TopTopTerrace

Back on the blog two posts in one day hey hey! Its just that having written this mornings missive just after the railings arrived in the Derb, I had only been gone an hour and on my return the rails were in place five floors up on the top terrace, with the builder and metalman working in close harmony. I just wanted to point out that sometimes, just sometimes though; things come together very quickly and you almost leap for joy. Especially gratifying to see two craftsmen singing from the same hymnsheet so to speak.

We here can all quote so many instances where the beautiful work of one craftsman is demolished by the lack of respect from another and then of course he has to redo his work again, and who pays....well you can guess the answer to that one. Am getting ready for a little break to Chaouen and mentally ticking off all the projects that could be completed in my absence including actually completing one bathroom at least!
That first bath in the house is going to be very memorable after a six month wait as washing out of a bucket on the terrace has lost its allure.

I still cant get over the quote from the builder which includes laying a glass floor and buiding an extraction duct from the kitchen and it has put a smile on my face all day, I think I will have to chain him to the premises so that he doesnt escape or get poached. This helps restore my faith in workers because some will definitely fleece you purely because you are European. For instance went to a zellige factory with Moaniss and his recently hired zellige worker to look at buying tiles for two bathrooms and kitchen and they quoted 450dh a sq m. I knew this was total bollocks and said so until we had halved the price but felt if I hadnt said anything then maybe zellige worker and factory would be sharing the commission, a very normal practice over here. I have probably been caught out loads of times, who hasnt, so you have to work out the best deal for your peace of mind.

Going to the factory, checking prices; talk to friends who have done similar work,know your costs per sq m for different types of work especially zellige and you should be able to negotiate better than Kofi Annan!

Perseverance

As Sandy from View from Fes rightly said about my blog so succintly it is about the trials and tribulations of renovating in the Medina. I would like any prospective buyer with stars in their eyes to talk to those of us involved in this process to maybe help ease their passage through the potential minefield of permits and quotes, working schedules, standards of works and suchlike. It has not been easy but therein lies the challenge we set ourselves, as I said before its like giving birth when you say that was painful, never again, and then go on to have a healthy brood.

When you get on the finishing home staight which in reality I am on you have to pay so much attention to the fine details you are likely to bore your friends silly with talk of hold ups, toilet cisterns, fittings and such like and you can see their eyes glaze over. Of course its your personal project and like a mother will think her newborn is the most wonderful sprog in the whole world even if it looks like a wrinkled prune, so you have the ability to look beyond rubble to that gleaming palace that you dream about. Whether others can share that vision is another question but generaly those of us involved in a long sustained project can do that.

The important thing to remember is to get adequate breaks away when the schedule permits so that you come back refreshed in good spirits and hopefully see some good progress. This is where Chefchaouen comes into its own at just three hours away it is anther world, chilled and laid back and a perfect antidote to Fes work schedule.

So hows the work going, well slow but sure is the order of the day awaiting zellige to finish two bathrooms and then Abdelkadir with the boys sweeps into full tadelakt mode to give it the finising sheen. They have finished the menzeh bathroom in a beautiful biscuit colour and I have the raised sink and funky taps as in the photo ready to be plumbed in. Apparently they leave the tadelakt for fifteen days then give it a high polish to seal it completely should look great. Surprised at the number of visitors I have had recently purely to look at the tadelakt, not to see me, there has been Aussie Pete and Karen, Pizza Mike, Fred and Thierry from Laroussa and John and Jenny. I dont think anyone has seen Abdelkaddirs tadelakt before as he has his own style and i think he will be in great demand. His plasterwork is already renowned throughout the medina so there will be another string to his bow now.

Also have got beautiful marble plinths in two of the bathrooms and the apartment kitchen now has a black and white, of course, marble counter. Its all starting to look quite sharp. This morning the metal man arrived with the railings as in photo for the top terrace, he was very reasonably priced I thought at 1000 dirhams for his work and I paid for materials about 700 and the design complements the menzeh grilles below. Talking of quotes they can be wildly different. For instance the last project in the house is the basement area with two toilets and a storage room and largish open space with fountain in the corner and stairs up to main floor. An old builder quoted 20000 dh to finish it ages ago whereas Mohammed who is doing great finishing work round the house just quoted 2000 but I supply materials. At that price I think I could sprinkle the walls with gold dust and still be on budget. Always good to get several quotes especially if one is a tenth of another and the standard of work has been seen.

Turning the corner

Sorry for ignoring you blog but when friends come to town unfortunately blog takes a backseat. Pictures are of the lovely, loquacious Da Capo Ladies and the two cats Moullay and Idriss checking out my new purchase from the souk. There is Abdelkaddir the master plaster in full tadelakt polishing mode, he really is a little trojan when at work.

Its been fun to see Michael from Dar Mystere here and I think hes quite pleased with the progress so far on his house which is at the Make it Strong phase, also Andrew is on probably his fourth visit without nailing a property so this time round he needs to plonk the moollah down on something.

