Since the last update we have been pootling along nicely.

We had a quiet weekend pottering about in the last of the great weather. I was out for a walk when migrating cranes went over there were about two hundred of them in a few staggered V formations.  They were a bit shouty and circled a while before heading on South.  Keith (50% of our hosts) had only mentioned them as due earlier that morning.  They were quite a sight and sound.  S was painting on the patio and got a similarly good view.  I nipped out later with the camera to try and get a picture of another lot but they’d moved on.  (Sorry).

It was cloudy on Sunday and rained a bit. No more shorts are likely for the foreseeable which will be good news for the locals and their animals.  The weather has become a bit more September like (for us).

Monday (not much is open on Lundi) we had a wander around the large supermarkets having accessed some cash successfully, not that this was an issue. After I got in from a walk it rained and in the evening there was a cracking  thunder storm with the bright flashes unhindered by buildings and the thunder close by for a while which was cool.

Tuesday we went into town in our efforts to get better web access which was foiled by not having all the correct paperwork with us… The local Orange shop always has a queue which seems to be the norm there.  Limousin is famous for porcelain and we got a pot for cooking in probably the most dangerous shop in the world – shelf after shelf of cups, saucers, plates, bowls, etc, just too close together for people to walk around.  My bomber jacket sleeve, much to the amusement of a fellow shopper, nearly took out a few fancy wee cups which would have been embarrassing and costly…  We then lunched locally and I had a very nice starter then a chicken burger type thing (which appeared undercooked) but was very tasty followed by rice pudding – all excellent.  They sorted out a pasta and veg dish for Susan which was envied by one of four Brits who came in after us but who didn’t get a special dish and that table also discussed the less cooked chicken.  It was a bit disappointing that there were other Brits there but it wasn’t really our fault.  We arrived home to discover many letters and things from the Bank including cards.  My wallet is getting fatter with that and the two loyalty cards.  It was awfy thin over here having removed the unnecessary and irrelevant bits and bobs from it.

One of our neighbours are quite self sufficient with many ducks, pigeons, rabbits and a few cows (the ones that briefly held up my first fitba trip) they also have a few semi feral cats. One which has had a nasty looking neck wound for about a year.  He seems unaffected and hissed at me one time.  I spotted him in our host’s chicken run and told Keith who said the cat doesn’t seem to understand the food chain and doesn’t bother them nor them him.  It turns out he doesn’t meow just hisses and is much less grumpy than I would be in his position.

Wednesday saw a visit to Jumilhac le Grand which is in the Dordogne but not far away. It was a chateau spotting trip and their one will take some beating, pics to follow.  It apparently inspired a few writers and is brilliant.  We wandered about the village which would no doubt be stuffed with tourists in the summer but it was quiet.  Susan was a little surprised to spot a man changing his trousers by his van in the car park before going for his lunch – as it’s no-longer shorts weather the unveiling of underwear was brief (pun intended).

They have a little memorial to those deported to Concentration Camps which is something that us Brits are unused to. For example last year in Normandy we saw a war memorial that had three sections – Killed fighting, Deported & died, Civilians killed.  Also they often have memorials to those who died in the Resistance.  Disturbingly Jumilhac le Grand had nine locals killed fighting in WW2 and eleven died after being deported – which is thought provoking.  It’s a reminder of one of the reasons why the whole European/EU thing is seen differently on the Continent.

Anyway we popped into the local Bar/Cafe (I don’t think S was trying to see the flasher closer up) for a drink and but not lunch. This was annoying cos duck was on the menu dejour which was an utter disaster for me.  Susan somehow didn’t share my anguish…

On our way back we got added a deer (wild) to the growing list of wildlife we’ve spotted before successfully getting another SIM sorted out from a helpful Orange person (who had a queue after she’d finished with us) and activated our new bank account.

Today Thursday we didn’t get up to much, I went for another walk (doing the recycling) and Susan popped to the shops in the car. Oddly it was her first solo trip for no reason in particular but she managed and even made sure she got her loyalty card thing swiped!

Mitzy has been pottering about and hasn’t been chased lately. She keeps an eye out and makes a tactical withdrawal inside at the first sign of peril – which means the door has to stay open.  As it’s getting colder we’ll have to have a talk with her about that.  She spent a couple periods today transfixed in the barn through the wall where mice seem to use a large pile of old roof tiles as a maze much to her frustration…  She’s only brought in one ‘offering’ so far but there will no doubt be others as she gets out and about more.

Fitba bit

Update for those who are interested – SYlP won 3:2 away last weekend. Interestingly the two sides I’ve seen them play met – Sussac won 3:1 against Foot Sud 87 Thirds.

SYlP are now second and face the bottom of the league side on Saturday night. I’m hopeful of witnessing another win in that the visitors got somewhat stuffed 15:1 at home last week.  J

For info – http://www.fff.fr/la-vie-des-clubs/4628/infos-pratiques

End of fitba

Tomorrow, Friday, looks busy but more on that next time.