The Chateau Diaries #208 Dan who is not the man akka "Manless Dan"

[Freesia54]

Shall we go together?
Actually, I know a few and they are often bliss.

So long as you don't talk to me

 

[JackSpratt]

Dan is an abysmal builder, so slap dash and 'that'll do'. There's no way that work is up to code. I can see that extension having to be torn down and rebuilt in the future. And don't get me started on the kids playing underneath where he's laying breeze blocks.

IF, they intend to sell this make do and mend house, it will all come back to bit him in the arse because it's not been done by a professional. A customer of ours is currently selling her house and the buyers want receipts, as in builders estimates invoices for the work that's been done. Her husband has done the work the only receipts they've got are the purchase ones for the materials. Another customer had to take out decinale insurance for the work they'd done themselves when it came to selling. Couldn't believe the plank was laying breeze blocks above that lintel, standing on a rickety scaffold in the friggin dark!

 

[KiKiGee]

This comment from Alice Allan, over a month ago...

Alice Allan
1 month ago
My name at the end is not listed on patrons! What’s going on?
REPLY
The Chateau Diaries
1 month ago
I don’t know, I’ll look into it straight away, Alice

This comment was posted by @Ginginger, in the last thread.
There are now replies but no action from Stephanie Jarvis, Philip Janssen or Natalia Oliveto???
Interesting, Lin Gell joined YT, Dec 13, 2022.

Alice Allan
7 days ago
You basically do what ever you want anyway! I’m still waiting to hear from Stephanie as to why my name was removed as patron. The last donation was toward your goal for the salon. If I didn’t make that large donation you wouldn’t have made your goal!!!! Should I be requesting a refund!!!!
REPLY
Lin Gell
5 days ago
How rude ! Lots of us are patrons we donate because we want to . Not for the glory or for any particular project or for anything in return, just for the love of everything Lalande .
REPLY
Alice Allan
5 days ago
@Lin Gell lm not rude! It’s certainly not for any reconnection ! I just happen to notice my name wasn’t on the patron list. As I have been a patron for three years.
REPLY
Lin Gell
5 days ago
@Alice Allan You wrote that they wouldn’t have the money for the salon without you …really … I doubt that ! And if you don’t want recognition why say . I never even looked for my name .
REPLY
Alice Allan
5 days ago
@Lin Gell why are you so hostile? Of course if I didn’t make a substantial donation the goal would continue…. But YES I want my name on the list of patrons, because I do support Lalande with monetary donations and gifts.

 

[JackSpratt]

i know they work a lott with these blocks in France...have to say...never been close to a buildingsite there...but it looks odd to me..those blocks get damp...does it need insulation and plasterboard on the inside.?? or is he putting another stone wall up on the inside.?? its all very strange...

If he's got any sense and we know that's doubtful, the interior needs decent insulatation as I would hope the rest of that house has and then plasterboarded out. It would never surprise me for one of his up and coming dailies to be 'The extention fell down'.

View attachment 1889175
This comment from Alice Allan, over a month ago...

Alice Allan
1 month ago
My name at the end is not listed on patrons! What’s going on?
REPLY
The Chateau Diaries
1 month ago
I don’t know, I’ll look into it straight away, Alice

This comment was posted by @Ginginger, in the last thread.
There are now replies but no action from Stephanie Jarvis, Philip Janssen or Natalia Oliveto???
Interesting, Lin Gell joined YT, Dec 13, 2022.
Alice Allan
7 days ago
You basically do what ever you want anyway! I’m still waiting to hear from Stephanie as to why my name was removed as patron. The last donation was toward your goal for the salon. If I didn’t make that large donation you wouldn’t have made your goal!!!! Should I be requesting a refund!!!!
REPLY
Lin Gell
5 days ago
How rude ! Lots of us are patrons we donate because we want to . Not for the glory or for any particular project or for anything in return, just for the love of everything Lalande .
REPLY
Alice Allan
5 days ago
@Lin Gell lm not rude! It’s certainly not for any reconnection ! I just happen to notice my name wasn’t on the patron list. As I have been a patron for three years.
REPLY
Lin Gell
5 days ago
@Alice Allan You wrote that they wouldn’t have the money for the salon without you …really … I doubt that ! And if you don’t want recognition why say . I never even looked for my name .
REPLY
Alice Allan
5 days ago
@Lin Gell why are you so hostile? Of course if I didn’t make a substantial donation the goal would continue…. But YES I want my name on the list of patrons, because I do support Lalande with monetary donations and gifts.

