There has been bean failure

Hmm - it was suggested to me that runner beans with white flowers were not pecked at by sparrows. Wrong! Even dangling CDs didn't put them off. Using them as frisbees might have been better. So, dragged in their pots to the fruit cage, where the beans with the red flowers are. It's therefore a bit of a race, the motley red flowered plants growing in near rock-hard clay v the white flowered equivalent in pots with decent compost but well-pecked.

Still, have to remain positive, next year the strawberry crop is bound to be better than this year - 4 (berries that is, not kilos).

A mirage in France?

There we were, driving north close to Le Mans when we went past a camel in a field. I'll give you that France is slightly more south than the UK but this seemed a bit extreme. Fair enough, I thought, goat's cheese is a big thing in France, perhaps this is the next step. Or maybe it's for new, healthier milk - for cups of tea, brings a variation on sugar cubes, one hump or two?

Given the high temperatures and lack of water in April, camels might start to feel quite at home. And camel trains would be a welcome sight compared with the average camion. So, this is obviously the start of something big, a far-sighted investment in a low-carbon, high-quality cheese lifestyle except that the next field had the rest of the circus parked there.

Breakfast in France

Brittany Ferries do a very passable Full English Breakfast- although the sausages might not be authentically English as there may be some meat in them. What a tasty treat as the boat surfed into St Malo for our early Jan lets-check-the-house visit. I do find however that I need very little justification for these jaunts, lets-take-a-spare-eggcup-there-just-in-case does it for me just as well.

The lawn was cut, the garden furniture was got out and cups of tea were partaken. What a delight in Jan in the Vendee. All too short sadly but we did spend an further night in Nantes on the return, the Ibis, http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-0855-ibis-nantes-la-beaujoire/index.shtml, very recommendable and provides suitable comparison material for the Full French Breakfast.