Beverly Hills it ain't.

There's a full moon and a refreshing breeze this morning. On our return from the stream a thin, middle aged  man can be seen standing at the gate . The doorbell isn't working no matter how hard he presses it. The bell gave up the ghost in last weeks heat and the ghost hasn't returned. Angus will need to get the electricians in.  The mans white Renault saloon is parked on the verge which means dog and master have to navigate round it. ' You asked me to quote on re-doing the pool ' he says by way of greeting. I explain to him that he must be at the wrong house - it wasn't me.  Sophie sniffs his ankles. He goes on to explain that he has two Boxers at home so he's used to dogs. Sophie takes this as a canine Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and opts to ignore him.

Just then the German billionaire hoves into view on his bicycle. He's wearing what appears to be cut off orange dungarees and a maroon tee-shirt. He's also wearing a shiny black hat of a style that a New Orleans jazz musician might wear.  Angus notices that the billionaire has grown a moustache. This is not so much grey as white. Angus remains firm in his view that facial hair should be restricted to submariners returning from a lengthy stint at sea.

It turns out the pool man is here to see our German neighbour who's looking for something modern and brutalist in grey concrete. Considering he had a fancy new pool put in three years ago this comes as something of a surprise. The billionaire seems to be on a quest for pool perfection. We'll have to see whether he'll find it in our deeply unfashionable corner of France profonde. Beverly Hills it ain't.

The German billionaire asks me if I've heard about the court case. Angus feigns ignorance. ' Court case ? What court case ?' This is not so much a lie as an obfuscation. The presence of the pool man thankfully cuts any further conversation short.

Sophie is rewarded with the curly croissant ends from the cafe at the new shopping centre. 9/10 and the coffee an 8/10. Sophie's bowl of water is provided with an ice cube which gives it an off the scale ranking of 12/10. Sophie discovers that the ice cube makes an interesting 'clinking' noise when she pushes it against the side of the bowl with her nose.

On our way back home we pass a  convoy of twenty riot police vans heading towards Toulouse. They are doing a steady 129 km/h. We decide to overtake at an ever so slightly illegal 133 km/h. It takes rather longer than expected before we're clear of them.

Things you could do : https://www.cnet.com/news/watch-olympic-swimmer-katie-ledecky-swim-with-full-glass-of-milk-on-her-head/#ftag=CAD-09-10aai5b

Plus ca change : https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaurs-suffered-cancer-too-180975467/