The Gribbles' Cottage in Putot en Auge

General Information

• Markets

  • Monday: Pont l'Évêque; Tuesday: Dozulé & Dives; Wednesday: none; Thursday: Houlgate; Friday: none; Saturday: Cabourg & Cambremer; Sunday: none.

• Parking in Pont l'Évêque

  Parking on the side of the road in town is free for an hour and a half but you have to display a black timer card in the windscreen, on which you show the time you arrived. There's one on the noticeboard at the cottage, or you can buy one in the supermarkets for EUR 4.00. It might work elsewhere but I've not asked.

• Recycling

  All recycling must be put in a 'sac jaune', which you'll find under the sink. They're more transparent than yellow but they're obvious. Dump the recycling in the yellow-topped industrial bins at the side of the road to Dozulé. You can take glass bottles to the recycling bins at the bottom of the steep hill, on the right. If you need more sacs jaunes, go to the small building attached to the Mairie in Dozulé - the one that looks like a conservatory - and they'll give you a new roll free; you just need to provide your name and the address of the cottage (Les Sangliers, Le Bois, Putot-en-Auge).

• Rubbish disposal

  If you need to dispose of something big that can't go in the bin then take it to the déchetterie. Follow the road to Dives and on one of the roundabouts you'll see a sign to the right, and the déchetterie is a few hundred yards further on the left. You have to show the staff our plastic card (credit-card size) that's pinned to the noticeboard and is white with a green and black image in the middle and a thick red border top and bottom. I don't believe that it has an expiry date, but if you need a new one then please let me know what you find out, because when I bought this one (for the princely sum of EUR2), I had to go to the fire station for it. Maybe ask at the same place that you get the sacs jaunes?

• Things you'll need to take with you

  The main bedroom has a double bed, then the twin room has two singles and the bunk room has two bunk singles. There is one double sofa bed in the sitting room.

  You will need to take sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers, towels, tea towels and a bath mat. If you forget any of these or need more then there are some on the shelf above the washing machine, but if you use these please wash and dry them before you leave. It's fine to leave a washed bath mat and tea-towel hanging up somewhere if they're wet when you go, but please ensure that bedding and towels are dry before putting them away.

• Anything Else

  If you can think of anything else that would be useful on this website then please let me know. Thanks. Nick.

Location

Follow this procedure to close up during the season.

1. Clean the place thoroughly and wash the floors.
2. Ensure that there's nothing ghastly lurking in the loo and give it one last flush. There's no need to flush éparcyl down it any more as we're on mains drainage.
3. Turn off the gas cocks in the boiler room and kitchen.
4. Unplug the fridge and wedge the door open.
5. Unplug the freezer and wedge the door open.
6. Switch off the water cock at the end of the bath.
7. Switch off the immersion heater.
8. Put the shutters on the windows if there will be more than a couple of days until the place is next occupied.
9. Ensure that the window chains are attached, where appropriate.
10. Switch off the electricity in the cupboard in the sitting room.
11. Check with us to see what to do with the keys.
12. Lock up and hide the keys or bring them back to the UK, as appropriate.
13. Shut the gates and secure with the chain and padlock.

Follow this procedure to open up during the season.

1. Don't forget that the main gate has a padlock. Check with us for the code.
2. Turn on the electricity in the cupboard in the sitting room. It's the black lever.
3. Switch on the water cock at the end of the bath.
4. Turn on the gas cocks in the boiler room (if you're going to want the heating on) and the kitchen by the cooker.
5. Plug in the fridge.
6. Plug in the freezer (in the bunk room) if you think you'll use it.
7. Switch on the immersion heater. It's generally left on all the time. Caution: the water is EXTREMELY hot.
8. Open the shutters and store the removable ones in the garage.

Follow this procedure to close up for the winter.

1. Switch off the immersion heater.
2. Turn off the main water cock at the end of the bath.
3. Drain the hot water cylinder:
   1. Turn the drain valve 90° gently anti-clockwise until it clicks into position. Water will squirt out for a few seconds and then the flow will settle down.
   2. When water is flowing, open the air vent.
   3. Wait about 45 mins until flow stops.
   4. Close the air vent and valve.
4. Open the taps in the sink, hand basin and bath.
5. At the bottom of the side path, lift off the cover and turn off the water supply using the tap on the right hand side of the unit. It's a simple flow valve and just needs turning 90° so that the handle is across the flow, ie the flow is stopped.
6. Open the cock at the end of the bath.
7. Turn on the outside tap.
8. At the bottom of the path, open the drain cock. This is on the left hand side of the unit and sometimes needs earth removing from around it. It is on the side of the pipe and is only hand tight.
9. Wait about 5 mins for flow to stop, then close the drain cock (finger tight only).
10. Turn off the outside tap.
11. Turn off the main cock at the end of the bath.
12. Using a shallow dish to catch dribbles, open the three small drain cocks in the bathroom.
13. When flow stops, close the three drain cocks.
14. Turn off the six taps in the bathroom and kitchen.
15. Using a shallow dish, drain the water from the cold water feed pipe drain that is behind the door in the boiler room; it is the single one above two other similar ones. Ensure that you do not inadvertently open these other two as they de/pressurise the central heating.
16. Close the cold water feed drain.
17. Drain the washing machine:
    1. Open the door at the bottom and pull out the tube.
    2. Pull out the plug and drain the water into a shallow dish.
    3. Put the plug back and close up.
18. Turn off the water feed above the washing machine.
19. Flush the loo.
20. Turn off the gas cocks in the boiler room and kitchen.
21. Unplug the fridge and wedge the door open.
22. Unplug the freezer and wedge the door open.

Follow this procedure to open up in the spring.

1. Ensure that the cock at the end of the bath is closed.
2. At the end of the path, switch on the supply.
3. Ensure that the six taps in the bathroom and kitchen are off.
4. Open the cock at the end of the bath.
5. Switch on the six taps until water flows.
6. Wait until the immersion heater cylinder is full.
7. Switch on the immersion heater.
8. Check the pressure in the central heating (it should show about 1 Bar). If below this, open the main feed stopcock shown in point 15 of 'Closing Down' until pressure goes up to 1 Bar.
9. Check the gas level outside.
10. Fire up the boiler and check the central heating.
11. Operate the hob and oven.
12. Check all lights.
13. Ensure that the fridge and freezer work.