Nice contrast between the turbulent sea and the serenity of Canute(?) on the beach. Prompted me to watch a few of these:-
I note Madame calling out “La vague! La vague!” to no avail. Plus ça change…
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David, are these the ones you mean. They might have them in the new SuperU opening near you.
I got this info from the HyperU website.
p.s. sorry to all for sort of going off topic !
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I will watch with interest but those are milk chocs of course, more interested in the dark ones. 
Aldi has something similar in France, pretty sure with a dark chocolate option. Otherwise pony up and get yourself a pack of dark chocolate Deli’choc. Rarely cheap but solid layer of dark chocolate on a tea-biscuit type slab occasionally priced 3 for 2 eg in Aldi but mostly everywhere. Or Choco Leibniz made by Bahlsen which is very similar
In both cases there are milk choc options too. Also Lidl has lots of dark chocolate treats coming into the shops early for Christmas right now. Many are made by Bahlsen I think.but my favourite are the large and small packs of dark chocolate-based round cakey Gingerbread biscuits.
SuperU has many copies of chocolate covered biscuits including a McVitie’s chocolate orange Jaffa Cake type thing that is even more ok than the Lidl copy of them.
Well, a month has passed since my losing the plot on the walk from La Vinzelles. It seems my self-diagnosis was correct and a B12 booster jab in the backside changed everything spectacularly within 24 hours. Interesting to realise that not only did I suddenly have much more energy, but I was also much sharper mentally.
Since then I’ve upped the fitness regime, my MT’s more than doubled my B12 prescription and I’ve been feeling great - I’d previously had a lurking fear that I might be drifting into Alzheimer’s and that has been dispelled. Meanwhile self, wife and Gigi have been doing plenty of walking, but for lots of extraneous reasons and commitments, we’ve not been walking with our usual group and instead just doing a few kms along the south bank of the Lot and not taking many photos. But there’s a few below -just walking and looking…
Anyhow, today was the first Weds for ages that it was possible for us to walk with the group, but the maison secondaires had left, there had been two separate gardening accidents that had left prospective walkers incapacitated(!) two of the other regulars were out of the country and two others had just bought a sizeable corps de ferme that’s been empty for a couple of decades and IMO they might be busy for a couple of decades to come.
So there was just us and Franz, a recently retired Dutch engineer who’s recently arrived (and apparently now spends his day walking cycling rowing etc, etc). However he’s very thoughtful and can walk at our more modest pace and make good conversation. We decided to do one of my favourite walks because I wanted to photograph the Lot Valley in autumn before all the leaves disappeared and it’s a only 2 hour walk, so we could start at 9.30 and just make our 11.45 appointment at the pharmacie for our Covid jabs.
The photo below of our starting point in front of the romanesque church at Bouillac was taken at 9.30am, but there’s no sign of Franz.
Eventually after my wife had done lots of Whatsapping (or whatever our group’s using now so that Putin’s minions can’t spy on us) we discover that for some reason Franz has been waiting for us at the mairie, a few hundred metres away. He arrives at the church ten minutes late and my wife starts to fret about our pharmacie appointment - “We can’t cancel it because the vaccine will go off, should we just go home?” Undeterred, I suggested rather ambitiously that we’ll just have to walk faster. And to my surprise we did.
And off we went up the track at a furious pace, not much time to spare for stopping to take photos -
Franz made the mistake of mentioning that he’d been to a stockfish dinner the previous evening, which meant I had an opportunity to unload on him my lecture on the difference between stockfish and morue and their relationship to the mediaeval wine trade along the Lot from Conques and Cahors to Bordeaux and beyond.
This took us far as the traditional view point over the Lot that I photograph every time we do this walk. But as we arrived there it suddenly struck me that for the first time after walking this chemin for many years, I’d walked all the way up from the village without stopping for a rest, whether this was due to Franz’s pace, stockfish or B12 input, I don’t know, but it was a good feeling that stayed with me through the day. But mustn’t forget the obligatory view photo - think our place is the third white dot on the left…
After an hour of non-stop, quite fast walking the old mediaeval chemin levels out and we reach the modern lane that runs along the top of the valley. Up here it’s another world with gently rolling hills and lots of little hamlets. It always seems so tranquil after the drama of the Lot Valley.
