Some years ago we rented an old farm house in the Dordogne. As I was falling asleep, I heard a chewing sound in the foot thick rafters. The next day I enquired of the locals and was told not to worry the house is still standing after more than 200 years.<BR>Has anyone else a similar story of the unexpected and perplexing?

The sound you heard wasn't a ghost or termites (which don't make noise). It was most likely mice or rats. In old houses like that, they are very common. Also, birds can get into the attic in many of the old houses, and you could have been hearing them rustling around. As a general word of warning to all those who plan to rent an old farm house or converted barn, this kind of incident isn't unusual.

But Capricorn beetles do munch, and you do getthem in France

John:<BR><BR>At my old house in the Dordogne a few years ago I was awakened in the middle of the night by what sounded like an elephant rollerblading across the floor above me. After much inquiry of the neighbors, I discovered I had a house marten who had taken up lodging under the eaves of the roof. Apparently they come out to play at night. When I asked the neighbors how to get rid of it, they said "kill it." When I asked how to do that, they said "you can't. It's against the law." Someone at the local mairie finally showed me how to lure the marten out of its nest with a rotten egg, then carefully seal up the hole behind him. I suppose he's moved on to someone else's house now.<BR><BR>This past summer, I walked into the garden one day and heard a huge clattering from above. There were two sheep on my roof - not an everyday sight.

Two sheep?<BR>Did you have a story posted about them on the Bonjour Paris site? I posted the web reference to that story on the Yahoo Provence Group at:<BR>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/provence<BR>for Sunday Reading

Sheep on the roof? Someone was definately 'trying to pull the wool over your eyes'.<BR>

I don't think so. I have seen sheep on roofs where the roofs slant into a hill and where there is vegetation growing on the roof.

Yes, John, BP published some of my trip reports, including the sheep story. And yes, they were on my roof, but you have to understand that my house is built into the cliffs, and the roof that they were on is just about parallel to the road that runs behind my house, so it wasn't such a big deal for them to climb over the short wall and onto my roof. Still, getting them off was an interesting, and comic, exercise.

StCirq: Great articles I really enjoyed them.

Thanks, John. If you want the full unedited version e-mail me - they left out some pretty funny stuff - not a big deal but it contributes to the general atmosphere and makes the story less disjointed.