Nearly everyone else was up and about by the time the noise of Joel and co using chainsaws, drills and various other power tools woke me this morning; last night’s band rehearsal had gone on till well after midnight. Kieran’s comment of  “And what time did you get in last night, Mum?” caused a lot of amusement.

It turned into a busy day; a problem with the electricity supply meant hooking up the generator for a while, but EDF came out to fix it this afternoon. Kieran finished rebuilding a trials motorbike that a friend has lent him and had great fun riding it around the mudbath of our garden, taking Alex and Izzy for rides, as well as letting Graham and Nick ride it, Thanks, John, they had a great time!

We all dashed back in when the sky turned black and there was a torrential hailstorm; I took advantage of us being stuck indoors to ask Graham to give me a lesson in photography, then rewarded him by allowing him to drive us to Aire in the Renault, an experience he likens to driving a big, angry cloud. We nearly lost Martin on one corner, when his door opened itself and he’d have been deposited in the road if he hadn’t been wearing his seat belt! A wander round the shops and the brocante, and a bit of photography practice took the rest of the afternoon; I hope my photos will improve noticeably from now on.

In the meantime, the builders got on with the roof; it’s now watertight and most of the back section is finished. Joel will order the woodwork for the balcony next week; it’s just amazing to see the speed at which things are moving!