Bath Christening

Debrah has waited so so long. She has asked if it was possible soon for about a year now. She has begged us to try and finish it as soon as possible. She has pleaded with us to do it more quickly than scheduled. She has vented her anger at us for not getting on with it. She has stamped her feet in frustration and desperation at the thought of it never happening.

The very beautiful and large white double skinned bath has sat in our 'dining room' for far too long. Not before time, it was finally fitted by Chris and I in the last couple of weeks and today, Debrah arrived from London for the first time since the installation was complete.

It was a lovely sunny day and I collected Debrah from the airport with the roof down on the Audi, as is my custom whatever the weather as long as it's not actually raining. The old Audi continues to attract lots of interest - a French guy came up to me at the airport for a chat about my car which he was clearly admiring - then his wife arrived in their new A4 Avant - once an Audi driver, always an Audi driver.

After a look round at all the changes since Debrah's last visit, we went down to the square for a hot chocolate and a brandy chaser. I love the South of France - it's the last day of November and it was minus four last night, yet here we were sat outside as the sun disappeared over the top of the buildings and we weren't alone.

I'd put a beef casserole on the hob this morning that had been cooking all day - you could smell it as soon as you came back in through the front door, a homely welcoming aroma that immediately made you feel hungry. When I took the lid off the pot the beef had gone black in the red wine sauce. It was delicious with boiled potatoes and buttered cabbage and, naturally, a bottle or so of the exceptional local red wine.

Just when I thought Debrah was going to slope off to bed, she looked up over the top of her computer and said "Shall I have a bath?"

So it was the bathroom and the bath was finally christened. Another first for our French home. Apparently the lighting isn't quite what it should be though - too bright with the lights on, not enough with a candle - it seems that we should have fitted a dimmer switch which is another one of those fabulous hindsight insights that have dogged our whole refurbishment.

In the meantime, it appears that the search has already started for a suitable candelabra to give the required bathtime ambience!