Spring

May continues and is nearly at an end already! I have been busy with marking student work and trying to fathom out how to fill in a French tax form. The forms finally became available on the 9th May, to be filled in and returned by the 31st with fines for being late! This is one of the most frustrating things about France. A bureaucracy that makes the UK look simple with people employed to run it in the least efficient way possible! Well, we will do our best sfe in the knowledge that even if we got it right the chances of anyone in the tax office of being able to work it out are slim, so we expect them either to ignore it completely or return it as 'unacceptable' when we will get a D- and told to do better!

Ian has been continuing with the garage. The batons are on for the wall panels and we have been boarding off a little of the inside walls so that we can move our boxes out of storage for the first time in 18 months!

The weather remains mixed but this year the wild flowers have been out in abundance, including the orchids, although this time they are hidden in the field amongst the grass.

Walking the dog has become difficult as the grass is too long and when he decided to run off after a scent he disappears into the field and we can't see him! With that in mind Ian repaired the tractor this week and ewas able to cut a path around the edge.

I should really take Gremlin for a walk now but as I look out it is pouring with rain, so he may have to wait a bit!

The other news is that France has a new president, Monsieur Hollandaise as they have nicknamed him. I don't know in the end whether it will make much difference whoever is in government but even if I did have an opinion I couldn't vote anyway!