Our Seventh Week Working In Camping Le Moulin In Chef-Boutonne

This week saw the first of a few things...

The first one-man-with-a-tent-and-a-bike. Actually two of them arrived only twenty minutes of each other. I’d assumed they knew each other, but it was just pure coincidence. They ended up drinking and chatting all evening. The first barbecue; a small group of friends set their caravans on our grounds for a few days on their way down to the coast near Biarritz. The first game of boulle – every Tuesday at 2pm, Nigel and friends have a few matches. The first dip in the pool on 2 May! It’d felt right after a long day of weeding, but the cold water was almost painful. After ten frenetic lengths, my body still hadn’t warmed up. I could feel the cold almost paralysing my neck. It certainly didn’t feel right! I went back in the next day with Jerry (see last week’s blog; one of the mobile home owners) in his wet suit! When he’d told us he enjoyed swimming with his combi on, I’d thought he was joking... The sun was still shining then and the water was a little bit warmer.

Camping Le Moulin's boulle players! From left to right; Nigel, Nigel's friend from Fontenille, Ron and Roger.



Jerry having a dip in the pool in his wet suit!

Yes, it was quite cold! The water thermometer marked 18 degrees.
It was also my first “French appointments”. Ron & June (who owns one of the mobile homes on the camping side) needed help with the 2CV after-sales customer service. Ron needed a refund after ordering the wrong part. The campers, Richard and Penny who have been looking for a house to buy in the area (c.f. last week’s blog; we looked after their dog, Mossy) asked us to translate their solicitor’s detailed fees and cost breakdown... This was quite a challenge. I couldn’t translate anything without “Googling it” first!  It was all specific expressions and terms used in solicitors jargon. It was a whole new language to me. Words I had never actually heard of or even seen written before.

Willy & Jill are ever so generous and keep giving us food that they don’t need; fresh homemade sausages, chicken nuggets (they’d got on offer), tins of tunas and baked beans and lastly, after their freezer broke, some homemade chick pea chilly they’d made too much of and a bag of carrots and peas! Others have given us alcohol, from Kronenbourg bottles to nice French red wine. We fill a little spoilt. It feels like a treat after working hard all week. We’ve finally finished weeding around the mobile homes area. The statics' side of the campsite is starting to look good and people are pleased!

Weeding one of the last mobile homes' pitches.
We finished the week working in the restaurant for the Sunday feast: a proper British roast. Once a month, Stuart and Sarah get a band to play for the afternoon. Quite a few people had booked a table for the occasion. It was packed and noisy. People were having fun. We certainly had fun behind the scene. It’s always a nice change to be working in the restaurant with Alex and Sarah. Although we’re all busy, we have a good laugh and giggles. At the end of the shift, Alex and I applauded Jamie‘s expertise in washing dishes – he’s definitely got the nack; he’s so fast.

In full concentration mode... Plating the dishes for the roast with Alex.

Time for a nice pict!


After a mini wave of the motorhomers. caravaners and "tenters", the campsite’s quiet again. It is lively though as quite a few of the mobile homes are occupied. Let's see if a few more campers visit us next week...

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