The holiday starts here

Left home after lunch and drove to Orleans, both struggled to keep awake on the motorway. Stopped for the night at the Campanile hotel. Started the Captains log.

Monday

Trev and Linda got here despite the ash cloud. Breakfast boiled egg with 1 slice of toast, orange juice. Lunch : bowl of muselli. Dinner: asparagus with roulille, salmon steak with gnocci, cheeses with slice of bread, strawberries and yoghurt. bottle of wine, chocolates, olives and crisps oh dear. Weight 64.5. no walking!

Sunday

Late start then spent the afternoon getting the Grange ready for Trevor and Linda's arrival tomorrow, Volcanic ash cloud permitting. Walked 10k. Had a long chat on the phone with Julie. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: 2 hardboiled egg curry with rice, yoghurt, 1 square of chocolate. Dinner: bowl of museili, cup of hot chocolate. Weight 64.5 (WTF is going on)

Saturday

Walked 10k. Finished the strimming, brushed loads of catkins from the terrace. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: muscle curry with rice, yoghurt. Dinner: pitta bread with salad and cheese, yoghurt. 1 square of chocolate. Weight 64 kilos

Friday

Cassagnes-Begonhes market this morning to buy stuff for Steve Shone from the tool van. Bought plants. Everyone there was very old. Walked 10k, weeded all round and planted lettuce, peppers, courgettes, cucumber and cornichons. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: Muscle and peanut curry with rice, fresh pineapple. Dinner: Pitta bread with salad and cheese, yoghurt. Extra 1 square of chocolate. Weight 64.5 kilos (I blame the pizza)

Thursday

Couple of hours strimming and 10k walk. Tried to learn a bit of Croatian at lunchtime, now there's a language that sounds like no other. Went to La Polenta in the evening. Christine turned up to do some deliveries and brought the boys. Hugo really wants to learn English, Paul had been playing football in a tournament with teams from as far away as Toulouse and Clement Ferrand. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: Asparagus soup, 2 egg omelette with salad, fresh pineapple. Dinner: smoked salmon pizza, cafe gormand, half pint of lager . Extras 3 olives, 1 Ryvita no butter 1 square of chocolate. Weight 64 kilos

Wednesday

Strimmed for most of the day. Walked 10K. Breakfast: 1 slice toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: goats cheese on toast with salad and asparagus, yoghurt. Dinner: Tsasiki with carrot and pepper sticks, 1 of Roz's scones with butter and strawberry jam. 1 Ryvita with butter, 2 squares of chocolate. Weight 63.5 kilos.

Tuesday

Walked 10k and strimmed today. Bartie had the summer tyres put back on. Visited the doc with Bartie this afternoon. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: carrot salad, fish and potatoes, half fresh pineapple. Dinner : asparagus soup with Ryvita, yoghurt and strawberries. Snacks square of chocolate, Ryvita hmm that's better. Weight 64 kilos.

Monday

The Shones left today. We took them to the airport and had a very indifferent meal on the way there. Shopped on the way back and took the car in for it's MOT. Bartie was very lucky to have been let off by the police on Saturday night when he was stopped for speeding as the MOT was a day out of date too. Called round to see John and Maureen, he's had the results of his tests and it's good news. We are going to be invited to Andy and Jennys wedding in October. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast and butter, orange juice. Lunch: veg soup, carrot and celariac salad with egg, omelette with potato puree, cheese, chocolate donut. Dinner: fish finger sandwich. hmmmm still not there with the 5 a day. Weight 64 kilos

Sunday

Horrible day. Waited in for viewers again, didn't really expect them so not surprised when they didn't show. Played on my DS most of the day. Steve went up to the Shones for a last push to get the job moving. John turned up and they got the first piece of the plaster board up. I went up to get him and it started to thunder, dashed back down to turn everything off but we'd already had a power cut. It was only a fuse luckily. Thunder rumbled round most of the night. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: Egg fried rice and tuna, square of chocolate. Dinner: 2 of Rozs scones with butter and strawberry jam, white roll with butter and marmalade. hmmmm nothing like writing this stuff down for realising that I'm not getting my 5 a day. Weight 64 kilos.

