Amputation

My poor Mum has had to have her little toe on her left foot amputated. She had a melanoma that needed dealing with and after removing that there wasn't much toe left and it was decided that the best thing to do was to remove it.

She put a brave face on it, as my family always does in such instances - stiff upper lip and all that / no need to make a fuss - but I know she was upset about it deep down and I do so worry about her because she will be 80 next month and she is doing a full time carer job looking after my MS affected Dad. It's not easy for my Dad but it's my Mum that carries all the stress and it's her that I am concerned about most, poor thing.

It's one more reason why being in a different country to wife, family and children just isn't working.

Whilst I am really busy I don't get time to sit and think about it but I have just got one couple in this weekend and nobody else until next Saturday and lots of time on my hands - so this last 24 hours I have been very aware of how lonely I feel here without Debrah - despite having lots of friends in town it's just not the same, especially having recently spent 10 days together.

So we are making plans to try and get together next weekend which would be fabulous.

In the meantime, the weather has all gone a bit pear-shaped and I am still being bitten by bugs.

The temperature has dropped form 35 to 20 in the last couple of days which has prompted a rash of coat, cardigan and fleece wearing from my French friends and much moaning about how cold it is. Admittedly it is a big temperature change but it's not really cold - my guests from the West coast of Scotland think it's glorious summer - good for them. No doubt it won't last very long.

When we came back from the Quercy countryside last Saturday I thought the bug biting would stop - and it did for a couple of days but I seem to have picked up a couple of very nasty, itchy and red bites on my calves and feet in the last 48 hours and I'm not sure where they have come from. If I find the culprit it's life will be very short thereafter - despite the cream the bites are driving me mad.

Finally Christine from the beauty salon rang the doorbell the other day and asked about her parking space that I had been paying for because it was time to cough up another six months money. Her face dropped when I explained that I wasn't going to continue with the arrangement (clients don't use the space because it's too tricky to get in and out and, frankly, I can't afford it just for the convenience of being the only one allowed to park in the courtyard). Even though she hasn't found anyone to take the space yet she has insisted that I park my car rather awkwardly to one side - aren't people funny?