Girls Night Out

What a great event. About 560 women took part in a 11.2 mile (18 km) walk around the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds yesterday evening. We started at 20.00 hours and Debbie and I completed the walk in 3 hours 15 mins.

The weather was kind, rain had been forecast but it held off until the end of the evening.

Despite having a bad cold and really not feeling at all fit before we set off I was surprised we walked to easily. Today, no aches or pains and feel much brighter and fitter.

Well done to all of us who took part and thanks to our sponsors - the money raised is going to a good cause.

Raspberries, Music and tired feet

Isn't that a beautiful flower, our Blue Danube potatoes are in flower now and look stunning.

June 21st, the longest day, is traditionally celebrated with a 'fete de musique' here in France. All musicians are able to perform in public, in cafes, restaurants or on the streets until midnight. We went to the nearby village of Ambrières les Vallées, where one of our young friends was performing with others from her music school. It was a very pleasant evening, good music, warm and light until 11 p.m.

Yesterday we harvested our first raspberries, I picked 270g of really ripe fruits and today another 220g. As raspberries are one of my favourite fruits I am really pleased to be here when they are ripe. In previous years we have missed them coming back to find them rotten or shrivelled on the canes. Hopefully we will be able to continue to harvest for some time to come.

Today we enjoyed a long walk. We started off from home and took a route through the countryside on the other side of the river and included a stretch along the river bank. It was probably the warmest year so far this year so we were exhausted when we arrived home 13km later. Luckily we were able to sit down and watch the football, why do the english team find it so difficult to score goals, it is always a nerve racking event, 90 minutes is too long sometimes.