Saturday

Waited in all day for viewers again, and once again they didn't appear. Spoke to Thera the agent who says that they said that they wanted to see it again this weekend but that they had said that it would be unlikely to be Friday and would probably be Saturday or even Sunday morning hmmmm. Think that I shall insist that agents bring their clients personally rather than sending them and letting us show them round, don't expect there would be so many "no shows" if they had to waste their time. Bartie spent the morning helping out up in Tayac. Got the big car back from the Shones so that Bartie could go to his rehearsal and I could go to Annie. The performance was brilliant, Piet showed me round backstage, the kids were super and the little girl who was playing Annie had a lovely sweet voice. Horrible drive back in the little car through terrible twisty lanes, I would never have found it without the GPS. Bartie got a speeding ticket on the way back from his rehearsal 2 points and an on the spot fine of 90 euros. Not a good day for him ! Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: egg fried rice and tuna, yoghurt. Dinner pitta bread with salad and tuna. Snacks dried apple and 2 squares of chocolate. Weight 64 kilos.

Friday

Waited in all day yesterday for this second viewing, finally decided enough was enough at 5.45 and went into La Primaube for bread and a few bits for Roz. Shame they didn't come as it was a lovely day. Bartie spent the day up in Tayac and John arrived out of the blue to lend a hand too. They took the trailer to buy the first of what will be many sheets of plasterboard for the Shones house. Breakfast: cereal and milk, orange juice. Lunch Squid stew with rouille and potatoes. Dinner: sweetcorn cob and then it all started to go wrong ! one of Roz's scones and butter, a square of chocolate, a cup a soup, a packet of crisps, a chunk of Roquefort cheese, a yoghurt and stuff I can't remember none of it with any nutritional value at all DOH. weight 63 kilos

Thursday

Election day in England. Went up to the Shone's in the morning to help with insulating their house. There was snow on the cars when we got up to Tayac. A friend of Michel's came to view the house this afternoon, no intention of buying but says he knows people who might be interested. I left Bartie to deal with him and went out in the little car leaving him without a vehicle as the Shones have borrowed the Merc. Gerban rang at lunchtime to say that Tuesday's viewers wanted to have a second look on the next sunny day, whenever that might be. M. Besset has welded the broken boiler so they will have hot water again when Steve hooks it back up. Found out that he was Francette's brother. Took Roz up to the Maire to sort out their tax demand and then we went on to Albi to pick up Lesley's wool.

When I got back the house was empty, John and Maureen had called round and when they left they took Bartie up to Tayac. So I had to go out again to fetch him home.

Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: 4 fish fingers and salad, yoghurt, Dinner sweetcorn cob and 2 boiled eggs. snacks cup of milky coffee with a chocolate almond and 2 dried apricots. Weight 63 kilos !

Wednesday

Weeded the garden after our week away. It's been raining for a couple of days now and after the hot weather before we went away all the weeds have been growing, well, like weeds.

Spent ages sorting out birthday cards for Barties family who all seem to have been born in May, then answered Angie's email in great detail. Bartie says he would have asked just how old her daughter she was and if she really needed her Mummy to sort out the details of her life !

Roz and Steve came round in the evening for showers as their hot water is still not working.

Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: salmon with thai spices and lime, potato and asparagus, yoghurt. Dinner: 2 poached eggs and salad. Weight 64.5 kilos

Back Home

Just back from a week in the UK cooing over baby Ben amongst other things, he really is a cutie. Sarah is managing very well considering that she had a c section, is breast feeding and came out of hospital just two days after the birth. Phil is loving parenthood but must learn to be quicker getting the nappy back on, that baby is a dead eye shot with the pee and the poo lol.

Nice to spend time with Suzie and Keiran, Les and Pete and Trev and Linda.

We've had 4 viewings on the house in the last week. Maureen and John had to handle 2 of them as they weren't arranged until after we'd made our plans to visit the UK. It works everytime, we arrange to go away and suddenly we start hearing from estate agents, how do they know. We had one viewing this morning, don't really know how to call it. It rained/sleeted the whole time, the agent put Tayrac into his GPS and took them to a little village miles away first (DOH) but they were here for an hour and a half and seemed to like it. And they are looking for seclusion !! Not holding my breath though. Roz and Steve Shone were on the same plane as us on Monday morning ( they'd asked us to pick them up at Rodez but they didn't know that we were going to the UK and would be on the same flight), quiet a shock for them when they looked up and saw the two of us grinning madly at them in the departure lounge. They are having a spot of back luck at the moment, when they switched the water on in the house they discovered a leak in the boiler so they have no hot water. This morning they went out getting the things to fix it and their car broke down in La Primaube. I went out and brought them back, we gave them lunch and then organised getting it picked up and brought back. It doesn't look as though they're going to be able to get much done this trip by the time they've got both of these things sorted out which is a shame.

Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch: 4 fish fingers, potato and cabbage, greek yoghurt and lemon curd. Dinner: 2 egg omlette with salad. snack 2 apricots. Weight 65 kilos

Sunday

Bartie came home very early from his overnight stay with the Caus, He'd had a good concert but said that he hadn't slept and took himself off to bed straight away. Made him scrambled eggs on toast and he stayed there for most of the day. He rang Solonge to say that he wouldn't be at the concert which means that I don't have to go either. Not a good day for him. Have tiptoed round the house trying not to disturb him. When he got up late afternoon he spent time on his computer so I was able to do the ironing, which is surprisingly noisy with the press. Rang Elaine to wish her Happy Birthday. Received an email from Gerben de Rijk wanting to show someone round the house the week we get back. That's 4 viewings in just over a week and only have to clean the house once, result. J and M are handling the two viewing whilst we're away. Have packed my case which weighs a kilo over, can't think of anything that I don't want to take so will be pretending that it's not heavy and see what happens. Breakfast: 2 slices of toast with butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch: scrambled eggs and salad, yoghurt. Dinner: fried tofu with rice and pac choi, yoghurt. Snacked on dried apple and chocolate pepins. Weight 64 kilos.

Saturday

Bartie tried (unsuccessfully) to fix the tractor looks as though it needs a new belt. Visited by two Jehovah's witnesses. Penny rang and we've arranged to meet for lunch next Friday. Dominic rang from Selection Habitat wanting to arrange a viewing for next Monday, making travel arrangements has worked it's magic yet again. Tried to get in touch with John and Maureen to see if they can come, no answer from them. Phil phoned to ask if we'd take some salt over on Monday so I did my roots and went into La Primaube for some. Planted out the lettuce and sowed broad beans, radishes and spinach and watered the onions. Breakfast: 2 slices of toast with butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch: black pepper tofu with pak choi, yoghurt. Dinner: finished that black pepper tofu and pak choi, yoghurt. Half a slice of bread and a couple of pieces of stem ginger, handful of chocolate pepins. Weight 64 kilos

Friday

Went shopping in Rodez this morning. Ordered new E111's from the CMU. Saw Alan Taylor in Geant. Message on Barties mobile from Angelica at Agence l'Union wanting to arrange a viewing for this afternoon. Mad dash to put the shopping away and tidy up the house before they arrived. Nice couple who were only just starting their hunt for a house, total waste of time except that the house is now almost ready for the viewing next Wednesday. Picked up and stacked all the wood that we cut down in the week. Breakfast: 2 slices of toast with butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs with salad, yoghurt. Dinner: fried fish with salad, yoghurt. Weight 64 kilos

Thursday

Photo shoot for Ben's card took all morning. Made the worst ever shepherds pie for lunch. Strimmed all afternoon on the bank behind the Grange. Bartie arranged fights and car hire so that we can go over to meet Ben. True to form the minute he'd got it arranged an estate agent rang with a viewing for next Wednesday. John and Maureen came round this evening and have agreed to open the house up for the viewing. At least the outside looks good, hope the prospective buyers are just looking for location, location, location.

Breakfast: 2 slices of toast and butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch: egg fried rice and a tin of tuna, yoghurt. Dinner: 2 hard boiled eggs, roasted red pepper and salad. Weight 64 kilos.

Wednesday

Is there no end to this gardening. We were so exhausted and it was so hot that we only managed to clear up the wood and brambles that we had cut yesterday. It was a very still day so we lit a bonfire. Bartie has hurt his back. I cleaned up the cellar and sowed sweetpeas and nigella. Breakfast: 2 slices of toast and butter, orange juice,yoghurt. Lunch: 3 tablespoons of egg fried rice and a tin of tuna, yoghurt. Dinner: salad with cabillaud tossed in garam masala and chilli and fried, yoghurt. Weight 64.5

Tuesday

Woken by a phone call from Phil at 7 am. Benjamin Dylan Bartlett born this morning at 1.06 by C section. Mother and baby doing well. Spent the day gardening to celebrate !

Breakfast 2 slices toast and butter, orange juice and yoghurt. Lunch 2 tablespoons of rice with prawn and spinach curry, yoghurt. Dinner prawn soup, 2 field mushrooms stuffed with egg (horrible) yoghurt. Weight 64 kilos.

