Well it has been the wettest and greyest winter since we arrived here – not so cold, but without many sunny days rather more depressing.

We've been taking Finn out as much as possible to get him socialised, he's coming on pretty well. One trip to Brive proved a little too much – it was the day that the carnival came through town. Everyone throws confetti at all the floats – a bit too exciting for an Irish Wolfhound Puppy. We found some youngsters dressed up for the occasion – one of them as a wolf. I think that he eventually understood my explanation of what a wolfhound was bred for, but he refused to actually be hunted. Still not totally sure he appreciated my sense of humour – not alone there then!

For Valentines day we had a lovely dinner at the auberge, heart shaped dessert and all. We were even given our engraved aperetif glasses as a souvenir!

On our travels we have now found an American cafe in the small town of Excideuil, about an hour away. Nice people running it and a welcome bit of variety.

I spent a lot of time car hunting, and could never find exactly what we wanted. And Finn kept on growing....

Talking of Finn – to answer the usual questions I am asked when I am out with him, I have had a special sweatshirt printed – seems to help!

I have carried on with my photography, and am now concentrating on creating pictures that have the old and new views side by side, and you are able to slide between them:  https://tinyurl.com/Voutezac-One

I got in touch with a friend who lives near St Emilion and has his own commercial vineyard to ask why apple orchards were netted against hail, but vineyards aren't. Still not sure of the reasons – but he told me that he was selling the vineyard, and offered me a couple of boxes of wine for free. I had a nice drive to see him, gratefully accepted the wine and bought a couple more boxes – and very good it is too.

When our friends the Makepeaces were here at Easter I decided on a religiously themed day out – Mr M is an ordained C of E vicar. First to the

Grotte de St Antoine in Brive – an ancient site of pilgrimage that is now also a Franciscan monastery. A surprise less than a kilometre from the centre of Brive. Then onto the lovely village of Aubazine with its beautiful abbey and monastic buildings – which never seem to be open when we are there. From there to much more ancient beliefs – in the hills above Aubazine are a Dolmen or burial mound and a cromlech or stone circle. Finally on to a very nice restaurant nearby – Le Passadou. I like to think that we satsified the inner and outer person....

Judy and I then treated ourselves to a short break in Venice to celebrate our 45^th wedding anniversary. We flew from Toulouse, and had five very enjoyable nights. The B & B we stayed in is a lovely old house dating from the 15^th century and furnished with antiques right on a bend in a canal. In fact it's name Ca Malcanton means the palace on the dangerous bend!

We walked around a lot, went to lots of museums and art galleries, took some trips around the lagoon and generally had a wonderful time. Oh, and we ate far too much! One surprising highlight was the cemetery island of San Michele – a fascinating place to explore.

The inscription reads ..."who left us in peace"......

Back home and picked up the dogs – as always when Debbie looks after them they seem to have had a wonderful time!

Soon after we got back Finn managed to damage the tip of his tail. I am not sure why a dog needs blood vessels right at the end of his tail, but I can

assure you that when he then wags it, the house soon looks like a crime scene. Impossible to bandage it, so we got some spray on bandage which seemed to work. Apparently this is known as “Happy Tail”! Anyway we have managed to teach him to sit....

We are still trying to get out and explore the lovely area we live. We recently took a picnic to the Lac de Vassiviere, about an hour north of us. A beautiful large lake, which probably gets very busy in the tourist season. As there was a bitter wind blowing we had an excellent lunch in a hotel looking out over the water, and took the picnic home.

I had a couple of nights away in Bergerac for the AGM of SSAFA France and some training sessions. Very enjoyable socially, and I did learn quite a lot, but the Data Protection lectures were hard work!

Judy got me up (comparatively) early one morning as Finn had ripped up his bedding in cage and wound it all round one hind leg. He then tried to get out of the cage through the hinge side of the door. Bless him he kept very still while we spent 15 minutes carefully cutting him free. He never snarled or growled once . The cage is now in the cellar and he sleeps on a single mattress we had spare!

Fabio the chef at our village Auberge likes to have themed evenings every so often. We gave the Tete de Veau a miss, but the 7 hour cooked lamb sounded wonderful – and it was. Only two slight reservations about the evening; it was supposed to start at 20:00, we started at 21:30 so didn't finish eating until 23:00. Then it was Fabio's birthday, so we all had to have a piece of birthday cake and a glass of prosecco. We got to bed about midnight and my digestive system protested a little!

