Further progress report from the Ark

   In my last Ark, I told of the death of Indie and the health problems of Hero and Storm. After in-patient treatment by our vet's branch at Brioux, both cats are doing well, looking less bedraggled and eating well. We are keeping a close eye on all our felines to check that they are not coming down with the same poisoning syndrome, but so far all is well. The treatment of the two invalids with vitamin K tablets is continuing, much to the animals displeasure and scratches to the administrators.
    The new toilet is in place and is much appreciated, we sit there with smiles on our faces and can flush away the results with the press of a button rather than by filling a bucket. I must express my thanks to our helpful neighbour Ian, who fitted it and researched the cheapest model at Castorama. The Niort store was most helpful, not only did they have the model in stock at a very low price but they advised us to buy fixing screws and a stop valve and helped us to load the heavy package on the van. I would recommend them most highly.

   Bye for now, breakfast calls.

  PS Kim has a horrid cold so we are not going to Church for fear of infecting the congregation. I shall be looking after her at home.

Ark Update

The last Ark told of the death of Indie. At the time, we thought this as due to his condition, the culmination of a lifetime struggle against coryza, together with the trauma of his op. Since then, we have had two other cats go down with the same symptoms, refusing to eat and an increasing lassitude.  On Tuesday, we took Storm and Hero to the vet at Brioux, as the local surgery at Chef had no appointments free. We suspected an infectious epidemic, but the vets checked for poisoning, and found both cats had a substance in their blood. She suspected rat poison and administered an antidote, together with rehydration. The cats were kept in until this morning, when the vet agreed we could collect them as they were much better and showing interest in food again. This afternoon, we installed them in the lounge, tempting them with various treats and I a pleased to report they are showing progress. We checked for poisons in all the out-buildings without success. The vet suggested the victims may have eaten a poisoned rat and I did in fact find a huge rat in the cour, dead with a wound in it's throat.

  We'll keep you posted on their progress. 

  To change the subject, our toilet stopped flushing a couple of days ago, and we asked Ian,our neighbour to check it for us. He bought a new syphon for us but had severe problems fitting it. Our loo is a bit of an antique imported from Britain and the replacement wouldn't fit. Ian advised replacing the whole WC so we're going to Niort tomorrow to buy a unit. In the meantime, its being flushed by buckets of water! My DIY wood suround will have to go, unfortunately.

It's been a problematical few days for the Ark and its crew, but thing can only get better,I hope...bye for now   

Another sad loss for the Ark--death of Indie.

It seems that bad news comes, not as single spies but in battalions. Following the news of the death of Minimus earlier in the month, we now have to announce the sad loss of Indie, a much younger cat.
  This was particularly poignant, as she had just recovered from an op to reset her leg after being knocked down in the road behind our house. The plaster and  external splint had been removed, and she was starting to play and run about. It's true that she has never enjoyed good health, being often on antibiotics for coryza and breathing difficulties, but the latest bout was different, she stopped eating and was limp and sleepy. We took her to the vet yesterday, who was puzzled by her symptoms , a low temperature and white cell count. He treated her as best he could but warned us that she might die during the weekend, a forecast which was unfortunately correct, as she expired peacefully in her sleep last night.
  Bye bye, Indie, we shall long remember your good nature and affection.

Bye for now, can't say any more..

Another sad loss for words he Ark--death of Indie.

It seems that bad news comes, not as single spies but in battalions. Following the news of the death of Minimus earlier in the month, we now have to announce the sad loss of Indie, a much younger cat.
  This was particularly poignant, as she had just recovered from an op to reset her leg after being knocked down in the road behind our house. The plaster and  external splint had been removed, and she was starting to play and run about. It's true that she has never enjoyed good health, being often on antibiotics for coryza and breathing difficulties, but the latest bout was different, she stopped eating and was limp and sleepy. We took her to the vet yesterday, who was puzzled by her symptoms , a low temperature and white cell count. He treated her as best he could but warned us that she might die during the weekend, a forecast which was unfortunately correct, as she expired peacefully in her sleep last night.
  Bye bye, Indie, we shall long remember your good nature and affection.