Brilliant, come on Alice go for the jugular, the 15 and the hags are right behind you.

I agree 100%. When I was working and had a cleaning person (a friend, actually), I spent a good hour the night before she was coming over, putting stuff away and tidying up. My husband thought I was nuts, but I wanted her to really clean and not have a bunch of stuff in the way. Believe it or not, I also didn't have her clean the toilets. I felt like that was the "resident's" responsibility, and made sure my husband and kids cleaned any "messes" they made). I miss those days. I'm retired now and cannot justify the expense of hiring a cleaning person, (for a much smaller place, I might add), all because I'm feeling lazy these days. Although to be fair to my dear little self, I have had a significant back injury for the last 18 months, and haven't been able to do much.

Not that anyone here knows me, but I believe there are many kind-hearted people here (we haters are actually not a bad bunch...). I am sharing that my mother just passed away this afternoon. I had just spent the last 20 hours, sitting with her, whispering to her, holding her hand, sponging her raging fever, suctioning her... and came home to take a nap and shower and she passed while I was gone. She was not alone, but as her closest family member, I was her everything so it feels pretty bad. The hospice nurse told me that it happens because people don't want their loved ones to be there. I know that's how it was with my dad--he waited until the one evening my mom went home (after six months of never leaving his side!) and he died that night. So, I'm here on tattle, trying to escape sadness and yet I'm writing about it. This week will be tough, but after three months of craziness, worry, and sadness, I will be ready to get back to some aspect of normalcy. She was 92. May Bonnie rest In peace and be with all her loved ones who went before her. Thanks for letting me do a little personal derail.

Right there with you, having just gone through the same. I wasn't even in the same country when my Mum passed in November. My brother and sister in law beat themselves up because they were not there either. Mum died in the arms of one of her favourite carers and I know that's how she wanted it not us sitting around her bedside. Do not feel guilty, you've done what you needed/ wanted to do for your Mum and she would have known. Your Dad was there and came and got her because she was ready. xxxxxx

 

[MRShavershamsdress]

PhiPhimodo is a bad actor, I wonder if PhiPhimodo is also a loud moaner trying to convince everybody...


Nobody wants to claim PhiPhimodo. The idiot chatelaine only does it, because she was busted by Channel 4. (We must never forget that!)
The fact that PhiPhimodo is also highly unintelligent both academically and socially. PhiPhimodo's responses in the comments, PhiPhimodo's interuption of conversations and PhiPhimodo barely has anything of substance to say. I dislike Nic "Chickenwings" Larkin, but kudos to him for sticking it to PhiPhimodo by talking in a level PhiPhimodo can't comprehend. I mean, for all we know PhiPhimodo believes The Keynesian Beauty Contest is about being pretty. LOL
Lastly, if PhiPhimodo turned out to be trans or non-binary, I would never claim PhiPhimodo as part of my tribe. In fact I don't think any LGBT+ members of this forum would ever claim PhiPhimodo neither as part of their tribe nor as a paramour.

Certainly not this member of the tribe. What I would support is if he got himself some therapy, donned the proverbial hair shirt and spent the next 30 or so years in public penance. Only then would I re-evaluate his membership. I’ll hold my breath!🫢

 

[JackSpratt]

it always puzzles me...why people emigrate to France...buying an old house and a huge piece of land...which in a few years they wont be able to keep tidy..to health or other issues....you can buy a nice new house with 500m2 for like 200000 euros or less..install a swimmingpool and you can have a nice life..why buy that old crap with huge land attatched??? and a nasty neighbor...have to say i wouldnt like to live next to Kathy...but.. to film chickens?? and complain about things you are not able to do anymore..when you are getting older...downsize and make your life easy...and easy to maintain..

