A trim Laurel hedge

Jason kindly volunteered to trim the Laurel hedge while he was here. We had to buy a special scaffold to work from, and the one we chose (105 Euros from Castorama) was perfect. I already had a Stihl hedge trimmer, so we were fully equipped. The job took all day, and was back-breaking work for Jason. All credit to him, as he worked non-stop, and completed an excellent job. The red scaffold that can be seen in the second picture was used for the hedge on the roadside, as the height was much less there.

Visits to Bas Etang

Our son Jason came to stay for a few days. He also flew in with Max and Alice, Mimi's and Tony's grandchildren, who are returning a couple of days after Jason. They arrived a day before the terrorist alarm in England, so will be returning to Stansted airport that will be at a high alert level.

Repainting Bas Etang

You may recall that our house was hit by a car in January for the second time in a year. It has now been repainted at the expense of the insurance company, and the improvement is quite remarkable. We complained to the road authorities about the state of the road, and as a result it has just been resurfaced.

The Tyms' visit

David, Vanessa, and their daughter Harriet, came to Bas Etang last week. They combined their first visit here with a day at Futuroscope. We hadn't seen them for nearly two years, and the reunion was very welcome.

Menigoute festivities

Today we went to the Menigoute summer day. They always hold a market in the morning, followed by a procession of farming people and their animals and old farming machinery. They are dressed in costumes, harking back a hundred years or so.

Our wedding anniversary

We celebrated 37 years of marriage in a new restaurant in Poitiers, called "40 Gourmets".

Our son and grandson

Leo is now a few months old, and we are looking forward to seeing them at the end of the month. Sebastian is marrying Ann on the 26th August, and we will be attending the event with pride.