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.