I'm now a social networker!

I have been writing my blog now for some 18 months and am thoroughly enjoying the experience, so I thought it about time I stepped further into the modern era and had a dabble in social networking.

First of all I set myself up a Twitter account and played around with that for a while, but after a few days I just could not see the point of the inane messaging that most people tweet (sorry Stephen Fry). Not only that, but I have no pockets to carry a smartphone so I could not tweet on the move. So I binned Twitter as unsuitable for me.

Next I took a look at Badoo which is a sort of French flirting/dating site and found it totally irrelevant to my needs and very intrusive, so dumped it.

The other obvious choice was Facebook so I set up my own (heavily protected) page and started looking around. Immediately I found a number of old friends and set about "befriending" them. Some of those in turn referred me to new friends, like Princess Jolly Dog - a Jack Russell - with whom I now chat. So first impressions of Facebook are OK and I think I will be sticking with it at least for the time being. However, I will be restricting my friends only to those I know and love or whom I find interesting.

Finally, many of you have questioned if I really write my own blog or whether I have a ghost writer do it for me. Well, in answer to all you doubters out there, here is a photo of me at work on my blog, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!



It's raining cats and humans today so I am going to have a lazy day in front of the telly. And the really good news is that dad has turned on the central heating! Speak to you all again soon.

First signs of winter

First of all it was the pool being covered up with my big blue trampoline (that I am now too heavy for!). Then there was all the garden furniture being put away. The grapes have all gone from the vines and the leaves on the vines are going yellow and falling off. When I get up in the morning it is dark outside. This weekend it rained solidly for nearly two days - the first significant rain in over two months. And now when I get back from a walk I find the need to snuggle down in my duvet to warm up.



All of these suggested to me that winter was about to arrive. However, I now know for sure it is. How is that you might ask? Well, dad is now wearing his cloth cap and hiking boots on our walks. No, don't be stupid. I insist on trousers, shirt and coat as well. Well, one has to keeep up one's standing in the community.





And how humiliating. Now, just because it's so muddy, I have to have my feet washed when I get back from my walk. Grrrrrh!

2010 vendage report

Well, the 2010 vendage (grape harvest) is drawing to a close so I thought you might all like an update on this year's vintage potential. They normally start picking in early September but the vendage is a few weeks late this year as all of the grapes, despite being fully ripe, were very small due to the fact that we had had no rain for the previous six weeks or so. So the harvest was held back hoping we would get some rain to plump up the grapes - we did (a bit ) and they did (a bit!).



Now those of you who remember last year's blog on my attempt at a one dog vendage will realise that I am somewhat partial to the odd grape. Personally I see no harm at all in consuming the occassional bunch but it appears that that grapes, or, to be more specific, the pips in them, are toxic to us dogs. This has resulted in a blanket ban being imposed on my grape consumption.



When the verbal instructions went unheeded I found myself suddenly enclosed (whilst in the vineyards) in a Hannibal Lecter style mask which physically prevents me eating them. I admit that if I eat too many I get a bit sick, but I find it a bit degrading and unfair.



After all, the famous bottle stuff that all the humans love comes, I understand, from grapes, and yet I never see any of them with such unpleasant appendages on, and plenty of them get sick after too much of that. Actually, come to think of it, I think I did once see one being worn in a darkened bedroom, but that was a different story!

However, I digress from my report. The grapes actually harvested this year never did get fully up to normal size but are very sweet. The resulting 2010 wine should therefore, according to my vigneron friend Francois, be of very good quality but with less of it being produced, so therefore a bit more expensive. So some good news and some bad news for all you fans of the bottle stuff.

As for me, I will just be glad when it is all over and all the grapes have been picked. Then I can get back to running around the vines unincumbered by that horrible contraption on my head. I might even find the odd grape or two that the pickers missed!

Uncle Django!

I'm soooooo excited!!!!!



When I was born I had four brothers and a sister but since leaving Bouisse I am afraid I have rather lost touch with them. However, due to the wonders of the internet, my mum has just found out that on Sunday my lovely sister, Dedicas, gave birth to her first litter of pups and that I am now the proud uncle to three nephews and two nieces. Just imagine that. Me - an uncle.



Oh, and I think I forgot to mention that dad, mum, and I now go off to the pub one afternoon each week for a bit of "family bonding". Mum and dad have a couple of beers and the landlord brings me my own special bowl of "eau de Couiza" to which I am quite partial.

The Great Fire of Montazels

Now I would be the first to admit that normally the contents of my blogs, whilst amusing, entertaining, and informative, are never normally newsworthy in a national sense. That cannot be said about this one, so standby for some serious journalism.

It all started about 3 in the afternoon when dad and I were cleaning the pool. All of a sudden sirens from all the surrounding fire stations were sounding. We guessed a big accident or something but then mum came round to say that there was some serious smoke appearing from over the hill. As we watched, the sound of lots of fire engines could be heard tearing off to somewhere.



I think we realised the situation was somewhat serious when two fire fighting planes appeared and started making passes over the smoke. Curiosity got the better of us so we all piled in the car and drove up the dirt road towards Antugnac, in the general direction of the smoke. There were already a number of cars and voyeurs up there and we soon saw that there was a major bush/forest fire developing on the large hill opposite. Some 12 or so special fire appliances used for forest fires were already there and a mobile command post had been set up.


