Vocal vignerons

Today it was the turn of the winemakers and the farmers to have a protest. This afternoon half of Carcassonne was restricted by road closures and parking restrictions, there were police on every street corner and there was a mass demonstration that brought the town to a halt for an hour or so. Songs of solidarity were sung, speeches were made, fire-crackers were set off and some idiot set fire to a waste bin - there is always at least one isn't there? - which could have been just the excuse the gendarmes were looking for to wade in with their batons.

Fortunately, the crowd was very good natured and, the little bit that I saw of it, passed off without trouble. I guess the police were right to be prepared though - I have heard stories of dynamite thrown at Government offices and pitched street battles in the past. The Prefecture and other official buildings weren't taking any chances today and they all closed at lunchtime just in case they came under attack.

I tried to work out from the newspaper what their complaints were and even with the help of my English/French dictionary I'm still not fully clear. They want a reduction in the local tax they pay - the taxe fonciere - but I'm not sure on what basis or why they should be a special case, they want some guaranteed payment up front of 15% of something and finally they are all moaning about the price of fuel, which isn't at all original as everyone in the world is moaning about the price of fuel. As long as they keep making wine, everything will be alright.

As a result of the demo, we Bastide dwellers were confined to town for a couple of hours because all the roads were closed and Chris and I had to wait until early evening before we could make our weekly trip to the industrial zones for materials and tools and the hunt from shop to store for someone who had some goods actually in stock. Remarkably, we got everything we were looking for and only had to visit two stores.

Back at 42rvh it's quite quiet this week - which is good after a couple of manic weeks - although I must admit that I quite enjoy the full-on nature of guests and changeovers and am feeling a little lost with time on my hands. I'm also feeling a bit lost and lonely because Debrah went back to London yesterday.

I should enjoy the calm whilst I can because from the middle of next week we are pretty much fully booked until the end of the month, which is fantastic and amazing. I had a call yesterday from a Brit in Uganda who wants to come here in July for his wedding anniversary because he was so impressed with our reviews on tripadvisor and then the photographs on our website. I still can't quite believe how well it has gone so far.

Meanwhile, there is a big test of my new found dedication to the service industry looming on the horizon - it's called Euro 2008. I will, as always, be desperate to watch every game - which means I am seriously considering cooking lunches instead of dinners and stealing back the big telly from the Studio.

And in the absence of the overpaid and badly coached England team, the eternally unlucky Scots and Irish and the plain useless Welsh, I will have to pin my colours to someone else's mast. It should be a straightforward case of "Allez les Bleus", but this is border territory and I might just be shouting "Viva Espana" instead. All of which, inevitably means the Germans will probably win. I shall enjoy finding out anyway - guests permitting, of course.