Thank you, everyone who suggested names for the kitten; there were some wonderfully imaginative ideas, but in the end, Kieran’s suggestion of Hugo seems to have stuck, so Hugo he is. He’s becoming more confident now, chasing round the ground floor of the house, though he tends to take corners too fast and skids round them on the slippery tiles! He still doesn’t like going outdoors though.

As today dawned cool and cloudy, it was a blissful relief; it doesn’t seem right to complain about the sunshine and the heat, but the last few days have been so hot that even sitting outside for lunch had become something of an endurance test. I went for a bike ride this morning, while Nick and Kieran headed off to their French class, arriving home only half an hour later because the teacher had been so engrossed in her gardening that she forgot to turn up! So they decided it was a good day to mix concrete; they’ve finished the floor of the arriere cuisine and done two thirds of my workroom floor, which they’ll complete tomorrow.

I spent most of the day in the garden; just weeding the potager seems to be a full time occupation. But we were rewarded with our first French beans of the year; the yellow ones and the purple ones haven’t produced many yet, but there were plenty of green beans for dinner;-)