Renovation

No good reason for backblipping today -- just Orange cutting us off again. Three times in one day.

We went to the market in Lézignan for the first time in several weeks. On the road into Lézignan there are -- or were -- two huge houses built in the late 19th century, big enough to house both family and wine cave. Originally they must have been surrounded by their own vines, but as the town expanded they became two white elephants slowly crumbling away in a sea of small, tatty terraced houses.

A couple of months ago one of them was demolished to make way for a new, yet to be constructed médiathèque. Since we were last at the market, the other has been transformed. Too often, renovation around here is a synonym for "rip out all the windows and doors and replace them with naff moulded uPVC." So I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this. They've kept the original stained glass and the little decorative panels above the smaller windows, and restored the classic glass auvent above the balcony. Instead of stripping back to rough stone that was never intended to be seen, it's been beautifully re-rendered. The barn door has been replaced with big glass and metal doors to let light into the building. And the massive iron gates have been carefully cleaned of rust (I hope they don't paint them, they look great like this). It's going to be magnificent. I can almost forgive them for cutting the trees in the courtyard down. Work is still going on inside; I'm curious now about who has bought it and what they intend to do with it. I'd also like to know where they found builders who can work so quickly ... in August!