Port Solent it is a distant memory and has saved us a weeks food money.

Our Summer Sundays are governed by the vide grenier in the immediate area. I go to a web site called 'brocabrac' on a Saturday evening to investigate La Manche and Calvados. We have a rule that we do not travel too far and yesterday we had three big events to stroll around in Pont Herbert, So Lo and Houseville. In Housville we were pleasantly surprised as it promised to be a small town event and ended up filling every street in the village with lots of banta and fun along the way, we were a little envious at the camaraderie and coherence of this village and wondered if this was what we are missing here in the back end of Brevands. We did make a few purchases, with a bag of wool for my obsessive blanket making and the jug end of a cafetiere to replace mine with a broken glass. We came across some little bantem hen chicks and immediately thought of our friend Sarah who has 4 white ones and so wanted some black and browns so we bought a couple as a thank you for her generosity and care she has shown us over the past few weeks. It was her birthday and we have not had the chance to meet up so our gift was well appreciated and we feel good that we have been able to show our appreciation.

Today we both woke up feeling less troubled, we had a plan to get the top parking area back on track which although has cost us an arm and a leg in terms of a lorry full of gravel 480 Euros and a membrane to contain it the size of Wembly stadium 330 Euros, the job will be completed and the area ready to use for parking trailers vans and tractors.

I spent time again today weeding and tidying the potagee. We had a good crop of Strawberries and I have made another 8 pounds of Jam, a courgette dish for the freezer and some stewed Rhubarb to freeze for our winter Sunday lunch crumbles. No rain today but the water table is up a little so a quick hosing in the poly was all that was required. HOSS is remarkably better today and I have started the 'get the mite back' campaign so he is on the right side of the Battle, my side, because I will get him right back to best of health before the next three weeks is up.

During our marriage I have been a constant winger of Mike's hording behaviour but yesterday he absolutely blew my socks off again by presenting me with two 5 liter cans of paint which are just perfect for the lounge. Paint here is twice as expensive as the UK a Dulux can that costs 32 quid in B & Q costs 75 Euros here, we even contemplated a trip home as there are a few things that are horribly over priced here, but Mike has come up trumps and although the colour is the same as we had throughout our home in Port Solent it is a distant memory and has saved us a weeks food money.