tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50805070633578450262011-11-28T02:22:46.649+01:00Having worked overseas for the past few years, it's now time to 'chill-out' for a while.The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.comBlogger1081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-11948719186541314612011-08-11T13:13:00.000+02:002011-08-11T13:13:10.795+02:00

As you're all aware the French make a habit of kissing on the cheek when they greet friends, co-workers and family, depending on which category you're in dictates how many cheeks get the attention with family of course coming out on top. Well, according to a survey done in Germany by their Knigge-Akadamie, a society that advises Germans on 'correct' behaviour, this kissing is not liked by the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-71689459051488995342011-07-29T10:36:00.002+02:002011-08-11T13:13:33.797+02:00

Absolutely appalling decision, those of us who look forward with great eagerness to each F1GP are going to be especially sore. Not everyone is able to get Sky satellite broadcasts and even if I could I would certainly NOT be handing over so much for the privilege of watching a sport that has at its roots the requirement for it to be a majority Free-To-Air broadcast event. BBC announcement

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-49036974988046354662011-06-29T17:43:00.000+02:002011-06-29T17:43:30.725+02:00

Who in their right mind let this get through... :?: Fortunately it's been classed as "Out of stock" - but WHY the heck have they not taken it off the website :?:

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-28564045587383165852011-05-24T17:38:00.000+02:002011-05-24T17:38:03.499+02:00

Well, even if we say it ourselves our vegetable expectations this year are quite high. Almost all of the four, albeit modest, plots are now fully planted - as the following plans show. OK, I have to admit the video above is not too great, it's something new I'm trying (will probably master it and replace in due course). However, we're hoping that in the coming months we're going to see our

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-88760187630364726412011-04-14T18:58:00.000+02:002011-04-14T18:58:14.458+02:00

You would think that with a huge flock of just three Ouessant sheep that it would not be so hard to hand shear them - well you wouldn't believe just how tiring (and satisfying) it can be. As we've only the three, it is just not financially sensible to have them professionally done - nor is it sensible to spend hundreds of Euros on electric clippers. So the decision was made to do it the old

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-7432333183614256072011-04-13T08:48:00.000+02:002011-04-13T08:48:51.490+02:00

A whale clips a minnow? April 12, JFK airport in New York. An Air France A380 super jumbo has just clipped the tail of a Comair Bombadier Regional Jet whilst it was taxiing to the runway. Nearly 500 passengers on the double-decker with around 65 persons on the very much smaller Comair flight. Fortunately NO-ONE appears to have been injured, but the video on the Sky News site shows just how

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-83880825196205458952011-04-11T16:46:00.000+02:002011-04-11T16:46:35.256+02:00

French beekeepers to protest against ‘no veils in workplace’ lawBeekeepers across France are organising an official protest against a new law which prevents people from wearing face-covering veils in public and at work.Since the law came into force many beekeepers have been left without the protection upon which they rely, leading to many horrific sting-related injuries.As one beekeeper told us

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-46820034413355020502011-03-19T17:06:00.000+01:002011-03-19T17:06:52.231+01:00

OK, we're now beginning to get twitchy and I think suffering from withdrawal symptoms as a result of the cancellation (or is it postponement)  of the Bahrain Grands Prix. This is supposed to be an exciting season what with the new tyre supplier, the Drag Reduction System (DRS) along with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) - and yet it's still not got going...aaaaargh! Right - rant over.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-51388555123501489962011-03-16T14:13:00.001+01:002011-03-17T11:04:29.353+01:00

With all that is going on in the Far East at the moment it is of no surprise that the issue of nuclear power safety is at the forefront. There have been demonstrations in Germany against the expansion of their nuclear power generation intentions - in fact this has probably helped the Germans make the decision to temporarily shut down at least seven of their older facilities until they have all

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-2056944290382148532011-03-13T11:33:00.000+01:002011-03-13T11:33:30.483+01:00

What? I hear you ask, am I talking about. Bottle feeding, we're starting to bring on our own goats from kid, in fact they were only a week old when we got them - quite cute. They're now up to 2 litres of bottle-fed milk a day, hence the four feedings. But they're doing great.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-62816001745248160402011-02-15T15:16:00.000+01:002011-02-15T15:16:32.223+01:00

Much Closer...!!! Only six kilometres as the crow flies away from the epicentre...!!

