Midlife Crisis in France

Oh my goodness, how is it that if you have taken a break from sport, you find that you are right back to zero again in terms of fitness? I mean literally gasping for breath afterwards… wait for it, 8 minutes of high-intensity walking. The doctor “recommended” I get off …

Sometimes all it takes is a tiny moment and the whole day can turn on itself. This was the case this weekend. It was the weekend when one of our boys comes home regularly from university to get cuddles from the menagerie of animals, sleep with the cats in his …

Those of you that have pets know how the trip to the vet can at times be a harrowing experince. Sometimes your pet is very ill and the only recourse is to follow the vet’s advice to the letter, even if difficult decisions have to be made. On the other …

Two weeks in… In the space of four weeks, we have lived in 4 houses. Well, okay. We have stayed in 4 houses. Almost immediately after moving in to the village of Prats de Mollo, we went straight to the UK to meet family. It was a wonderful time of …

Moving Day It doesn’t matter how organised you are, moving house is an absolute nightmare. How could I have lost a massive saucepan and a casserole dish in the space of 4 days? The day of the move came and although everything was planned, we forgot (once again) the size …

Dear Diary: A Year in the Pyrénées-Orientales Moving to the Pyrénées-Orientales: 2 weeks left! What do you do when you are having a midlife crisis and your first son reaches 18? Have a party of course, whilst retreating to the wardrobe (some of my best thinking time has been in …

Dear Diary Moving to the Pyrénées Orientales: 4 weeks left! I think stress affects us in so many ways. Any house move is classified as one of the top ten stressful things to do in your life. So to move regions, have another child leave home, go abroad for a …