Bye for now, can't say any more..

Sad decease of Minimus

   Yes, it's true, the Ark's crew has been reduced by one. After a short illness, and several days of refusing to eat, Minimus died yesterday. She was one of our first cats, so must have been quite old. We decided not to take her to the vet, he would have advised euthanasia, and we wanted her to die at peace, asleep in her bed, which she did yesterday evening. A touching sight was Phyllis licking the dying cat, as if to offer comfort. As soon as Minimus stopped breathing, Phyllis walked off...
   She was a very small cat as her name implies, and a bit scatty, as if her minute head wouldn't hold much sense but she will be missed nevertheless. Her parting leaves us with a dozen cats, so the Ark is in no danger of being catless!

   Bye for now, coffee is calling.

Update first of November

     I see I haven't written a blog since the first of October and the calendar says it's the first of November. Not that the sunshine and mild temperatures seem to confirm that date, but still...We have settled back into the routine, apart from some modifications caused by my health, such as a sieste after dinner. I'm still not driving, so Kim ferries us about, a bit of a worry, this, as we are reliant on one driver, and Kim's wrist is still painful after her break on May 26th. When consulted, our doctor says she has algoneurodystrophy, a painful condition which can last up to three years! I shall have to get permission to drive asap but the continuing weakness of my left arm means this will be some time yet. Still, it is steadily improving from Kine and home exercise and we hope that the doctor will give the all-clear soon.
  A more cheerful report about the recovery of our cat Indie knocked down in the road second of September , she had a badly broken rear leg and tail. The vet at Brioux X-rayed her and fitted her with  an external support over a plaster cast . After limping around for weeks, this was removed and she now runs and plays as before. The tail, however, hung limp, and the hair fell off the end third, which disappeared while we were away! She is left with a short stump which doesn't seem to be an inconvenience. The sole reminder is a hairy vet's bill which we are paying off in instalments....

We still haven't lit the log-burner, though we are lighting the gaz fired heater in the evenings as it gets chilly after dark.

  That's all the news for the moment, bye for now!

Back to France on the overnight Ferry

Late Friday evening, we boarded the Brittany Ferries Armorique, to come back to France. First the two dogs had to be scanned, which was done outside the check-in kiosk, a scary task for the Dane, Rufus, as his chip failed to register at first. At last all the formalities were completed and we could board the vessel, parking on the car deck and taking the lift to our cabin. Luckily we are fairly slick at settling in, and we settled down for a night's sleep.
   In the morning, we awoke to the irritating musical chime of the alarm and performed our morning routine to abandon our cabin. We waited on deck 6 until we were called to descend to the car deck, where we found the dogs waiting impatiently for our arrival. We cleared customs with considerably less fuss than at the UK exit point then drove to the Gare Maritime to have breakfast coffee and a croissant.Then it was a case of heading South for Nantes, where we are at present, having eaten a good meal at the Courte Paille. Dog walking and feeding, and so to bed.

Bye for now, going to get my  head down...

Disaster strikes new hospitalisation

 It happened on Thursday morning. I had taken the dogs to Radford lake for their morning walk, leaving Kim in bed. I had climbed the field, when Laika's lead became entangled in my legs . Next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground with a lady bending over me. I had no recollection of the events previously. She told me I had fallen and hit my head and was to stay still until the ambulance arrived. I took out my mobile phone and phoned Kim, who was very surprised to hear a strange lady saying she was with Richard.

   The ambulance arrived and the two attendants bent over me. The dogs were regarding me, as I lay on the ground . I realised that my left arm and hand were weak as they had been after my stroke last October but my legs were normal, apart from a slight groin strain. The ambulance staff pulled me to my feet and led me to the ambulance, which was waiting outside the park. The ladies offered to drive the car back home with the dogs.

   The ambulance took me to Derriford Hospital, where I was admitted to the emergency department, later to the Stroke unit, where I was put in isolation, as I had spent some time in a French hospital, I had rectal swabs to check for infection! Now it's all to do again, physio on my arm, regaining the use of my hand etc... Hey ho at least the leg is normal.

