As each day passes, Hermione is becoming more confident and less dependent on Nick; if he’s outside, she still follows him around, but is less unhappy when he disappears. He is currently in the process of building her a house – a hexagonal house! It’s fast becoming one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time; the base and walls are done, but a six-sided, pointy roof involves a lot of complicated angles!

We’re expecting six motorbikers on Saturday afternoon; they’re not staying here, but we’re feeding them and I expect they’ll want showers, so I want the place to look as good as it possibly can, in case any of them want to come back when the gite is a going concern. To this end, I’ve been busy finishing the decorating in the new bathroom; all that remains now is to cut some mirror glass for an old frame that Nick’s unearthed and have a good clean up.

In case you think we may be getting bored or sitting twiddling our thumbs, fear not; we’ve also harvested a load of plums and wild cherries, not to mention kilos of French beans, so I’ve made a batch of cherry jam and some plum pie filling.