To the English perception Summer lasts a long time here! We brits wander round in shorts & T shirts until the weather tells us to cover up, about now actually, so we have the idea that Summer has just finished. The locals are wise & are in their heavy clothes already. A glance at the trees & other vegetation and the russet reds & gorgeous golds & yellows of the vines paints another picture...it really is Autumn!

And just to teach us a lesson the rains have arrived, with a vengeance! As I type this with music in my headphones I had a big surprise in a gigantic thunderclap...nearly fell off my chair!

Until today we have been out there walking in the hills around our village in the Ardeche and hiking up in the Cevennes where we enjoyed picnics out among the rugged scenery under big bright skies.