-hunt

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Well it was good to have another little break from the house-hunt - I was in a meeting all day on Friday, then the estate agents are closed on Saturdays and, of course, on Sundays. Having had our offer on the house at rue Pasteur rejected, I did a hunt on the seloger website and found a house that appears to be very near Catrin's school. It's within our budget. It is one of these live upstairs and huge garage downstairs houses. The estate agent says the house is still available and has a smallish garden (though I think he then said it was 400 - 500 square metres, which is pretty big really). The blurb said "gros potentiel". I asked if that meant "gros travaux" (lots of work to be done) but he said that it just meant you could do things with the garage-basement. We have arranged to see it - his earliest appointment is on Wednesday. If it would do, great! Otherwise we will wait till we come back from our summer trip to Britain to continue the chase. The other

The works of John Frame and Vern Poythress

http://www.frame-poythress.org/ Well worth a look, with online books!

Poor kids - sick again

Catrin has picked up some bug, possibly from a friend she saw yesterday. She is lying in a quiet fever on the sofa staring fixedly at the ceiling. Gwilym has a tummy upset. He's watching French TV. A friend says that Bordeaux is particularly difficult for children's health, being so humid. I couldn't possibly comment on that either way.

Bordeaux is not exactly Paris...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5110632.stm

like Skype, but no software and no earphones etc..

http://www.jajah.com/?l=en It works via your phone. I haven't tried it yet.

Well it went OK!

People listened very attentively. I spoke for less time than I had anticipated - I had thought it would be about 1/2 hour, but it was roughly 25 mins., which was fine. (40 mins. would have been WAY too much!!) Some friends from DEFLE came, which was well excellent. And my dear French teacher friend is going to take my text and correct the turns of phrase that could have been better. I told her she needs internet so she could correct my scripts before I preach, and I think she's getting connected in the autumn! And would you believe that my very last verb was conjugated wrongly! Still - I am not the first and I won't be the last. And it wasn't the only one, I'm sure. But CONCENTRATE? If you drop your guard for a MOMENT the wrong kind of e slips out! I wouldn't have believed it had I not experienced it myself today. I sat down afterwards and had to mop my brow and hold Pat's elbow! I may have a recording of it, or I may not. A dear chap said "It should be

"Get thee up into a high moutain" (Isa 40:9)

Our knowledge of Christ is somewhat like climbing one of our Welsh mountains. When you are at the base you see but little: the mountain itself appears to be but one-half as high as it really is. Confined in a little valley, you discover scarcely anything but the rippling brooks as they descend into the stream at the foot of the mountain. Climb the first rising knoll, and the valley lengthens and widens beneath your feet. Go higher, and you see the country for four or five miles round, and you are delighted with the widening prospect. Mount still, and the scene enlarges; till at last, when you are on the summit, and look east, west, north, and south, you see almost all England lying before you. Yonder is a forest in some distant county, perhaps two hundred miles away, and here the sea, and there a shining river and the smoking chimneys of a manufacturing town, or the masts of the ships in a busy port. All these things please and delight you, and you say, "I could not have imagined

Well - here we go

I have read through my notes aloud. Forgot to time it. If anything I am likely to be too short rather than too long, I think. Must remember to TAKE MY TIME. I gabble when I'm nervous. I found a few things to correct, turns of phrase to adjust, odd errors here and there. Those are just the ones I found. But basically I think it's wonderful. Why? Because if there is any force or strength in the message this morning it will have to come from the living God, not from any oratorical persuasion or anything like that. Think of it. Paul in prison - but the word of God is not bound. Me quite likely to need a few runs to get out the word considérerons - but the word of God is not bound. Now I'll make the changes I marked up in my script. I'll print it out. Then I'll read some chapters from Hebrews aloud. Limbering up for the tongue and the heart.

e-sword

Free Computer Bible programme. Lots of different language modules (some free, some you have to pay for). "Beibl Cymraeg Newydd Argraffiad Diwygiedig" available free! http://www.e-sword.net/index.html

Pre-emptive honking

People sometimes say that the French buy horns with a car attached. Well at least they are not New York taxi-drivers: Bumper stickers Just because someone does not have a bumper sticker that says “How is my driving?” with a number to call, doesn’t mean they don’t want to know what their driving is like. Assume all drivers really want to know and that the ones without a phone number want to know straight away. Pre-emptive honking Say you’re stopped at a light behind someone who you suspect will not notice when the lights change. By pre-emptive honking before the lights change, you will make sure that the driver will be ready when they do. (from The Times, quoting The Bad Driver's Handbook )