There’s about a km of this and then it was heading back down tout de suite, glancing at the watch and not stopping for more photos. We arrived at the pharmacie, two villages upstream from our walk, one minute before our rendez-vous and then went home for a fine lunch.
A good morning.
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Very pleased that the diagnosis and relatively simple treatment got you back on track. You sound full of great energy now 
Amazing that something so relatively minor can have such a significant impact - very good of you to share for awareness:+1:
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Finally, I’ll start with the latest Coma Pedrosa outing and share the previous outings when I get chance. It’s a pity it’s not possible to share videos as they give a far better feel, and I took quite a few, hey ho - here goes.
I started out in Arinsal, and the start was fairly typical of many hikes. Starting steady on pretty even ground. And thankfully, the route was well marked out, at least until you get above the tree line.
And then I went through a series of very nice waterfalls, with a couple of wooden bridges crossing at certain points.
All of the first section up to tree line was completed in the shade, so after a certain time I started coming across frozen ground and ice patches, which I navigated around without skating off into the undergrowth or freezing water 
And then, after a relentless climb through thinning forest I finally reached the open space again, where there’s a refuge located, open between June and October, so no good to me. I’d stay in the tent anyway, as prefer to hike totally independently. I camped at the base of this mountain, just next to a shepherd’s hut that you may just about see towards the middle bottom.
I did actually consider sleeping in the shepherd’s hut but decided I’d probably be warmer in the tent, as temperatures were well into minus figures with windchill.
It was very cold overnight, even with the -5’c rated sleeping bag and wearing clothing, gloves and two pairs of socks and down boots. When I woke in the morning, the ground was frozen solid and nearby streams also frozen on top.
The next section was in glorious sun, but the hands remained numb for an hour, despite thick gloves, but I soon warmed up and it was then like a totally different season - typical mountain conditions, capable of lulling you into a false sense of security.
In the Summer, quite pleasant sleeping under the stars, but I wasn’t tempted in Winter😁
And then the fun started with the rock!
And then it was necessary to climb up, then across the ridge you can see at the top of the photo. From the photo it looks simple, but when up there it’s necessary to go up and down rock ridges, and there were a few of them with pretty sheer drops all around.
This was the first view of the ridge 
And this is what was necessary to tackle as I got started
Then after going a certain distance, this is what I encountered just before the peak, and this is the point I nearly stopped, as the adrenaline was certainly flowing!
After scaling the last section, finally, the peak, and what a moment🥳
Then coming back down, a couple of additional photos. On the way up I camped at 2200m but in a low very damp area in the shade, which made it very cold. When I came down I camped at 2400m so although higher, it wasn’t as damp and cold, plus I benefitted from sun in the morning.
Overall, a great trip, and so tranquil doing it at this time of year. During the whole trip I saw two men trail running at lower level and one woman going to the peak as I was coming down.
Now back in Spain after waking up with this view this morning
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Wow!
And thanks for the photos.
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That’s an amazing walk and fab photos. I admire your fitness, strength and determination.
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And did you manage to dig out the poor soul with very skinny arms desperately reaching for the stars? 
Seriously though, great views and thank you for posting them. 
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Absolutely beautiful photos, wonderful scenery and well done to you for braving all the cold. I’m afraid I’d miss my electric blanket at night and could never in a million years sleep in a tent like you have done, even with all the thermal bits and pieces you’ve got. Are you taking a rest over the winter period or what’s on the horizon for you? Everest, Eiger, Mont Blanc ???
