Sun, food and friendship

The only rainbow in the district

It has been a busy old time down on the farm for the last few weeks. But enjoyably so. We have reconnected with some very dear friends from Zimbabwe, whom we had not seen or spoken to for 20 years. Other than the fact that their children have grown (!), it was as if we had seen each other yesterday. We ate a lot of food, talked a lot of talk and went for a canoe down the river. A marvellous visit.
​All the children are home now, with attachments, and mother-in-law has also arrived. The house is full, lively and hungry. Number 3 child keeps running off to other peoples houses I am beginning to wonder if she has become unacustomed to living with the general banter of family life as she is so often an only child these days. Well it is either that, or the fact that I keep insisting that she read a book every now and then which can be quite a challenge.

Gavin has been trying to keep up with some repairs and maintainance now that he has some assistance on the farm. And that was all going smoothly until the tyres we had ordered for the trailer 10 days ago did not turn up which meant a trip to Perigueux to visit the warehouse of said deliverers. Shall they remain nameless.....no not today I don't think....GLS. They gave us the round the houses treatment with the telephone numbers and then stopped picking up altogether in Perigueux. On arrival in Perigueux Gavin was confronted with a very full warehouse, with rows and rows of parcels neatly grouped into post code areas for the Dordogne, and an articulated trailers worth of parcels to unload standing outside with another expected that evening.
After some rather irritating moments he discovered that the probelm is lack of drivers to deliver all the parcels once they have arrived at the central warehouse for the Dordogne. So if anyone has a parcel coming, check who your delivery service is, and if necessary make alternative arrangements.
​It does make me wonder  why people so often say there is no work in Dordogne. Do people not like driving? After all I would not have called our department a particularly taxing environment for driving....Or are conditions for delivery drivers so appalling that no one wants to do it?.... Or is the "we want it now" generation of purchasers that we have become, begining to finally take its toll on logistics, with its inability to provide the complete service through over demand creating no supply? Who knows.

Recovering after a hard mornings work

The animals are hot and the piggies have found the first green acorns so are very excitedly ploughing up their field in an effort to see if in fact acorns actually grow underground. I think they are going to be disappointed. When Gavin or Patrick go to put the pigs away at night time there is one pig that lies down and pretends to be a tree root. As they do so much wallowing at the moment occassionally it manages it and gets left behind.

It is a busy month in the butchery as well, with everone else enjoying visits with the family or friends or both. And the markets have hotted up, literally ;) It is looking like it will be a scorcher this coming weekend. Never thought I would be wondering what to wear to a market....What is cool, protective, smart yet casual and resistant to be ripped through carrying heavy items with sharp corners? Answers on a postcard please. See you all soon;
Helenx