It’s been blowing a gale and pouring all day, so we were glad of indoor jobs to get on with. I’m not much good at driving the digger or wielding a sledgehammer, so I suppose my role is best described as “support services”, ie all the boring bits. This morning I made a big vat of soup to go with yesterday’s leftover bread, for lunch, then set about making mince pies to take to my English class this afternoon. I know I’ve got some pastry cutters somewhere, but just where is anybody’s guess; we were looking through some of the boxes of still-packed stuff on the first floor, above the grange, until part of the floor fell away under Nick’s feet. Only a little bit, and he didn’t go far this time; but we gave up the search. Nick found a makeshift pastry cutter for me; it used to be part of the old water heater, but cleaned up nicely and worked well! Sadly, because of the weather, only one student turned up to class; the French just don’t seem to go out in poor weather!

The boys attacked the wine cuves again, this time using the digger; it had absolutely no effect, so it was back to the angle grinder and brute strength. Later on, they went to Aire to hire a much bigger Stihl saw for the weekend, which we hope will be up to the job.

On their return, they could only get the car partway into the mudbath we use as a drive, before it got completely bogged down. It’s still there and if the rain doesn’t stop soon, may remain there for some considerable time yet!