It was pouring on Friday afternoon; I felt very sorry for the driver of the cement lorry, who delivered the thin, watery cement mix and had to stand out in the rain to check that it went into Olivier’s chape liquide tank at the correct rate, from where it was pumped into our ground floor. Olivier’s wife, Corinne,  works with him and Joel had come along to help, too, and to show Corinne my tiling in the arrière cuisine, so it was quite a little party.

By yesterday the chape was no longer liquide, but hard enough to walk on, though I doubt it will be properly dry by Tuesday, when the heating people are due to start work; we’ve got doors and windows open, but it’s still raining, so the atmosphere is quite wet. Not best drying weather.

Poor Betty’s been under the weather recently; she needed a new gear box amongst other bits and pieces. Nick and Kieran have spent many evenings working in the garage, Kieran having a vested interest in getting her back on the road ASAP as it’s really not motorbiking weather right now. But the happy news is that she’s now as good as new again, complete with new gear box, new front seats and various other bits too technical for me to remember!