Monday

And still more gardening. Sorted out the bank at the back of the grange. Strimmed on the well bank. Planted the potatoes and onions. Breakfast: 2 slices of toast and butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch Barties Prawn and spinach curry with 2 tablespoons of rice, yoghurt. Dinner scrambled egg and salad, yoghurt. Weight 64.5

Sunday

Yet more gardening. Cleared out the riverbank. strimmed behind the bamboos and somehow lost the petrol cap from the strimmer. Took the cherry wood round to John and Maureens in the evening. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast and butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch: half avacado, steamed salmon with courgette, yoghurt. Dinner: smoked salmon and sweetcorn, yoghurt. Weight 64.5

Saturday

More gardening and general tidying up. Took the bay tree back to the size of a bush. Put in a little box hedge around the herb garden. Went to Barties rehearsal with him. We had to be in Villeneuve de Rouergue for 5.30 for an 8.30 concert so I took along my computer to while away the time. Avoided eating with the choir ! Took a video of Barties performance of the Drunken Poet. Armelle had to sing opposite him as Rosemary is poorly. Doesn;t look as though their son will be able to leave any time soon because of the ash cloud. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice and yoghurt. Lunch cod with stuffed mushrooms, yoghurt. Dinner: 2 hard boiled eggs and salad, yoghurt. Weight 64 kilos !

Friday

Spent all of the day gardening mainly strimming around the riverbank and the canal. Bartie didn’t have a very good day and took himself off to bed in the afternoon. In the evening he had a rehearsal with Nicoles choir. Breakfast: 1 slice toast with butter, orange juice and yoghurt. Lunch: salmon with courgette and carrot, yoghurt. Dinner 2 scrambled eggs and salad, yoghurt. Weight 65 kilos

Thursday

Spent most of the day strimming. Eventually got the strimmer adjusted to the right height for me and it's so much easier. Cath phoned wanting to know if the baby had arrived and so did Maureen. John has had a cold for over a week now so they're not coming round this evening. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with butter, orange juice. Lunch halibut with carrot and courgette, yoghurt. Dinner 2 egg omlette and salad, yoghurt. Weight 65.5 kilos

Wednesday

Cold morning but glorious day. Cleaned the bedroom (not before time) Went into town shopping in the afternoon. Bought a new skipping rope. Bartie blagged his way out of paying a bill for late payment at URSSAF. Visited the Apple shop on the Bouran. That 27 inch screen is magnificent. Phil rang to say that there was still no news. Breakfast: 1 slice of toast and butter, orange juice and yoghurt. Lunch: Mushrooms stuffed with tomato sauce and red mullet, yoghurt. Dinner: soup, 2 egg omlette with a sweetcorn and yoghurt. Weight 65.5 kilos

Tuesday

Very lazy day. Did the ironing and some skipping. The latest Photoshop creative came today and I did a couple of the tutorials this afternoon. Breakfast: 1 slice toast with butter, orange juice, yoghurt. Lunch: Tuna salad, yoghurt. Dinner 2 egg omlette and salad, yoghurt. Weight 66kilos

Monday

Woken by a phone call from Solonge asking us to lunch on Sunday (we declined) Cath's birthday, she wasn't in when we phoned. Spoke to Phil, Sarah getting very bored with the baby's non arrival. Started a new diet from Marie Claire. Breakfast: 1 round of toast with a little butter, orange juice, yoghurt and tea. Lunch: asparagus soup, 3 egg omlette with butternut squash and salad, yoghut. Dinner: 10 radishes, 100g smoked salmon and salad, yoghurt. Did the housework and a load of washing. Weeded the garden on the well side of the house. Bartie rang Sarah to get information about the boys passports, she didn't phone back. Weight 65 kilos

Sunday

Lunch with William and Rosemary, their son Chris is over for a week. Talked about the Solonge situation which everyone agrees is unfortunate but we can't see a way out of. Bartie went on to a rehearsal for Douce Voix and I came home. Pierette and Henri called round on their way to Flastres, they seem well although Pierette says that she still has trouble with her eyes. Henri has had an operation on his knee and is now walking without pain. Paul Bent phoned in the evening they are having their garden landscaped at enormous expense. Weight 65.5 kilos

Saturday

William and Rosemary invited us to lunch tomorrow to discuss Mayribel choir. Spent the morning completing the digging over of the vegetable plot. Bartie brought some compost over in the trailor and moved some of the garlic plants. Took lots of photos in the afternoon and got up to date with my 365 project. Weight 66.5 kilos

Friday

Morning in Cassagnes Beghones, repeat prescription, seed potatoes and onion sets and petrol for the mower. Spent the afternoon sitting in the sunshine reading Marie Claire in French. Steve had a rehearsal in the evening and had to take food. The first tart was burnt so there was an emergency dash into La Primaube to buy more pastry and cheese to make a replacement. Weight 66 kilos

Thursday

Walked 10k and dug another section of the veg plot. Made 2 osier frames to grow beans and peas up. In the evening went to concert in the Museum in Rodez, what a fabulous place, great concert.