So hows the house, well the infamous plastering team are back from their sojourn and straight into Tadelakt mode for the menzeh bathroom. Making up the mix of lime and water on the terrace, letting it sit for a while and then splattering the whole bathroom so it seems it is a messy job and very labour intensive. Gradually over the next few days the mess cleared to reveal a silky, shiny, sexy finish to walls and ceiling ooh la la. They were then straight onto plastering the intermediary suite overlooking the main salon, theres no stopping those guys, and demanding what was required to be finished in each bathroom before they stepped in eg zellige and plumbing.

So everyone is talking so that there are no overlapping jobs at the moment which is good. The new windows are going in throughout the house and the blue wood painted apartment is being steadily stripped to reveal its cedar glory. The theme for the apartment is black and white throughout so today Moaniss and I went to a marble factory to choose some for plinths for the raised sinks in the bathrooms and also the kitchen worktop in the apartment. Again that word sexy comes to mind when choosing marble, maybe I should get out more.

The main fun for me this week was going REAL early to the Sunday souk with Aloumi and straight away seeing the green zellige table and six chairs, perfect for the terrace. Hit them with a low bid, got accepted and next thing back to Medina in a Honda, loaded up four chariots with very heavy base and table and chairs. It then took eight men to winch the base up four floors and ten to carry table up the stairs but when in place it looked like it had been there for years, result!!

The retail therapy really works as the day before I felt bogged down in little details all over the site and miscommunicating seemed to be the order of the day. Happy to say they all got sorted without too many grey hairs.

Lots of socialising and meet ups this week with the aforementioned Andrew putting down a deposit finally on a lovely Dar on Kabira, meeting up with Mike and friends at his proposed Pizza emporium and the ever reliable Pete and Karen knocking up king size burgers on their terrace Aussie style. All of us spotting lots of opportunities for business around here but of course I cannot go into detail as one of you blogmonkeys might beat us to it. Suffice to say there are projects on the back burners here that could be realised with a little effort and also not much money, now thats a recipe if certain resources got pooled but cant say more than that at mo.

So near and yet.......

Interesting to note from View from Fes latest missive that a Lonely Planet survey put Morocco and Brazil in the top destinations, which is nice. Its been relatively quiet here tourist wise after the New Year of course when all Brits are panicking over their Xmas excesses and also have to find extra shekels for those newly risen bank charges plus Gordo Browns new airport stealth tax.

Old faces are trickling back in as new faces leave with their memories of Medina life. Its always good to see the old faces as they see the progress a lot more than I do on a day to day basis. As always trying to get a logical work plan together for the workmen is constantly frustrating as you can never get them in the same place at the same time. The plastering team were doing stupendous work and then announced theey were off for a week to Tangiers, why, your guess is as good as mine. The builder has put in two baths and is awaiting the plumber who turns up after the builder leaves and the next day neither of them show, oh well.

Meanwhile the stalwarts in the operation are Mernissi who diligently cleans all the zellige throughout the house behind the plastering team and the Da Capo ladies who will strip anything that doesnt move it seems. They are busy getting all the blue paint from the apartment windows revealing the gorgeous cedar underneath. The carpenter has made frames for all those missing windows or new windows throughout the house and is also hard at it. The taciturn lone electrician is steadily putting the trip switches in the junction boxes and there is a threat of imminent electricity throughout the building in the very near future.

I suppose i shouldnt complain should I as lots of people have a lot more problematic time but one can only deal with ones own situation on its own terms and when you can see the finishing post your natural impulse is to surge for the line. Its at this stage actually when you should slow down and take stock and dont rush because a bad finishing detail could come back to haunt you very quickly.

The boys are back at work

Few photos of Mernissis Da Capo work on the front door, the top piece is brand new by the way courtesy of the carpenter; the plaster teams cutting edge work and a funky light that I fell in love with in Chaouen.

Eight days after Eid, I still dont know how to spell it, the workers drifted back. Mind you it was only to say hallo and drop their tools and clothes off and then off they went with a promise to see us tomorrow, Inshallah. And thats the way it goes in the wonderful wacky world of renovation.

However now they have been back a few days it has been all systems go with the plastering team doing an exceptional job scooting down the stairwell adding lovely decorative flourishes in their wake. The Da Capo ladies arrived with their brushes, wire wool, gloves and tins of gloopy stripper to attack all window frames. The carpenter busy counting and measuring missing windows and frames; zellige man laying funky black and white tiles in the apartment bathrooms, and the electrician slowly making sense of the miles of wires.

Yes you can sense it all coming together now and we even have a bath in place in the menzeh ablution area, no taps or a plug but its in place its a start! Had a visit from Baccali the ex foreman who quite genuinely said he missed not finishing the project, and though he was with a new client showed him some cracked work on the top terrace that I suggested loudly that his team should replace. This was because he was after the tax owed on the work done , kind of like VAT, so I suggested repair the work and tax will be paid. He smiled and in an aside to Ben as he left said Mr Louis is getting more Moroccan, well if thats what it takes to get things done I will change my name to Abdul Mernissi and go the whole hog, or maybe I should not say hog in an Islamic country. However go the whole sheep doesnt have the same ring about it.

