The summer has passed in a daze. We had such beautiful weather in June and July that I can forgive the dull August weather this year. It hasn't been as wet as last year and although I would have been grateful for a few degrees more it's been lovely not to have to water the garden throughout the month. And of course all those trees we planted will be happy to have had a decent amount of rain to put their roots down. So many of our friends go away in August and this year, like last, they feel hard done by. Well, you don't go down to Biarritz for the cold and the rain do you?! We just love being here in the summer months; if it rains on holiday you feel hard done by but if it rains at home you just wait for the weather to change again!
In addition, we have had all three of our children here for a lot of the time and they have been wonderful helping us clear banks and tidy up the garden. The dogs love all the activity and one in particular loves wading into the moat when he decides he needs to be refreshed! Two of the boys are brilliant cooks and have helped out in the kitchen and the youngest got his older brother to help him make Banoffi Pie last night for supper - delicious and so many calories there's no point worrying about it! Sadly, next week this will change. The older two are travelling during September before going back to university and the younger one starts at Lycee. It will be very quiet suddenly.
We have, as always, been playing a lot of tennis. The courts in the village are kept in excellent condition and are at our disposal as members. It is rare that we find other people playing although we do still reserve the court in advance "just in case". I have tried to introduce a Monday evening "Club Night" where anyone who is a member can just come down and play with anyone who turns up. Of course, this is France and they are not used to this idea of not organising, confirming and double checking everything in advance; but last night the five of us went down and were thrilled to find three other people already on the courts. We chop and change so that everyone plays and noone is hanging around for too long - it is really good fun. I really hope that I can get a bit more enthusiasm from the Comittee to publicise it for next year.
This morning in a fit of enthusiasm I signed up for three tournaments in September. They all seem to be during the first three weeks so I will quite literally be juggling balls between the three. But I do love it. Win or lose, I don't care. I'm afraid, though, that you will be reading a lot more about tennis in the next month!