One of my first jobs this week was to take the car in for its service. The Controle Technique (M.O.T. - due every two years) was done before Bear went to England. The car passed,  but there were one or two 'recommendations', including an adjustment to the handbrake (!) which didn't cause it to fail but ought to be put right.

It's good having a garage in the village so it's not far to walk back. Sylvain greeted me with his mischievous smile and proffered a grimy arm to shake as his hand was even greasier.

"Do you think it will be ready this evening?"

"Most probably but give a ring just in case."

I walked back via the local supermarket to get some meat for lunch. The chap at the butchery counter explained that he had trouble understanding my daughter when she asked for boudin blanc last week but they had both had a good laugh about it.

The physio's daughter came for another dose of English. We worked on verbs and then made buns before practising conversation. We walked to the surgery together so she could meet her mum and then I went to collect the car.

Sylvain said he had replaced the exhaust pipe and handbrake cables as well as doing the oil change etc for the service. He couldn't tell me how much it would be but I could have the bill tomorrow. When Bear phoned he was mad about the exhaust and said he had put a new one on last year. There ought to be a guarantee and I wasn't to pay until he came back. Huh, how does he expect to argue when he won't speak French?

During the evening two friends turned up with a delivery of champagne. The wife of one of them is part-owner of a small vineyard. Every so often they go to fetch a supply from her brother who runs the business in a village to the south of Reims. It is very good champagne at a reasonable price so I had ordered six bottles of 'ordinary' and six of rosé. 

Daniel and Claude stayed for an 'apero' of pastis  but, as they could see that Jay had started cooking they didn't stay too long.

We had a special meal to continue CC's birthday celebrations - starting with canapés and champagne and finishing with a superb cake which they had brought back from Paris.

This morning I was stuck indoors waiting for the doctor and a frozen food delivery. I didn't dare go outside to hang up the washing until Jay came downstairs as its impossible to hear the doorbell. Claudine, my neighbour popped in for a chat and to ask me if I'd collect her from her place of work tomorrow morning. It's not far, so it will be good practice.

I had another little drive this afternoon when I went to meet a lady at the surgery. She wants to improve her English in return for helping CC and me with French. She recently twisted her ankle so is having regular physio sessions. We met in the doctor's surgery last week and agreed that I would fetch her this afternoon after her physio appointment, bring her home for a cup of tea and a chat and then take her back to her house afterwards.

We got on very well and have arranged to meet twice a week for 'lessons'. On the way back to her house, a couple of villages away, she explained that her home was very old and 'not very pretty'.

I have to admit she was right on both counts. Her house does need a great deal of work from floor to ceiling but it has potential. At present they have one small living room cum dining room cum kitchen in a (just about) habitable condition on the ground floor. I don't know how she manages with a husband and three children.

On the positive side this room has French doors opening onto the garden and a lovely view over the countryside. Halfway down the garden we saw a little dog - a kind of airedale - tied to a post. We went to say hello and she explained that he was about a year old, his name was Oddie and they had bought him from LISA - a kind of RSPCA centre. He was gorgeous and really friendly.

Then we went indoors again and she went up a dangerous looking staircase to fetch the kitten for us to see. He was twelve days old, a tiny little scrap of a thing, mostly white but with a few grey and brown markings. CC and I took turns to cuddle him and she also brought 'mum' down to meet us. She was called Poivre and was a bigger version of her baby with almost exactly the same colouring.

On the way back we stopped at the garage for the bill. When I asked if there was a guarantee with the exhaust Sylvain knew exactly what I was getting at.

"Last year I replaced the back half but this year it was the front half. It's guaranteed for the first few weeks but that's all. If you don't use the car much you don't warm it up enough to prevent the dampness from rotting the pipe. One of my customers who only uses his car to run about the village has to have a new exhaust every year."

Well, that's the gist of it as I far as I could understand so I meekly wrote out the cheque, shook Sylvain's arm and came home, relieved that I haven't got to tell the Bear - just yet.