On the Road again

Its holiday time folks so what does that entail, lots of turkey and trimmings, taking back that chunky Fairisle sweater two sizes too small that grandma bought...well no not exactly. In the renovation business it involves watching the backs of your loyal workers rapidly disappearing down the derb for their extended break clutching their Id bonus money, with only the vaguest promise to return on a set date. Rather than twiddle my thumbs and now rather bored of playing with the electric switches on timers, running up and down the stairs to reach the basement loo etc decided it was time for one of my random road trips. Cue drums!!

Had spoken to Aussie Pete and Karen about a trip to Chefchaouen or CC as we shall call it and in true Aussie style, no messing, they said we are in. So armed with choccies and fruit, tons of fags and a change of underwear we set off for CC territory. Piled into Tina the trusty Peugeot and off we went at a gentle pace well whats the rush, on the north road to Ouezzane. Luckily bypassing Sidi Kacem which doesnt figure in the top ten scenic attractions only a short time later we had swapped the sweeping and sometimes quite barren and dramatic landscape for a lush, verdant Andalucian vista, gorgeous.

From Ouezzane onto Chefchaouen, sorry CC, rolling countryside gave way to the majestic Rif Mountains with roadside olive oil presses giving off pungent aromas as we cruised by. It was like drivng into a different country within a few hours, cleaner, more European in feel, and a simpler less frenetic lifestyle.

Within 3 hours we turned the final bend to reveal CC in all her glory spreading out over her cosy mountainside setting.

Heres the ex bleating sheep in Chefchaouen sunbathing on the sidewalk directly oposite a restaurant where we wisely stuck to omeletes as I couldnt bear the thought of eating a possible relative of said sheep.



CC in all her blue washed glory where we perched to watch the local football match in the foreground.



Pete in Gringo mode with his new smock come cape enjoying the tranquillo lifestyle a bit too much

Out with the sheep in with the new

Woke up to the sound of sorrowful bleating and the smell of charcoal burning on street fires as the cull got underway in the Medina. The man with the sharp knife who slits the sheeps throat as is the practice will have a full agenda today and probably take the rest of the year off. Ben took off early to his Mothers house to witness his personal sheep meet its maker and was returning to pick me up for the ceremonial family lunch later. During the morning the sheepskins piled up on street corners to be sold i guess while buckets of innards were furtively scrubbed for what reason I can only hazard a guess.

Sina has left for Spain to meet up with her daughter arriving back from Berlin, I think she has had a dizzying and confusing, amusing and also very relaxing stay all things considered. Its quiet in the house as I relish being ensconced, such a lovely word, in the Menzeh room with the two cats Moulay and Idriss popping in to check out this new heated room after Bens chilly apartment. It will be no go on the workfront now for three days and no excuses either from the workers about holiday payments and sheephunting when they get back, its time to steam in as we like to say.

I would hope we can get all plastering and tadelakt in the remaining rooms done and finish off the electricity and plumbing so there should be a few working bathrooms within the next month, inshallah. Most of all I am praying for a logical work process as is so often the case here people are always going back over finished work eg electricians over plasterwork which is enough to make you cry sometimes. No matter that you have pointed out the wastefullness of it all it still happens all too frequently. So all I want for Xmas is some Logic, please Santa!

Spent a lovely afternoon at Bens with his Mother bringing out trays of Couscous, chicken, lamb and sauteed innards, no thank you, plus fresh fruit, tea and sweetcakes. Ben was scooping leftovers for the cats and would return later to take a haunch of lamb home to cook for our dinner, good boy.

So with no work for a while it could be time for one of my famous road trips and the place that beckons is definitely Chefchaouen, only a three hour drive north through Ouezzane and gorgeous Andalucian style scenery. I want to see what has progressed from my lst visit and do some more scouting around as the potential of the place is definitely on the up and up.

Little by Little

Few photos for your delectation the first is is from the Berber Fantasia that was a stunning recreation of warring Berbers just outside the old town, the others are of the fine filigree lamps every home should have one, the arches in the Menzeh room now all cleaned and da capoed and of course the newly tiled lounging pool come patio on top of the skylight, love it!


Little by little as the title says is a literal translation of the Arabic Schwaya Schwaya which is my phonetic intepretation. It generally means take your time, show some patience and everything will come good. This is important now as there are lots of smaller finishing projects underway with the plasterers working their way through the house, zellige man onto tiling the bathrooms and carpenter making new window frames whilst Mernissi bless him cleans a door a day. The electricians are threatening to finish very soon as soon as I part with some more dirhams of course but I now have hallights on a 5 minute timer throughout the house which is nice. Soon will have terrace lights in place and can light it up like a Xmas tree to rival Freds place over the way.

Sina and I have been in the Menzeh room for a few nights and it has been magical with the sunlight filtering through, the scattered wailing seeping in at odd hours and playing cool house music on the Ipod with no neighbours to annoy, parfait. She has been enjoying Fes and amazed at the effort and frustration involved daily to get the work done from point A to point B, as we all know here. then magically it all comes together before your eyes and you wonder what the fuss was all about.