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Well, I was just pondering what’s next actually, as it’s starting to get quite a bit nippier at night and also snow’s starting to appear everywhere. I think I’ll be heading home end of next week after 4 weeks away, but keeping a watchful eye on the weather to see if there’s opportunity to get up Canigou from the other side versus what I did in Summer. I’d love to get up Mont Blanc, but think I’ll now have to wait until after Winter. Coma Pedrosa was nippy but wait until I share the photos from the Aneto outing and going up and down the glacier with crampons and ice axe - now that was nippy:cold_face: but great fun, and a great challenge! I think I need your electric blanket And on the way home, if the sun’s out I might pull in a beach visit in Barcares to thaw a little
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I don’t normally post pictures of my walks as, well, I walk through forestry and one tree looks much like another, and there’s not a whole lot more to see. Until today. I knew there was some work at one of the wind farms about 1.5Km or more from where I would be walking. There’s a brief 150m stretch on the walk I did do that comes out of the forest by the edge of another wind farm. I was lucky it was the day before 11/11 as the whole area was covered in plant and compounds. The first thing I saw was this
Parts of the tower for wind turbines cut into sections by oxy-acetylene torch. You can see the cannisters on the right. Then a pile of cut up pieces of turbine blades.
Then the foundations for a new wind turbine.
It looks much smaller in the picture but the concrete bit is I would say approximately 12-15m wide.
The walk was very good as well 
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Interesting take on windfarm photos - they seem to be recyclable in all sorts of ways. The one below may not entirely solve the Netherland’s housing shortage, but maybe it’s a start 
I have a portfolio of windfarm photos from about twenty years ago when living on the Cumbrian coast which was then being marketed as ‘the Energy Coast’.
Workington through a 500mm lens.,
The beach at Maryport:-
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First post for a couple of weeks - we’ve still been walking, but for several different reasons, not with our group and only on often walked chemins that I’ve described many times before.
But this morning we got back in the groove, starting a couple of hundred metres above Flagnac on the south bank of the Lot. It was only 2°C , but clear and bright. Wore gloves for, I think the first time in 2025, but that didn’t last long as no use for taking photos.
Below, Gigi being attached to her lead prior to joining the road. She’s very good, if she’s on a track that’s approaching a tarred road, she stops of her own accord and waits to be put on the lead. She wasn’t formally taught this, just picked it up…
We started halfway up the hill and after a a short stretch on the road, we continued to climb through scrubby woodland. Our two companions were both struggling a bit, but for very different reasons - one just general decrepitude and the other, who’s normally super fit (Camino walker) recovering from three weeks in hospital and consequent muscle wastage. Made me think about the difference between being ‘fit’ and being ‘healthy’. Unfortunately, although he’s getting fit again, his prognosis looks ominous. Hope I’m wrong.
Every so often, scrubby woodland gave way to scrubby pasture and views over the Lot Valley. The green bit in the middle of the photo is an arable meander on the Lot where our local veg is grown, above that it’s chestnut forest on the valley sides (a rich mediaeval food source) and then beef and dairy pasture on the plateau. So everything essential, apart from my Ethiopian coffee, is very local (just a few kms upriver for wine).
More of the same, little farming hamlets that dot the slopes of the valley
A pair of doors that have seen better days -
While in the low winter sun, a scrubby little pond becomes something rather dramatic:-
And, a little further down the track, a defiantly feral barn…
One of the problems of stopping to take rando photos is that you fall behind the rest of the group
Every so often there’d be a break in the trees and you’d get another view over the Lot Valley - looking down river towards chez nous (somewhere below and beyond the horizon).
And every other so often there’d be a glimpse of the lovely Chateau de Gironde, that commands a bluff high up on the north bank of the Lot.
Here’s another piece of architecture that may seem rather prestigious (if you’re a pigeon)…
And, from the rather Romantic Ch de Gironde to the pastorale..
Gigi searches in vain for a whole hazel nut amongst a million or so shells from a local noisette plantation..
Passing through Flagnac village, we encounter a Cor-Ten, laser cut bus shelter. Rather than debating its aesthetic merits (or lack of them) I just thought that the bench must be extremely cold in mid-winter and wondered how long one might wait for a bus in Flagnac…
This walk leaves Flagnac by a very long and steep route known as ‘that bloody hill’, About halfway up one can look down on an arena that contains a large model of the village within the village that is the setting for the annual Hier un village spectacle, which each summer is a popular tourist attraction.
Unfortunately, the hill continues further, though it does offer some fine view over the Aveyron/Cantal and Lot -
And then, having got to the top of the hill, what do we do? Sensible people might turn left and cut across the top of the plateau back to where we started, but instead we turn right and descend back down into the valley via a forest track.
