Gites South Brittany

Life continues apace here at La Belle Vilaine gîtes complex. I have now received my "Habilitation Provisoire" – which basically gives me the permission to teach English in Primary Schools pending an official visit by an Inspector to evaluate a lesson and interview me in order to (hopefully) deliver my "Habilitation Définitive" – basically a kind of "Offsted". I am desperately trying to learn the names of all my new pupils (240) – which is a challenge to say the least.

Another important event is the arrival of Harry. Paul surprised me with a kitten for my birthday. Harry is black and white (to match the dogs!) and is now 3 months old and an absolute bundle of fun! The fist week was difficult, as we had to keep him locked away in the spare en-suite bathroom – he was so tiny and Gracie and Ficelle were so keen to chase him that we had no choice! However, with some intensive training and a lot of patience we got there and he now plays happily with them (in fact I think he thinks he's a dog) all day. We can even go out and leave them together without worrying.

Harry also had his first taste of sailing a couple of weeks ago. He took to it very well! We are keeping him indoors until he has had his second round of inoculations and then he will go out on a lead only until he has been neutered – so that will finally convince the locals that the English are totally ga-ga!

Otherwise, we have been apple picking in a friend's orchard (verger) and Paul went along to a "pressoir" to turn them into apple juice – over 400 bottles in all!

On the house front we have fitted a new kitchen. As we live so far out in the sticks, it is a major operation to source the materials for such a job. We had to go to Nantes for most of it – a 45 minute drive each way. This means you have to be organised and have a comprehensive list – including all measurements. Oh to have a DIY store 5 minutes down the road and open on Sunday again!!!!