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Sunday 21st it's Barbara's birthday & I'm off to collect her from the airport at Carcassonne. This will be the third time I've collected her from Carcassonne & we still haven't visited the historic fortified town, there's always been a reason to head straight back to Lagarrigue and get on with some work. This time we were still heading straight back but only because we had a table booked at the 'Le Four à Pain' to celebrate Barbara's special day. As usual we had a great meal & it's such a shame that come the end of October the chef will pack his knives away & head for the south of France for the winter which sounds like a great idea, think we'll put the scrapers & trowels away & head south to.

With some help from P we've been able to make a start on the upstairs ceiling, something I've been more than a little apprehensive about. But I'm pleased to report that things went well & the first section of the ceiling has placo in place, has been taped & two coats of plaster applied to the joints. We'll finish each section, including painting, before we pull the scaffold down & re-erect it and although this takes a little time we're hoping in the long run it'll be the right way to do the job. Anyway we can now see the finished height of the living area and it's certainly going to have the 'wow factor', I just hope the 30cms of insulation we've fitted is going to be enough for the long cold winters in the Averyon. Talking about the weather, I have to mention it, it's been glorious for the last few weeks with us being able to barbecue & eat outside on the terrace a couple of times last week which is just as well as I haven't got round to setting up the dining room table. I have sorted one priority, the telly is back just in time for Strictly Come Dancing. Wouldn't want to miss that!!!!!

Thursday was the first anniversary of Barbara's French/English conversation group in Najac and a soirée had been organised for the evening. There was really good turn out & everyone had been asked to bring along some food and drink. There was a great selection including octopus & potato soup and carrot cake, a dish that really confused the French contingent. I'm sure if the French have a Peter Kay equivalent he'd have a great time with 'cake & carrots?' Needless to say the wine flowed and we all had great time and even I managed a little French conversation.

Still alive

Well at last a few spare minutes to sit down & catch up with the blog. Things have been very hectic over the last few weeks hence the lack of 'blogging'. We've really moved the barn on which is just as well as we moved in last Friday (5th September) and there was more than just a touch of déjà vu about it. We're only residing on one floor but at least this time we don't have to go upstairs and use a temporary shower, we have a lovely new en-suite bath room. We've also got a lovely terrace off our bedroom & a fantastic cave where we can store all the bits & pieces we seem to have collected over the last few months. Despite August being the month when everyone in France takes their holiday we've had Stephané Regourd working hard to get everything in place & T & I have been busy building the terrace/cave & the wood & central heating oil storage area. All we have to do now is save up enough money to fill the fuel tank!
It was great to be back in our own home, although our temporary digs weren't bad (thanks G & S) and we're both looking forward to starting work on the living area & kitchen & we had a real boost in that direction last week even though we weren't in France. We'd popped back over to the UK to see Rebecca & Matthew & whilst we were away T laid the screed on the floor upstairs. Now I've no excuse & it's time to start work on the ceiling, something I've been putting to the back of my 'to do list'. I'd hoped that while we were in the UK we'd have had time for a little R & R but when we arrived at Rebecca & Alan's they had a list of jobs to be done. Ah well, another busman's holiday but great to see them all.

My trip was back was fun. Barbara was off to spend a few days with her mum & I planned to take a leisurely journey back to Lagarrigue. I suppose with the Channel Tunnel closed I should have expected some problems & although the ferry was very busy that part of the trip went well, it was when I came to try & find a place to sleep that the problems started. I'd borrowed G's satnav for the trip back to the UK & had thought that it might have located some likely places for me to lay my weary head but after trying 14 hotels & being told they had no vacancies & by then being less than 150 kms. from home I decided I might as well head for home & arrived at just after 3:00 in the morning. Next time I'll 'book early. The satnav had worked well on the journey through France & it was only when we left the ferry at Dover that it got a little confused. 'Enter roundabout, take second exit & board ferry' were it's instructions. Perhaps it was trying to tell us something.

Well I feel more in a blogging frame of mind now & with the nights drawing in it'll give me something to do other than watch the telly.