Gradually chestnut ad oak give way to spindly birches on the shallow soil, and through stopping to take photos , I’m getting left behind again..
But then suddenly an unexpected view of Ch de Gironde and I get my bearings.
Only a few hundred metres from where we started - a good walk - only 9kms, but enough!
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I was very confused by Gigi’s interesting markings until I realised she had a coat on!
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I thought you were going to comment on the elegant faux graffiti on the bus shelter, but wondered if it had been angled with the prevailing wind in mind or perhaps merely open towards the oncoming bus. 
The ‘faux graffiti’ used considerable artistic licence in the composition to depict the mairie and the two churches, the smaller of the two is very old - pre-C13th? while the other is a much larger, C19th Gothic Revival job.
I think the enclosed side of the bus shelter, may indicate the direction of the prevailing wind, OTOH it may be just to support the roof. Incidentally, I’ve never seen a a bus in Flagnac….
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Unusual day yesterday because I did two walks. In the morning, we walked downstream a few kms alongside the Lot almost to the auberge in the next village, but we’d set out slightly later than usual, so if we went all the way, Madame would have been late for her lunch. Undeterred I formulated a cunning plan to do a walk I’d not done for years - and get a drink…
We had a 2.30pm joint appointment with our doctor in the next village up river (Gigi comes too, but we tell her, it’s OK, he’s not a vet) . Nothing wrong, it’s just he’s leaving without a confirmed replacement so we wanted long term prescriptions and to invite him and his wife for dinner. Afterwards Madame et Gigi were going on for a super intense yoga session with a friend further up river and in order to ‘save diesel’, I offered to walk the few kms back home.
So I was able to have a long walk alone and stop to take photos wherever I wanted without being left behind. Setting out from the docs, sans voiture, I was able to cut through some of the old back streets that it would be folly to take a vehicle down. I know this from past experience of having to do something like a twenty-nine point turn when the rue (pas une impasse) got too narrow. Maybe this wasn’t an ‘impasse’ because a Deux Chevaux might still be able to scrape through
Not sure that this is the most effective way of keeping sliding doors shut…
This one’s a tad more posh, but can’t help thinking that the door surround deserves a pair of more impressive doors.
The plan was once beyond the village to cut through the fields in this meander of the Lot (out of focus photo included only for info and illustration).
I love this area of small producteurs’ holdings - ;before the river was barraged it would have been a swampy flood plain; it still changes throughout the year and the light is often very interesting.
Winter veg looking like … winter veg -
I never tire of photographing this tree and barn combo; hopefully I’ll live long enough to photograph the tree having devoured the barn .
Everything converges in a drainage ditch - could be a metaphor for life itself, but as it’s a sunny day, we won’t go there!
But some other things converge in a rut, which looks better than it sounds…
There’s one tree on the hillside that’s doing autumn its own way -
Beyond the fields, back alongside the Lot
Arrive at Steve’s place and my cunning plan to combine a walk and a glass of wine comes to fruition.
We sit and contemplate the Lot through the gap in his trees created by our valley’s late summer tornado. Steve now has a very large wood pile.
Eventually carry on, slightly uphill but down river…
Soon arrive at Boisse-Penchot, which is small, but as the sign post might suggest, is a nexus of etymological and semiotic complexity.
Penchot was once Panchot (Occitan), but today is usually referred to as Boisse-Penchot, pairing it with another village, Boisse on the other bank of the Lot, despite their being in different communes. Furthermore, our village was previously known as Laroque-Panchot, but is now La/ Laroque Bouillac/ Laroca Bouhaça and various other spellings, .referring to the Bouillac family who built our chateau that controlled this stretch of the Lot a thousand years ago, before moving to Bouillac, further down the Lot in the C15th (which after the Revolution was placed in a different commune). Other panneaux indicate that it’s on the Camino and that they turn off the street lights when it gets dark
C’est facile n’est pas?
Last rays of the setting sun stuff as about fifteen minutes later Laroque itself comes into view -incidentally the house in the foreground is possibly the only C20th house in the village
And then home!
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