Long time no write

- and no excuse either! Perhaps it's a sign that we're drifting into a lovely cotton-wool existence where nothing really happens but every day is wonderful!

Having said that we have continued to work in the garden and now have onions 'planted' and one row of spinach 'pricked out': only two to go! We were very happy with the pansy display so we bought some more and they are now in baskets on the front wall for all to see as they arrive. We've also tidied up the area just in front of the wall and planted crocus and tulip bulbs there. Daffodil bulbs are on next week's shopping list! The neighbour that we don't often see came round this morning with some mail that had been wrongly delivered and said she'd never seen the front of the house looking so good! Photo tomorrow hopefully...

We have managed a few walks/cycle rides and you can see a selection of recent photos above. I'd not realised quite how much coastal erosion there is near here as we are pretty protected by the Ile de Ré. There is a hotel/restaurant and carpark just above Photo 3 so I think some further strengthening will be needed! On the main beach extra wooden fences have been put up to try to stop the sand from drifting too far (Photo 4). The last photo Matt sent today from the Alps to show the amount of snow they've already had, and the season doesn't start until 24th November! (That's his van, by the way!) Here we are forecast some sub-zero temperatures overnight later this week. Glad we bought the thick protective netting for the lettuce!