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-21366250882170833462011-02-14T11:02:00.003+01:002011-02-23T07:41:50.196+01:00

Keeping a secure backup of your data is something that everyone ought to do, however from what is read and discussed around the 'net it seems that it's only a minority that actually do. It doesn't take much imagination to guess how you'd cope should your hard-disk drive in your computer crashes, they don't last forever and often will simply curl up their proverbial toes without any warning. So

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-13830154035714074112010-12-29T17:28:00.000+01:002010-12-29T17:28:24.703+01:00

For all those aficionados of Meccano you'll be interested to hear that the owners are bringing some of their production (previously moved from the UK to China) to their plant outside of Calais. This can only be a good thing, it seems that the benefits of cheap(er) labour is being eroded by the lack of manpower in China along with substantial increases in shipping costs. Read more of this story

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-3048488175671234072010-12-22T08:49:00.001+01:002011-03-13T15:30:34.347+01:00

...be lugging around firewood. Winter seemed to start early for us this year, as a result we of course lit our wood-burner a little earlier than expected. So our supply, whilst not used up, has diminished somewhat. Have found a local supplier of three year seasoned wood that sounds pretty good, his stuff is already split and cut (around 60cm) so will only need one further cut to make it perfect

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-1253257157282283552010-12-19T11:49:00.000+01:002010-12-19T11:49:05.975+01:00

For those travellers 'stuck' at the various airports in southern UK as a result of the weather conditions I'm afraid that I really do not have sympathy for them. They're all moaning about their precious trip to Orlando and the like, about how it's only a little bit of snow - well tell you what, how about you try running along the runway as fast as you can, let's see how easy it is for you to

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-67606074730102653792010-12-18T10:52:00.000+01:002010-12-18T10:52:00.721+01:00

...expecting to be working today, but with what has just fallen out of the grey skies up above us I doubt very much that I'll be going anywhere today. At least three inches of the dreaded white stuff has fallen here this morning and I wouldn't be surprised to see more later. The hounds are happy though, they've already been out in it and thoroughly loved it. Running and rolling around,

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-59899754143305978402010-12-17T16:23:00.001+01:002010-12-17T16:32:03.723+01:00

Whilst personally I am pleased to see that MS Internet Explorer has been relegated to second place amongst the users visiting this blog, I feel that more could be done to get it even further DOWN the list. It's quite well known that MS IE is prone to failings, especially security ones (OK no browser is totally immune to them) but I for one would certainly recommend that people try out the others

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-25216288770188141992010-12-08T13:45:00.000+01:002010-12-08T13:45:02.601+01:00

All I can say is "Cheers Ken, you know who you are...!" I feel CRAP! I wouldn't mind but I've got a really hectic week ahead of me - this is going to knock seven buckets of the proverbial out of me and it's not something that I can get out of...!

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-68034088514644090312010-11-22T08:21:00.000+01:002010-11-22T08:21:42.589+01:00

Great news - Harry Hopper has returned home to our friends after a spell wandering around the great Vienne out-back of over two months. He left for his walk-about on 20 September and just came home of his own accord on Friday 19 November - I wonder what the little chap has been up to? Image License...

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-43570606214680297632010-11-20T08:49:00.000+01:002010-11-20T08:49:43.697+01:00

I'm not so sure about some of ours, they just might be... Cannabis fed to ducks by French farmer for 'deworming'A French farmer has been given a one-month suspended jail sentence and fined 500 euros (£428) for feeding his ducks marijuana to rid them of worms. Police arrested Michel Rouyer after they discovered 12 cannabis plants and about 5kg (11lb) of the drug during a visit to his home after a

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-53610617887399090712010-11-20T08:37:00.001+01:002010-11-20T08:38:03.856+01:00

Information shamelessly taken from WiredVC it has been announced that the French Gendarmerie Nationale are going Open Source.France’s Gendarmerie Nationale recently decided to review its IT infrastructure policies. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, now reports the police force has upgraded its 85,000 PCs to Ubuntu Desktop Edition, removing its reliance on the Microsoft operating system

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-18968845202668549052010-09-24T07:54:00.001+02:002010-11-20T08:52:55.254+01:00

Posted on behalf of a good friend... Hello, Lost in Luchapt area (86) a Bennetts Red Necked Wallaby, approx 15kgs, 75cms high & grey in colour. He went missing on the night of Sunday 19th September & was last seen approx 7am on Monday 20th at Les Petits Plats. Please if anyone sees him, contact us through this blog. We are all very concerned for his safety. Many thanks, The Earley Family.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-71541415693194530262010-08-28T17:08:00.000+02:002010-08-28T17:08:30.632+02:00

One of our Muscovy ducks has been sitting on a clutch of her eggs for quite a while now, we didn't know when she started putting the clutch together so were not sure of when they may be due to hatch. Well this morning she presented her eleven little ducklings to us and very proud of them she is, standing there making her little 'wheep wheep' noise that she uses when talking with me. What is

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-68406941590365385072010-08-21T14:32:00.000+02:002010-08-21T14:32:27.411+02:00

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun... Well, that's exactly what we're up to at the moment, as you may know we breed our own rabbits for the pot/freezer and have found that they are a little partial to the type of very fine stalked grass that grows on our two acres. So after having let the stuff grow to a suitable height it was time to consider getting it all in before the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-8480352687177921372010-08-18T08:17:00.004+02:002010-08-18T09:41:57.300+02:00

come yesterday, could it? We then wouldn't have had all that excitement. There's a brief video HERE... Just in... Satellite image showing the area of the conflagration...