So it has been Xmas, well not that you would know it here of course apart from Hotel Batha digging out their 10 feet of trimming for the ex pats and the expats themselves stuffing chooks and getting in a case or two of stubbies, thats chickens and beers to the non Aussies out there. Spent Xmas morning with Aussie Pete and Sina in the Ville Nouvelle buying sinks and toilets as we are at that stage and then carting them through the Medina of course on handcarts, always a hassle but then again you cannot get 5 toilets on a donkey, or maybe you can I havent tried it....yet.


Quiet Xmas night just chilling in the Menzeh, alcohol free and consequently woke up fresh and raring to go. It was time to take Sina out of the Medina to go exploring after leaving the workers on some sort of schedule although as we approach Aide the big holiday everyone has to take time off to buy a sheep to slaughter on 31st Dec. So you might wonder where the workers are but they are usually in a hunt for the prettiest sheep or the one with the nicest fetlocks or whatever. Sheep are now seen all over the Medina either in handcarts, on mopeds though not driving as they have no sense of direction, or being stuffed into the boot of a Fiat Uno where they probably think they are being taken on a scenic tour. Unfortunately their tour ends up in an oven after having their throat cut and blood spilled within the house for good luck. I might bypass the ritual myself and have a lovely nut roast!!

Anyway drove Sina out on the Ifrane road to yes you have guessed ..Ifrane passing through Immouzer and stopping of at the Golf club to show here the lack of complexes and apartments that normally blight the Costas but it will come of course. Had a Thai lunch in Ifrane that must have been the only thai menu that uses gravy browning so copiously so that was a costly mistake. as a finale I took here to the world famous Hotel Mischliffen, only joking, this is the ski resort that services Ifrane but it was deserted save for one bundled up guardian as the hotel inside was colder by far than outside. Sitting on the terrace staring at the empty and delapidated swimming pool and the little slopes covered by a sprinkling of snow whilst the Carpenters crooned on the hotel stereo had a strangely spooky effect causing Sina to giggle almost constantly at the absurdity of the place in off season. We couldnt even pay for our coffees as the guardian had no change at all but he waved us off cheerfully maybe hoping we would return next year to pay.

Came back after to find the house cleared; it almost felt like a home with doors and windows in situ although needing the Da Capo ladies treatment, who incidentally came round for their Aide bonus even though they have only worked 3 days, Ahh Morocco bless her. Sina and I took a stroll through the Medina finally finding the guy who makes the fine filigree lamps I have been seeing all over as in photo also in the search for at least 7 doors for the house and some beautiful reclaimed ones around but at silly prices must look harder. Met one antique dealer who sells to Europeans some gorgeous pieces who not only knew the Mernissi house but had played in there as a boy with the family so he was very taken with me buying and restoring it to its former glory.

After all this activity we settled in front of the fire at Hotel Batha for a relaxing Vodka and tonic ahhh alcohol admiring the 10 feet of trimmings.

So after all this action in the festive season were we finally infected with the Xmas spirit at long last......................er no.

The thick of it

So three weeks away and what had i missed, well a lot of hard work and graft by the looks of it. The new work team consisting of young chantier Moaniss who is foreman and translator had been overseeing the red hot plastering team who were working their sweet way through the house plus new carpenter and zellige specialist and Mernissi, how apt, the clean up man.

The octagonal skylight roof is now fully tiled on the top with all the representative zellige colours of Morocco and though shallow, when filled with water in summer it might just cover your naughty bits if you lie on your back. Always wanted a dip pool but this is more of lounging puddle oh well at least you can get wet!

The terrace bedroom is all done with new plaster, stripped wood doors and shutters and oh deep joy electricity so I consequently rushed over to Adels house with Ben and moved my various Moroccan belongings over in about an hour flat. Managed to barter a gas heater from Adel as the nights are getting chilly and so with incense stick lit, Ipod on shuffle and Keith Richards autobiography at hand i awaited Bens delivery of a double mattress. And so there I was at home on the terrace menzeh with views out to the starry Medina, the odd howling dog and lounging with Silk cut in hand on the leopardskin throw. At that point I could not have been happier but it was not to last.

Woken up at 8am to the sounds of ALL the workers with Mernissi scraping the grime from the terrace windows coloured glass outside to its previous glory, while the plastering team set up right outside my door and the electrician banging on it to come and finish the electricity hook up in the room. A rude awakening to say the least and it got worse. Driss the old builder who had laid the new ceramic tiles in the apartment and first floor bedroom had come looking for cash. although his work was not bad it was not up to a great standard and we all told him so. Also whilst laying the tiles and hosing it all done as they do, water had leaked to the shop below and caused the shopowner to close for a few days.

Of course You must not annoy the neighbours is rule number one so off we went to settle the problem. This scenario is so typical Morocco as shopowner demanded recompense I told Driss he must pay out of his wages which I was docking anyway and so as a starting point we haggled away. The store owner got some of which he felt was owed, Driss got half of what he wanted and situation solved with me growing a few more grey hairs, bearing in mind this was my first morning back I cant say I was too happy. Strolling round the house I was generally impressed the main salon now looks stunning just need to get a decent fireplace builder in finish where the space shuttle fireplace stood before being ceremoniously demolished hurrah.

