They say it happens all the time; when a woman reaches a certain age she starts taking steps to reclaim her lost youth. Some women go in for cosmetic surgery, some have affairs with younger men and for others, it’s the allure of a glamorous convertible sports car. And so it was, that yesterday we headed south to Pau, to a vineyard in the foothills of the Pyrenees, to pick up our new vehicle – a 30-year-old Renault 4! Glamorous it’s not, but it came with a set of snow tyres, it’s very French and made it all the way home, not requiring the jump leads, tow rope, duct tape, cable ties or full socket set that Nick and Kieran had insisted on taking with us.

Snow tyres would have been in order today had the walking club’s planned trip to the mountains gone ahead; but it was cancelled due to almost 2 metres of snow having fallen overnight; even the ski stations were closed!

So I had no excuse not to start tiling the arrière cuisine; I think it’s going to take some time, but I hope it’ll look good when it’s done.