" I thought my time had come ".

The battle between the heat drifting up from Spain and the cool autumn breezes from the Atlantic continues to be played out in the skies above the rickety old farmhouse. We returned from a brief shopping expedition to find Madame Bay and Wilf entwined in a mutually comforting embrace at the foot of the hall steps. While we'd been out a huge thunderclap , " It was the loudest I'd ever heard in all my years M'Ongoose. I thought my time had come" had forced septuagenarian cleaning lady and faux macho dog into each others arms. Understatement it has to be said does not come naturally to Madame Bay . Wilf ,alarmingly for a supposed alpha dog ,seemed remarkably happy to be wrapped deep in Madame Bay's bosom surrounded by acres of lily of the valley doused chiffon. He had that contented ' all I need now is a sausage' look on his face.

It was a day of national protest yesterday against the planned raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62. The air traffic controllers used it as an excuse for yet another holiday as did the railway workers. This morning the papers are full of stories about the huge 'manifestations' in Paris, Lyons and Marseille. In our little piece of paradise the pace of life is so slow it's rather difficult to work out whether people are on strike or not. While I read the papers Wilf decided to jazz up his morning routine by turning upside down and lying on his back under the cafe table. He gave me a glance that said 'variety's the spice of life' before dozing gently off.