With all the rain we have been having, mixed with warm sunshine our garden is getting a little out of hand. If I don't tackle it with strimmer very soon I'll have to buy a machete...

At last we've bought a new car – new to us that is. It's a Renault Grand Espace and the dogs love it. There is so much room in the back Finn doesn't lie down – he just keeps on walking. It drives very well and has a few of those modern touches such as automatic wipers and a built in Satnav. Bliss!

I contacted Pascal Douis, Finn's breeder to ask a couple of questions. He answered them, then asked if I had realised I had forgotten to sign the cheque paying for him......We went to see him, and he both approved of how Finn was looking and accepted our signed cheque. Whoops..

As you can see he has taken up his rightful place in the family right from the start!

In November I sold poppies for the British Legion again. Always a good response in a pretty small British community – able to send in over 140€.

As my friend David Lush had hurt his ankle, I took him to Toulouse Airport to pick up his wife Rhonda on her return from Texas. An easy run, and a very nice meal in the restaurant overlooking the runway and the Airbus factory. Rhonda arrived on time as well.

We had a few problems with our waste water system, you really don't need to know the details. The problem was in a long pipe which descends through our garden, so we were lucky to be able to cut this out and connect up to the new sewer that has just been laid in our road. I say “we”, but some nice gentlemen did the work for us, for a large, but not begrudged, sum of money.

As the year drew to a close the mosquitoes didn't. I still appear to be rather allergic to their bites, so I'll be trying different sprays to see if anything puts them off. And no, they don't bite Judy.

On our way back from lunch in Pompadour we diverted to look at the birthplace of Pope Innocent VI, who was pope when the papacy was in Avignon in the 14^th century. The site is now a 19^th century house and two huge blocks of stables – it was connected to the National Stud in Pompadour. I fact I did a plan of the whole thing several years ago.

I have been carrying on with my photo slideshow project – showing our part of France in the past and today. I have actually created a Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/slideshowthenandnow.

For Christmas we decided to buy ourselves a new TV. Of course one of the connections was a different type, so entailing another trip to Brive to get one. Then I found one on Amazon for a quarter of the price.....

It really has not been the best of winters. We normally expect bright and sunny and fairly cold. Well so far we have had a bit of snow and lots of rain falling from a grey sky. As I write this we have just had some snow which actually settled for a couple of days – although it has all gone now.

Interesting trip to the Saturday market in Brive just before Christmas. It was absolutely packed, and lots of people were buying their truffles!

We spent Christmas itself very quietly, just the two of us, and had some friends for lunch on boxing day. We did have a tree though!

Having pretty much retired from the exciting world of floorplans, I was surprised when a former client asked me to do one for her as a favour. She project manages and the job was a lovely and very empty house near the village of St Cyprien in the Dordogne. In fact the house is pretty nearly in the Dordogne – just 10 metres or so from the river. As the house is being heavily refurbished, my plan helps to decide where to put up / knock down walls etc. Judy came too with the dogs and we had a nice lunch and gave the dogs a couple of good runs.

As I think we may need a slightly larger car, I have been hunting for one for months. As soon as I decide on one model I spot another one – so no great progress yet. Also, because in France you only pay tax on a used car when you re-register it, the frugal French keep their cars longer and second-hand prices are markedley higher than in the UK.

We had a a very enjoyable meal out with friends for Judy's birthday at the Table d'M in Uzerche. Highly recommended.

To keep up his socialising we try to take Finn into Brive. While Judy went shopping in the sales (her birthday present – what a coincidence) Finn made lots of new friends. My comment that he is only a puppy and just 7 months old are always received with amazement!

Just in case you are worried he is growing quite nicely:

A quiet few months – I'm sure we'll have a busier time in the months to come.

We always mean to go to the Marche des Producteurs in Le Saillant several times during July and August. This year only made it once with Simon and Anna and their family – they have a holiday cottage in the village.

Bowls on a Wednesday carrys on as always – nice people and all played for fun – no really. Of course we don't mind if we win or lose......

Very nice to see all the Makepeaces – met up a few times and we were allowed to meet the lovely Audrey – the first grand daughter.

This blog may possibly be considered to belong to Finn, our new Irish Wolfhound puppy. We reserved him before he was born, so we were able to visit him from a week old until we picked him up at 9 weeks.

This year's opera presented by the Festival de la Vezere at the Chateau du Saillant was La Boheme. As usual we went with the Lushes, and had a very enjoyable evening.

