Fawns, blossom and concrete

Spring was blooming in May 2010, and my friend and builder Bogdan Coltea leapt back into action to get work going on the house so that I could move in later in the summer. The Dacia Papuc (papuc = mule), kept alive and kicking by Bogdan's constant love and attention to its ornery carcass, was back in harness hauling tons of cement, lime, sand, plasterboard, ironmongery, and men up and down the five miles of hairpin bends, potholes and rocky track that is the road up to the village. The pictures of what are now the kitchen and study give you an idea of the amount of work to be done.

Too used to comfort, I opted to stay at Adriana's B&B rather than camping on the concrete and peeing in a bucket; was fed well, slept well and spent ages playing with the fawn they'd rescued.

It lived in a pen on the lawn, guarded by Nero the shepherd dog; the fawn was fed biscuits by every visitor and eventually taken to a sanctuary.