Check both sides

I am very pleased to report that Katie from Domaine Gayda telephoned immediately upon receipt of my email and put my mind at rest about their policy re vegetarian food at the restaurant. They had offered to make a full vegetarian menu from whatever they had fresh that day in the kitchen, but it appears that, for one of my guests, a pasta dish was what she wanted and that they couldn't do on the day.

So she left, forcing my other guests to leave too because they were dependent on them for transport - they weren't really, I would have gone and collected them, but they felt obliged and probably a bit embarrassed - as were we all ultimately.

My lesson is always to check both sides of the story before jumping to any conclusions and I am very relieved that I can continue to happily rely on Domaine Gayda in the future to look after any of my guest's food requirements.

Meanwhile at 42rvh I had a full house of guests at the weekend and a fridge full of champagne. Sadly it wasn't mine - being a man with many fridges, I was just storing it for a friend's 40th birthday party on Saturday evening - so I had to give it back but I did get to drink some in the end.

Canal boat, pub, nightclub - guests who had arrived from all over Europe it seemed - and a lot of champagne. You can probably guess the rest. I was up bright and breezy for breakfasts but definitely jaded by mid-afternoon and still struggling for energy as I put together the guests dinner I was hosting on Sunday night. I'm not as young as I used to be.

And so to today and my next property viewing - not a pile of stones this time but a barn and a garage on a small piece of land that could make the perfect little retreat for two people. It has potential, I think, but needs a lot of questions answered first. At least it was located roughly where they said it was and for once there weren't a lot of unexpected "Oh, didn't I tell you about that" bits to take in.

Pain and Pleasure

I have had a toothache for a while now. I first noticed it just after our week away in the Quercy - a cold drink went straight through a tooth and let me know about it. Since then a dull pain has started to develop and then intensify, kept under control by the lovely codeine/paracetemol effervescent painkillers that you can buy over the counter in French pharmacists.

Back in London for this week, I finally managed to get into the dentist to find out what's what with my teeth and the bad news is that I have an abcess which needs root canal work. The pain begins at 3.30pm this afternoon. Then hopefully the pain stops too.

My 50th birthday now seems a long way past. It was last Saturday actually but I had no time to write about it because I was busy with friends and guests and Debrah all weekend and because when I got back to London there was no internet connection for two days here at home.

When you haven't got it you realise how dependent you have become on it. I couldn't check bank accounts, I couldn't check business enquiries, I couldn't blog, twitter, facebook or skype - it was very very frustrating.

After one day doing other things, against all my principles I resorted to visiting a Starbucks. I have never liked the place and have always thought it was expensive and the coffee rubbish but I always remember that they had free internet access. Well nothing has changed - the coffee is still like dishwater and the service appalling (wrong orders/dropped drinks/wrong change - just in the 45 minutes I was there) - except that the internet connection is no longer free. It seems they have pulled the plug on the one good thing they offered.

I had a fabulous birthday and a wonderful weekend from beginning to end. The highlights included being told by a neighbour to keep the noise down (the nerve) on Friday night, a delicious lunch on the terrace of restaurant Le Parc on Saturday, Tim acting as the most charming wine waiter on Saturday evening, dancing to a French disco in the early hours, Aib's Sunday hangover, pizza and grilled meat at Les Paillottes in Pradelles-en-Val followed by river swimming at Rebaute on Sunday afternoon and Sam throwing up into a wheelie bin on Monday on the way to the airport - classic.

This week, indeed month, of celebrations continues apace. It is my Mum's 80th on Sunday and Debrah's birthday today - so we should be raising a glass to her later on this evening - root canal surgery and local anaesthetic permitting!