We used to have woodpeckers in UK… great fun to watch them gallumping about… and, as you say… the kids are still needing parental care until “middle-age” I reckon 
(much like us humans)
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Finished the marking, finished the paperwork, just need to enter the 108 marks in the computer 
. What a relief!!
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That’s brilliant @toryroo 
You definitely deserve a (not-so-)small glass of something this evening 
IKEA has just sent me a free voucher for 20 Euros, out of the blue. Useable instore, or online. There is no minimum order size to use it. As it happens, they are currently offering free delivery to relais.
I’ve given them a few small orders in past year or so, so not a big spender.
Needless to say, I’m furiously trying to work out what I did to cause this, in hopes I can get them to repeat it 
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Today’s cheerful news… I’ve lit the fire and we’re feeling snug in front of the TV…
Laughing our way through our dvd’s of Only Fools & Horses.
the fact that we know the script more or less by heart… only adds to the fun
We are eagerly awaiting the Chandelier episode… 
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That’s very interesting @KarenLot ! I was sent a 10 euro one a couple of days back but I’m sure that’s because I went over there and bought some stuff last week… 
Hmmm… the weather’s a bit like it is here then except we’ve run out of wood 
We’re planning on heading down your way (ish) at the end of next week. Do you know if this wet is likely to continuing, or are we going to find some warm weather? That would definitely be cheerful news!!!
Frankly the forecasts are naff at the moment… even day to day… let alone a week ahead
Here mostly rain is on the cards… promised sun has been known to appear, vaguely… with temps going sky high… only to fall and drown
we’re taking things day by day…
For a trip, plan for 4 seasons
I had a horrible feeling you might say that…
Perhaps we’ll stay home, don wellies, and work in the garden when possible
I’ve got lots to be cheerful about today.
- The red starts that I wrote about before have fledged today.
- My sciatica has gone (yesterday) and I certainly don’t want to have that pain again. It was awful.
- I had my first cataract operation this morning. No pain - just feels a bit gritty. I had awful dreams of the surgeon lifting my eyeball out and on to the table, performing what was necessary and putting it back again! No such luck Next op is due on the 24th June.
- My sausages and sausagemeat were delivered from Ireland today so because we don’t like French sausages, I’ve got a couple of months of good old bangers and mash and sausage toad and whatever else takes our fancy (sausage and brown sauce sarnies comes to mind). I’ll also be making some sausage rolls with the perfect 100% sausagemeat. Scrummy times ahead…
So all in all - a brilliant day.
Enjoy the weekend folks!
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Wet here in Charente today - I am going nowhere on the bike!
Have discovered that France is now infested with British photographers! As well as the two friends I already knew about, another photographic colleague (who used to live in Guernsey) popped up on Facebook - he and his wife retired to France six months ago and moved into their house in Haute-Vienne (near Rochechouart) six weeks ago - so as it was only an hour’s ride from where I am staying I met up with them for lunch yesterday!
So after the SF GTG on Weds that was two posh lunches in a row!
And today yet another British photographer colleague announced on LinkedIn that he is leaving Eastbourne and setting up shop in Corrèze!
So my network of useful contacts is expanding rapidly (as well as you lovely lot…) 
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I’m not mad keen either. Lidl go some that look nothing like UK sausages but are really nice, a bit like a Cumberland taste. They are German and come in a 1kg pack. Sometimes they have little tiny ones too.
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108 written exams done, now just 108 orals to enter. Stupid long passwords for every set / class so takes ages! Determined to finish before I stop so tomorrow is free!!!
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Flaming June not living up to its name then!
Currently out and about in our camping car, just watched some English campers arrive in the pouring rain in a very small VW camper and get very wet.
Good nws is our home from home camping car is nice and cosy. Off to collect our Friday night pizza takeaway now and then settle to a nights viewing on Netflix.
Feeling smug!
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32°C out front this afternoon so no weeding work as its too tiring and the ground is like baked clay. No rain forecast still but did buy some local apricots yesterday and they were huge and full of juice so they must be getting some from somewhere.
Absolutely throwing it down here and cold.
We’ve noticed weather in Cussy pretty much mirrors weather in Bicester. Weird.
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Perhaps they are “twin towns”. 
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Funny story time…
We live in a fairly small town, although it’s considered big for the Médoc… We moved during the lockdown so our choices were very, very limited.
Before we met, my missus used to live in Abingdon. You can perhaps imagine her surprise when we realised that the small Médocain town we now live in is twinned with a tiny village about 10KMs from where she previously lived.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, our neighbour has 3 sons, one of whom lived in the UK when we arrived. We met him shortly afterwards, and it turns out he worked at the Honda factory in Swindon, that’s about 5KMs from my old house.
Small world, eh?
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I used to work in Abingdon, for a company called R&D Systems on the Barton lane trading estate. That was from '91 to '97, but I believe they are still there.
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