Thanks to my son in law Karl a fantastic new photo of Gachet using a wide angled lens, it shows most of the garden at its best.

Our book club has been busy, and this year we have had a summer party where we brought  partners, children and even grandchildren together. We all contributed to the food and wine so it was a huge feast, a good time was had by all.

This year we took a proper holiday with friends, we drove down through France and through the Frejus tunnel into Italy in order to spend a delightful week in Tuscany. We stayed in separate apartments in a huge villa about 30 minutes away from Florence.

The weather was amazing, around 34 degrees each day, the apartment clean, comfortable and well equipped, the grounds beautifully kept and peaceful and the swimming pool sublime. We visited San Gimignano, Siena and Arrezo and marvelled at the frescos, stunning buildings and churches in the mornings and after a lunch wherever we were visiting returned to the villa to collapse by the pool. What could be better?

We made new friends, didn’t fall out with the old ones, ate wonderful food, drank local wine, laughed at silly things and generally totally chilled out. It was definitely a great holiday.