Bartie not feeling too good. Weight 65.5

Wednesday

Walked 5k and dug another section of the veg plot in the morning. Afternoon was spent in Rodez shopping and visiting Solonge and Roger. She thinks that Serge and John Claude have stolen her choir and she does have a point. She showed us an email that JC had sent to Monique, he was horrible about her. Did he know that Monique would show it to Solonge, mean thing to do if he did. Of course there were tears but there really isn't anything she can do. We advised shutting the choir down herself and having a big farewell party, don't think she was listening. Roger gave us the usual pile of magazines. In the evening we watched Dhruv Baker winning Masterchef, we'll hear more of him in the future. Weight 64.5

Tuesday 6 April

Late start again today following a late night. Bright and sunny turned to overcast and very windy later. Walked 10 k and dug one section of the veg plot. Weight 64 kilos

Easter Monday

Breakfast in bed, a couple of episodes of I'm sorry I haven't a clue and then a very lazy day in front of the computer. Did the Dina Wakely class for this week and then the new Pattie Knox one which is brilliant. Supper round at John and Maureens, shrimp pate and then a huge poached salmon with potatoes and asparagus followed by Maureens legendary Chocolate mousse cake, delicious. Spoke to Andrew and Ellie on the Skype connection. When we got home found that Doris (echogirl) had mentioned my AAM page in the favourites gallery. Weight 64.5

Easter Sunday

Lunch with Michel and Catherine. Fish saukraut. He has a spotless music room and more CDs, LPs and books about music than you could shake a stick at. Trying to keep the internet use down to a minimum as we're in danger of running out before the end of the month. Weight 65 kilos

Saturday

Went to Albi this morning to take Lesleys wool to the woad shop. Had a quick look round the food market which doesn't seem to be finished yet. The energy saving lightbulbs make all the produce look tired. Took photos of myself this afternoon for a layout. Charlie rang in the evening to tell us that he got 85% for his assignment (his best ever result). Steve Shone rang too to say that they weren't coming over until 3 May and that they would be flying so the dish washer will have to wait.

Weight 64.5

Good Friday

No not really a good Friday, woke up with a headache and went back to bed after breakfast. Got up to date with my Picture of the Day project, hurrah. Steve paid the bill at the Tressorie in Cassagnes. Emailed Lesley to find out exactly what shade of woad she wanted us to dye her wool. Steve said pale and I reckoned dark. Weight 64.5

Thursday

Sunshine and showers all day again. Bartie had to have the car at the garage by 8.30 so it was an early start.

I spent a good half hour shelling small prawns to make into an inedible green curry for lunch (the prawns were like cardboard) we could have eaten the sauce on it's own with the rice if I hadn't burnt that. Not a good morning in the kitchen.

The agent rang from Selection Habitat to ask if we'd been in touch with the Notaire about splitting the property into two, I told him that I thought that Steve had already told him we'd decided not to do this and he said that he would phone again to talk to Steve. Talk about red rag to a bull. I think he got the picture especially when I had a go about the unkept appointment last Friday.

Steve rang Solonge and then called round to see if she was there but ignoring him, there was no reply so he went to St Christophe to explain everything to Rene and Amie who were surprised (or at least said they were) a couple of hours later we had a call from Solonge out of the blue (she said that she could tell that she'd had a phone call from Steve even though she's in Bort les Orgues) I think that Rene must have got in touch with her. Steve is going to see her when they get back.

On the way there he called into the Architects and it turns out that we have to pay the bill. Not happy bunnies.

Walked 5k between the showers and rowed 30 mins weight 65 kilos

Spent most of the day on the computer. Fiddled for hours with a page that I wasn't happy with and eventually got it posted. Sunshine and showers all day. Did a bit more of the Dina Wakely course. Walked 10k. Weight 66 kilos

Just another day in Paradise

Poured with rain on and off all day. Got soaked on my morning walk and then again when we went out shopping. Called in at the Marie to drop off Odiles Cd of the concert at Naucelle. Walked up to Tayac when we got back. Tried to sort out the finances in the evening before John and Maureen came round.

Weight 65 Kilos

Monday

Not much going on here today. Walked 10k. Washed and ironed. Took photos of violets and the pile of washing. Did the second class in the Dina Wakely Art Journalling course. Weight 66 kilos.

Goodbye Charlie

Just heard from Charlie that he's got home ok and is stuck in a traffic jam on the M11. We've had a great week with him. He introduced us to Tim Minchin and we introduced him to Alan Taylor and Leonard Cohen.

Getting him to finish his assignment was a struggle but with a combination of carrot. stick and downright lies he got it completed and posted with a day to spare. His very expensive boots were polished by Steve and laced in a different way. We took them out for a photoshoot on the riverbank one evening just as it was going dark. Charlie turned out to be good at photography having been taught how to hold a rifle steady by his Grandfather