Morning all. It was 27°C at 8.00 am, so another hot day can be expected. The start of the summer holidays is upon us, and as usual there are long tailbacks at the toll booths. I learnt, after one very hot day sat in blazing sun, not to travel until the weekend was over. The French railways are offering many cut-price deals to take some traffic off the roads, but it is not easy to take a settee to your unfurnished gîte by train. It is amazing how much you can fit on a roof rack if you really try. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. We had the full works of thunder, lightening and heavy rain overnight, that woke even me. It is not unusual after a hot spell, and normally returns temperatures to something more reasonable. Looking at the forecast for the next few days though, it is likely that the heat will return before more storms. Still it has brought the sunflowers that can fill a landscape into full bloom, that is far better than earlier when oilseed rape was dominating the rural picture. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Made an early start as I wanted to finish off a new lighting system of low energy use. I gave up yesterday as it was too hot up in the roof space. I am glad to say it is finished without me getting any wires crossed. Back to physio driving duties this afternoon as the chief is back from a family visit to Poland. It seems that just about every European nation is represented in our health service. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. My trip to the physio yesterday afternoon was not good. Very hot, and the aircon in the car didn't work again. As I drove into the garage where it had been repaired, there was a look of horror on the owner's face. There must be a leak somewhere, yet his machine that tests for them says no. He will have it in again for two days, but not until next week. Meanwhile, the météo is suggesting storms today that maybe will cool things down a little. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Cloudy, with a little overnight rain. The temperature has thankfully dropped, but likely to rise back up into the thirties again by Friday. All this talk about using machines to do this, that, and everything else, when our elected MP's spent three hours last night voting on amendments to the immigration bill. This could have been done in a fraction of the time with electronic voting, providing the system was working. I could suggest that there are other things worthy of discussion, rather than walking round and round in circles. Have a good day everyone.
It works a treat in Holyrood - in fact the only 'problem' with it that I can think of was when one MSP complained that her vote hadn't registered. An investigation soon found that it had - she apparently pressed the wrong button. Very embarrassing for her as she was leader of the Tories at the time.
Evening all... just flown home from Reykjavik...... over the eruption.... lots of smoke etc.... but not major... in fact locals were p-leased when it started as it meant the earthquakes would stop
Done We missed a train today at Manchester Airport because the ticket machines were not working properly and there was only one ticket office booth open and the entire concourse was swamped with people trying to buy tickets and get their trains. Bedlam
Hi Yorkie! My advice is to get the trainline.com app, you can get tickets sent to your phone instantly and the prices are usually the same/cheaper than ticket machines.
Morning all. A bright day is forecast, with a decent temperature that allows you to get on without dripping all the time. This business of travel costs seems quite mad. Someone reported they had wanted to make a train journey, that the ticket machine said would cost them £56. Unable to believe it would be so much, they went to the ticket office, where they bought a ticket for £18. Why a ferry to England can cost more should I stay for six days rather than five is beyond me. They are transporting the same passengers and car over the same stretch of water. As for flying with Ryanair, you can search a flight price, and by the time you go to book it, 15 minutes later it has risen. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. The Parisians arrived back in the village yesterday for a long weekend. They are always friendly, which rather goes against the reputation that comes with people from the capital. Being a public holiday, most of the shops are closed, although I notice that the large Leclerc supermarket is open all day. It is going to be very hot this afternoon, so I will watch the riders toiling up Grand Colombier, which is 17.4 kms long with an average gradient of 7.1%. Rather them than me. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Totally overcast with rain likely, but a comfortable temperature. Great concert, followed by spectacular fireworks at the Eiffel Tower last night, celebrating the National day. All rather different to the days when a Catherine wheel was nailed to the garden fence, or a rocket was put in a milk bottle. The former would need poking with a stick to try and get it to revolve, and the rocket could go anywhere as the bottle fell over at the last minute before takeoff. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Temperature not bad here, so I feel glad that this is not the time of year I join the masses that have made their way to the southern beaches, where people are finding it too hot. Today will see the third straight day when the riders will be faced with the mountains. Great for the viewers, but not much fun if you are on the pedals. Ineos (formally Sky) have always been good in the mountains, and have provided the winner for the past two days. I doubt that can make it a hat trick. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all ...been madly harvesting courgettes are are they now marrows..... and rows of spuds before leaving to France this week. Someone must tell Yorkie... it is physcially impossible to manage an allotment in the UK and spend much time elsewhere..........esdpecially as mme is talking about getting a six month visa next year....I am torn really....... but france will win out..............
Morning all. Somewhat cloudy at the moment, but the sun is expected this afternoon. I was faced with the same problem as Yorkie. Six weeks working in the UK garden, then six weeks work on the house and garden in France. By the time I returned to England the garden was out of control again. And so it went on, until I said enough is enough, and chose France. Seeing how things have panned out since then, I made the right choice. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Some cloud about, so not too hot. One house in the village is owned by two English families, who take it in turns to come here. One has arrived, and has set about gardening already. Tomorrow, an early start for me as the car goes back to the garage for the third time to sort out the aircon, hopefully. I had to text them yesterday, and discovered for the first time that my phone has predictive text in French as well as English. Very handy when you cannot think of the spelling, or which way the acutes should go. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. A hot day ahead, but nothing like the extremes seen further south I am glad to say. The wonderful modern machine at the garage says no leaks in my aircon, yet we know there is one. Back to the good old days yesterday as they sought to find where it is. Fill the system with gas under pressure, then spray the tubes and joints with water, looking for bubbles. It was just like finding the puncture in your inner tube. Having found it they now need a new tube, which will have to be ordered, and we are now in the holiday season when everything slows down. With luck it should be fixed by the time temperatures fall. Have a good day everyone.
Sometimes the simple solutions work best - a roll of electrical tape might do the job. I remember having to regularly drive on a country road in Queensland that had been partially washed away by floods, which made for a rather bumpy ride for a few miles. I suddenly found that the clutch wasn't working - crawling under the car revealed that the clutch spring had fallen off somewhere. All we had to replace it with was the spring out of a ballpoint pen, which worked a treat. In fact it lasted two more years - was actually still working when the car was scrapped as other parts had succumbed to the ravages of time, rust and my driving.