Before picking Finn up I went to the international dog show in Brive. Finn's breeder, Pascal Douis, was there showing a couple of dogs. The showing started at 09:00, the wolfhounds were supposed to be on at 11:00, by which time everything was running an hour late.

I've been taking more photos for my then and now slideshows – it would be nice if you could believe the met man when he says we are going to have a lovely sunny day Ah well, more practice on photoshop! Next project St Yrieix!

Pretty nice weather – August very warm, and we have had an “Indian Summer” in late October.

One Wednesday as bowls were cancelled we went a little further afield with the Lushes to the lovely village of Aubazine. There is an impressive Abbey, where Coco Chanel was brought up in the orphanage. We had lunch at Le Passadou, a lovely little restaurant way off the beaten track. We also checked out a cromlech and a dolmen! A cromlech is a stone circle, this one is deep in some wood and quite atmospheric. The nearby dolmen is what remains of a ancient burial mound.

The next day was pretty well my perfect day. We went to see how Finn was getting on at six weeks – jolly well being the answer. Then to the Chateaux de Gateaux in St Yrieix for a full English breakfast. A drive for a couple of hours, taking in the chateau in Chalus where Richard the Lionheart received his fatal wound. 

Finally back to the C de G for a cream tea with the Makepeaces – I could actually feel my arteries hardening...

Judy had her second cataract operation – went very well and she will probably only need glasses to read very small print or in poor light.

We thought they had finished all the roadworks outside, but they came back and scraped off the black top surface to reveal this new surface below. We hope that's it!

Lots of mosquitoes this summer, and they love me. Sadly I seem to be slightly allergic and the bites can be quite unpleasant. A couple of years ago I was bitten on a finger and had to have my wedding ring cut off. I also proved to be allergic to some crab sticks I had for lunch! On the positive side my slight problem with a high white cell count in my blood has stabilized, and I don't have to see the specialist for another two years.

We were hoping to have a few visitors this year, but they didn't really materialize. One couple came to stay one night on their way south, and the second pair fell foul of Ryanair's appalling cock up when their flight was cancelled.

I eventually got the car repaired from the accident we had in Suffolk in June. The old boy who did it has done a brilliant job.

We did get to see Richard and Joyce, who stayed with us last year. They spent 3 weeks in the Dordogne staying with our friend Diane. We managed to meet up, and they brought their son Nick and his wife Sarah to our place. Nick and Sarah were almose straned by Ryanair, but managed to get another light home.

On the 15^th September we picked up Finn. There were only two dogs in the litter, and the other one was also being collected. We had a good trip back home, and he has got on pretty well with Icare who is hardly jealous at all.......

Got lots of Amazon vouchers for my birthday – thanks everyone. As always couldn't think of what to buy, but eventually got loads of book.

Their was an excellent dog show in Pompadour especially for “Levriers “ or running dogs, so for everything from whippets to Wolfhounds. Finn wasn't able to go as he had just had his vaccination, but it was very interesting.

As soon as Finn was able to go out we tried taking him to Objat market to socialise him. He behaved very well indeed, and was much admired.

We had an interesting  visit to the Pans de Trevessac, an old slate mine near Donzenac. Although the guided tour was a little rapid for our French comprehension, it's an impressive place.

Finn is now 4 months old and weighs well over 25kg. Well he knows who's boss anyway......

We've had a busy couple of months, a trip to UK and the ongoing saga of the roadworks outside our house, now hopefully all done.

To show that I do keep busy I took a number of shots of our bird feeder, mainly to try and catch the woodpecker that was getting a free lunch. Don't be under the impression that I sat there for hours in a hide – I set my camera to take a shot every few seconds and left it on a tripod to it's own devices. Looking through 800 shots for anything interesting is really quite boring, but we did get a few good pictures. The one of the edible dormouse (seriously that's it's name) was take though the window.

On to the roadworks. Madame la Maire had promised that it would look very nice when it was finished – and it does. We were a bit worried at first as our garage was left inaccessible, but they came back and sorted it out. It's very nice to be able to park by our house again.

I have carried on with my photography and produced a couple more of my “Then and Now” YouTube creations. It is amazing how much more of places I see doing this. Search for cliftondj on YouTube. 

A few weeks ago the Circus came to town – at least to Vigeois, the village where I play bowls. They camped in the car park of the hall we use, and I have to say that Billy Smart really doesn't have to worry. The tent appears to have room for about 30 customers, and the animal contingent comprised a couple of goats tied up to graze around the hall, and a llama left to wander around which wanted to join us inside.

