More adventures in France Episode 13

A quiet start to the week but a busy end! Halfway through the week we at last met our last-year’s landlords face to face for the first time when they entertained us to dinner. It was quite strange to be there as their guests when we felt so at home in the house, but lovely to meet them at last and to be able to chat properly and get to know them a bit. Needless to say they have been busy in their garden, in spite of having been away since January until mid-April, and the veggie garden is already looking good, with onions, garlic, carrots, peas and leeks. Not being a gardener, I find it quite hard to think that anyone could enjoy working in the garden during the bitter November and December months, but this is what they must have done to achieve the present result. They have invited us o return to their next year while they are away, spending the coldest months in Spain (where it is warmer) but we are still thinking about that one!
At the end of the week, we met another couple whom we had previously only known through email messages or phone calls. They are South Africans who are embarking on a similar campervan tour to that which we did in 2008, and had been referred to us for advice. I’m not sure if we helped much in the advice department, but they are a great couple and we had a lot of fun in the two days that they spent with us. On Saturday we all piled into the little gold car and made a round trip which visited numerous little villages in the area, and also managed to fit in a lunch stop at our favourite restaurant at Bassoues. By the end of their two days, they were so entranced with the area that they have booked in to a camp site nearby and are spending a few more days here. We were delighted to have made two converts so easily!
Our three months here has flown past and by this time next week we will be in England. We will be really sad to leave as everything is just reaching it’s scenic best, but I can’t wait to get to England to see my sister again and to visit their new home which is a bit further south in England than they were previously. We will also be visiting some other friends while we are there, some of whom we haven’t seen for ages so we are looking forward to that too.
As I look out of the window of the study where I type, I am struck by the fact that I can no longer see the house across the road – it is totally hidden by trees and bushes which were bare when we arrived and are now thick with leaves. There are doves (pigeons?) nesting in a large pine tree at the edge of the garden and there is constant commotion as they fly in and out. One of the cats has got the gardening bug too and has taken to sleeping curled up in one of the flower pots outside the door. Obviously she has as much enthusiasm for doing the actual work as I have. She also enjoys far more, watching the plnts grow!