Spent a nice afternoon with Aussie Peter and Karen after the mornings debacle looking at Jacob Delafon baths and toilets ended up with two baths for 60 euros each must have been a missprint, but the toilets were only 85 euros each as well for stylish modern design will come back for five of those I think. I realise this is truly scintillating stuff and you must be feeling my rapture so lets call a halt before we all wet ourselves en masse.

Hopefully get some photos up soon to show the progress inshallah.

Hop Skip Jump

The title tells you everything about my progress over the last few weeks, hopping over to Spain first to establish a signing date for the house sale there and squeezed in a fantastic birthday with Sina and friends. First she took me into the campo to the bottom of a dingley dell garden and there was a special birhtday treat of a swedish sauna that had been fired up for me, lovely, then onto a new Japanese and Thai restaurant in Chiclana where she had assembled a motley batch of old friends, the food was incredible with dumplings to die for.

It was then a skip over to England which wasnt too much fun consisting of one drunken night with two days to recover; looking out for a wayward brother and putting my dear old Gran in a care home; well she is 98 bless her.

So then it was jum^ping back over to Spain to deal with the hassle of house clearing. Spent a considerable amount of time stressing over the house sale in Spain as they are so laid back about the actual date whilst hitting you with all manner of new charges. For instance i hadnt paid my Basura or rubbish collection fee for two years because it was in the old owners name so was suddenly hit for 300 euros. This is just one of many odd fees to pay that you were not aware of till you come to sell as anyone will tell you you cannot sell with an outstanding debt on the house.
Anyway a date was set and two days frantic moving of furniture and records ensued with all the choice pieces ending up in Sinas apartment so it almost felt like a home from home which I guess was the general idea.

The day of signing was fraught with confusion for all concerned, the young Madrid couple who were buying their first house, the agent with all his figures wrong plus the bank rep with a cheque for the wrong amount and slack paperwork. I was convinced at any moment the whole deal would fall flat on its face which would have been a shame as I had already spent the deposit in Fes, whoops!!

Miraculously it all came together and I found myself mortgage free with a nice bundle leftover and we all know where that is going to be spent , dont we children yes in the good old Medina. After a few days thumbtwiddling in Vejer as to all intents and purposes I dont have a home there although my old home has been magically transported to Sinas as a Vejer base it was time to get my head around popping back to Africa.

At this stage my brain was full of scenarios including having my car turned back at customs, irate builders waiting for money and wondering how I would feel seeing the old house again. Breezed through Tangiers after a two hour wait, how unusual, and then the 5 hour drive to Fes with my brain on numb mode for most of the time.

Soon i was back on familiar noisy, bustling turf and straight into the house with my bundles of Vejer leftover lights, furnishings, a Buddha and pots and pans for the future kitchen. My first impressions were Wow but thats all for now as the footie has started.

Back and forth

Had a hectic day ,what a change, in Fes as i tried to finalise the last work with the architect and buiding firm as per estimate while almost simultaneously setting up work list for Ben for while i am away. I cannot pretend all of this was at all easy but its all part of the fun and games. Conversely my friend Micheals property which is now in the start process of renovation seems to be going relatively smoothly, mind you they all do at the start, but he has a very good chantier so should be OK.

The local ex pat community met up for Sandys last night at the fantastic LaRoussa next door almost to Mernissi and we shared stories, wine and anecdotes as well as future projects till quite late. What an interesting bunch we are with Kiwis, English, Capetowners and French and Americans all represented around Freds kitchen table sharing a common view about Fes, we love it now how can we in our small way make it better?

I hit the high road or more exactly the motorway west of Fes to get to Asilah unfortunately in the dark and driving rain but i needed to get going. It was strange to leave Fes for Europe as its become my new reality but needs must, I have a house selling transaction to finish in Spain to release renovation cash so its a priority.

Will probably not be hitting the blog for a couple of weeks as I then leave for England but fear not i will return with more tales of intrepid adventures, cock ups and candour when I return.

Phase two

Its been busy here what a surprise as people come and go at a rate of knots, theres no rest for the wicked. For instance as I dropped Jenny at the airport I hung around to pick up Tony my co conspirator in the Mernissi project. He has a part share but as he is working full time as a chef for Roger Taylor from Queen in Surrey his input at this stage is limited. Tony is an ideas man and walking round the house could visualise the top terraces as a restaurant well we will see on that front but also was trying in his head to maximise the space we have here with an apartment, basement and main salon to be utilised fully.

Its a transitional period at the house as I have very gratefully taken Mouaniss the chantier from Sandys house Riad Zany on board. He has brought with him the the plastering team a zellige expert and a carpenter. Between them while I am away next week for two weeks they can crack on with finishing all the plasterwork in the rooms and stairwell while zellige man repairs throughout the house. The carpenter is making the outside shutters in cedarwood for the octagonal skylight as well as stripping the huge front door and renvating the canopy over it. So little by little we are putting the old girl back together, as the plumber is finishing and the electricians put in junction boxes and actual light fittings we could soon have light and a working toilet!!

Also this week with Driss and Ben took some of the old tiles from a bedroom and apartment and went to a ceramics factory to get the requisite amount made up so Driss can start repairing and replacing all damaged tiles or laying new ones. Hopefully i have left a busy work list for Mouaniss to oversee and i must admit it will be good to take a little break from proceedings, step back from it and then come back recharged for the next phase.