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-39797763112781476392010-08-17T19:57:00.004+02:002010-08-20T17:52:13.951+02:00

The Great Fire of Chez Moreau... Today a great inferno took hold on the surroundings of the quiet hamlet of Chez Moreau, never in the history of our time here has so much been owed to so few... well that's not quite true - there were more Pompiers on the scene than there are residents of our little hamlet. A fire broke out (the instigator of which will for the moment remain nameless) quickly

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-55836780748003645082010-07-26T11:24:00.001+02:002010-07-26T11:27:35.669+02:00

Whilst not directly linked to an Expat's Life here in France, if you let the video advert play to its conclusion you'll find enough of a reason for me to post it.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-74747718986287742842010-07-19T15:19:00.003+02:002010-07-19T15:28:20.245+02:00

Number One: French lawmakers vote to ban burqa in publicNumber Two: Burka ban would be ‘rather un-British’and leaving the best for last...Number Three: Syria bans face veils at universities I know, very little in connection to life in France apart from the first headline. But having lived and worked out in the Middle East I know just how divisive this issue can be - and that's in Muslim

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-16326332465857178642010-07-19T08:00:00.003+02:002010-07-19T15:08:02.884+02:00

Update 19 July - Day 2 of hatching. We've now successfully hatched 18 of the 19 eggs in the incubator. They've been moved over to the brooder, it was getting a bit crowded in the incubator... here they are... This is I think a really good hatch rate. Just a quick post, photos will no doubt follow later. Today is a good day. The incubator (Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance) has been running since

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-24695640290758022852010-07-13T08:28:00.000+02:002010-07-13T08:28:19.561+02:00

OK not so specific to life in France (unless the guys predictions come true, when there wouldn't be a life left in France), but you've just got to be impressed with the grandeur of Terrence Aym's apocalyptic soon to be end of life on earth as we know it pediction. Have a read HERE..., if you have any general knowledge you'll soon realise that this guy, whilst spouting 'facts', is quite simply

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-45965989564748956802010-07-11T08:10:00.001+02:002010-07-11T08:13:02.159+02:00

Always knew that Californians were a little bit strange, apparently this has been going on for some 30 years - started as a bar-room bet. Upto 10,000 people are estimated to be willing to 'bare the derriere'. The BBC has more on this HERE... Whilst this might work in the U.S. with the average speed of most Amtrak trains being that of a snail on amphetamines, I doubt very much that it would

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-79222313892695374842010-07-07T14:29:00.003+02:002010-07-08T07:31:48.427+02:00

Well I certainly hope that this is a computer glitch, otherwise we're all going to need our thermals tomorrow. I'd hate to think what the consequences of a 33 millibar drop in such a short period would be - tornado or severe storm. Well the predicted wind speeds would suggest a severe fast moving storm, but I would prefer this to be wrong. I mean, 'think of the vegetables', this would crucify

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-43150078600160793852010-07-06T12:22:00.001+02:002010-07-06T12:23:09.971+02:00

In a long-planned move to make life difficult for forgers, about 150m British £20 notes with a picture of Edward Elgar will be replaced as legal tender on Thursday, July 1, by notes with a picture of Adam Smith.  When the change was first announced during the last Labour government, it was noted how apt it was that Gordon Brown should replace a great English composer with a Scots tax collector

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-30994552132720110362010-07-03T08:41:00.005+02:002010-07-12T12:43:56.299+02:00

Some time back I did a posting about an earthquake that had been recorded in the vicinity of our home and that it wasn't felt by us. This led me to want to know just how frequent and where the earthquakes were occurring within France. So that has led to me compiling a map showing just where they were. Here's a snapshot of the past two months... (Click on the image to go to the most up-to-date

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-20646403366366956232010-06-12T11:12:00.000+02:002010-06-12T11:12:00.974+02:00

As we breed our own rabbits, predominantly for our own consumption, we always have young rabbits ready for sale. I'm going to start marketing them on a more regular basis - as to what anyone wants to use them for it's their choice, pet or meat is not a concern to us. So, here's a few females that are ready to go now... These are available for € 6 each, there are also males available (someone

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-91534268711742195162010-06-05T09:35:00.001+02:002010-06-12T10:50:58.687+02:00

Part of the normal daily routine is fetching the bread for the day's lunch, that and opening up, feeding and watering all the various animals we have. So this morning I was reminded to get the bread (always seem to forget), but this time there was an 'and...' with it. "Could you also fish out the toad that had decided to take a swim in the duck bath/pool. There's no way that they can get out

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-9061736230481142112010-06-04T14:51:00.001+02:002010-06-04T14:55:53.889+02:00

Fly screens, whilst they may not be the most attractive thing to stick on the front of your house, they are here in south-western France quite essential. Unless you've got central air-conditioning (we haven't), you're quite likely to be opening up all the windows once the sun has moved off them. This is when they are most necessary - there are some pretty big flying critters out here, not that

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-51973222444029290792010-05-31T10:38:00.001+02:002010-06-12T10:56:37.296+02:00

