Hot n sunny.....

Greetings from the sun! As if a switch has been thrown the frost has gone and the warmth arrives... must be 20 degrees today and the forecast is 27 by Monday. The locals talk of Saint Glace, a particular late frost that arrives around the 12th of May and leaves by the 16th...true to form it arrived and took most of my veges with it! By next year I will have some form of poly tunnel/glass house, an essential it would seem.

Alors, life continues to be tres occupé mais je pense once the gites are ready I can relax a little(?).. Hugely enjoying the markets, a lovely way of being part of the local community without the awkwardness of the observer (just the language).. Heleen is slowly upgrading the'look'of our produce, new labels etc. I am making some pretty good jam with people now returning for another (red gooseberry is my favourite). The eggs are selling well although with so many new girls I do get the odd comment re trop petit (inspite of them being cheaper).

We bought a young rooster from the market, a scruffy little chap we named Jonnie, sadly he got mercilessly picked on by the new girls and so after repeated attempts to escape I put him in his own little hutch. The fact he came up to me and happily snuggled in when carried suggests he finds us far less a threat than his own! I shall feed him up and boost his sense of self before attempting a reintroduction.

There is a great (actually quite poor in design!) website here (and in other countries I see) called angloinfo (for those brits around the planet)...I find it a great site for most things..Sam wanted a lift to Bristol, within a day he had just that from Roscoff for €14... I had bought a topper for the tractor for €300 off the site yet it was a little narrow, I put an ad asking if there was someone looking to downsize and low and behold I now have a 1500cm seri-arse topper as a straight swap..very nice.

C&L are settling into school and I notice their curiosity re language and life coming into focus. People say that the French education system is very good and the fact their class holds such a diverse range of age and ethnicity and works perhaps is testament to this. I continue my French lessons and surprise myself with how much I enjoy the process, I wish I had got that 40 years ago!!

D'accord, back out to work on the white gite for me and perhaps a stroll down to the river later with the kids for a paddle..

â bientôt...