As we watched the fires grew at an amazing speed fanned by the increasing wind. In addition to sweeping up the hill, the fires were also being driven towards the actual village of Montazels. Still more fire fighting planes appeared with seven aircraft taking it in turns to dump their loads of fire retardant chemicals and water on the worst of the fires. I even did my bit by peeing on everything in sight! Another plane constantly circled over the area, presumably relaying info on the fires’ spread to control. A fire service helicopter joined in, and the skies above our house were busier than Farnborough during the flying displays (or so dad said).



With the fire now heading dangerously in the direction of Montazels, some of the appliances were despatched to protect properties in the path of the fire and some of the planes dropped their loads between the fires and the properties. My good friends, Uncle Martin and Aunty Val, were told to pack some things and be prepared to be evacuated if necessary. Fortunately the wind changed a bit so this was not necessary, but then the fires were heading towards Domaine St Jaques, the winery owned by my good mates Daniel and Francois.



The next morning dad and I had our usual promenade up amongst the vineyards to find only small areas still smoking. Being nosey, we took a drive down to St Jaques to find that the fire had come right down the hill to within about 300m. No wonder the planes were focussing hard on that point towards the end of the day.

At the end of it all, despite being one of the biggest fires in the region this year, nobody was injured and no major properties were damaged. Our thanks go out to the more than 100 pompiers (firemen) and the brave pilots for their sterling efforts in thwarting what could have been a serious situation for our area.

Phew – this journalistic work fair knackers one so I’m off for my usual well earned kip. Speak to you all again soon.

The social whirl of Garrenaud

Although the summer may just be considering going into retirement, the hectic social whirl that is life in the south of France continues unabated.

This time it was the visiting neigbours, Steve and Debbie Kemp together with my two mates Josh and Sam otherwise known as the Kemplings! They all came round for a swim and, needless to say, some of that bottle stuff.















Now I always have great fun with Josh and Sam even though I do not go in the pool, and this time I made them put on their "frog outfits" so that we could be three frogs together. Get it? Frog dog plus two frogs - gosh why am I so clever?


As if this was not fun enough, then my old mate Paul arrived with his Auntie Liz and Uncle Olaf. Me and Paul - seen here as the "pratt in two hats"- get on like a house on fire and I usually finish up getting far too excited by him playing games with me. I had not met his Aunt and Uncle before but they turned out to be really nice dog people so we all got along fine.





Even more bottle stuff was wheeled out together with what seemed like two tons of crisps and nibbles, all of which vanished in a very short space of time. For once I had nothing to do with this, although I can't say the same for my mates Josh and Sam.

Then, the very next evening, my bestest friends Uncle Stu and Auntie Jo, came round to dinner. I was so over the moon about this that I forgot to take any photos (sorry!) but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and, if truth be known, was a bit naughty in an over exuberant sort of way. Well, you have to let your hair down sometimes.

Finally, as regular readers will be aware, I am rather partial to a bit of a kip, so when the opportunity arose the other day to sneak into one of the bedrooms, I could not resist trying out the bed for size. The good news - it fits!

Meet the Fockers…er Brigdales

After a day and a half of serious bed therapy I am just about ready to tell you all about the really hectic week I have just had. It was the time of year for the annual invasion of the Brigdales, this time with friends!

The first I knew about it was when two cars pulled up in the drive and disgorged what seemed like loads of people. On closer inspection it turned out to be my old mates Becky and Grant together with their mum and dad plus two nice people I had never met B4 (sorry about that…after a week with four teenagers I am beginning to speak text!). It appears that earlier this year it was Grant’s 18th birthday (sorry I forgot the card Grant) and this trip was a sort of present from us.




First to appear were Auntie Kath and Uncle Clive who I met on my visit to the UK last Christmas. They are long time mates of mum and dad and apparently have been here B4 (oops! there I go again) although that was before ( got it right then ) my time.



Now you regular readers will remember Becky and Grant, godchildren of mum and dad, from their visit here last July when we all had great fun together. They have been here loads of times so there was no time wasted in getting back to our old tricks together.






Becky had brought her friend Emma with her and although she was at first a little apprehensive about me, once she got to know me properly and we had had a good cuddle, all was fine.














Grant brought his mate Liam along too. Now Liam is a real dog person as he has one of his own and also wants to become a police dog handler so we got on like a house on fire from the very beginning.





A lot of the social activity happened around the pool, even into the late evening, so bang went my usual afternoon kip and evening lap cuddles. Instead I was busy being a good host whilst all the usual eating and bottle stuff went on around me.



Amongst all of this jovial activity there was the odd “incident” like Uncle Clive falling into the pool fully clothed, and, more seriously, Grant running into me and sending me flying into the pool. Now you know how much I hate water so you can imagine that total immersion did not exactly delight me - in fact I was scared stiff (and cold) for ages afterwards.




Don’t ask me why Becky has got a fleece on in the middle of August. All I can say is that, whilst most of the time she has a reasonable fashion sense, there are the odd moments when it goes totally wrong as you can see below.



Towards the end of their visit I took them all up to Bouisse where I was born and they all had a picnic whilst I had a nap in the car. Uncle Clive tried running up a grassy slope and finished up tearing a muscle in his calf, so naturally that evening I had to sit with him and give him comfort.









All to soon it was time for them to pack their bags and go home. I could not even go to the airport to say goodbye as there was no room in either of the two cars so we had big cuddles and I watched them drive off. It was a great, if at times a little crazy, week but I had a fab time and I think they did too. Certainly, judging by the three crates of bottles and wine boxes that went out to recycling on Monday, the senior members enjoyed themselves. Can’t wait for their next visit, but I do need a few days rest first. Not much chance of that, though, as we are of to see Auntie Mary, Uncle Tim, and my mate Fig, on Friday. More news of that later.