1st September 2022

We were only staying a couple of nights at Le Bec, so in the morning we packed and headed south to Açais to meet Mike and Linda in their now expanded estate. The drive down was slow, again missing the toll roads. The experiment with 80kph roads had been partially revoked, with many of the larger roads going back to 90kph. Google still thought they were 80kph. We shared our location with Linda through Google Maps, and she appeared outside as we arrived. She had noticed we were eschewing the toll roads and had wondered what had happened in Niort. We had stopped to buy wine and had also been held up by a traffic jam there.

It had been four years since we were here last. Since then, the family had purchased the next-door house, barn and field. The house had been renovated and they live there now. The barn was in the process of being renovated into a home for their son. I would most definitely like to live in the new barn when it has been completed. It will looks fabulous.

Morrison, the T5 van was parked around the back of the house and connected to the electricity. Dinner of spatchcocked chicken, vegetables and oven roasted Tesco potatoes was in their new garden along with their charming dog Furbie.

The night started with a very low, very noisy fly past by a military jet followed a bit later by a tremendous lightning storm with some torrential rain. The storm finally passed overhead and disappeared into the distance.