So, Country Mouse has been in London for nearly two months! Heimweh! Nostalgie! The London parks and squares are gloriously in flower, central London seems tidier than I remember it – less rubbish floating around but the same amount of indelible gum on the...
We rushed through France, on our way from Spain to England – a stay of barely a week. Just time to empty suitcases, imagine the possible weather in London, re-pack, leave the restored baby Audi in the safe hands of Jerome, Clea, Alexandre and Audrey –...
We arrived at La Chaise early in the pink-streaked evening. The sitting room fire had been lit, as had the Rayburn, the warm smell of chestnut smoke greeted us as we left the car. And a small, screeching grandson heralded us by hurling golf balls in triumph. All...
There are times when I think sheep are indulging in a spot of ovismorphism. It is that blank look, the unmoving eyes with their slit pupils whilst the jaws, with their one row of teeth, masticate whatever has been picked up. Are they wondering what kind of deformed...
It is fast becoming a habit, the migration of Percival Parents to warmer climes as the Dordogne winter hovers. I say ‘hovers’ deliberately, for this year the Indian summer lasted practically till the end of October. We left before it did. The grapes...
Fear not, despite the prevailing gloom in local shops and cafes, despite the dire predictions of taxi drivers, boletus edulis, the coveted cepe did make a belated appearance. Two weeks late compared to last year. A very long two weeks for the dedicated...
and not a single one… …fit to eat All in field...
It was frequently said of my beloved grandmother that she did not know how to boil an egg. Apparently this is the height of culinary incompetence. But over a glass of gin each, neat Dutch gin, she confided to me that she had, once, known how to boil an egg. But...
Proper autumn weather always arrives sooner than expected. All of a sudden one is closing curtains in the early evening, peaking around them at seven in the morning only to find that it is still dark outside. The day closes faster and opens more slowly. Our usual...
A curious end to the summer, marked by small, unripe fruits and a noticeable absence of wasps and hornets. Bees in the pool, yes, but few hornets in the vines and fewer wasps. Now that the warm weather seems to have settled in without interruption of rain or... 
