Delicious doors!!

You may know that I have an addiction to old period doors and Mark looks in despair each time I arrive home with another one lashed on the top of the car as he knows that irrespective of its size he will have to make it fit somewhere!

He did threaten that if I bought another he would banish me to the cellar and bolt the door!!
But....................

..........I didn`t buy this divine 18th century rustic door....................................honestly I didn`t....I was given it as a cadeau or did I save it from the flames?

You may remember in a previous blog  titled" Will you be my neighbour?"  that I mentioned that the only neighbouring house here at Le Breuil was up for sale.
http://simply-chateau.blogspot.com/2011/05/will-you-be-my-neighbour.html

It has been empty since January and for the last 10 months or so I have walked across there to photograph wall sconces and all sorts of shabby treasures on a delicious old 18th century door that was hanging on one of the barns.

A few days ago I saw a plume of smoke coming from the gardens of the old place and went across to say "Bonjour" to our new "voisin" neighbour. Alain is a really lovely young guy who is moving back to Normandie from Paris to be near to his family. I asked him if he wanted to sell the door I love if he was not going to use it in the renovation. He asked me what door and as I turned to point it out I saw it was gone! After I explained he took me to a pile of old timbers ready to go onto the fire ......and there it was!


Alain couldn`t believe I would want "that old thing" and told me to help myself. Two days later it has taken three men to lift it and to help it cross the lane to the chateau driveway!

Wonderful thick old timbers.....divine shabby grey paint , big heavy wooden studs, old hand made keyholes and full of character..............

Sorry Mark but you know I just couldn`t resist it. Now......where to put it? If it cannot be put to use somewhere in the chateau as a last resort I will make a feature of it somewhere in the garden.


A trick that everyone abhors
In little girls is slamming doors.
A wealthy banker's little daughter
Who lived in Palace Green, Bayswater
(By name Rebecca Offendort),
Was given to this furious sport.

She would deliberately go
And slam the door like billy-o!
To make her Uncle Jacob start.
She was not really bad at heart,
But only rather rude and wild;
She was an aggravating child…

It happened that a marble bust
Of Abraham was standing just
Above the door this little lamb
Had carefully prepared to slam,
And down it came! It knocked her flat!
It laid her out! She looked like that.

Her funeral sermon (which was long
And followed by a sacred song)
Mentioned her virtues, it is true,
But dwelt upon her vices too,
And showed the dreadful end of one
Who goes and slams the door for fun.

The children who were brought to hear
The awful tale from far and near
Were much impressed, and inly swore
They never more would slam the door,
— As often they had done before.