Our house is not huge but bigger than what we had in the UK. We live out in a little hamlet of 25 houses with no access to public transport so a car is needed. We've already been saying that when we retire (ha ha) we will downsize and hopefully move into the small town which has everything we'd need and is about 10km from us as there will come a time when it will become difficult to drive. It's lovely having a bigger house and being rural but there comes a time when you have to put the practical head on. So many do this here and then eventually sell up and move back to the UK because the house has got too much for them to manage.

 

[MRShavershamsdress]

Phillipa is straight. He'd like to be gay or bi but the gay guys rejected him. I bet there are lots of women swooning for him though. Gays are notoriously fussy.

Damn skippy we are! It’s all that work of learning to accept ourselves! And to quote Tammy the Popstar, “we don’t spread for no roses”!

 

[tarteauxfruits]

IF, they intend to sell this make do and mend house, it will all come back to bit him in the arse because it's not been done by a professional. A customer of ours is currently selling her house and the buyers want receipts, as in builders estimates invoices for the work that's been done. Her husband has done the work the only receipts they've got are the purchase ones for the materials. Another customer had to take out decinale insurance for the work they'd done themselves when it came to selling. Couldn't believe the plank was laying breeze blocks above that lintel, standing on a rickety scaffold in the friggin dark!

I used to try and tell him as much but my comments were deleted. There’s nothing to the French normes that he’s done with that damn extension.
Mixing the slab by hand in the middle of summer. no ferraillage in the foundation. No ferraillage or ceinture in the walls to tie it together. Wooden lintels in a new building. No amount of render could hide that mess.

 

[JackSpratt]

I don't get it either. It's mind boggling that people don't do any homework before uprooting themselves and often their children and sometimes the grandparents to move somewhere where they have never lived, don't know anyone, don't speak the language, sell their home back in the country they came from, don't know anything about restoration or construction, and sink every penny they have into something the French themselves don't want because they know better! Mon dieu! As a born and bred American, I do understand where some of this comes from. We grow up being idealists and optimists. It's ingrained in us to think positively about our future and that we can achieve anything with a bit of luck and some hard work. You need some brains and critical thinking skills too, which is often lacking.

So so many do because they can get a bigger property, which is fine but it all takes upkeep. We could have gone bigger but why, what we have is enough and we struggle to keep on top of that sometimes because of work. We planned our move way before we sold up in the uk. We knew it was going to be a hard slog because we were not coming here to retire, we needed to find work. Feel proud of ourselves as we've never asked for any help, learnt the language (that's been probably the hardest and most frustrating at times but we've done it) and got ourselves established with a business.

 

[ploppityplop2]

F4F doesn’t know Ruby the cat is a boy? She really doesn’t give a tit about animals. What a crappy self absorbed grifting faux princess.

She didn’t bother getting him neutered and wondered why he was always getting in fights! Thankfully Selmar sorted his out probably out of his own pocket.

 

[JackSpratt]

I used to try and tell him as much but my comments were deleted. There’s nothing to the French normes that he’s done with that damn extension.
Mixing the slab by hand in the middle of summer. no ferraillage in the foundation. No ferraillage or ceinture in the walls to tie it together. Wooden lintels in a new building. No amount of render could hide that mess.

Yep. Also knew sommeone who did a job similar to what Dan the Plank is doing. When they sold the new buyers ended up with a flooded house the first time it poured down with rain. We had a customer last year tried to claim on his insurance because the extension the customer had built got underfloor water damage and he said it was the plumbing that had been leaking. The insurance assessor went there along with Mr Spratt, plumbing all ok but she then pointed out to the customer had he not noticed the extention had been put right where the run off from the fields opposite were and he'd not put in sufficient drainage/dampcourse. The result no insurance payout.

