We went to an auberge in Gamarde on Tuesday for a surprise 50th birthday party for our friend Adrian; as promised, the magret de canard was the best we’d ever tasted. Ade thought he was going out for a quiet lunch, but was surprised (pleasantly, I hope) when nine people turned up.

Yesterday Kieran and Nick started work on the tart-up of the next bedroom; they’ve plasterboarded the ceiling and started to insulate the outside wall. I’ve repainted the bathroom, which was looking tatty.

Adrian and Julie have just bought a new car and were planning to pick it up from St. Foy la Grande, in the Dordogne, today. But Ade’s got a bad back and can’t drive, so Kieran went with Julie. We’ve just heard that the new car has broken down part way home and they’re waiting for the breakdown people. Ade had to text us as he’s in the middle of a power cut; not a good day!

For the last 2 days we’ve been basking, rather smugly, I have to admit, in glorious sunshine and temperatures you’d expect in the UK in April or May. It’s amazing how fast things can change! The wind is now howling around the house and down the chimneys and the rain is falling in sheets (and pouring down the chimney onto the woodburner!) It’s only two years since the “tempete”, which tore roofs from houses, left hundreds of villages without water or electricity and flattened huge swathes of forest between here and the Atlantic coast. Because there are so many holes in our grange roof, we called Rooftop Chimney Cleaning Services to fix tarpaulins to the inside of it, to direct the water out through the eaves at the back; I can hear them flapping in the wind as I sit here, typing. We’ve battened down all the hatches we can; all we can do now is hope that the wind will subside before it does any damage, and that Kieran and Julie will get home without any more problems! Watch this space for the next exciting instalment of “A Year in the Gers”.