It was time. I’d put it off far too long already. It would have to be a Monday as the swimming pool is open on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I’d remove and replace the somewhat revolting, discoloured silicone sealant in the shower; and while I was at it, the sealant in the kitchen was in a similar state, so I’d do that too.

So I scraped and scrubbed, bleached and blow-dried (What? You’ve never blow-dried a shower? You’ve never lived!) I treated the more stubborn bits with WD40, then wiped it all down with alcohol, to remove any traces of grease.

Then I left it to dry while I went for a walk around the lake to ease my back and knees; which hadn’t enjoyed being scrunched up in such a tiny space for so long.

Halfway round, a young woman with a large camera approached me. She explained that she was taking photos of a triathlete on his bike and as there are loads of fallen leaves, they’d covered part of the path with leaves for him to ride through, the idea being that, as he did so, the leaves would fly up in the air. However, the leaves hadn’t moved at all. Would I be prepared to throw some leaves around as he rode past, to give the effect they were hoping for? Of course, I’d be happy to help. She found another woman, who joined in with her daughter and we did two runs. The photographer seemed happy with the photos she got and explained that they’re for a feature in a free local magazine. I’ll have to look out for it. She agreed to send me a copy and took a photo of me with Florian, the cyclist too.

Back at the ranch, the excitement over, I applied masking tape and the new sealant to the shower. I’d have to leave it for 48 hours to dry thoroughly, hence the swimming pool opening hours being convenient, I could swim and shower there for the next two days

I was on a roll, so I removed the old sealant in the kitchen; some bits were silicone, others acrylic mastic and yet other parts were done in something that resembled used chewing gum – gooey and sticky, it was horrendous to remove!

I had very little masking tape left, so bought another roll the following morning and now the job’s done. I’m pleased with the result, it’s so much better than before.

I’m part of an “international women’s club”, based in the Landes and the Pays Basque; mostly I just attend the book club, run in English, which means that once a month I can express myself properly, without effort and understand everything that’s said – a real treat! A lot of the other activities, such as lunches, cooking demonstrations, apéros, mah jong and bridge don’t really appeal to me.  Occasionally, however, they hold other events, such as Wednesday’s trip to Bordeaux. A cousin of one of the ladies has lived in Bordeaux all his life and is the president of the Bordeaux automobile club; he was our guide for the day and organised lunch for us at the club’s headquarters.

Anne Marie gave me a lift as far as Hossegor, from where we had a coach to Bordeaux, setting off under a glorious blue sky. Unfortunately the fog rolled in not far from Bordeaux, but that did nothing to dampen our spirits.

Vincent led us on a walk around the heart of the historic city, pointing out the important buildings and explaining a bit of their history. It was my first visit; I’d heard that it’s impressive, but I wasn’t prepared for the magnificence of the architecture, which I found imposing and rather majestic. I’ll definitely be going back.

Lunch was excellent, an imaginative menu, beautifully served in the automobile club’s restaurant, by waiters in old fashioned uniform. When I declined the dessert, because I can’t eat sugar, they brought me a plate of fresh pineapple instead – no fuss.

Once lunch was over, we had a short, “digestive” walk; there are some very interesting looking shops that I’d love to go back to explore. A bonus was the lack of traffic; I don’t know if cars aren’t allowed in the centre, or just discouraged, but there were very few. However, there is an excellent, modern tram system.

It was soon time to get back on the bus for the journey out of the centre to the Bassin des Lumières, which, for me, was the highlight of the day. Built by the Nazis during WW2, as a “service station” for submarines, this ugly, square, concrete block, on the banks of the Garonne river has been transformed into an amazing art centre. The whole is divided into three sections, each one with a huge, water-filled parking space for a submarine, surrounded by wide concrete walkways. The only light comes from the images projected onto the walls, and in some places, floors. These images are closely based on the work of various artists and move, sometimes fading from one image to the next, sometimes seeming to fall into the water. Of course, they’re all reflected in the water too and are accompanied by specially chosen music.

I went for the first time last year, to see a Dali and Gaudi exhibition and was blown away by it! This time, we thought we were seeing Mondrian and Van Gogh, but discovered on our arrival that Wednesday afternoons, at the moment, are for children (schools close on Wednesdays), so it was “le Petit Prince”, which was truly magical. I’m going back to see Van Gogh/Mondrian in a few weeks with Graham, my son in law, when he comes over, so I wasn’t at all disappointed.

It was late by the time the coach dropped us in Hossegor ; I was pleased not to be doing the drive home. A quick bite to eat, then bed; I was tired, but it had been a wonderful day.

When I moved into my apartment, it was obvious that the big head on the shower was clogged with limescale, the water coming through was little more than a trickle; I’d have to do something about it……… sometime. However, the small shower head worked perfectly, so I used that and ignored the other. Then the support for the small head broke; I had no choice but to shower under the trickle.

You get used to anything, don’t you? Well, I do.  So nothing got done; I didn’t want to ask Kieran, he’s got enough on his plate; and Cedric seems to have become really expensive.

Then Graham decided to come for a visit later this month; I couldn’t expect anyone else to use the shower as it was, which also made me realise that I still haven’t got round to replacing the badly discoloured silicone sealant in the bathroom and kitchen either.

How difficult could it be to replace a bit of a shower? I’d have a go. I measured the diameter of the pipe and went to the DIY shop. There was a bewildering array of parts for showers, in different shapes and sizes; I suddenly realised that I didn’t really have a clue what I was looking for – not a good start to my venture into the world of plumbing. I found a member of staff and showed him a photo of the part that was broken; he was very helpful, found the correct part and explained, sort of, the basics of how to detach the broken one and replace it.

Back home, feeling more than slightly apprehensive, I found the main water tap and turned it off. Now I’d started, I’d have to finish. But what if I got it wrong? Would I flood the apartment? The apartment downstairs?………

I checked all the taps and took a big pile of towels into the bathroom; every time Nick did some plumbing, there was a mini flood and I was always sent to find towels. I located the screws to loosen the pipe and realised that the junction below wouldn’t turn enough without hitting the wall, so I’d have to remove the flexible pipe too.

I had a look through my tool box,  found a screwdriver and a monkey wrench and undid the screws, but the monkey wrench was fractionally too small. Patrick, who lives downstairs, seems pretty good at DIY, so I went to see if I could borrow a bigger monkey wrench. He brought one round, obviously thinking that I wanted him to do the work for me, which I didn’t. However, I was very pleased when he stayed to supervise, giving me some useful tips along the way.

A few minutes was all it took. Patrick insisted that I turn the water back on and run the shower, to check for leaks, before he left; success – the water flowed just where it’s meant to.

The shower heads are now soaking in vinegar; I’ve poked all the holes with a large sewing needle, to loosen the limescale, so tomorrow’s shower should be a big improvement on today’s.

Soon I’ll have to redo the silicone; hopefully before Graham arrives.