Update, well number one duckling is very well and seems to be growing by the minute. As for the second hatchling, well (s)he's a bit of a problem - very weak to start off with, had a major difficulty getting out of the shell and also had an exposed yolk sac. This has, I'm happy to report, now been absorbed into the body and it does seem to be slowly improving although still weak. Not so sure

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-40160452661275374422010-05-30T09:27:00.001+02:002010-05-30T09:28:44.417+02:00

NEWSFLASH... ... ... The duck eggs that we've had in the incubator since the 3rd of May have just started 'pipping'. This is our first batch of duck eggs, we're normally quite successful with chickens so this is an important batch for us. Started out with eight in the incubator, a mixture of Rouen and Muscovy - but all the Muscovy have proven to be infertile (seems like 'Handsome' as he's

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-8071761060538779502010-05-30T08:10:00.001+02:002010-05-30T08:14:58.294+02:00

From experience I can certainly confirm that the phrase 'It's good weather for ducks' has quite probably never had any of their own. We woke up this morning to 'duck weather', it is raining quite steadily and the forecast shows it being set in for the day. I don't think this photo shows the extent of the rain, OK it's not a deluge - but heavy enough to piss off all of the chickens and ducks - I

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-2904085048853544812010-05-24T17:29:00.002+02:002010-05-24T17:35:38.873+02:00

I'm pleased to announce the arrival, yesterday and today, of the first of this year's incubator hatchings. They appear to be a mixture of Light Sussex and a few that I expect to be a cross between French browns and a Light Sussex coq. Out of the batch of 20 eggs set, we've hatched 17 - there are a couple of eggs being left in the incubator for a little while longer, but these might well be

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-11201017081093864592010-05-21T15:24:00.002+02:002010-05-21T15:25:54.618+02:00

Well, I'm very pleased to report that this 'small' pile of logs is at the very least reduced by one third. They have been chain-saw cut into rounds of about 25-30cm length over the space of a day. Then whilst talking to one of our neighbours we found out that a good friendly French neighbour had a "Fendeuse", a mechanical log-splitter. She was quite happy to let us borrow it, we'll be ready to

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-59416184484549642442010-05-20T16:33:00.000+02:002010-05-20T16:33:30.478+02:00

We decided for no other reason than "We're running out of time!" to complete our tax declaration today. The deadline for presentation of the paper version is in about eight days time and that's to an office that is about 30km from here. Fortunately our tax here in France is quite simple (has to be as we've not had to make any declarations for the previous 10 years), so I thought how about we

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-70340706096264346972010-05-19T20:37:00.002+02:002010-05-19T20:39:13.494+02:00

It certainly seems to be here with me at the moment. According to my site statistics this blog has today become a LOT more popular than it has been in the past. OK, I know which IP address has been visiting and where they mostly originate from - but it's certainly an unusual blip. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the visitors - I'd even be happy for them to maybe leave

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-35335884336266030692010-05-10T12:31:00.003+02:002010-05-10T12:38:49.199+02:00

I'm sure that from some quarters of 'civilisation' I am going to become a target for contradiction and most likely some quite venomous comments, but one of the things we do quite successfully here is to breed our own rabbits for the table. This quite obviously means that at some time they have to be slaughtered, skinned and dressed for the table. This is quite a learned skill to do well, to

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-68084060579911419122010-05-03T12:40:00.000+02:002010-05-03T12:40:38.974+02:00

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-49598785923248400182010-04-28T08:44:00.001+02:002010-04-28T08:47:05.489+02:00

Well we weren't expecting any, especially as it came from the youngest... But I found this this morning whilst letting the animals out... From Sheep From Sheep From Sheep From Sheep I'll be getting better pictures later... Guess who's really happy, even if I don't look it in the photo, but I am really.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-91903707829572075782010-04-26T11:33:00.001+02:002010-04-28T09:47:42.182+02:00

Battery powered, solar panel charged, electric fence energiser. Electric fence tester. 20 pieces plastic fence posts 105cm including spike (10 pieces unused, 10 in good condition). Half drum of electric fence tape. The energiser has had very little use, battery recharged quickly from just the inbuilt solar panel and I have had on test running continuously for the past three days, voltage over

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-78126502019686065442010-04-21T17:59:00.000+02:002010-04-21T17:59:32.887+02:00

OK yes we live out in the country and as a result you have to accept that there will be certain critters out there that would love to share house with us. Well I am all for live and let live (in most cases), but the little buggers are munching their way into anything that is lying around that just might potentially have at the very least a calorie or two. We try to keep all the animal feed in

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-54339262043262755112010-04-17T17:44:00.002+02:002010-04-17T18:01:08.695+02:00

We've just about run out of our home-grown hay from last season and as a result we've now started using the first of our bought in round hay bales... Last year we allowed our grass-land to grow to a good length of at least one foot, this is wild grasses along with what is more normally described as grass (that nice juicy green stuff), we then cut it ourselves and after allowing it to dry in the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-77370658962207527532010-04-16T10:08:00.002+02:002010-04-17T17:22:30.664+02:00