The other good news this week is my house in Spain has sold with a handsome profit so I now have the funds or will have soon to inject some capital into the house, it was getting tight at one phase so my creative accounting skills had to come into play.

At the rented house its like the Three Stooges as Dominic and Tony are there at the moment sprawled out wherever and the conversation as ever with Dom is the various projects he has his eyes on, at least four at the last count. Hes a lively character as are most of the people I have met here and if we all put our brains and knowledge into a big melting pot we would be truly dangerous in a good way regarding getting things on the move.

I can feel myself getting excited and frustrated at the same time as we come into the finishing phase as in my head I can see the finished house, but realistically it could take 3 months to gently and accurately finish it so i must remember patience is a virtue.

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: A new face in the Fez Medina.

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: A new face in the Fez Medina.

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: Eating out in Fez - Update #2

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: Eating out in Fez - Update #2

When you are smiling the whole world smiles with u

After several semi unflattering pictures of me on a certain website, Hello Sandy, where I seem to be gorging on chocolates, carousing or generally looking a bit too serious I thought it time to post one of myself in smiling mode. After a slightly stressful week of builders, bombshells and bombastic behaviour things have settled down nicely and I can see the wood from the trees. My friend Michael from Norwich mentioned I looked a bit serious in the photo in Sandys piece in the View from Fes so hopefully this will correct the stony faced bugger impression; I am normally a happy chappy especially when estimates are accurate!!!

Lots of friends around at the moment all on their various missions seeking advice, solace or just a quick vodka tonic, just the one of course, and trying my best to help. I definitely have not got all the answers you need David Amster for that one but a lot of personal experience, contacts and general feel for how things work here. I am still learning daily and its all part of the wonderful process of living in Fes, you have to be a full time Fassi to appreciate it fully.

At the house we are at the finishing stage for electics and plumbing with quotes to come in to finish the Berber Basement, plastering and zellige restoration while the gorgeous octagon skylight is being sympathetically restored to a good standard. The plastic sheeting and protective covering for the zellige floors is being removed as we speak revealing the detail that i first fell in love with all those many months ago. Its like I have my house back now from building site mode although there is still some way to go of course as finishing can take as long as the construction phase. However you just have to move now at the correct pace as you cannot hurry to finish properly this is where care and attention to fine detail is important. This is when I will bring in friends and artisans to go over all options for the finished product. I never assume I have all the answers there are a lot cleverer people than me out there who have been there and done that, yes Fred that means you for one.

Hopefully see most of them at the terrace soiree this evening then we will all pop off to see a bit off Jazz in Riads later on.

All Change

Its in with the new and out with the old here as I reschedule the renovation process. The contract with the building firm has been brought to a halt at the halfway stage with just some plumbing and electricity and some plastering to finish off as well as a glass brick floor. After that I will be overseeing the finishing process myself with local artisans with a proven track record. Ben rushed out this morning to get hired scaffolding for the plasterer who will be working on the octagonal sylight to repair the detailed but damaged plasterwork. At the same time the workers are removing all the plaster and plastic covering the zellige floors so I am now seeing my beautiful floors for the first time in 14 weeks.

The kitchen units brickbuilt are being rendered ready for marble tops and zellige and finally the fireplace chimney has been demolished and carted away; it was a radically wrong build as the builder admitted he had never built one before. Well they could have told me that before they started but of course it was the oh well we will have a go approach. Now i will employ a fireplace expert to do a proper job.

The influx of people in the Medina continues to astound with today involved in seeing houses in the area with Dominic; meeting Andy newly arrived from Essaouria with ready riad cash; Jenny from England still on a furtive house hunt; bumping into Helen Ranger of Fez Riads talking about the Sacred Music Festival; meeting Mike and Amanda from East Anglia on a quick scouting mission of Fes; Michael from London setting up a restaurant in the Medina and then Andrew from up north still getting his guest house together after needing to replace his roof halfway through laying the zellige oh dear. Just realised that has been the longest sentence on record maybe I am going through my Kerouac phase without the copious amounts of benzedrine and jazz cigarettes.

its just a small taster of the frenetic air here at the moment and the whole place is buzzing with entrepreneurs entrepreneuring all over the place. Could be a messy business but the ideas floating around all make sense to me and the people seem to have the gumption and spirit as well as the savvy and financial backing to make their individual dream come true. Its similar to a frontier town Wild West atmosphere where you grab your chance with both hands and run with it Yeehay!!

Looks like with so many hard working ex pats in the area at this moment I should organise a little terrace party to welcome old and new friends to our neck of the woods in the medina. I will round them up, as Rowdy Yates would say for all those very old Rawhide fans, and we can talk about decappage, zellige and other obscure renovation terms till our heads fall off. I am sure we can compare notes, swap tradesman and generally work together to ensure each of our projects proceeds as smoothly ha ha as possible. Maybe a renovation site where members could offer advice and tips online would be an idea, how about it Sandy, as a technophobe myself to some extent I could not set it up properly!!

