Here comes summer...

Two years ago I had five weeks off work - unpaid, slightly involuntarily - starting from the first weekend in June. Last year I had five weeks off work again - still unpaid, but totally voluntarily, as I was by then self-employed - and it started from mid-August. I enjoyed both, but I preferred the earlier break - last year I felt as though summer was passing me by as I watched tourists boil on the streets of London from my overheated work cell.

So, this year I'm having at least five weeks off again, and it starts - again - from the first weekend of June: i.e. this coming weekend. Wednesday is my last day on the current assignment, and Thursday is the second delivery of the one-day Peoplemad course for Business Wales. But then on Friday I'll be up with the birds to drive down to Portsmouth, and the ferry to France.

I'm not exactly going for a rest - in addition to continuing the garden taming project, the new house has got to be habitable by 24th June, which is when the old place is booked out to paying guests. This means a partial re-wiring, bathroom replacement, and total redecoration (only the last of which is being done by us to be fair).

We'd be busy enough if that were the extent of our ambitions, but we've also got two music festivals, one local with mainly French acts (though if anyone remembers Sparks, they're on the bill too), the other the renowned Hellfest, complete with ZZ Top, The Scorpions, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Slash, and many other rock gods. We've also got Son coming out for six days - though I hope to benefit from his labours - a night away for our 10th wedding anniversary, the local races, the women's Tour de France locally, and friend Neil coming out for the three days the male Tour de France is in our vicinity. Phew. And even when I leave to come back, when I drive off the ferry at Portsmouth on 13th July at 7.15am I'll be racing to Exeter for the late morning graduation ceremony of said Son that day.

So, much to do and not much time to do it in. Training takes a backseat for a while, and anything on here is likely to be a tale or two of la vie francais. Hope that's ok........