Phew!

The electrician has just been. He took less than five minutes to spot and sort the problem ( a loose wire going into the meter) so I got him to look at a few other little jobs while he was here. Such a relief - when we first moved into the WH every job was a major chin-scratching ' well it's going to cost you' exercise, with bad news about crumbling pipes and disintegrating wiring at every turn.

I don't make many recommendations but I did like the firm of electricians I used - they're called Harland & Voss, and they only work in London, but they seem to be the Waitrose of electricians - fair and honestly priced. They've got a nice website with a 'Do you really need an electrician?' checklist to go through before you call.

Thanks Amy - yes, the south of France was bliss. We went down on the Eurostar and TGV, which although it takes a day, is lovely because you can see the skies getting progressively bluer as you go further south! The only problem was that we were so enthusiastic about swimming in the Med that we managed to drop our camera in the sea, so I am back to mobile phone pictures for now.

Speaking of pictures I have updated our front door and gates with yummy Farrow and Ball exterior eggshell paint in Railings. I must post some photos for the verdict. I like it a lot, but my neighbour looked puzzled and said ' Your front door seems to be grey!'. We had originally done it in bog-standard black, but the paint wasn't up to much and kept peeling off. I am hoping F&B will live up to its reputation. I used it on our old house, and was always very pleased with its durability, but we were north facing there.