Lets be honest

Lets be honest now I have made a few mistakes in my decision making over the last few months so hopefully others can learn from it. As regards the house well it is still as beautiful as ever but at what cost. The cost has been a certain amount of stress as the estimate crept up unknowingly; this was never fully explained till late in the process so consequently some of the works are still to be done. However as lots of renovators know here costs do go up for a multitude of reasons eg rotten hidden wood so you have to be prepared mentally and financially to deal with it.

In the early stages of the restoration I had sat down with the architect and gone over everything floor by floor and the estimate seemed to be in keeping with what we had discussed. Its the things that are not in the estimate that I should have been aware of eg tarmaccing the terrace; but to tell the truth if you are not aware that it is necessary how can you tell if an item is missing on the estimate. Just something to bear in mind when these add ons occur.

On a lighter note as we dont want to get bogged down in these details too long, after long discussions with all concerned plus friends I have decided to finish the project using handpicked artisans and therefore have better control of the schedule of works, payments and standards. So thats the good news folks and I feel very enervated and excited at taking on the next stage armed with the knowledge I have gained and mistakes I have made. How can I put this, you WILL MAKE MISTAKES its how you deal or circumvent them that will determine whether your project makes or breaks you. After everything I am loving the process and I measure myself by the depths of the challenges I face and the mental picture of the house finished with the sunlight streaming through the Monet style windows onto the intricate patterns of the zellige floor.

There is no need to feel daunted here as there is always someone close at hand either ex pats like Sandy to the local carpet seller to offer sage advice or recommend artisans for any part of your project. Talking of Sandy from www.viewfromfes.com Fes website, which is incidentally the finest English based site about Fes and Morocco, I spent a very enjoyable morning with him and Suzannah a few days ago. We did an interview about my life in general and the renovation with a few photos taken and I was pleased to read it later on the same day with a good review of my blog and a link to it so Thanks again Sandy and Suzannah for that and the sage advice.

Am planning a trip back to Spain in a few weeks and then England for a quick visit which I know will be strange after the Medina lifestyle all those books, movies to see and all those alcoholic teenagers to avoid. I think I have an offer on my place in Spain which would be good as it has made enough to buy the Mernissi House outright so now it can help pay for the next half of the renovation. I must say it is nice to be mortgage free at last as millions in Britain struggle to pay bills, credit cards, mortgages and the evil council tax to keep their head above water. Here the main large bill is electricity but to live daily is so cheap its ridiculous and long may it continue.

Guesstimates

It has been a frustrating week this week as the builders gave an update on work so far to announce the estimate or guesstimate had gone up. This was due in no small part to the extensive work on the terrace or terraces and as they are rather large 160 sqm, it soaked up a lot of money. The factor to be aware of when renovating is generally work from the terrace down especially if you have a leaking roof. My house had been sadly neglected for 10 years, not lived in, and water had been seeping in for a while. Therefore from the underside all the ceilings were stripped and re rendered and plastered, whilst on the terrace there was total decappage.

Now this is the important bit as it was recommended that a double layer of tar or bitumen was laid over the whole terrace one layer at right angles to the next layer for double protection. This made perfect sense to totally seal the terrace. However I was then told this was not in the estimate and I questioned why if they knew they were going to do it this way. We went ahead and laid the tar and the zellige and the terrace looked fantastic it was only when I saw the bill that I got the shock as the cost for the bitumen was exhorbitant to say the least!! So beware, as I was told the amount verbally would maybe be half the actual cost, which as it is a dirty and difficult job and seals the terrace I could have dealt with. Therefore the verbal quote was not worth a jot; I should have got it in writing of course.

When using a building firm their prices of course will not be the keenest as they have more overheads than an individual but as they oversee the project there is a measure of safety in the finished product. This is because the work is checked for standards by outside inspectors as well as the architect. It is up to the individual buyer to choose the route they go down. May I suggest that for the making it strong phase which involves structural and building work and also plumbing and electricity a reputable firm could be used and then for detailed finishing you could use individual recommended artisans.

As with any renovations there will be deviations from the original specifications sometimes in your favour and some in the builders favour but it is an area that can be very grey and not in glorious technocolour. Generally as I go along I ask if everything is within the estimate as even with an English translation of the very detailed French estimate it is not always easy to be totally au fait with the minute details. When things are costed by the sq m or cubic m it can be difficult to cost exactly at the beginning for instance the cubic m of rubble to be carted away. If you just had a fixed cost for say carting away the rubble then the price would be exact whether it turned out to be less or more than anticipated. These are things to be aware of when using a building firm using these methods as opposed to a local contractor.

The plus side of using a reputable firm is they use very good artisans I have found the plumber, electricians; builders and plastering team to be top notch plus you are not having to pay out daily or weekly for the work. Also as David Amster points out you may try to go for the cheapest option and you will get a cheap job. Itis worth weighing up paying the bit extra as you will be living with that finished product or someone will for many years to come. With these beautiful houses that we all fall in love with it is like restoring an antique. For instance you would not finish a restored antique table with cheap modern varnish it is not in keeping with the style.

