les Davey de France

For quite some time the city has been working on a new cycle path that brings us all the way along the river from near the church and café to near our home. We've watched it take shape. Once or twice it seemed that it was open to use, but we found ourselves trapped at the far end - occasionally having to clamber over barriers with our bikes before crossing the lights to get us on the small streets where we live. But yesterday Pat said, "I think the cycle path will be open this evening."  Why she thought that I wist not, but lo and behold, as we wended our way home the cycle path was indeed open. Instead of turning right just before the MECA, cutting through the coach station (!) and zooming along the back of the new buildings alongside the busy road, now you hurtle straight on down a purpose-built cycle path, no coaches, no busy road, just beautiful lawns, benches and lovely flowers and, on the other side, the great grey-green greasy Garonne crawling slowly the other way ...

We've bought a car. It's taken me over two weeks to tell anyone. Why? Because cars are now SO EXPENSIVE! Anyway, we've bought something very sensible, a Honda Jazz. It's black. It's hybrid. It's called Ella. And soon Ella will take us to the UK and convey us all over Wales and in the midlands of England. It's the first car we've had since the Great Citroen Berlingo Clutch Catastrophe, so I'm understandably a bit yippy, as we have learned to say.  But I'm not sure Ella has a clutch, or not one I can stick my foot on, anyway! It'll be fine!

Thea is now 6 months old and she has real character. On Sunday evening at church she was so excited, flapping her arms and occasionally singing. As yet she doesn't know the tune or the words, but she has a good, powerful voice that carries well. Her close friends, the Coquerel twins, are always glad to see her and she loves them too. They're just about 3 months older than her and together we hope they will enchant, delight and terrorise the good folk of Bordeaux.