Well Olivier the anaemic builder is ticking along plastering the joins on the mezzanine, so all a bit quiet on the building front, but we are poised like coiled springs to get in there once he moves downstairs.

We have been sorting the car out. I really am impressed by our insurance company - MMA - really fantastic service, and I have sent them a letter telling them so, after all, I am quick enough to complain when things go wrong! Also the Peugeot garage in Ile-Sur-Têt are very efficient. The final bill was €1800 !!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, that was an expensive breeze block. We had to pay €300 excess. Amazing how much damage that caused. We also got a letter from the insurance person saying that we need to replace our back tyres. It's not a great surprise really, as we replaced the front ones a little while ago. Still, now we have to or our insurance will be invalid. The garage quoted us €276 for two Goodyear tyres + valves+fitting+balancing. So we called in a few places to compare prices and then I thought I'd just look up tyres on the web. Well, what a revolution! You can choose tyres and then have them delivered to garages in partnership with the particular website and then pay the garage for the fitting. So I have ordered two Firestone Tyres to be delivered to a place in Perpi easy for us to get to for €149.50 and it will be €12 each for fitting etc Quite a considerable saving! Zafira tyres, particularly our model, the diesel turbo, are expensive because it can go like a rocket. And they are by no means the cheapest, after all, they are pretty critical for safety. I'm well impressed.

We had our English neighbours over for dinner at the weekend, and used it as an opportunity to get rid of some stuff in the restaurant freezer. I flambeed some gigantic prawns in a wok on the barbie in pastis with a 'persillade'- garlic, parsley and shallots- which will be on the menu. They went down well, then made minced beef kebabs with smoked paprika, and cheated for pud and we had shop-bought lemon tarts. They ate evrything, so they can come again! Needless to say, got beef coming out of our ears, having beef strogonoff tonight! At least the freezer seems a little emptier.

In a day or so, I shall be in action with my paint gun, undercoating all the plasterboard.