   I have been discharged from hospital last night back to Goosewell Terrace, in the care of Kim and Alyson. Can't drive, of course, so Kim has to take over the driving for the moment . At the moment she is walking the dogs with Katie and Daniel, we are going back to France on Friday night.

  Bye for now, going to drink a cup of coffee Alyson has made me.

Where's the tank gone?

     Driving up to Roscoff yesterday, to take the ferry to Plymouth, we were disappointed to find our last route marker had disappeared. Ever since we have been coming to France, this American WW Two tank has been standing outside a war museum on the outskirts of Roscoff. True, the museum has long since closed and the tank has been attacked by scrap thieves, losing its tracks and various detachable parts. Now it has gone altogether, this is a photo I took a few years ago, even then it was in a sad state. I do hope it's gone to a good home, not to the scrapyard. We shall miss its presence at the side of the road as we arrive in, or leave Roscoff. The old order changeth......
  Bye for now, resting after the long trip.

A walk in the woods- a bit alarming !

  It hasn't rained for more than a month and the daytime temperatures have been high this last week, real canicule or heatwave conditions. We have had to adapt  our lifestyle to the conditions, closing down doors and windows once the morning cool has passed. Luckily, our double glazed doors and windows serve very well to keep out the heat, so we are relatively cool and comfortable inside. As it is too hot to walk the dogs during the day, I take them out first thing at about 7.30 just after sunrise. It's not a problem for me to do, as I like getting up early but Kim is not in any condition to come at that time! It's cool and pleasant to walk up the wooded track just at the end of our road and, as I shared in my last blog, Laika is so much easier to walk with the training collar attached.
  I usually walk ' the square ' a distance of about three kilometres. This morning, as I was half way through,traversing a thickly wooded section, Rufus galloped on ahead, obviously in chase of something, possibly a deer. However, a large creature rushed out of the woods on the right of the track,and dived into the left hand woods. It was the size of a large Labrador but lower on its legs and ran nose down,unlike a dog. With some horror I recognised a wild sanglier or pig. Both dogs set off in chase and for the first time, Laika ignored the recall on her collar. I called both dogs as loudly as l could and after a minute Rufus pushed his way out of the trees. I praised him and leaded him up then took the left hand track at the junction in the direction of the chase. I was pleased and relieved when Laika too came out of the forest, neither dog was hurt, thank Goodness. It's the first time I've seen a wild boar in our woods, though I've seen traces of their digging sometimes.
   I was very pleased to get back home,safe and sound with no damage to the dogs! Phew!
    Bye for now, going to close up the house to keep cool!

The conversion of Ste Laika.

     I have spoken before of the entirely false air of innocence on the face of this deceptive hound. Though very lovable and affectionate, she is strong-willed and disobedient while being walked. Her chief delight is in hunting, she sets up a desperate howling and will chase anything that runs over the horizon. She will then depart on its trail and not return for hours, causing great worry. To avoid the anxiety of the wait, plus the questions over what she might be up to in the interim, we had the custom of only walking her on a long lead.
  We had thought of buying a remote-control training device, but they are quite expensive. However, while at the Hope shop at Lezay, we saw one on sale for a fiver or so, so we snapped it up. This consists of a collar with a couple of electrical contacts to strap on the dog's neck, plus the remote unit to be carried. This allows you to choose between an electric shock, a buzzer or a bleep and has a range of about 200 yards. The idea is that if  Laika bolts and fails to respond to a recall shout, she can be given a reminder of the appropriate intensity.
  However, we had a pleasant surprise, when we got around to trying it out. As soon as the collar was buckled on, Laika's behaviour changed miraculously for the better! She walked quietly to heel, came back instantly when called and in fact behaved so perfectly that I had very little opportunity of trying out our hi-tech purchase. We can only suppose that this is not her first experience of a training collar. Be that as it may, I can now take her out without the bulky long lead reel with confidence in retaining control. It's far less stressful and I think even Laika can enjoy her sniff about, without being tied by the neck. At worst, a bleep on the collar brings her trotting straight back. A most worth-while purchase!

    Bye for now, feeding time for the animals...

Have you got the bottle for it?