Well - my preparation is basically finished

I'm preaching on Matthew 27 : 45 - 54. I agonised as much over the title as over anything. I ended up with "Understand the Signs of the Cross". Bit of a play on words, and I think it works in French. If not it isn't a huge problem, but it would be a pity to have a damp squib right at the beginning! I will check tonight with my usual three-parse checklist: 1) genders 2) conjugation 3) agreements a. adjectives b. past participles This especially after someone the other day said (he's in bold, I'm in italics) "Vous parlez bien le français." "Merci, mais il y a des trous! Il y a beaucoup de choses que je n'ai jamais dits!" "di t es. jamais di t es. C'est feminin, choses." (the t is pronounced, because of the e) Point taken. People notice if you forget to do the agreement of the past participle, even in conversation. (It's great when people help me like this, though because I am old and dumb I have to rerun the conversatio

A baroque or rococo presbyterian church

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If the building dates from 1598, does that make it baroque or rococo? Or something else?  

The church meeting place at Montauban

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Look at the trompe l'oeil ceiling and the amazing plaster panels!  

The cloisters

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of the seminary (now a retirement home) of the church at Montauban.  

Commission Exécutive Elargie at Montauban

Yesterday was the meeting of the commission éxécutive élargie at Montauban. This roughly equates to the AECW North Wales Regional Council that we used to hold before our reorganisation last year. The commission covers approximately Acquitaine and Languedoc (though I'd need to locate all the churches named on a map to be sure!) and normally consists of 7 nominated people, 3 pastors and 4 non-pastors. Yesterdays was élargie to include a number of invited people. Montauban is a nice little town with a deep river gorge running through it, and three closely placed bridges. The church is on one side of the river and has attached an old seminary with cloisters. This is now a retirement home. The church is quite spectacular! I took some pictures which I will load up later if I get my camera back today. I left it at our church. Tomorrow if not. These meetings are very useful for a. Getting the lie of the land. The big towns and cities have quite strong churches. The rural areas struggle. Bo

Tea and hard water

In Bordeaux we have hard water because of the geology. (Could be worse - in Blaye they have heavy water because of the nuclear power station. Boom boom!) When the kettle furs up you get crunchy tea. Yum! Enter the secret weapon - those tea-pots with a plastic filter insert for putting leaf tea in. You put your tea bags in the filter thing, pour your water in through the filter and the crunchy bits collect inside the filter thing and not in your cup. Simple! (Oh no - that reads like the tips letters in a magazine. Sorry!)

Fields and Edwards encourage again!

What I like best, I think, about Jonathan Edwards is his ability to grasp big things in his mind and then explain them beautifully. He is a brilliant systematician, yet with a poetic flair. What I like best, I think, about David Field is that he digs through Edwards and serves us up truffles! http://davidpfield.blogspot.com/2006/06/agreeing-with-edwards.html

My clever and diligent wife

Has done well in her exams. Read more on www.pat-in-france.blogspot.com . 90% for assiduity!

OK - well they haven't accepted our offer

and they haven't moved very far down in price. The agent is still working hard to find a meeting place, but I think the gap is too great. So we shall see. Meanwhile the house in Villenave near the Olympic Swimming Pool (I am sure you are even more lost than we are...) has been reduced in price.

Still waiting to hear

I take that as a good sign. At least they didn't come round and break our windows. Ensconced in la préparation. Almost none of my plays on words works any more. Probably a good thing, too.

Well I don't know if we'll end up with a house, but

it's doing wonders for my French! I just had to explain to the chap who showed us the house with the dodgy trees (one of which is, I'm sure, a willow) why I was unhappy about the trees. He tried to convince me that they aren't a problem. I had to explain to him why I think they are a problem. Great fun. You could pay a fortune for rôle-play exercises like that, and this is for real!