 

[john eccles]

IF, they intend to sell this make do and mend house, it will all come back to bit him in the arse because it's not been done by a professional. A customer of ours is currently selling her house and the buyers want receipts, as in builders estimates invoices for the work that's been done. Her husband has done the work the only receipts they've got are the purchase ones for the materials. Another customer had to take out decinale insurance for the work they'd done themselves when it came to selling. Couldn't believe the plank was laying breeze blocks above that lintel, standing on a rickety scaffold in the friggin dark!

Jack Spratt, another little gem caught my eye, check the three courses (at least) of breeze blocks on the top left hand side of the wall. He never used any ties or staggered the blocks into the existing wall. Sure, what could go wrong?

 

[MRShavershamsdress]

my father used to say...het bezit van de zaak is het einde van het vermaak...it means something like....when you live your dream...there is nothing left to dream about...and reality is always different than the dream...owning a big house is very different than dreaming about one...

When my grandmother decided to move out of the big house and pass it down to us, her sister was horrified. She simply wouldn’t stop bothering her about it. My gran finally shut her up by saying “Little Sister, as hard as I try, I can only live in one room at a time.” Sensible woman my grandmother.

 

[Just Grift Wood]

View attachment 1888982

GoGo Chateau
2 hours ago
okay, I can't stop crying.... that was incredibly moving....Stephanie you really have created a love funnel. beautiful....

View attachment 1888989

eww a love funnel what a grotesque though hope it isn't damp and mildewy like the house

Yep. Also knew sommeone who did a job similar to what Dan the Plank is doing. When they sold the new buyers ended up with a flooded house the first time it poured down with rain. We had a customer last year tried to claim on his insurance because the extension the customer had built got underfloor water damage and he said it was the plumbing that had been leaking. The insurance assessor went there along with Mr Spratt, plumbing all ok but she then pointed out to the customer had he not noticed the extention had been put right where the run off from the fields opposite were and he'd not put in sufficient drainage/dampcourse. The result no insurance payout.

I honestly think his house will be unsaleable in France-they need so many reports for the sale of a property and this is a real bodge it and scarper. It will have lots of issues

 

[billybudd]

I agree 100%. When I was working and had a cleaning person (a friend, actually), I spent a good hour the night before she was coming over, putting stuff away and tidying up. My husband thought I was nuts, but I wanted her to really clean and not have a bunch of stuff in the way. Believe it or not, I also didn't have her clean the toilets. I felt like that was the "resident's" responsibility, and made sure my husband and kids cleaned any "messes" they made). I miss those days. I'm retired now and cannot justify the expense of hiring a cleaning person, (for a much smaller place, I might add), all because I'm feeling lazy these days. Although to be fair to my dear little self, I have had a significant back injury for the last 18 months, and haven't been able to do much.

Not that anyone here knows me, but I believe there are many kind-hearted people here (we haters are actually not a bad bunch...). I am sharing that my mother just passed away this afternoon. I had just spent the last 20 hours, sitting with her, whispering to her, holding her hand, sponging her raging fever, suctioning her... and came home to take a nap and shower and she passed while I was gone. She was not alone, but as her closest family member, I was her everything so it feels pretty bad. The hospice nurse told me that it happens because people don't want their loved ones to be there. I know that's how it was with my dad--he waited until the one evening my mom went home (after six months of never leaving his side!) and he died that night. So, I'm here on tattle, trying to escape sadness and yet I'm writing about it. This week will be tough, but after three months of craziness, worry, and sadness, I will be ready to get back to some aspect of normalcy. She was 92. May Bonnie rest In peace and be with all her loved ones who went before her. Thanks for letting me do a little personal derail.

It always consoles me to think that suffering has ended.
You've been a good daughter.
So sorry for your loss.
Love from me and Breughel.

