Dear guests,

Please note down the meter readings in the garage, in the booklet provided there, upon arrival and departure; record all meters. The yellow one is the main fuse. You can see the numbers by pressing the button at the bottom of the meter. Grey: at the top is Becky’s house (the former barn). The black one on the left is Uki’s meter. The blue one is for the water pump and internet. Next to the washing machine (Tanya’s) on the opposite side is Tanya’s house. So please note down all meter readings, regardless of which houses are occupied. Around 1/3 of consumption is at the low-rate tariff (HC – €0.0477), 2/3 at the standard tariff (HP – €0.078).

In the entrance hall, on the left-hand side, there is a small wooden door with a padlock behind a small curtain. The key is in a bowl in the small wall recess diagonally above it, if it is locked at all. Please be careful with the electrical contacts! There is a white switch there: centre = off-peak tariff. Off-peak times (2.30–7.30 am and 2.30–5.30 pm) or I Sun = 24-hour operation (very expensive!). After adjusting the setting, always hang the padlock back in place! The hot water boiler and the water pump are located in the basement beneath the entrance hall; you can access this area through the green wooden door below the kitchen terrace. The key code for this is 000.

Fireplaces: The fireplace in the entrance hall and the one in the living room are both wood-burning; you’ll find wood all over the grounds or under the kitchen terrace. Please let us know if a lot of wood has been used so that we can reorder in good time. There is a chainsaw in the cellar. Don’t forget the oil when using the saw! And please handle it with care to avoid any injuries!!!

When you light a fire, store the ashes temporarily in the grey bucket with a lid.

Kerosene heaters heat up quickly. Open the grille, remove the cylinder, and, depending on the model, either press both switches down or turn the large round switch. The wick will then rise and can be lit. Replace the cylinder and close the grille. The switches remain in the pressed or turned position until the red off button is pressed. You can smell the paraffin when switching the heater on and off. However, the smell dissipates quickly as soon as the cylinder turns slightly red. You may need to turn the cylinder slightly, as an open flame should not be visible. Kerosene is available at BricoMarche (Lezignan) and also at Spar in St. Laurent. If you’re only here for a short while, you can also check whether there’s any kerosene left down in the workshop. If possible, use up the canisters in the stoves themselves, as condensation can form there, rendering the stoves unusable.
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***

For the stove – blue. Refill in Lezignan – at the Intermarché at the petrol station, or at any other location (usually linked to petrol stations). Take your old bottle with you and buy a new one.

Please use water sparingly, especially from May to October. It comes from the cistern that rises out of the ground and is fed by a spring. Certified (DASS) drinking water. Wastewater flows through a three-chamber filter system back into the natural environment (diagonally to the left of the kitchen terrace). Therefore, please: no chemicals! And as for the toilet: do not flush paper, tampons, etc. down the toilet; please use the small green bucket instead. Also: once a week, pour a sachet of powder for the sewage system into the toilet (for 2 people; otherwise, use more accordingly) (available at the supermarket as ‘pour tanque septique’ (eparcyl)).

Please place your waste in the bins at the Cooperative in Talairan. Household waste should be in black bags. Plastic and paper should be placed in the appropriate bins without being separated. The same applies to glass.

Please use up all the food that’s there. It won’t get any better the longer it sits there. But do make sure you replace some of it for the next guests. And please don’t leave any food out. Put everything in jars or sealable containers. Ants might feel invited!

In Talairan in the mornings until around 11.30 am (bakery, and in summer goat’s cheese and a few groceries). In Lezignan there are supermarkets and petrol stations, and every Wednesday there is a market there until around 12 noon. There is an organic market in Lagrasse on Saturday mornings. There is also one in St. Laurent de la Cabrerisse on Tuesday mornings. And on Friday evenings, there is a regional market with wine and food stalls, and often music too, in the small village of La Roque de Fa.

If any lights aren’t working, please check first whether the wall switch or the switch on the light fitting itself is switched off before replacing the bulbs. If the main fuse in the garage blows, check whether any heaters etc. are switched on in Tanya’s or Becky’s house. The electrical circuit has a limited capacity.

There may be animals on the premises, so please always close all gates behind you when out walking. If there is a problem with the animals, please contact Xavier first; he lives in his tunnel on the left-hand side of the upper path – before you head down the road towards Blanes (0033 6 42 87 25 55). Alternatively, you can call us in Hamburg.

Always secure open doors and windows: draughts!

Satellite internet: there is an RJ45 cable in the hall for a laptop/PC offering the fastest connection speed. There are several extenders (Wi-Fi extenders) which all have the same password: „human revolution“ (with a space in between).

To reset them, do the following:
Switch off the black box (modem) by unplugging the power cord.
Wait 30 seconds, then switch off the white router (there is a switch on the back left)
Wait another 30 seconds
Plug the power cord back into the black box (modem)
The lights will come on and flash (send/receive)
After about another minute or two, switch on the router (white box)
Then you can leave, as it may take five minutes or more to synchronize.
Before you do all that, check in the basement (or in our entrance hall) to see if one of the other access points is working. The password is the same for all of them