Rue Pasteur

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We've made an offer on this house. It was overpriced, and we have made a cheeky offer. So we shall see. The estate agent feels the offer is not unrealistic - the average price for houses in Bordeaux is currently about 200 0 euros per sq meter, which would make our offer just a tiny bit below average. It's on the main road into Pessac. That would put some people off, I'm sure, but it's the kind of house where you enter from the side and live in the back, so it would be fine for us. Cycle path to Gwilym's school and tram to Catrin's. Tram to city centre. Tram to university. All could work very well. It isn't as big as it looks in the picture - they have used a wide-angle lens and pointed carefully to avoid the advertising hoarding. Anyway, we shall see.  

DEFLE results for Alan

Mention Bien Français oral - assez bien Français ecrit - très bien Options etc - bien Bien. I think the mentions work like this (but I am not sure!): Passable - 50% - 65% (or is it 50 - 55%) Assez Bien - 65% - 75% (or 55 - 65%) Bien 75% - 85% (or perhaps 65 - 75%) Très Bien - >85% (or perhaps > 75%) Oh, I don't know!

Evening services

Here on the continent evening services are a rarity. Did they die out on the continent, or did the innovative Brits start them? If Britain started them, then when was it? I have heard it said that they began with reliable street lighting, which makes sense, but I've never seen anything written in any historical study or anything. Somone must know. Can anyone help on this?

Audio Bible

Our team leader gave me a recording of the French Bible in MP3 format. It is invaluable for: 1) how names are pronounced 2) quick revision of liaison to try to achieve a fluent reading. Imagine the difference in English if someone reads "Solomon built an entrance to the house of the Lord" or "Solowmun built ay entrance to thee 'ouse of thee Lord." It kind of changes the way you hear it. Anyway David Field of Oak Hill is putting a free Audio Bible on his website at: http://www.davidpfield.com/audio-bible/AudioBible.htm

The funny things people say 1

I thought I'd share some of the funny things people say here (bear with me though, I might forget, or people might suddenly start talking straight without any amusing things) One house I looked at - it had a colossal central heating boiler. I said "C'est énorme!" The homeowner said "C'est le Rolls de chaudières." Isn't that nice - she definitely said "the Rolls of boilers".

First dream in French

First dream in French that I've been aware of. (Having said that first dream in AGES that I've remembered!) The Queen was visiting somewhere or other. She spoke English, but everyone else spoke in French.

OK - here we go (houses again!)

There's a house quite near the centre of Pessac which is advertised at a price WAY outside our budget. However they have not sold it, which suggests that the price is too high. It also has certain drawbacks which we wouldn't mind - for example it's on the main road into Pessac town centre. Well for our purposes that makes it easy to find, although the garden wall does have a certain amount of graffiti on it. The price of living near the town centre. It also has a big advertising hoarding in the garden, but that brings in 3000 euros a year rent (enough to pay all our council tax and some left over). It's within a walk of Gwilym's school and a short tram ride of Catrin's. It's well looked after. So tomorrow afternoon I/we am/are going to go see the house once more, and then as long as we don't get drastically put off we'll make an offer near the top of our budget. If they say no, they say no. But at least it gives them a chance to sell and us a chance

Ooh la la!

In France it's a good idea to buy a house from a solicitor ( notaire ). They charge lower fees to the vendor, so they can accept a lower price, and they do you a special deal on the legal fees. Well a solicitor arranged to show us a house in Pessac. Same secrecy about where the house was and stuff. We even parked round the corner from the house! But as soon as we met the lady and she showed me the picture of the house I knew I had seen it before and rejected it because of a very small, very overlooked garden (a gym full of Thai boxers staring down into your lounge all day...) She said "It doesn't matter. Though you sign that bon de visite , it has no standing in law. You buy from whoever you want to buy from. It's like buying a car. You buy from whoever gives you the best price and no one can stop you doing that." That's good news because if we eventually decide to go with the upside-down house, it's for sale with the notaires, too. Unless, of course, the

Getting ready to preach this Sunday

How do I feel about it? 1) Quite excited. I am enjoying the preparation. After all, at last I am back to doing what I did before - it's the same task, but different words. More of a challenge, but then I only have to preach once this week! Ecclesiastes 12:10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words and what he wrote was upright and true. Perhaps you could pray that it will be the case with me. It's a pity that most of my books are still in boxes, and that they have to stay that way for the present, too! 2) Quite terrified. It's not the language. I am sure that some people will have problems with my accent, but I have happily chatted with virtually everyone in the church now, and if they can follow my mindless prattle then they'll be able to follow my carefully chosen words, I hope! No - it is now about 11 months since I last preached. Will I be too emotionally moved? (I am the minister who used to get moved at weddings, especially when it was a new happy begi