   For some time now we have been considering reroofing one of our row of outbuildings on the far side of our courtyard. This building was described as the sheep shed on its meticulously labelled keys, when we bought the house and did contain a manger and two stalls. The roof was insulated by the ingenious method of an extra layer of planks,the gap between filled with straw. However, this held any leaks, and rot has established itself in the beams, causing partial collapse.
  We asked our neighbour, Ian, to help us with the roof, but he was understandably reluctant until the bottles were removed. Shelves had been added by previous owners and filled with an assortment of wine and champagne bottles! its not that they were great drinkers, you understand, but they did collect the grapes from the vine growing along the building and ferment and bottle their own wine, and a few hundred bottles might come in handy... the bottles were empty, or they would never have been left behind after the house sale, of course!
   We have already taken a trailer-load of empties to the tip, but I have half filled the trailer again and there are plenty left, as you can see. Never mind, they will be shifted, bit by bit.

 Bye for now, going to load some bottles...

Chase the Wind

  Yesterday, we decided to visit the Wind Fair near Villefagnan. We had done so several years ago and enjoyed it. It celebrates the restored windmill, which is set going for the day, you can take a tour of the tower and see grain being ground and sieved ready to bake bread.

  Besides the usual stalls, there was a
 demonstration of horse-pulled ploughing,several single and double teams pulling the old-fashioned ploughshares, besides the horses there was a pair of Poitou donkeys, though these seemed to be living up to their reputation for obstinacy.

  It was extremely hot in the sun and after a look round, we bought a couple of cans of drink and sat in the marquee, watching the world going round enjoying the fun. Thre was a smartly-dressed man on high stilts and he and his ground-based friend were showing off their juggling skills. Once we had cooled off, we were glad to return home to a cool, thick-walled house for the evening. Still, it was an interesting and entertaining day.

    Bye for now, nearly time to feed the animals.

The water of Life

It's a strange quirk of human nature that you don't appreciate something until it's in short supply, look at diamonds, for example, if they were as common as glass no one would pay vast sums for relatively small stones. I was reminded of  this rather banal thought this morning, when, after a misty start, it came on to rain in earnest and has been tipping down ever since. Kim and I have been looking at the downpour with great approval, as it's the first rain for several weeks and the countryside and garden are absolutely parched . Normally, we would have been disapproving, even feeling hard-done-by if it rained all morning in high summer. Now we approve heartily of this good watering. Mind you, if it carries on more than a few hours we may well revert to our former dislike of rainy weather...

Bye for now, going to check where I've put my raincoat!

There is nothing like a Dane

Its true, as the movie South Pacific almost says, that there is nothing like a Dane. We have been finding out the truth of this adage over the last few weeks.

  Kim has had the ambition to own a Dane for many years but we never had the funds or the space to offer one of these impressive dogs a home. I must admit that I had major doubts over whether we could manage such a large hound but as Kim had promised that she would be responsible for walking him together I agreed we could give it a try.
    I must admit that our Great Dane, Rufus, has been far less trouble than I thought, in fact, taking his enormous size into account, he is a very easy dog to manage, even though Kim's broken arm problems prevented her from helping as much as she would have liked at first. He is very affectionate, loves to be made a fuss of, and is devoted to Kim. We acquired an old sofa-bed for him to lie on but he prefers to be nearer us, preferably in between us on our sofa, where he curls up small to fit in. He doesn't chase the cats, gets on well with Laika, doesn't stray if walked off lead, in fact is far less trouble than Laika! People meeting him for the first time are naturally apprehensive of him, but ten minutes with him converts even persons nervous of dogs,he's just so aimiable.
     There are differences between Danes and ordinary dogs however. We were warned by the Dane Rescue association where we found him, that Danes are subject to 'bloat', their digestion is so slow that they mustn't be allowed to bolt their food .
Rufus has a special feed bowl with sort of nubbins incorporated, which force him to eat slowly. The bowl has to be at chest night, we have converted an old metal chair frame for this. He must wait an hour or so after eating before exercising, too. We have done all this and have not had any problems. He is also infected with Leichmaniosis(don't know how to spell this!) as are many dogs from the south, it's a disease spread by sand flies. He takes a pill prescribed for humans for gout and shows no symptoms.
  He does have another habit which I have never known in a dog-- he purrs! It`s true, when he is in his favourite spot on the sofa, curled up between us, he purrs like an enormous cat! His purring is not quite like a cat`s, he makes a sort of low moaning or sighing of contentment that expresses the same emotion as a cat on a lap.So sweet!


