Summer ends in the Languedoc

I've been utterly engrossed in my latest reading material of late. I've always got at least three books on the go but I couldn't put down the story of the love affair between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis. I've been reading snippets out loud to His Lordship. 'How romantic' I remarked, 'Onassis flew in on a helicopter when Callas was sunbathing on some remote beach, dropped a trinket into her lap, gave her a passionate kiss and flew off again'. That's because he could' he snorted. 'I bring you a cup of tea beside the pool' what more could a woman want ? continuing this discussion is obviously pointless and futile.

Where does the time go to ? it's supposedly the end of the summer, well I won't rub it in but it doesn't feel like it here with Sunday being a respectable 27 degrees. People have been trickling in and out for bed and breakfast for a night or two through Last Minute France which gives me some breathing space before the flurry in October. We're doing a grand feast on Sunday night too, our in-house catering seems very popular especially for celebration meals. I'm hoping they will have the Plateau de fruits de Mer because I love piling the shellfish onto heaps of ice and draping a bed of fresh seaweed onto the base.

Apparently we have appeared on Flemish television in all our glory. A couple featured and were looking for a 'dream home', a dandy little idea I thought for PR purposes but after saying how glorious it was they then ended by saying the place needed 250,000 spent on it. What ? am I dreaming ?, has the sun finally addled my brain or has the sound of my own voice impaired my hearing ? 2,000, 5,000, 25,000 could be trickled through my fingers at a push, but 250,000 ?? I received a wonderful letter from a viewer in Belgium who were apparently 'nailed to their sofa' as they watched the tour around the house, 'we adored every aspect of your home' they enthused 'and can't wait to come and stay'. It is precisely the fact that it is so 'untarted', so 'au natural' with its charming French Shabby Chic that makes us so unique. Rarely am I lost for words but flabbergasted sums it up nicely.

Dare I say it ? well I will anyway, but what with all the financial doom and gloom that abounds I was left wondering whether people's minds would be focused on holidays but next summer seems to be very much in the forefront of people's planning.

A holiday at Le Chateau could be just the ticket to look forward to, just conjure up the tempting vision of those luscious grapes pressed and bottled.

Of course there's always the option too of a little getaway prior to Christmas to do your shopping in the maze of individual shops at Carcassonne and further afield the cosmopolitan city of Toulouse to explore.

I can't believe I just uttered the Christmas word, I guess summer is over for another year after all.