Fortunately I've not got any travel plans for a little while (unless of course the job interview that I'd like to receive comes up), which means that this ash cloud is not a problem. Of major interest to me though is watching how it's affecting the flights across Europe and I found a GREAT website showing real-time aircraft positions - it's addictive viewing... Click on the image to go to the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-61427181086463611062010-04-13T08:41:00.001+02:002010-04-13T13:50:25.939+02:00

I was quite pleased to report that we'd closed up the wood-burner for the year and that meant a reduction in firewood cutting, splitting and consumption... WRONG...!!! It's been back in use again, especially last night as the wind is out of the north-east it's been a bit chilly. So, now I'm almost completely out of ready to burn firewood - looks like I've got to get the chainsaw out again and

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-77602235920601448352010-04-07T17:33:00.004+02:002010-04-07T17:34:46.779+02:00

Let's hope for a nice bunch of peaches this year, now that the goats aren't going to be eating them before we can get to them   !!!

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-83481951287020573172010-03-22T17:50:00.002+01:002010-03-22T18:01:45.815+01:00

Good news folks. Christophe our vet has told us this morning that today's visit for dressing change will be the last one needed to be seen/done at the surgery. Bobby's healing so well that we can continue to change his dressing this week as and when necessary (it does get soggy from when he can lick it without us noticing). After this week we can expect that there will be no longer any need for

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-65939925599691479342010-03-22T08:57:00.001+01:002010-03-22T09:07:51.180+01:00

For the first time this year, we didn't light the wood-burner last night as it seemed to be staying warm enough in the house. It's a chore that I do enjoy, especially when you get a really good fire burning - such a pleasant sight. Does this mean that spring/summer is actually on its way - I hope so - not so keen on all this cold stuff, the blood's still thinned out from our years in the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-63703828346300955922010-03-19T15:37:00.001+01:002010-03-21T17:29:37.380+01:00

Chicken House for sale. Chicken (or duck) house for sale – suitable for up to four chickens. Complete with easy access nesting/laying box. Roof on a hinge for easy cleaning, comes with two doors for the birds, there's even a little window for them to look out of and see if it's time to get (you) up. Easily maneuvered into place with the handy carrying bars. Location: North of Confolens (16)

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-44656723728414687372010-03-16T17:39:00.000+01:002010-03-16T17:39:16.819+01:00

Seems that there has been a major problem with PayPal in that a heck of a lot of unauthorised transactions have happened. If you've not done so already I suggest that everyone check their account immediately. This isn't a hoax I speak from personal experience.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-68468946886715020792010-03-14T08:32:00.000+01:002010-03-14T08:32:49.290+01:00

OK, so back to the vet's office on Friday to remove the initial bandage and padding so that we can get access to the sutures and have them removed. OH nearly passed out when they came off, the great lump had split his stitches and the wound was gaping wide open, I won't show any photos for those of a weak or nervous disposition - but suffice it to say it was not pleasant. According to our vet (

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-18052833037019252692010-03-10T13:16:00.004+01:002010-03-10T16:42:21.037+01:00

We really had hoped that the spring would soon be coming and that simple change in the season would enable us to reduce or even stop the amount of heating we've been working our way through. Our main heating of choice is the good old wood-burner, here in rural France it's probably the most predominant method. However this winter seems to have started earlier and been colder than previous (

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-77882674217811092010-03-08T16:56:00.002+01:002010-03-08T18:20:30.285+01:00

I wish I knew what is going on in the head of this crazy mutt, he's just incapable of sitting still. He's forever wanting to get the other dogs to play, failing that he'll resort to one of his favourite toys - his tail. There's nothing better in his opinion than chasing his own tail, always catching it and then pulling himself around and around until he falls over. We've had to change our

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-51237705780675583492010-03-01T08:47:00.004+01:002010-03-08T18:24:49.392+01:00

Well Bobby seems to be improving all the time, it's almost possible to see the improvement actually happening in real-time. He's now quite adept at running around on his three fully working legs, although we try to keep him down to a reasonable speed - you can't keep him on a lead all the time. Whilst walking he's finding it a little more awkward to move using only three and does keep trying to

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-31721591452523136262010-02-28T08:48:00.004+01:002010-03-10T13:57:54.474+01:00

Sheep house (aluminium) currently wrapped around a nearby tree a couple of feet off the ground (sheep are fine), goose house roof bent up at one edge (geese OK). Turkey house moved a bit (don't have any at the moment), one duck house upturned and slid along the ground (currently not utilised) other duck house has had all the tarpaulins ripped off (have to find them later) but the ducks are OK.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-90575729675313125372010-02-27T11:18:00.007+01:002010-03-08T18:28:35.195+01:00

OK, let me explain what's behind this posting's title. We have what we believe (in our opinion) to be the most wonderful Golden Retriever called Bobby (pedigree name "Dom Perignon") and he came to us with a limp on his back right leg. Well this has over the past few months been getting worse - so the decision was made to have this looked at by our local vet. On examination it was thought that he

