For those of you who are not quite sure whereabouts in France we are (and it is a very big place):

I'ts been a very quiet week, but I suppose that's why we came here..

Set up a Skype account - we are now able to make free calls over the internet all over the world. I think that's a great idea.

The prices here are no longer cheaper than in UK - in fact some things are a fair bit dearer. However part of this is obviously the exchange rate, and as we came here when the rate was virtually parity, we hope that if it climbs we will be better off. The people to feel sorry for are those who came to France or Spain when the rate was 1.60, or have their money invested in funds paying hardly any interest. Fuel, especially diesel, is cheaper even now, and costs such as local taxes are lower too. We still keep an eye on the shopping bill, and there is even a Lidl nearby for when we are feeling particularly mean.

The weather has been pretty good for the last few days - mostly sunny and temperatures around 15c - rather better than UK we hear. We have had a few exploratory drives while going shopping, and the countryside and views around here are really wonderful - come and see!

I have discovered that there is a branch of the Franco-British Chamber of commerce in Brive, and they are happy, in fact very keen, to help me through the bureaucratic hurdles of setting up a small business. We have a meeting tomorrow week, and I am really looking forward to it.

A very quiet week - though after a weekend with Rachel, most weeks would seem fairly peaceful....

We are still getting builders around to give us quotes for the building work we want - I know that a good builder should be a  busy builder, but it can be quite hard work actually getting the quotes - so no change from England there.

On Wednesday we drove up to the North of Limousin to visit David Brown, who runs a business doing floorplans over here. We have met once before, and he was keen to see my elevated camera gear at work. He'll put in his ads that he can provide this service, and I can also help out if he has any floorplan work down our way. I need to formally set up a small business - not as easy as in UK, so I am seeking advice.

On Sunday we tried another Church for Judy - this time in the village of Limeuil in the Dordogne. Rather a distance away (over an hour and a half drive), but they hold Protestant services every Sunday. Jude enjoyed the service (which had far more worshippers than the church in Filkins ever seemed to have), while Bertie and I wandered around the village, along the banks of the river (it's in a spectacular location where the Dordogne and Vezere rivers join) and I had a coffee. After the service there was a "bring it yourself" lunch with wine and bread provided - very enjoyable. We'll go again but perhaps not every week. While there is a well-established Anglican church set up in the Dordogne, there seems to be nothing formal yet anywhere near us. We have found out about a group that meets in someone's home on Wednesdays in Pompadour near us, so Judy will be contacting them.

Phew - a busy few days in which we have covered a large number of, admittedley very pretty, French kilometres.

Rachel arrived at Brive Railway station on Thursday afternoon and we brought her straight back to Voutezac so she could look around the house and village while it was still light...she seems to have approved.

On Friday we took her to Brive, the centre of which is very attractive. It was warm enough to sit outside and have a coffee. From there we went South to Collonges la Rouge, officially one of the prettiest villages in France.

After a very nice lunch we went to two other officially pretty villages - Curemonte, and then Turenne, the village we almost bought a gite complex in a couple of years ago.

Saturday was even busier. First stop was Arnac Pompadour, a town about 20 minutes from us which has a Chateau which is used as one of the French National Studs for Arab horses, and also has a race course right in its centre.

                                       

Then we went to Segur le Chateau  and St Jean de Cole (two more prettiest villages and well earned). Lunch was in Brantome, "the Venice of the Perigord - that is it has a river running through it. However it is well worth a visit as it's Abbey is particularly photogenic.

                                              

At this point it would have been wise to have gently worked our way home, but we decided to go the medieval town of Sarlat, which was a further hour and a half away to the South. However Sarlat is always worth it, and we had a very enjoyable walk around and coffee in the main square.

                                      

I think I can say it was tired but satsfied trio (plus the dog whose opinions were not canvassed) who eventually made it home.

Sunday was busy again. After a trip to the Sunday Market in Objat (where we saw a basket of black truffles at only €50 per 100gm - surely the perfect thank you present?) we had to take Rachel to catch her train home from Bordeaux, as she wasn't able to get a ticket back from Brive. Bordeaux is over 200 km from here, but luckily its motorway all the way, and we hardly saw another car all the way - French motorways are quiet (and they ban HGVs on Sundays!). After lunch in the station buffet (not BR curly sandwiches) we saw Rachel off. On the way back we dropped in to someone I contacted out here who has Peregrine and Saker falcons - a very interesting meeting. She just breeds them, and doesn't hunt. It's much more complex here, but I hope I might get another hawk one day.

Today we took another giant leap into Frenchness - the Disco is now on French plates.

                                  

Thanks to Jean at the local garage for all his help. As well as fixing the problems I had with the car, and getting the car a Controle Technique (French MOT valid for 2 years),today he came with me and another English couple to the relevant office in Brive, where we handed in a number of forms and supporting evidence and a cheque for €180. On the way back Jean called the local car spares place on his mobile, and the plates were ready when we got back to Objat. He then fitted them for us - that's what I call service..

We've had a very quiet few days - the weather has been chilly so we snuggled up around the TV!

Judy had her hair done at the village hairdressers - and it looks very nice. She is happy to keep on going there as, despite the language problem, they seem to know what she wants.

I have been thinking about getting back into falconry, but I know it's rather more complicated here. The people who hunt and shoot are very well organised, and certainly to shoot you are supposed to take a theoretical and practical exam. I am in touch with a lady in the Dordogne who has a small collection of falcons, and we are seeing her on Sunday, so I should get some idea of what it all involves.

We have just got back from the Rememberance Day ceremony in the village. It was held outside the local church, and there was a good turnout. The Mayor spoke, and then several of the village children read out their set speeches. Although I couldn't follow all of it, they were talking about what they owed the many men from the Commune who died in the two World Wars (particularly the First), Algeria and Indo China. They also spoke of the folly of war, and hoped for peace, and who wouldn't agree with that?

Tomorrow Rachel is coming to visit for a few days, so more news later!

Really settling in now. Judy has booked a hair appointment - the village may only be small, have a post office and bakers, but it also has a hairdressers!

Went to the vets to get Bertie some more tablets - he wrote out a prescription for no charge, and the chemist charged €4.80 for 90 tablets, it was over £17 in UK!

We are now getting builder's quotes for the work that needs doing - probably won't happen until well into next year.

Judy says we have come to France to relax a bit - we are certainly learning to do that.

On Sunday I was going to take Judy to an English speaking Protestant church service in the Dordogne. It's about the nearest one to us and it's a good hour's drive. Unfortunately there was thick fog in the morning, so we had to give it a miss and just sit around and watch sport on TV - curses.

On Monday we made a double tactical mistake. We drove to the departmental capital of Tulle - about an hour from us. The two mistakes were that Tulle is not a very exciting place - although it is the administrative capital Brive is 3 times larger and rather more interesting. We should have taken notice of an acquaintance who runs a hotel we have stayed in - she says they really don't like Tulle, partly because there is not much there but mostly because the only reason they have to go there is to pay their taxes. The other mistake was going on a Monday - round here almost everything is closed on a Monday, and Tulle was no exception.

Today was a lot better. The weather is still grotty - grey and rainy, but we drove to Perigeux, the largest town in the Dordogne. It's a lovely town, with lots of interesting shops and back streets. We even found a good restaurant and had an excellent lunch.

For a view more views of our village click on this link:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/brive/voutezac

there are several glimpses of our house.

Our first guest should be with us next week - Rachel our daughter is coming by train. We are really looking forward to showing her our house and the local area.