There’s just one shepherd left in the South West of France, who walks his sheep in the traditional manner all the way from the Pyrenees to near Bordeaux every autumn. He’s something of a reluctant celebrity as every village he passes through provides a meal and, where necessary, a bed for the night. We went along to see the transhumance, as it’s known, where it passed near to us. It was a morning stop, so trestle tables had been laid out in the forest, with an amazing breakfast; breads and cheeses, salamis and hams, hard boiled eggs, cakes, fruit juices, coffee and, inevitably, red wine, for the gathering of locals and the odd tourist. It was a very relaxed atmosphere as everyone tucked in, then Stephane headed off with his sheep and several people who take leave from their jobs each year to accompany him for at least part of the journey. I think Nick could quite fancy a life like that!

Quite apart from that, we’ve been very busy entertaining visitors (the best sort – Julia and Chris spent a day clearing up the sadly neglected potager!), Nick and Kieran are working hard installing the new kitchen in the gite and I’ve done some more lasuring of the woodwork for the balcony.

It was Adrian’s annual barbecue a couple of weeks ago (I’ve just been too busy to blog!). Normally an outdoor affair, this year it had to be held in his barn as the thunder rumbled and the rain came down by the bucketful. Fortunately, the French don’t go out in the rain, so our reduced numbers, mostly English, were able to fit in. Ade’s band played for a while and I did a few songs too, though I wish he’d warned me in advance so I could have practised!

The summer’s nearly at an end now; the evenings are getting cooler and our current visitor should be the last for a while, so it’s back to work for us.