Consequently when approaching a renovation decide on your preferred method but be assured as the work progresses you will learn very fast about standards, patience, estimates, attention to detail or not, shortcuts and the unique scaffolding methods of Moroccan builders. Also if a worker has done a particularly good job it is not unheard of to reward him with a bonus of a few Dirhams then you are guaranteed a good job and they will go that extra yard for you. On a six month or one year renovation you will probably see more of the workers than your family so they will become an alternative family so treat them as such. For instance when the Radeef workers were fixing the drains through an arduous night shift my neighbours and I kept them fed and watered trough the whole project. You can be assured if there are any future problems with drainage they will remember who we are and make sure any problem is sorted promptly.

If when walking through the medina you see an example of great workmanship then inquire who did it; get a cost per sq m; take a photo for reference and you will soon have a roster of artisans to work with.

Budget day

The budget airlines are bringing in vast amounts of Engish and French visitors this week and its really noticeable around the Medina; hearing Mancunian accents for instance. Quite a few of them are back to try and snap up that elusive Riad at a bargain price and quite a few are getting frustrated and restless. There is a real buzz in the air and you see the same faces scurrying back and forth in the Medina with a local simsaar or agent in tow.

Have had an official terrace and spiral staircase soiree with soft drinks,goat cheese and black olives with a host of old and new friends. As it was a full moon it was quite magical and though a tight squeeze on the staircase going up and down; a few refinements are necessary, the view makes it worth it. Everyone impressed which was nice as this week has been slightly stressful on the work front. Trying to hurry things up on the electric and plumbing front as well as clearing the basement has been a drag, then suddenly they all show up and things start to get moving. Also after paying the latest installment to the building firm i was told that the estimate has now gone up and another cheque was required; uh oh. A meeting was scheduled with the architect and head man on Wednesday to discuss this latest developement, could be tricky we will see.

At present I have Chris Chang and his girlfriend here to check out the house and Fes in general, he loved it but on taking him to Freds place at Laroussa he was totally blown away as I knew he would be. Tomorrow Michael arrives from Norwich to get things moving on his renovation and then some friends from Cambridge are coming followed by Tony my old mate of 40years standing. Tony has got a 25 percent stake in house so important he can see the progress at this stage now its 50 percent done and talk through our plans for next year.

It really is all go at the mo and the French budget airline and Ryanair between them are going to have an enormous impact on day to day life here. I cansee already on a daily basis that something is in the air it could be enchantment and fascination on one hand but the flipside on the business front eg property is escalating prices, greed and some frustration. I am so glad I bought and got sorted last year.

Pots, Plants and Goat Dung

Big clear up time at the Mernissi House as we work from the terrace down clearing excess rubbish, while the builders work around us doing a fine job of touch up throughout the house, you know those little bits that niggle you for ages are suddenly put right. Been out and about as usual meeting, greeting old and new compadres. Trying to get Steven, a near neighbour, to meet Thierry, Fred and Isobelle also near neighbours has been trying, as through unforeseen circumstances i can never get them all in one place at the same time. I think we will leave that one for the time being and let fate and nature decide when we should all meet.

Having lots of visitors over this month so priority the last few days has been pots and plants to tart up the terrace. What a performance to get the pots filled, went to a garden centre with Ben and a local barrow boy who had commandered a Honda van. They insisted i needed 10 sacks of the premium goat dung black soil for plants at 25 dirhams a bag mixed with 7 sacks of low grade waste at 10 dirhams a bag. I ended up with tons of soil and a few plants to get started which all got stacked onto the van and ferried to the medina, transferred onto barrows and wheeled to the house and finally humped up 5 flights of stairs to the terrace. After all that couldn,t face filling the pots for two days.

Finally spent an afternoon with Ben doing all the pots after we had taken a trip out on the Ifrane road to a highly recommended pepiniere or garden centre where I picked up a palm, 3 bougainvillias, lavender, rosemary, jasmine and some other variagated leafy bush type thingies, cuddly toy, no scratch the last one . Finally we potted everything and looked great so went up to top terrace to look down on them and had a very tranquil hour watching the sun go down in an amazing pillowed cloud sky, before the call to prayer and the terrace lights twinkled on. It really is so special and at one point I stood stock still and looked up and I could almost feel and definitely see with the clouds so prominent the earth slowly moving on its axis around me.

I was brought back to earth with a bump as Ben had brought up a visitor to the terrace another new neighbour, Dominic who had bought a Riad just off Derb el Horra, my street. Turns out he was a Suffolk lad so just down road from Norwich and he is looking to do renovation, get into property etc so we had a few things in common. I must say all my neighbours to date have been fascinating as it does take a certain spirit to base yourself here i believe.

The other day spent a very good half day with Sandy of view from fes website met him in Recif and went to see Riad Zany, his lovely house in the medina still undergoing renovation a looking great, a real character place, loads of charm. We chatted for ages about my various plans for the house and Sandys suggestion of real Sahara sand in my Berber Basement could be a winner. Also chatted about the new rules and regulations that are coming into effect now for house owners wanting to rent out their places its something to seriously look into and get local specialist knowledge without baksheeshing your backside off. Also talked of Sandys fine new novel and the one he is now working on of which he gave me a brief synopsis that sounded absolutely brilliant being based in Fes, I will say no more.