Been busy getting ready for a visit from Nick & Lisa and our grandchildren – praying that the weather stays nice! Luckily lots of the tourist attractions open at the beginning of April / Easter, so there should be plenty to do.

Otherwise lots of minor events. Had to have some minor work on the car – replacing the thermostat. The unanimous vote was that of course I could do it, but if anyone was going to drop nuts into the depths of the engine, let it be Jean-Louis at the garage.

Starting to get my business running. I have a really good website http://imageriedelapropriete.com/ sadly not designed by me. To get some more pictures we went to lunch with a couple with some gites South of Brive, and I had a good time taking photos and drawing up floorplans. When I decided to try the elevated gear at another friend’s, I discovered a fault in the cable that connects the laptop to the camera at the top of the pole. After ordering a new one at huge cost, I tested mine again and…you guessed it, it now works. However I can’t have kit that I can’t trust, so a new one is on its way. I have new business cards and am printing off some fliers for agents, so fingers crossed.

Bertie had a morning at the dog grooming parlour, and came away looking (and more importantly smelling) wonderful. The lady in the parlour said he was “tres, tres amiable!”. I bet she says that to all the boys…

House-wise I have finished insulating the loft – really timely, as we haven’t had to have the central heating on for a week or so. Also we got another electrician to check our wiring, and he is perfectly happy with it – a big worry gone.

I was watching Bertie in the garden a few days ago when I noticed a squirrel (red of course) in one of the walnut trees near the house. He scrambled around, keeping an eye on Bertie (who was blissfully unaware of his existence) and then dashed along a branch, flung himself at the wall of the house, scrabbled up and disappeared into our attic. Ah well, at least it will be warm for him….