Today we have had gales, heavy rain, sleet and on the hills above Le Vaulmier, a light snowfall- and yesterday we had heard the cuckoo calling! The neighbours, met at the mobile bakers van this morning, all commented that the weather was English weather (although its pretty standard for this region at this time of year.) The above picture was taken at the end of April a couple of years ago, but the scene is the same today, and so is the temperature, I expect.

Because of the recent bad weather, time has been spent reading alternating with house painting (indoors). The reading included Colm Toibin's Brooklyn, which I loved. Tenderly written, the story of Eilis and her relocation to Brooklyn, having been unable to find suitable work in her hometown in Ireland, was captivating. The tension towards the end - will she ,won't she return to America is fairly gripping, although the question of who Eilis really loves remains unanswered.

Lucy Wadham's The Secret Life of France was a must-read for me. Itis a bit of a mix of personal recollection and experience as well as quite a lot of French history, including an overview of Nikolas Sarkozy's presidency, and comments on current life in France. Lucy Wadham has lived in France for over twenty years, firstly in Paris now in the Cevennes, a bit further south from the Cantal departement. I found it very imformative about French life, although I only spend part of the year here in France, but I felt there were one or rather sweeping generalisations about British life.