The bees return

The bees have returned. You may remember that the bees had built a huge nest in the roof and that an 80 something gentleman in a white space suit came to remove them ( yes, that's right the one who put his foot through the bedroom ceiling in the process). Our apiarian expert took the Queen bee and her cohorts off to a hive some twenty five kilometres away to start a new life. Well, yesterday the bees decided that they'd had enough of their life in the country and came back . Wave after wave of workers and drones filled the air with their hyper active buzzing. By early afternoon it was clear that our previous problem has returned - but this time the bees seem to have brought their friends and extended family. The builders are supposed to come this morning to repair the gutters but of course they won't be able to because of the swarming bees. Sigh.

It had to happen. Wilf saw a bee on the ground, went over the check it out and managed to get stung on his paw pad. Will he ever learn ? Ten minutes of Oscar winning performance followed. First came the howls, then a sore paw was waved in the air, then mad charging around, then more howls, then a sustained ' how could you have let this happen to me?' glare. A quick anti-histamine, a cuddle, a foot wash and then a chew to take his mind off it. By lunchtime he was restored to full health but was still milking it for all it was worth. Note to Wilf - If you've been stung on your right paw don't hold out your left one.

In the afternoon off with the remaining gannets to an old eleventh century church deep in the sunflower fields. A Chopin concert in a little old building quite untouched in centuries. There were eleven of us in the church including the German pianist. An hour of musical intimacy with the thunderstorm over the Pyrennees adding to the acoustics . Polonaise with lightning flashes - sometimes you just know that France is special.

On the way home stopped off for a glass of wine at the local stone masons. He has just carved a most marvellous bull. Might we be interested in buying it for the garden?