Drawing Breath

Last week we had some friends from our Lincolnshire days staying with us. As we've said before, we realise that the arrival of 'guests' forces us to have a holiday of our own. One of the places we visited was a local beauty spot, Autoire. This is a lovely village of very old properties nestled in a gorge between high cliffs. At the end of the gorge is a small waterfall which, if you've got a bit of the mountain goat in you, you can climb to with the help of exposed tree roots to cling to!

We had lunch in the village and our waitress pointed out to us the 'Chateau des Anglais' built into the cliff face above us. The English had built a small fortified 'look-out' point at some time during the Hundred Year's War.

I don't know if you can see the fortifications without a magnifying glass; I certainly couldn't with the naked eye!

After our friends had gone, we resumed 'normal service'; in the courtyard I was able to start the levelling process. I feel that this part of the job will take all summer.

Just at the moment, the gardener requires some assistance to make the gardens look presentable. We have a group of friends and aquaintances coming next week to look at the gardens, so we've got to bring them up to 'show' standard!