   Bye for now, going to sit with our dog.

 

Return from the mountains.

   Well, here we are back home again after our annual trip to the Pyrrenees. It's good to be home, even though we both enjoy our time at Aucun at the Camp des Aines. However, this year things were a little difficult for several reasons.

The first was an unavoidable delay in arrival, as I had a specialist`s appointment at Niort on the day we should have travelled down. We decided to pack the car and go straight on after the appointment . As we had the three dogs and their kit in the van, we had to take the bare minimum of clothes. We would stop for the night just south  of Bordeaux .

   The second difficulty concerned poor Jilly. She had been illa short time before, panting a lot and seeming short of breath. Our vet diagnosed a serious illness, a lymphoma, which was likely to prove fatal in the future but he prescribed some pills to make her more comfortable so we hoped she could enjoy one last trip to the mountains,which she had always enjoyed .
  Sadly, it was not to be. The day was very hot, and Jilly became distressed. We stopped at a rest area where there was some shade so she could rest but she collapsed beside the van and died after a few minutes.....
   We decided to carry her on wth us into the mountains, where we could lay her to rest in peace.
   After this unhappy start, things could only get better and in fact we were able to enjoy our stay as we always do, meeting old friends and making some new ones, too. The weather was a little misty at first, but improved later and we were able to enjoy some notable outings in the dramatic mountain scenery, notable one afternoon at the Col d'Aubique. Of course, neither Kim with her broken arm, nor myself still lacking stamina after my stroke last October, could walk as far as in previous years but we did manage some strolls.
   At the end of Camp, we went on to stay with our friends Arlette and Laurent at Orthez, who lent us a caravan in their garden, where we were most comfortable, besides feeding us like kings!
  Now, we have returned home to the plain, happy to be back and feeling more relaxed after our holiday. I'll post a few more photos when I log back onto the mainframe.

Rufus at the Col d`Aubique.

   Bye for now.

Our home from home at Orthez

An ill fated trip to Lille

On the 26th May, we set out to visit our friends at Lille to celebrate a 90th birthday with a barbecue. We had hesitated to undertake the trip due to the fuel blockade, but had filled the van's tank to the utmost and Patrick had assured us that, even if  there was a problem in reprovisioning in Lille, we could get fuel in Belgium, only a few kilometres away.
  However, things did not go smoothly from the start. Even to reach Poitiers took ages, as the forains were en colere over some grievance and were blocking the motorway. The Police wouldn't let us join the A10 and advised us to go to Chatelleraut by the N10 and take the motorway after that.


 Arrived there, and decided to have some lunch at the service area before taking the motorway. As we made our way to the restaurant, Kim tripped on a curb and fell heavily, landing on her right arm. She couldn't get up for a few moments, then we were assisted by the very kind people from the services, who helped us into the restaurant area. They wanted to send for the Pompiers and get us sent to Tours hospital but Kim felt she would be OK after a rest and we ate a snack. But it was clear to her that she had damaged the wrist, but we decided to continue to Lille and ask Cecile to take her to hospital there for an X-ray and treatment, as Cecile is a Nurse and would know the routine. So that was what we did, although C took her to Roubaix hospital, where her contacts smuggled her in the back door for VIP treatment!
  After a very pleasant weekend and a barbecue neatly fitted in between the rain showers, we returned  home with Kim's arm plastered and in a sling, so it's just as well I can drive again...after a couple of weeks, the plaster has been changed for a lighter resin one, but Kim's arm is still very painful needing lots of painkillers, which make her sleepy. You can see, therefore, why at first she couldn't walk her Dane as promised but lately she has been able to accompany me as we walk the dogs off to the leash on quiet paths.

Papy Julien lights his candles

Bye for now, phone's ringing!

