Harvey was very anxious about travelling ....

Well, we went away for a week and it's taken me almost another week to get back into a routine - hence the gaps in what is supposed to be a daily blog! We - myself, my daughter and 3 dogs, Dilys, Hettie and Harvey stayed near Chateauvert which is about an hour by road inland from my usual haunts. It is a quiet and sheltered spot. At night there is no light pollution - it is years since I've been in real, natural darkness and I loved it. My daughter slept for most of the first two days - after a long, hard summer season as a holiday village receptionist followed by the end of season parties and piss-ups, she was in need of a little R and R. We festered in front of DVDs and ate rather a lot.

The 3 dogs revelled in the freedom of a huge garden, full of long grass, daisies and wonderful scents. After our small appartment they must have thought that they'd died and gone to doggie heaven.

It is the hunting season and so all 3 dogs were kitted out with bright orange collars and bells. We thought that they'd object - but they were so taken with their new environment that they barely seemed to notice their new collars. One good result was that Dilys, the 13 year-old cairn, short-sighted, loss of peripheral vision and also a little deaf, suddenly seemed to regain her confidence - then we realised that she was always aware of where the other dogs were because of their bells. No longer did we see her start when Hettie or Harvey came round from behind where she was sitting in the sun or sniffing in something unmentionable.

We explored some of the surrounding area - starting with Brignoles, where there were shops! Enough said. Once we had spent our holiday limit we put up picnics and simply drove around. Our favourite place was the waterfall at Seillans. It is a 15 - 20 minute walk from the car park to the cascade itself - but well worth it. We also discovered a concrete canoe in the museum of Brignoles (apparently it did float...)and a beautiful river walk on the road between Chateauvert and Correns.

But now I must get back to work on my website, which has just achieved a Page Rank of 2 - and hopefully start earning some rent money from it.