These battlements stretch all the way round Carcassonne, which we visited a week or so ago. Apparently, the town has only had two hostile attacks, both of which were successfully repulsed in the 15th century. Now, it mostly contains gift shops and bars, cafes and restaurants for tourists. 
Not quite what her parents had in mind for a career, no doubt. This was a scene in Madrid.
This is the Bank of Spain. The barriers in front were in position for the Tour of Spain cycle race that was finishing that day. With buildings like this one, I think Madrid is far superior to London in terms of architecture.
We were in Spain recently to attend a wedding in Madrid. While there we also visited an Aunt in Moraira, near Alicante, and Barcelona. The reunion with the Aunt was the first in 43 years, and was a delight in such a beautiful setting. She has a villa with a swimming pool, and the clear blue sky and 30 degree temperatures enticed us into the water. In Barcelona, where we stayed for a couple of days, we visited the Gaudi marvel - La Sagrada Familia. As can be seen in the attached photo, the design and workmanship is breathtaking. Though started 100 years ago, it is still a work in progress.
While I'm on the subject of animals, here is another little chap I came across here. A real poser, don't you think?
I last saw Ken 53 years ago when we both lived in King's Langley, Hertfordshire. We reestablished contact this year for the first time since then, and Ken and his wife Gillian visited Bas Etang on their way to Italy on vacation. It was great to see Ken again, and we look forward to many more visits. I challenge anyone else reading this to have a story that can beat this for a reunion after such a long time.
Tony has presented us with this drawing of our house, which we think is quite magnificent.
Well, not the same one that was reported in this blog last year. On Tony's return from the wedding he found this dormouse in his office. It had chewed numerous papers, and found and devoured all the biscuits there.
Our son Sebastian married Ann on the 27th August. Here is a picture of them, with another of their son Leo, in the arms of Amanda.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We celebrated 37 years of marriage in a new restaurant in Poitiers, called "40 Gourmets".
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.
Our friends Ranjith and Sigrid live in Boussais, which is about 60 kilometres from us, in the Deux Sevres. They have a delightful house that is situated next to a stream, and have beautiful grounds and a new swimming pool. They have built a Gîte out of a large barn, and can put up about a dozen people. To add to the attraction for children they have constructed a large "wendy" house. Tony did the architectural design, and we both helped with the construction. It is proving very popular.
This vehicle is travelling at about 20 mph and is painting white lines on the road as it moves. Very impressive, and efficient.