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-33969841909380937352010-02-21T17:28:00.002+01:002010-02-21T18:00:25.512+01:00

OK I have to admit that I'm not the quickest of renovators but it has mostly been done by ourselves.Well the kitchen has progressed to being 'almost' finished. When it previously looked like this...And then like this...Through to THIS...Well if you ask me I think it's coming along quite nicely, I'm really proud of the floor considering I'm usually quite naff at D.I.Y.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-54344874418226048592010-02-19T16:29:00.002+01:002010-02-19T16:32:56.846+01:00

Go on, it won't hurt.You'll be taken to the newest "Brit" site on the web (as far as we know). You may recall I operated the Poitou Pointers forum, well we've now joined forces with Brits Abroad and feel that this will lead to more and better exposure for all involved.Feel free to join up, we're currently covering Brittany and the Poitou-Charentes regions of France, more will come in the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-14883867532106600702010-01-06T09:12:00.004+01:002010-01-06T09:19:56.829+01:00

It's not supposed to have reached us yet!This fall began settling immediately it started falling, OK there was already snow on the ground - but where there was clear ground it didn't hesitate to cover.Fortunately we did our week's shop yesterday and the freezer is chock full of home-grown meat along with shop bought vegetables (yes I'm useless at growing veg!).Temperatures are expected to maybe

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-60204237499361210432010-01-05T15:17:00.003+01:002010-01-05T15:23:07.143+01:00

OH was working out in the animal house when she heard a chomping/scratching noise coming from one of the rabbit hutches, whilst this in itself is not unusual it did seem to be quite loud.Moving the bale of wood shavings aside, this is what she came across...Do you think that the bunnies she's due to have will have any specific flavour when it comes time for us to chow down on them?

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-70584494254620419592010-01-02T08:41:00.004+01:002010-01-02T08:48:31.929+01:00

Whilst it's not really that cold here this morning, only -3c, I found an unusual ice formation on top of the waterbutt this morning...Lo and behold vertically growing ice...

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-33833331729262460762009-10-13T07:32:00.003+02:002009-10-13T07:39:14.642+02:00

Found this article for sale on a Forum in the Bretagne region of France.Whilst it's obvious what is being described, I have to admit to finding the tongue in cheek double-entendre used to be quite entertaining... Huge cock free to a good home Gordon (for that is his name) is a large, young naked necked cock now looking for a new home. My cock is 24 weeks old and just starting

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-35761339113412714652009-10-11T18:24:00.006+02:002010-03-08T18:34:04.121+01:00

Just a brief posting to say that I have now managed to obtain the necessary toplink bracket for the Kubota along with a 3-point linkage kit. These were sourced from the UK, I just couldn't find them in France, even visiting the local Kubota dealers brought me no success. Anyway the pricing including the delivery to France made an importation simply better economics. Spent yesterday afternoon and

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-32882342120995258582009-10-04T15:59:00.003+02:002009-10-04T16:12:03.405+02:00

Yes I realise this is a rather unusual question, whether to pluck or to skin the freshly killed chicken.Well, having just culled four of our smaller females we wondered if it was worth trying to pluck them, especially as females have a lot more feather than the males.Decision made, as these were older birds and not suitable for roasting, rather they would go in the pot - we decided to try

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-66946055226114285692009-09-22T08:28:00.008+02:002009-09-22T17:01:06.477+02:00

Isn't it amazing, listening to Sky News about the French authorities clearing the "Jungle" at Calais and the only protester voices shouting are ENGLISH. Does this mean that these protesters would be happy to have an unrestricted flow of illegals into the UK, well if that's the case then those protesters ought to be the ones to pay for their upkeep. It's also quite unsurprising how there aren't (

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-52722343459890868592009-09-21T18:18:00.008+02:002010-03-08T18:47:24.556+01:00

Well I've been after one at a sensible price for quite a while and now I've finally managed to get myself a tractor... meet 'Cubby' or at least that's its current name. This is going to allow me to dramatically increase the amount of vegetable growing in the coming seasons, a lot of which I think will be devoted to animal fodder, especially for the rabbits. In the immediate future my plans are

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-87382108342592818922009-09-11T18:17:00.004+02:002009-09-11T19:28:11.680+02:00

What is it with corporations/businesses in France?OK I know that France is not at the bleeding edge of Internet usage, but FFS if you have a web-site then at least make the most basic of information therein accurate...I needed to go out to the hardware store (BricoShed to those in the know) to get some roofing sheets for the newly built Goose House. So knowing that I had other things that I could

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-70345499495181051232009-09-11T08:33:00.003+02:002009-09-11T08:46:04.228+02:00

One of the things that I try to do is to work out by keeping records of how much money our livestock make for us - OK we're not officially allowed to sell produce (daft French laws) but sometimes it sort of happens in a barter kind of way.Well, my records for egg laying goes back to 2 November 2008 and after tallying up yesterday's layings we've just topped 2800 eggs.As I consider our boys and

