Iâm guessing anything containing bleach is a no-no?
I have a bamboo grove here, but Iâve only made washing line poles and garden canes from it to date.
Grandkids and I have sword fights with the smaller ones that we find along paths. They planted them everywhere down here being the plain of Rousillon so that they drink excess water to prevent flooding on previous scales
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Just spent the afternoon playing songs from a 'Beatles complete â song book with a friend from the village, she was on flute and I borrowed her classical guitar. The last time I did something like that was nearly 50 years ago.
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What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. I take it youâre enjoying your retirement Toni ? 
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Itâs good, although I wish Iâd brought a conventional guitar instead of a resonator set up for slide (as useful as a chocolate fireguard for Beatles).
The retirement is being worked on - havenât quite got there yet in terms of managing freedom.
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I unexpectedly road tested What3Words today. I donât know how many of you use it? For those unfamiliar, it provides an exact location within 1 metre of any spot on earth and is particularly useful for the rescue services trying to locate somebody. My bike developed a puncture during a ride this pm..Rather than explain to my wife where I was (ie in the middle of nowhere!), to enable her to come and kindly scoop me up, I decided to test out What3Words and sent her the link
.She clicked on it, which took her straight into Google Maps, and provided her with a route directly to where I was. This is the message she got on her phone. Alternatively she can type in those 3 words (âplastronâ etc) and it will get her to the same place. A success..it worked well.
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Yes very helpful when the houses have names and not numbers as there is very little clue, especially at night where the place is. Might also be useful for taking out certain megalomaniac idiots
We successfully negotiated our first ever clothes washing in a public laverie here, having already stayed more than 2 weeks and staying almost another 3. We do, however, wish that we had a big rotary airer like we do at home.
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Great for king size duvets etc.
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My cheerful news is we discovered a great little patisserie in La Rochelle this weekendâŠ
Highly worth making a detour if youâre in the area. I rate it even better than the excellent Nina MĂ©tayer - winner of the Worldâs Best Pastry Chef a couple of years ago.
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We enjoy visiting La Rochelle⊠sadly, reduced to one long-weekend per year nowadays, but sometimes two (if weâre lucky) 
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Isnât it called a clothes line, sunshine and a breeze? I havenât used the large dryer at our Leclercâs laverie in months. 
Agreed. Invaluable for gite owners. Good idea to take something to wipe it out before you put your stuff in. People use them to clean their carpets and their dog beds. 
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I used to do mine regularly at a nearby laverie when I lived up north and with the cost of the washing machine, liquid etc and the good 30-40 mins tumble drying plus in all a good two hours of my time and more including the petrol to get there and backafter it actually wasnât much more than I pay here for âŹ26 to have king size duvet washed and dried and then sealed in vacuum bag for storage at the pressing in the Centre Commerciale, usually done in 3 days for collection
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Cheerful news today is buy a pair and get another pair of slippers free in LeClerc. OK not the most expensive but made me feel better getting a bargain for once.
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Good tip!
Fortunately ours is alongside the Leclerc where I shop anyway. 10 mins drive to Leclerc, 30 mins wash, 15 mins dry (though not needed this summer) and itâs done as Iâm finishing my shopping. If I want, I can have a text to let me know itâs done. 12 euros for the big washer - a bargain!
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Ours was just outside the Intermarche close to the filling station. The big washer was on Promo, so 10 euros for that, 5 in the smaller one (for whites) and 3 euros for 20min in the dryer for 1 set of bedclothes, 2 towels and a few other bits & pieces.
2 years at this rate would pay for a washing machine and the leccy, but itâs OK for now.
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Ah, of course! Silly me.
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Angela Railton introduced me to this service, which is great and often have special offers.