 

[Just Grift Wood]

It always consoles me to think that suffering has ended.
You've been a good daughter.
So sorry for your loss.
Love from me and Breughel.
View attachment 1889348

What a lovely message. Whatever age we get to losing a parent is so tough. I think you're right though caring for loved ones is the best thing we can do towards the end . xx

 

[billybudd]

I'm so sorry... I think you're absolutely right, they wait not to upset you, I remember my sister saying my dad wouldn't let go, she finally told him it was okay, he can go now, we all loved him etc... and he died within minutes...

Same here. I got food poisoning (or it could have been psychic) and could not leave home to go sit with my mother. She died almost immediately with the death doula rubbing her feet and saying it was okay to go, and the nurse holding her hand.

 

[MRShavershamsdress]

View attachment 1889175
This comment from Alice Allan, over a month ago...

Alice Allan
1 month ago
My name at the end is not listed on patrons! What’s going on?
REPLY
The Chateau Diaries
1 month ago
I don’t know, I’ll look into it straight away, Alice

This comment was posted by @Ginginger, in the last thread.
There are now replies but no action from Stephanie Jarvis, Philip Janssen or Natalia Oliveto???
Interesting, Lin Gell joined YT, Dec 13, 2022.
Alice Allan
7 days ago
You basically do what ever you want anyway! I’m still waiting to hear from Stephanie as to why my name was removed as patron. The last donation was toward your goal for the salon. If I didn’t make that large donation you wouldn’t have made your goal!!!! Should I be requesting a refund!!!!
REPLY
Lin Gell
5 days ago
How rude ! Lots of us are patrons we donate because we want to . Not for the glory or for any particular project or for anything in return, just for the love of everything Lalande .
REPLY
Alice Allan
5 days ago
@Lin Gell lm not rude! It’s certainly not for any reconnection ! I just happen to notice my name wasn’t on the patron list. As I have been a patron for three years.
REPLY
Lin Gell
5 days ago
@Alice Allan You wrote that they wouldn’t have the money for the salon without you …really … I doubt that ! And if you don’t want recognition why say . I never even looked for my name .
REPLY
Alice Allan
5 days ago
@Lin Gell why are you so hostile? Of course if I didn’t make a substantial donation the goal would continue…. But YES I want my name on the list of patrons, because I do support Lalande with monetary donations and gifts.

I’ve not been able to find this exchange, but I’m searching. I did find this gem…

 

[Just Grift Wood]

I’ve not been able to find this exchange, but im searching I did find this gem…

View attachment 1889376

There seems to be more dissent bubbling up. I loathe the way even polite criticism gets the gangster Granny's on the attack they're nastier than those they label trolls.

On Fanny not knowing the sex of Ruby that will undoubtedly mean the poor thing has never gone to the vet. Is the cat ever wormed, given tic and flea treatments? Fanny might want to know 80% of ginger cats are male. Just a bit of trivia

 

[billybudd]

Anna's decorating style is very conservative, dare I say bland, and quite one note, but there is a focus on quality.
Fanny's decorating style is non- existent - it's like a peacock threw up in a paint factory. Fanny makes expensive look tacky and her decor is best described as shabby with no chic.

I'll take bland, clean quality over a tacky, filthy phantasmagorical mish-mash any time.

Did we ever come to a conclusion or plausible speculation about what happened to the Fleuries' mortgage? As I recall it was very much pegged to their B and B business plan -- they couldn't get a mortgage until they nailed business reno goals and income down in a business plan for the bank. So all of a sudden they've paid off their mortage, re-negotiated it, made it go away or at least the part requiring B n B income?
I do think they're going to flip, that's Philipp's track record. The dining room and mud room renos seem soulless, compared to the loving care and interest other projects got. Gate-building was interesting, especially when focussing on the stone carving artisan dude, but -- that's curb-appeal flippy stuff. What happened to Anna's wall paper/tile/mural/gilding projects, which were really good? What happened to the proposed restoration of the old farm buildings, which I was really looking forward to? Still waiting for permission? If they have $$$ for Teslas and yachts it strikes me they ought to have money for the outbuildings.
There has been a big change of energy there, and I think it's Anna -- she's not doing her artistic energy. All we're getting is Philipp's douchelord energy.