Alex and two of her friends came for a week’s holiday; it was pretty frantic as they tried to fit in as much as possible. This included a visit to the jazz festival in Marciac, numerous meals out at various restaurants and a few evenings at the Nogaro fete; it was at one of these, as the floats, decorated on the theme of various countries, that a man dressed as a sheep leapt off his float, got down on all fours and proceeded to lick Alex’s leg!

Alex was thrilled to meet Alice, Kieran’s girlfriend, who spent a few days with us, including the day Alex finally achieved her dream of going paragliding (parapente) in the Pyrenees.

In between all the activity, as the weather was glorious, the girls spent time in the pool, topping up their tans and getting to know the goose, while Nick and Kieran installed the beams to support the balcony and shaped the ends, and I continued to lasure the woodwork.

The house feels very empty now, but we should be able to get on with some work before the next lot arrive in a fortnight.