We had a very enjoyable two week trip to UK, seeing family and friends without actually driving all over England.

We started off by getting into the mood for the cuisine to come and had lunch at the KFC at Chartres. Yum. Then to the Ibis in Sangatte, a room with the dog, and a very short drive to the Tunnel in the morning and an almost empty train.

Straight to Leigh on Sea, where we saw Nick and family, and picked up Rachel who was over from New York.

We had stayed in the cottage on Orford last year, and it was as nice as we remembered it – Rae stayed for four days and seemed to enjoy it too. Icare certainly enjoyed all the walks he had by the sea. We had visits from Judy's sister Carol and her partner Terry, Jim and Angela Wiggle (sorry about the spare bedroom Ange) and our friend Posy.

We also visited a couple of old friends from our days in Norfolk – lovely to see Jenny and Florence and to visit the Chequers again!

We tried not to drive too far, but had a couple of trips to Southwold, to Lavenham and to Clare, where my father and grandparents lived. We also visited Sutton Hoo, the ancient ship burial site.

A very strange place was Shingle Street – a real end of the world settlement just up the coast from Orford.

In a part of the country that had numerous airfields in it during the Second World War it seemed natural to visit a couple of aircraft related museums. The first was the Cold War Museum at RAF

Bentwaters, which was a USAF A10 base. Some good exhibitions and a long chat from a retired US airman in the operations room – I tried to tell him that I was doing much the same just up the road, but he wasn't really listening. I was able to point out that a picture of an AEW Shackleton was wrongly labelled – Judy pretended she wasn't with me. Strange to see that they have a presentation to explain what the cold war was – seemed so recent to me.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton was quite different – buildings full of aviation memorabilia of all sorts – some interesting and some not so. I turned a corner to find the very sad looking cockpit of Victor K2 XL 160, an aircraft I flew in many times. Sad.

Icare had so many walks that he was quite filthy, so we took him to be groomed. He looked lovely, but next day had an upset stomach. Pharmacies in France stock a number of products for animals, Boots in Woodbridge seemed rather puzzled at being asked for something for canine constipation....

One slight problem with the cottage was that the house next door was being renovated, so there was quite a bit of noise and dust. When they actually drilled through the common wall I mentioned it to the agents, and to their credit we got a 20% refund.

On our way back we had a reunion with some of the lads who used to work for me when I was an operations officer at RAF Honington - really great to see them all again. They tried to recreate a photo from my leaving do from all those years ago.....

Via Nick's again, nice barbecue and a sleepover! A gentle drive through Kent taking in a bit of tourism in Canterbury and Rye and quite a lot of shopping and through the tunnel again. Strange how the drive from Calais to home seems to get longer and more tiring each time!

When we got back the roadworks had almost finished, but a day of tarmac laying prompted a spontaneous day out in the Dordogne, with a very pleasant lunch out and an afternoon in, then to Bergerac, where they were preparing for the Tour de France. This is a statue of Cyrano de Bergerac, who actually has nothing to do with the town at all....

A couple of weeks after we visited him Nick and Kev came to see us – well mainly to watch a day of the Tour de France between Perigueux and Bergerac. They seemed to have had a pretty good time.

Judy had a check up at the ophthalmologist and he says she has a cataract in her other eye, it will be operated on at the end of August. Having had one done already she is really quite comfortable with this, and is looking forward to having really good vision. She already helps me out when I don't have my glasses!

We will have a new addition to the household in about 7 weeks. Finn is an Irish Wolfhound puppy, and when we saw him he was just a week old and his eyes were still shut. Oh the fun to come!

One day he'll look like his dad...

We recently had a Quiz and Fish and Chips night at Château Bellefond – seemed to go very well with nearly 50 people attending. My quiz was generally thought to be rather on the difficult side – much better than too easy!

Voutezac had it's Peach Festival last weekend. As always the evening repas was very entertaining – first course served just after 9 and the dessert at 1130.

The next morning we drove to a RAFA Hog Roast near St Jean D'Angely in the Charente. A very enjoyable evening. We stayed in a really nice B & B in the town, dog friendly and lots of walks.

In fact Icare has recently stayed in several hotel and B & B rooms with us and behaved very well, but this doesn't excuse his opening our bedroom door several times last night and coming in to give my ear a friendly lick! Little does he he know of the friend soon to be joining him.....