"In the Middle", you say

Ok, a bit of a cop out EB and I am so tired... but hey, right in the middle of the patio window... like the gods were offering me a blip. This is quite a big bird strike, but happily it appears to have managed to fly off - or next door's cat got to it. Who knows...?

We are back after a fabulous four weeks in the south of France. It was a surreal break really, because although we went out to manage the Gites primarily so that John could visit his wife in hospital in the UK, I almost immediately feel over to shingles, and the pain continues. Nevertheless, it's been a great time away, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The gardens and most of the house plants have been saved by the constant attention of friends and neighbours. The garden does now resemble something of a jungle, and Janet's going to have the finest time putting everything in order again. The pond is green and inches lower than I'd prefer, but at least I can top it up unlike in drought alert France.

One thing... if you're going to fly into Bristol Lulsgate International airport, do try and make sure it's on the same day Glastonbury is chucking out. Heh. It took longer to get out of the airport car park and get home than it did to fly from Beziers to Bristol! The traffic was intense, and clearly filled with a lot of drivers short on sleep. But at least we were all on the right left side of the road...