I arrive in the village of Preixan, a small hilltop village 10k outside the city Carcassonne, France, on exceptionally hot day. Priexan was once a busy wine producing cirulcade village established over 1,000 years ago. I’ll be spending the next few days at Sidmums, a travelers retreat.
Jan, the owner, a transplant from England with good business shrewdness, had a scheme of exchanging lodging for help with the upkeep. This was my opportunity to give back!
Jan was eager to accomplish two projects. Build a set of window shutters, and a shelter for bicycles. Normally, a relatively simple undertaking, turned out to much more of a challenge. Not only did I have to contend with temperatures in the 90’s, but also with the very limited resources and some extraordinarily old tools.
At 8am the following day, I took a careful assessment of available materials. I started with the shutters. The shutters required two complete sets of iron hardware; hinges and ample stock to complete. What I found was a collection of very old broken shutters, barely enough for one good set. I labored in the hot sun for almost six hours scraping together enough materials, breaking three saw blades in the process.
Throughout the day, Jan kept asking me to take a break, but I knew if I stopped, I would get too absorbed into the beautiful setting of Sidmums. However, Jan did eventually convince me to take a lunch break. During my brief respite, I relaxed under a tree eating some local fruit picked up on my way to Sidmums. The view was spectacular overlooking the long-standing vineyards below. After lunch, I began assembly and test fitting. By 6pm, the shutters were ready for final fitting and sanding. I would leave the bicycle shelter for tomorrow.
The next day, with the bike shelter completed, Jan, myself and the other guest had a wonderful dinner, sharing stories under the sunset and connecting in a way when you make new friends.