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-50647731032336382202009-09-05T12:17:00.002+02:002009-09-05T12:42:36.901+02:00

Great news - Le congélateur est arrivéOur nice brand spanking new Hotpoint 300 litre freezer has just been delivered.Just in time for us to start filling with all the homegrown meat and vegetables that are about to burst out of the other 'little' freezers.Timing is excellent, having just culled four of our meat rabbits this morning, thanks go out to 'The Stonehead' for his very excellent tutorial

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-75658074501031970202009-08-30T08:55:00.004+02:002010-03-08T18:50:33.027+01:00

OK I guess the title is a little bit over the top but that's just how I feel. My damned C: drive suddenly gave up the ghost and I squarely lay the blame at a certain door in Redmond, WA. My PC was doing a .NET update, taking its time so I went out, leaving it to get on with it - came back to a blank screen. Rebooted and found that it couldn't access my C: drive, so the OS wouldn't load :-( Oh

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-14808308997134592782009-08-24T08:54:00.002+02:002009-08-24T09:00:13.188+02:00

I'm hoping for a few days of cooler weather, it's just been too hot to do anything too strenuous outside (or inside for that matter), but I think for at least the next couple of days it could be OK.Had a storm during the early hours of this morning, with some (but not really enough) rain - could certainly do with some more the grass in the geese paddock is looking very brown. Have been having to

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-48479682152718268882009-08-22T15:48:00.003+02:002009-08-22T16:12:38.158+02:00

When this sort of thing goes on...?A five-year-old girl who is battling cancer is recovering after two boys sprayed her with deodorant and tried to set her alight.And then only last week a visiting Swedish teacher had her hair set on fire by youthsA 16-year-old has been arrested after a female tourist's hair was set alight on board a train heading to London.Now I'm not saying that France is

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-39403929164350600622009-08-20T14:00:00.003+02:002009-08-20T14:08:41.129+02:00

So far this year we've been lucky enough to not have any water restrictions imposed upon our Commune, although looking at the following image I don't expect it will be very long before we do. We're in the thin green area to the south-west of Montmorillon.For those in the Poitou-Charentes region that would like to check, go to THIS SITE to have a look.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-35558202005112054922009-08-19T10:17:00.006+02:002009-08-19T16:42:31.523+02:00

Had to chuckle, just saw the icon/weather symbol to the right of my last posting...Even the mercury is 'steaming'.

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-37325128430791289792009-08-19T10:07:00.004+02:002009-08-19T10:14:43.293+02:00

We don't get many visitors to our tiny hamlet, with the road turning into a gravel track just past us it seems to deter them.However August of course brings out the tourists, the 'lost' tourists.And then the litter starts, OK not huge amounts but probably the first litter we've seen in our lane THIS YEAR.There's not even wind-blown litter about the rest of the year, so my logic tells me it MUST

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-23433957429775571862009-08-13T15:47:00.003+02:002009-08-13T15:50:08.394+02:00

This is Bobby, he's a Golden Retriever that's currently undergoing adoption with us and the rest of our menagerie.Would you believe that he's only 9 months old, stands taller, broader and heavier than all of our other dogs. In fact I would almost compare him to Barney the goat we had...!

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-92009047465557221452009-08-10T18:48:00.002+02:002009-08-10T19:06:00.073+02:00

One of the interesting things that you can get out of having a blog (or website in general), is the pleasure in seeing just who and from where is visiting your pages.This is all achieved through the use of visitor statistics, mine for this blog are recorded and managed through a free service called Statcounter. I've found them to be very reliable and provide a fairly reasonable amount of data for

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-66258715089307598282009-08-08T17:17:00.005+02:002009-08-08T17:26:45.002+02:00

Having been involved in the Shipping and Logistics arena for many, many years the issue of Piracy on the high seas is one of interest to me.A few people will know of my attitude towards pirates and this would normally involve a lot of heavy armaments especially in shark infested seas...!Now I see a report on the BBC News website that the Somali pirate clans have started fighting amongst

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-3785360982437921902009-07-14T19:45:00.002+02:002009-07-14T20:05:29.377+02:00

I'm pleased to report, that unlike last year, our vegetable plot seems to be doing what it's supposed to do !Despite having had a heck of a lot of our plants initially trashed by a very violent thunder/hail storm some time back, most plants with the exception of about 75% of our runner beans have come back to life.OK it's taken a lot of work and almost daily watering (it's been quite dry for the

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-19527857255804690002009-06-30T08:09:00.002+02:002009-06-30T08:24:33.637+02:00

Recently I have been seeing more and more postings on the various forums from people who are confused by La Poste's services and pricing.Well help is most definitely at hand in the form of the English version of their web-site...La Poste...Clicking on the link will take you to the page dedicated for those of us that already live here in France, there's also pages for those preparing to come to

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-22541895683306256052009-06-29T16:10:00.004+02:002009-06-29T16:33:35.056+02:00

Had the pleasure of accompanying good friends to the well known market at Les Hérolles. This monthly market is reputed to be the biggest in France and after walking around most of it this morning I think I would agree.There was a good selection of poultry available, some varieties of which I had seen before. There is a larger animal market as well, luckily for the animals this is undercover. But

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-16782581369409022032009-04-21T09:07:00.001+02:002009-04-21T09:10:04.491+02:00

Judging by the traffic that this blog has been receiving recently, the main point of interest seems to be of "Earthquakes in France"Looks like I ought to put some thought into this and get together some more information on the subject.So as they say "Watch this space..."