One door shuts another opens

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The house in Pessac (proche fac et trams) was sold last night. (Wot! On a Sunday?) We're kind of OK with that, because it narrows the field down a little! But we saw this one, in Villenave, near where we live now, but closer to the ring road and the supermarket. Their asking price is within our budget. The house would be a good family house, and probably quite cheap to run (double glazed, gas heating). My only concern is that one bedroom has a very uneven floor. The owner says it was like that when they moved in and it's due to one of the joists twisting. The agent suggested I ask a joiner to have a look at it. All the beams and joists are exposed, so that shouldn't be too hard to ascertain. This afternoon I'll ring the bank about surveys, joiners, etc.

The service was followed by a meal

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First aperos (pizzas, nuts, cake with ham and olives in it, etc) while Sammy lit the barbecue. You have to guess whether the food is on the left side or the right side of the tent.  

Some brief readings

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during which time Colette was sat on a small stool, as she was during the baptism itself. (I had told Sammy that at Deeside we generally had two people doing the baptisms to give added reassurance to the person baptised. But at that time I didn't know they have people sitting down in France!)

The baptism was held in an inflatable pool in the garden

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with a tent alongside for Colette to change in. Colette used the ladder to climb into the pool, but it was low enough for Sammy to step over.  

Today was Colette's baptism

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There were lots of folk at church, including a couple I had met at Branoux at the synode in February. It was good to see them again. Colette spoke during the service, very powerfully. Sammy preached about baptism into Christ's death. 

A day to reflect

It was good to have a day off from househunting, which has turned Pat cross-eyed and done my head in. Gwilym and Catrin were at a Scouts jamboree. Pat was on a sortie des dames . So I did various jobs quietly by myself and reflected (I never reflected about anything before I came to France, but réfléchir is what French people do always.) The house in Villenave (flat upstairs, big workshop rooms downstairs) would be ideal as a family and for meetings at our home. But it is still in Villenave, not in Pessac. We have one house lined up to see in Pessac that could do, too, near university and trams. We should see that one then go for it, I think. Odd jobs? Pat and her sister in Burnham (Slough, but don't tell her I said that) look very similar, so we bought them matching tee-shirts from Géant. It was a "buy one get one free" thing. I got them. They were much too big. Bad mistake! So I changed the red xxxl for aqua xl. TV. It's been on the blink for a long time. It would

Tozer - a man in heaven

The teaching of the New Testament is that now, at this very moment, there is a Man in heaven appearing in the presence of God for us. He is as certainly a man as was Adam or Moses or Paul; he is a man glorified, but his glorification did not de-humanize him. Today he is a real man, of the race of mankind, bearing our lineaments and dimensions, a visible and audible man, whom any other man would recognize instantly as one of us.But more than this, he is the heir of all things, Lord of all lords, head of the church, firstborn of the new creation. He is the way to God, the life of the believer, the hope of Israel, and the high priest of every true worshiper. He holds the keys of death and hell, and stands as advocate and surety for everyone who believes on him in truth. Salvation comes not by accepting the finished work, or deciding for Christ; it comes by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole, living, victorious Lord who, as God and man, fought our fight and won it, accepted our

Before we commit ourselves below we are going to try and see this one

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It's in Pessac . Four bedrooms. A much more 'normal' house, but less potential for meeting rooms, having teams to camp, etc. Prox Fac et tram Sur 229 m2 terr Mais BE RDC :Entrée, séjour et cuisine ouverte env 50m2 sur jardin Placards- Cellier et garage avec rochelle Etage: 4 chbres- 1 SdB ( Baignoire et douche) 

Friday's "crop"

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Today we saw a massive house in Bègles - it had three bedrooms, but then it also had another two bedroom cottage at the bottom of the garden. It was big . It was on the market at a very high price. It needed a bit of work to be done. But the vendor is in a hurry, so they may take a low offer. Too much work for us though - we are not looking for a project. Then the agent remembered this house, which I had seen on the solicitors' website. (The solicitors also sell houses.) It could be great for us. Again it is too expensive, but it has been dropped in price a few times and the vendor WANTS to sell. It has three bedrooms and a nice lounge, a small kitchen. Oil central heating, but the thing that makes it attractive is that all that is upstairs. Then downstairs you have a huge garage, a big office, a big junk/playroom and a big boiler room - there is as much room downstairs as there is upstairs. This could be the one - my only real concern is that it may need rewiring, and it is a big

