Our House is Definitely Not in Paris. Susan Cutsforth

Carrefour and, most exciting of all, an automatic pool winder for the cover. Stuart ordered the oddly named ‘Droopi 2’ some weeks ago. To our relief, the box is waiting at Piscine Ambiance with ‘Reserve Cutsfort’ in bold, capital letters. Ah, the power of the internet, I think yet again. This purchase is our summer indulgence. No more struggling with the heavy cover that has to be ever-so-carefully lifted and precisely folded each time we want to use la piscine.

      The prosaic items at Carrefour are the basic necessities to stock our petite maison again, as well as Tour de France T-shirts to take home as gifts for our friends who are looking after our petite Henri. The supermarché outing is enlivened by our, as always, avid examination of the extensive aisles of vin. Stuart was excited to discover a guide to the best value champagne in France in Le Figaro. We eagerly scan the staggering array and carefully select a few bottles. Real champagne, at extraordinarily affordable prices. We have, however, run out of time today for one of our other favourite summer outings: a visit to the trocs in search of second-hand treasure.

      Since the next day is cool and cloudy, it’s off to Brive yet again. Fortified by a morning at the markets in Martel and an outing with Dominique to a second-hand-shop in nearby Cressensac, après-midi proves to be the perfect time to shop, for it is always much quieter than the morning rush. This time we select brightly coloured impatiens to decorate each side of the huge wooden la grange doors. A delicate pink fuchsia is chosen to plant next to our très joli steps. Truly, Pied de la Croix has been transformed in just a few years from a rénovation site to a home. Even better, this year there was no dead pigeon on the doorstep to greet our weary arrival, no mouse in the house, no flapping tarpaulin on la grange roof and no ominous lapin activity in le cave.