The barbecue is lit

Canine news-- New Ark Crew

    Well, it's finally happened, Kim has realised her lifetime 's ambition to own a Great Dane. A rescue organisation has offered her a rescued Dane found wandering and malnourished and restored to health through their care. More importantly, she persuaded me we could look after the enormous beast, she promised she would accompany us on our walks to control the behemoth. We introduced the other two dogs in the organisation 's pound and they seemed to get on well, so we were able to return home with Rufus.
  As you can see from my photo, he is huge, and in fact weighs more than I do! However, he is a very docile and placid individual and has been very little trouble. We bought him a special sofa of his own, which at first he used, but having fallen in love with Kim, he prefers to lie on our large sofa, curled up between us. He doesn't pass unnoticed if we are in public, more than one French citizen has remarked, 'Ah, la vache!'  and we don't know whether it's an exclamation or if they think we are leading out a Fresian heifer... He loves riding in the car, so we were able to take him on our trip to visit our friends in Lille a fortnight ago. Unfortunately, the trip was ill-starred, and led to Kim being unable to keep her pledge to look after her dog all on her own. I'll tell you all about our unfortunate adventures in my next blog, it needs one all to itself

  Bye for now, I need a further cup of coffee.

Sad news. Segoline has passed on

No, not Mme Royale, but someone dearer to our hearts, our elderly ewe. She has been ailing for some time, arthritis in her front legs, losing weight and condition. Still, with a little help to stand up, she carried on. She was sheared recently, and this seemed to rejuvenate her for a while, but it didn't last and she died last night, just missing a vets appointment today. I doubt if the vet could have done more than ease her passing.....

 Bye Sego, you were a good old sheep and your daughter Rosie lives on to remind us of you.

 Bye for now, drinking a cuppa in your memory

The French and car names

    It's a strange phenomenon -- the French love to give their cars names with an English flavour. Perhaps it is to sell their vehicles abroad, to give them credibility in English-speaking countries?  But it is an endearing tendency of the French, that they slightly distort English words,for example, a car park becomes a parking, a dry-cleaner a pressing. Car names are no exception . Renault has both a Jumper and a Jumpy, both giving a quite different impression to English ears-- woolly or nervous? The Duster does not bring to mind a virile, off-road four-wheel-drive vehicle but a cleaning-rag, called a chiffon in French. The oddly-named Trafic brings to mind being caught in a jam...I don't know what the Step-way is meant to imply but it doesn't inspire me to buy one. Why don't the motor manufacturers run their new names past a native-speaker before making themselves just a tiny bit ridiculous?
  Bye for now, off to drive my Berlingo Bivouac

Re-stocking of the Book Reserve

   Guess where we`ve been today? You're right, it's to the spring edition of the Hope Book Sale. We spent a very pleasant day there, having first picked up our friend Agnes from Chef Boutonne. As you can see from the photo, there were enough boos there to delight the heart of any bibliophile, and at a Euro apiece, you can indulge yourself  without feeling profligate. We came away with 35Euros worth between us, not a bad haul as you can see below.

   Of course, there are other attractions there, such as the fish and chips van, plus loads of interesting stalls and we had a good wander round. Kim brought some plants, we filled up on fish and chips, plus cake and a cuppa, very welcome as the weather was a bit cool. Now we're back, looking forward to reading some of our new acquisitions. And the cherry on the cake is, that the Fair brings in lots of funds for the Hope Association, to help in their work to rescue needy cat and dogs.

Bees in the Bonnet

A few days ago, our neighbour, Phillipe, pointed out that a new colony of bees had established themselves behind the shutter of our friend Liz's house. While Liz was in residence a week ago, a swarm had been removed from a tree in her garden, by Chris Luck, a local apiculturist, so this new swarm also needed a new home. Unfortunately , Chris was very busy and was unable to come for a few days, but today he arrived to deal with the problem.

The bees were well established between the shutter and the window, and a clear view could be seen from inside the room. The bees had already made a lot of comb in flat plates between the two surfaces, you can see the edges of the combs in the pic on the left. Chris climbed the step-ladder and opened the window, exposing the colony. I was poised for a strategic withdrawal but in fact few bees entered the room.