Cities are important in God's plan

After all the Bible begins in a garden, but finishes up in a city (a garden-city, I'll grant you, but it's a city nevertheless!) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/world/06/urbanisation/html/urbanisation.stm

It's hot

We have this clock thermometer thing in the living room. The time is set automatically by some radio station somewhere, and it tells us what the temperature is in the room. I got it so that we could feel warm when the room is 20° in winter but we don't feel warm, if you know what I mean. £1.29 in Lidl, or something like that. It has probably paid for itself several times over in heating oil over the years. Anyway, the other morning at breakfast time (7:15?) I was thinking what a cool breeze was wafting through the room. It was 26°C. We felt a little chilly, if anything! Today I was told it hit 40° in Bordeaux. If we keep the windows, shutters and bathroom door closed we can keep the temperature in the house down to about 27°. Some people fear a repeat of the killer heatwave of 2003 when thousands died, principally the elderly and infirm. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3077464.stm

There's giants everywhere!

There is no use in thinking about the giants. I mean, there's a lot of people out there with more money than we have who have a head start on things and can snap houses up quickly. I am told that houses go on the market in the morning and are sold the same evening (though I suspect some of this is salesman's rhetoric!) Meanwhile in the church we are looking for new premises both for the pastor and family and for the church itself - the house we now use has been sold to an international property development company for a seven figure sum (euros though!) How can we compete with these big companies? Hang on! Hang on! Wasn't there a little nation that hovered on the brink of their own land because of the giants who were there before them? There is no future in fear. Rather let's plough on and see what God will do. You never know what will happen just when you are on the verge of throwing in the towel.

Lastly this one

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at Pessac Magonty (and not Patrick Maginty). Quite a long way out. This house needs some TLC. It was rented out (!), then put up for sale 7 months ago. The garden hasn't been touched since. The lounge is really good - second only to the palatial lounge of the Landaise, but it had these two nasty looking trees. the one at the front of the house is really big, growing from about 2 feet from the wall and overshadowing the roof a lot. The enormous tree at the back looks to me like a willow. Trouble with these things is that you are never sure whether it is better to leave the tree alone until it causes a problem, or remove it - because removing the tree can also cause problems. Anyway, the house is too far out of Pessac to make up for the drawbacks. It's a pity. It could be nice.

In the afternoon another agent took us to see

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this pretty little bungalow on the frontier between Pessac and Mérignac. (Congratulations England) That's quite convenient for school but not brilliant for students. The house had a very small lounge. I asked the nice owner where they ate. She said, here on the sofa round this low table. It had 3 bedrooms, a little office, a big long conservatory, uPVC windows with electric shutters and wooden ceilings to cover up the polystyrene tiles left there by a previous owner. And it was air-conditioned. The garden had lots of nooks and crannies and an amazing brick built barbecue that was almost a fitted kitchen, with lots of cupboards and worktops!And it was the cheapest house we have seen yet. I think we'd be tempted by this one if it didn't mean TV dinners for ever.  

Then we went to see this house in Cestas

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but it's on a busy road and a long way out of Pessac. On the way back to the office, the Impreza had an appointment with an unmarked police Renault Scenic with a radar speed camera shooting through a little window in the tailgate.

The Househunt: saga continues

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This morning I had an appointment with Cédric and his Subaru Impreza. He was quite imprezza'ed when I told him that some British people nickname the cars "Scoubidous". Anyway, I had told him I didn't like the look of this house, so he arranged for us to go and look more closely. The house is OK. 4 bedrooms, which means I wouldn't have to work in the garage. Nice garden. Nice big terrace with plastic roof thingy and brick built barbecue (see the little chimney thing) The house is priced well, but it hasn't sold because: 1) it's on an estate of houses that all look just the same 2) it's decorated in a very outmoded style. e.g. dark wood kitchen with dark tiles and dark paint. All glosswork painted in brownish colours. Blue bathroom suite with blue tiles, blue wallpaper and blue paintwork. But a huge drum of magnolia and a lot of white gloss would make a huge difference. This could be a good family house. Also good for having lots of people on the terrac