New Beginnings (Part Three)

It took several months to get to the signing stage of the sale - well 5 in total, but we got there in the end. The date was set as January 11th, but we hadn't allowed for the fact that the ferries adopt a Winter Timetable, and the flights were not on the appropriate days, so we ended up using the Channel Tunnel and then subsequently the drive from Calais to Huelgoat. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone - especially with a tight schedule, and we actually forfeited the return ticket and booked a ferry from Caen to Portsmouth to get back to the UK.

We stayed at Hotel du Lac in Huelgoat, and excitedly met the Estate Agent at his office on the morning of the signing. He came with us to the Notaires, and we were surprised to meet up with the sellers at this point. They were two brothers, who had inherited the house from their Uncle. He had died in the local retirement home, but we have heard several stories about him since - not nasty, I hasten to add !

The signing was quite elongated, and we were very grateful for the services of the Agent (who was English, and could speak a little French), and the Notaire (who was French, but could speak a little English !). There were a lot of signatures to be completed and a lot of initialling - all of which appeared to lean towards the males first - I was an afterthought, I think !

Afterwards, the two brothers took us all for a meal - how civilised is that ! We did have some photographs of this occasion, but sadly they have disappeared in a puff of smoke - or in this case in a cracked CD Rom (HINT - back up all photographs in as many ways as possible!).

After the meal, we all went to our new house, and they showed us round, introduced us to the neighbours, showed us which apples trees were best for jam, and handed over the keys - when I think of the English system of handing the keys over to a Solicitor or an Estate Agent, this seems so much more friendly.

We were given this photograph of the house taken in 1943, which we fully intend to frame at some point. We believe that the couple on the left are the owners, and the man on the horse, may be their son, who COULD be the Uncle that the house was inherited from. I feel quite privileged to have this picture, and would love to discover more of the history at some point. We do have a great piece of history from the War era, which I will share in another blog though.

Anyway, the house is ours............and the adventures begin...........