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-54503522167803040382009-04-05T14:49:00.006+02:002011-03-17T10:27:30.431+01:00

It's quite amazing just how many visits to this blog come after searching about earthquakes, maybe I should specialise? Anyway there is a more relevant posting on the subject of earthquakes and NUCLEAR power at one of my recent postings so CLICK HERE This page is still receiving hits, so I have done an updated page with more information... HERE... Surprisingly earthquakes are quite common

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-66393043902831853442009-02-02T20:32:00.002+01:002009-02-09T09:02:52.165+01:00

Our online store Les Froggitts Hand crafted stuffed decorative frogs

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-27962682028541174022009-01-18T10:49:00.003+01:002009-01-18T10:57:23.801+01:00

We've been knocking down walls and stripping ceramic tiles off the remaining walls of our bathroom/toilet for the past few days, it's so therapeutic slamming a sledge hammer or even the electric jackhammer against walls - so much destruction = so much pleasure.However now I'm down to the bottom parts of the walls that are going and the rubble piles up where you're trying to demolish. So you start

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-71226755109190156832009-01-16T08:20:00.003+01:002009-01-16T08:28:41.667+01:00

This morning we were greeted by a rather impressive horizon, such a scarlet vista.We also had a similar one a few days back.Now the old adage goes "red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning", but it didn't come to pass. So we are hoping that this will likewise be another bright and clear day.Our online store Les Froggitts Hand crafted stuffed decorative frogs

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-45603500627127496392009-01-06T11:15:00.004+01:002009-01-06T11:36:51.670+01:00

Lovely weather for Polar Bears...This is what we woke up to this morning a few centimeters of crisp/crunchy snow.The dogs having never experienced snow before have taken to it like ducks to water, they've been having a great time running around chasing each other.Although they do also seem to like the heat put out by our wood-burning fire in the lounge, it's a toasty 22c inside and around -3c

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-28624847798364180892009-01-05T09:53:00.006+01:002009-01-06T11:26:55.571+01:00

We've apparantly got a few cold days coming, in fact this morning it's reading -4c on the outside thermometer, brrrr!This is how it looked first light this morning, no it's not snow, just a heavy frost. With it also being overcast today I don't expect it to disappear too quickly, yesterday's frost remained in sheltered spots all day even with the bright blue skies and sun we had.To the left is

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-33952748933201586452008-12-10T11:50:00.004+01:002009-01-06T11:27:13.938+01:00

As I briefly mentioned in my last posting, the snow had rather unexpectedly started here in the Vienne. It certainly wasn't forecast but we'd seen the temperature dropping rapidly, it was overcast and damp, perfect snow forming conditions.As it was dark there was no easy way to get photos, but if it does snow enough in the future in daylight I'll try to get it on-line.According to the current

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-28664488199570917122008-12-09T17:14:00.002+01:002009-01-06T11:27:25.747+01:00

It's 5pmandit'sSnowing...Our online store Les Froggitts Hand crafted stuffed decorative frogs

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-6458550216455564342008-11-23T09:56:00.007+01:002009-01-06T11:27:38.926+01:00

Update 2 December.Very pleased to report that Google, having been crawling the site for the last few days, have now included a few pages in their index.It's a start and I hope that they'll index the rest of the pages in a short time.Having just started up a new on-line community, Poitou Pointers, I am now actively trying to get it known to the internet.Word of mouth is working to an extent, with

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-89437768503163813502008-11-14T08:34:00.004+01:002008-11-14T17:33:06.844+01:00

Had to mention that the Quiz Night, held last night at the Bar Brasserie de L'Abbaye in Charroux, was a thoroughly enjoyable event (OK, yes we won  but it was fun).A friendly bunch of people attending/competing. There were some pretty difficult questions to answer, some of which were even debated at the time, but of course the referee's always right.Pie and chips were served during the interval,

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080507063357845026.post-35176739333489562842008-10-27T09:19:00.002+01:002008-10-27T09:23:35.566+01:00

And nor does Barney our goat.He's currently standing in the doorway of his stable, looking out at the rain, occassionally looking up into the sky and I swear there's a pissed off expression on his face.OK, the rain is refilling the water butts and topping up the ducks little pond, I think they've cut the liner with their sharp claws (didn't know they were so sharp until I picked one up to weigh

The Witshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15243291639255662981noreply@blogger.com0