Zooming round the winding roads along the coast towards Banyuls-sur-mer, we pass the vines, hundreds of them, all looking rather forlorn and bare. « This is the nicest part of the life-cycle of the vine, » said my husband, « the time when you drink the wine . » There’s always something good to say about life in the P.O.!

You’ll have to be quick but if you find yourself driving down one of those tree-lined avenues where the plane trees are majestically showing off their autumn foliage and Canigou is sitting white and snow-capped against a steel-grey and blue sky – drink it in. When you come back next week the scene may have changed

Today is the sort of day when I wish I were outside with my crossword puzzle rather than in here staring at a computer screen. The leaves are clinging on stubbornly to their branches and I’m still seeing plenty of geckos darting about showing no sign of slowing down as the days get shorter and the nights get cooler.

Hello Everyone and a Happy New Year to you!
January is often a month of good intentions – New Year’s Resolutions and all that