As we are only here for a short space of time we did not bother with the expense of taking out an internet contract – here in our part of france you have to sign up for a minimum 12 months and as we are only here for two at the most what is the point of that?

But we needed internet access and so organised a mobile broadband connection with Bouyges -total rubbish it is too, which is why this site is getting a litle neglected of late. The speed is so slow that many sites simply do not load – this one included. When we need to do our work we tend to race up to McDonalds and use the free wifi.

One thing we have noticed though is the drop in numbers of tourists in the region; many hotels that are normally bunged this time of year have plenty of rooms and we have been told that you can easily walk into most hotels by the beach and get a room at a minutes notice. Also the local cafes are not as busy as they once were at midday; one local cafe owner must be regretting his previous years of poor attitude towards the english speaking tourists as his tables are largely empty these days and those same english speaking tourists are giving him a wide berth…word of mouth you see and a little bit of karma.