How Small Is Le Gros Chigy?

Its not exactly easy to answer this, because Le Gros Chigy is part of the St Andre le Desert Commune. It is at the level of the commune that information is collected by the census. I did post on the administrative and geographic structure of Le Gros Chigy and the area early on.

from: GEOPORTAIL
(click image for information)

The data for St Andre le Desert is available online and shows that St Andre has a total population of 261 in 2009 , which is confirmed by one of the neighbors who sits on the commune council. This makes it the 24,072nd biggest entity in France.

Given that there are three "hamlets" within the commune (St Andre, Le Gros Chigy and le Bourg Rameau) and a few other concentrations of houses like Mazilly & St Michael its safe to assume there are less than 80 inhabitants in Le Gros Chigy itself.

Of interest to us as a non permanent resident is the number of houses, in 2007 there were 244 houses in St Andre le Desert of which only 127 where permanently occupied. The change over the years is show in the graph below.

from: map-france.com
(click image for information)

Thats enough for now, but other things appear as you scratch through the information.

Just Like The Cherry Trees Change!

Just as the cherry trees in front of The house at Le Gros Chigy go through their seasons we are also moving along.

photos by Joël & ChigyTweet
(Creative Commons Some Limitations License)

Having first seen the house with the trees in their leafless state, we are now at the same stage of their annual cycle. They are leafless and settling down for a long winter - and we are going back to South Africa for the winter.

But we do not plan to miss the flowering and bearing of fruit of the cherry trees in their next season - we will be back!

Interesting about the cherry trees is that we were worrying about how they should be trimmed and who we would get to do that. Talking with the previous and a neighbour it turns out that cherry trees should never be pruned!

So we are starting to pack up and getting ready to leave, but the house will still be occupied. Hopefully, many of you will also be able to enjoy the house before we return in the Spring!

Until then the although emphasis and maybe the frequency of the blog will change, you will still be able to follow the interesting happenings at The House at Le Gros Chigy!

The Corner of The Lounge Finalised

This is how the lounge is now - besides a coat or two of a bright & cheerful paint, this is what we expect to be offering visitors.

photo by ChigyTweet
(Creative Commons Some Limitations License)

This style of not too serious older furniture, in a fairly traditional environment is how we aim to decorate the house and hope thats a style that you find acceptable. Trying to keep the character of the Bourgogne tradition while still accommodating the positives of the new, both inside and outside, without moving to the "modern cold & sterile" look.

First Lodger at Le Gros Chigy Donated and Cut The Grass For a Week in an Almost Empty House!

We were pleased to have the first person staying in the house, as we will not be back for a few more months.Thank you for the contribution in the kitchen and for attacking the grass! Hope you enjoyed your stay!

photo by Marie-christine Spaeth
(Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

 

The house is not furnished, but an old table and two chairs bring life to the view out of the dinning room.

photo by Marie-christine Spaeth
(Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

 

The plan is to welcome anyone who is prepared to do a bit of work or make a small donation for now, later we will be renting parts of the house for those looking for a Gros Chigy experience.