Chris was then able to push open the window. Some of the comb stuck to the pane and broke, which did not please the insects, however, most flew outside.
  From outside, the combs could be clearly seen. Chris was putting them in a new hive inside the room, but as they were somewhat disturbed and he had the protective suit, I decided to leave him to it and return home for tea.

Rescue dog transport

  On Thursday, we had arranged to assist in the transfer of a rescued dog to its new temporary family.
Accordingly, we visited the temporary quarters at Animal'Or at Sauze Vaussais to collect this lovely Boxer, called Guayane. She had apparently been adopted from this establishment some five years ago, before being recently dumped back, as her family had found her inconvenient! Some humans are strange.....
  We found her a most attractive dog, very affectionate, clean, quiet in the car,a little pulling on the lead, only natural in a dog recently confined in kennels. A little training would soon have sorted this. She was very thin, too, but otherwise seemed in sparkling health, very interested in her surroundings. We found her absolutely charming, we would have kept her ourselves if we had room.
As arranged, we then drove her to Gencay, to hand her over to Camilla, her new keeper, until a permanent, loving home can be found. I'm sure the Association will have no problems in rehoming her, the first family seeing her will snap her up. Is anyone reading this blog looking for a new companion? Give me a ring.....
  We left her licking Camilla and drove back home, a bit tired but happy to be able to help in this worth-while work.
   Bye for now, breakfast calls.

A Visit from the Patriarch

    Spring is definitely in the air. The last week has been drier, milder, the stove isn't lit until the evening and Spring tasks have been undertaken in the garden. The resident hedgehogs have emerged from hibernation and can often be seen stealing the surplus cat food as night falls. Yesterday, a smallish one was on the dish but last night I spotted the patriarch of the troupe, an animal we are calling the Patriarch. He is a very large hedgehog and, as you can see, his spines have turned grey on his back, which must indicate a fair age.
  I saw on TV last night that hedgehogs are becoming rarer in the UK. Well, this certainly isn't the case round here, we have at least two residents and I suspect several more, there are droppings around the cat dishes every night. We are pleased to help these charming animals which also help us by eating slugs and snails. Long may they continue their life here in La Mort Limouzin!

     Bye for now, morning coffee calls.

Spring just around the Corner?

   Yesterday was sunny and dry,the first for a few days. Even though it was nippy in the wind, we did at last succeed in finishing cutting the cour, which had remained half-cut like a drunkard for almost a week. I succeeded in trimming most of the rest of the vine on the buildings and, best of all in giving the car a long-overdue wash. At the moment, there is a diversion in force around Chef, which forces a trip down a muddy, narrow lane, which has left it brown, rather than green.
 The rain returned in the evening, however, so gardening has been suspended for the moment; today seems to have reverted to normal March weather, sunshine and showers. Still, the weather will now be on the up, I am really looking forward to walking the dogs in tee-shirt and shorts again.
  On the health front, I seem to be sleeping better, we are going to risk moving back into the double bed, abandoned as I was disturbing Kim, here`s hoping it works out!

 Bye for now, lunch calls!
 

Mort Lim Diary

   Just a short entry to bring you up to date. We're both fed up with the weather here, nothing but drizzle and rain for a week or more, most unusual for France. We can't sort the garden or cut the grass in the cour and the vine is still awaiting its annual pruning, should have been done by now. The cour and field are soggy, the cats are coming in with muddy feet and hopping on the work surfaces, can't wait for the Spring to arrive.
  Still, moan over, there is good news around, especially concerning my progress health-wise. My hand and arm are continuing to benefit from the Kine sessions and are about eighty per cent back to normal, I can do most of the jobs I did before. Last week we saw the nominated Doctor for an examination to see if I could resume driving and he gave me the all-clear,handed me my licence back together with a bundle of forms in triplicate for the Prefecture and said there was no reason I couldn't drive straightaway! Much rejoicing here!
  Thre was further good news on Monday, when we had an appointment to see the Opthalmo to have my eyes checked, although in fact the Doctor had done a brief test . After having me peer into several alarming machines, and read the usual charts, she announced that my eyes had suffered no ill effects and my vision was satisfactory, although I should have new glasses, not surprising as the current ones must be four or five years old.
  All in all,good news, completed by a return visit to the Psycologist, consulted as I had some depression, she gave me the all-clear on that, too.
  We have bought a small trailer to enable us to take green waste to the tip. Bought second hand from the Field Emporium, we pulled it home last week, another first. Haven't tried reversing it yet...

  Well, that's all from here for the present. Bye for now, morning coffee time!

Home Kine

No, in fact this picture is NOT evidence that Kim and I have decided to hang ourselves simultaneously, but are my attempt to create a Kine exercise machine! We have recently decided to go to a different Kine centre at Melle, as the one at Chef seemed to offer little individual attention and I felt that improvement had stalled. The new expert seems much more dedicated, but unfortunately was n leave for a week just after my first sessions. To keep up the impetus I decided to construct a version of a machine used by both centres. It consist of a cord running over two pulleys, which raises and lowers each arm alternately . The professional version has special stirrups at the ends of the cord but my version works just as well...The machine cost 10Euros for materials, I have seen that the Kine sessions cost 19Euros per session at Chef, at least one third of which was on this machine. Good value, eh?
  I have just had the first of three sessions this week at Melle, and am hoping for great things

Bye for now, I pad battery going!

Update and various reflections

K

I note I haven`t posted an Ark for ages,so I thought I would post a sort of selection of thoughts and reports.
   On Sunday, as it was so sunny and mild, we visited our favourite local attraction, the weir at Rejallant, near Ruffec. it looked beautiful, with loads of water coming down the Charente and we had a gentle wander over the new footbridges. a pleasant foretaste of summer. We used to like the restaurant there but it's gone very up-market and expensive.. Afterwards, we had a drive over the Charente at Condac and visited the hamlet of La Leigne, where we often used to walk.. Later, perhaps when my legs have strengthened...
   Another reflection which comes to mind is gratitude at the warmth emitted by our wood burner . Bought to replace the old and decrepit cooking wood burner, it's true you can't really cook on it but it's easy to light and gives far more heat for less wood, as the air circulates between the caste iron core and the sheet metal casing. As you can see, it only has a small window through which you can see the fire but this feature hides a clever trick. Most wood burners with 'picture' windows have to be cleaned daily or they soot up so the fire can't be seen. The clever trick with our Supra is that the window is very close to the firebox, protected by stout bars . It is of a special glass and is itself protected by an outer double glazing. The inner window becomes extremely hot and any soot burns off, it needs no cleaning at all. Neat, eh?

    Other more personal news is that my cold has finally departed and Kim's is much better, though there is still a nasty cough which is difficult to shake off. She's feeling stronger, though. I'm still having Kine sessions twice a week, and things are gradually improving, not as quickly as I would wish. Still when I remember the state I was in when I left Niort hospital to go for rehab at Le Grand Feu, there's no comparison I'm nearly back to normal, just a case of building up strength and dexterity.

Bye for now,going to get in some logs!

Back home again!

Well, here we are re-installed in our French home,  quite a change from Alyson's house in Goosewell. We spent a very happy few days in Plymouth, having made the sea- crossing both ways and the long car journeys with only one car- driver, as my licence is, I hope, temporarily withdrawn in view of my stroke in October. Kim had to face the driving on her own, which daunted her a bit, but she is feeling proud at having managed it. We stopped at St Brieuc on the way up and spent the night, before embarking the following day. On the return overnight crossing, due to sea conditions, the ferry was diverted  to St Malo rather than Roscoff. This in fact suited us fine, the journey by road back home being 100 km shorter! We thus managed it without an over-night stop. No doubt, foot-passengers for Roscoff, who had to face a long coach trip back there were not so keen....
   Unfortunately, we have both brought back with us an unwelcome souvenir in the form of a virulent English cold, which has left us both very much under the weather, with severe chesty coughs.. I haven't felt much like blogging but will try to upload some Christmas pics and especially some of Mimi, the new great- granddaughter in my next.
   Bye for now, got to take my medicine....