Michel's Blog - some personal comments on life in SW France - Welcome to Michel's Place (michelsplace, michelsplace.fr)

With departure imminent .....

30/9/2011

...... it's down to the last minute jobs, both inside and out, and the final few bits of packing.
Another cloudless sky makes it all the more difficult to have to leave my little corner of paradise here in SW France and head off for work in Hong Kong. As it says on the right, it may sound exotic but it isn't really. The one good thing is that it won't be cold! It's a real shame that the work doesn't come up in January and February, when it would be good to escape the European winter. Thank goodness for the log fire eh?

With tempertures in the mid 30s .....

29/9/2011

...... it seems very odd to be having to move the tender plants to their winter quarters, but the imminent tour of work is quite entended and it will cross the guaranteed frost-free threshhold at this location, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
The sun deck is looking bare now as I've moved the geraniums into the covered area beside the pool. The large body of water, with it's home-made solar heating system ensures that the pool areas goes no lower than 6c, even if it's -10C outside, which just occasionally happens in these parts. Let's hope this winter will be kind to us and there won't be any excessively cold spells - I really struggle with cold!!
Having said all that, the water in the pool is still at 29c and I enjoyed my swim this afternoon - it's likely to be the last of this season, since when I return from Hong Kong, it will be a very different world out there, and the water will no doubt be too cold for me!
The prospect of more than 30 hours travelling which begins tomorrow, doesn't fill me with enthusiasm, but it needs to be done ......

After its long journey south ....

28/9/2011

ficus

.

..... from a Lakeland nursery, the fig tree is now installed in its new home, against the wall of the garden shed. In the fulness of time, the old rose to its right may need to be removed, but there's plenty of space for both for now.

The lovely weather continues and I have been busy preparing plants to be moved to winter quarters today .... not because they need it right now, but because my forthcoming trip to Hong Kong will extend into the colder weather of November, and I don't want to risk losing them in my absence.

The settled, sunny weather .....

27/9/2011

.... which was so elusive this summer, has finally arrived. It's been sunshine all the way since my return last Sunday, with tempertures peaking in the mid 30s each day, and the forecast is that it will remain settled for another fortnight or so. Just my luck that I have to leave for work in the far east on Friday!
The plants along the sun deck are past their best now, but there's still a mass of colour to enjoy in the warmth of the sunshine. I'm told by local friends that this kind of weather at this season is called "Eté St. Michel "- a "Michaelmas Summer".

A trouble-free journey ...

25/9/2011

AP3800CMF

.... has brought the AP3800C to its new home. It was a beautiful day to welcome me back to France. Landing at 0645, it was still dark, and as I made my way south through Normandy, the sun rose as a giant fireball apprearing through the "brume matinale" which was hanging low over the fields in most dramatic, autumnal way.

Arriving home around lunchtime, it was already 27C and it peaked at 30c during the aftenoon, feeling much more aestival than autumnal. Such a change from the climate of northern UK at this time of year.

With the help of a neighbour I was able to unload the main engine of the printer, and re-assemble it here. It seems to have survived the journey without any problems, although a small "spare" plastic wheel from the paper trays has appeared .... I'm not sure where from, since all the trays appear to have a full complement of such items!

Much to do this week, with work in Hong Kong about to start soon ..... where does the time go???

Work for next year's festival ...

24/9/2011

River Wyre at Scorton, Lancashire

....... didn't take as long as anticipated, and since the afternoon was pleasant, a trip was in order. I was taken for coffee at Scorton, where the sunny weather prompted a walk along the river Wyre. The wind was a little keen at times, but it was a pleasant stroll nonetheless.

River Wyre at Scorton, Lancashire

Returning, after coffee and a natter, the sky was much heavier, but there were some breaks in the cloud, one of which produced this shot of the sun reflecting on the water.

Busy days ....

22/9/2011

Xerox 7300DT

.... working on the recent printer acquisitions since my time is limited. I've created a pretty good 7300DT from the two I bought on Ebay - although I may swap the lids on my next trip over, since this one seems to have more frequent occurrences of the "reseat the toner cartridge" issue. That job will take more time than I have available at present.

Another session working on plans for next summer's festival this afternoon.

Spent the day ....

20/9/2011

...... working on the 7300s with mixed fortunes. Solved some problems, but not all. A most enjoyable evening with friends who invited us to dinner at a restaurant in Feniscowles. It was quite a long wait for the food, but that suited me as it gave us a chance to catch up. An early start tomorrow as the car is booked at the garage for some work on the brakes.

The latest addition to the printers ....

19/9/2011

..... is a Xerox 7300DN which I picked up on Ebay for very little. It's in need of some TLC as the toner cartridge flags are playing up, but it's generally in great condition and it's only done 68k total - less than one month's duty cycle! Hopefully I can sort out the reliability - the prints it creates are superb so it's worth working on.
I'm working on some publicity material for next year's music festival this afternoon, with the aid of my good friend J ..... but it's very much the early design stages, so the printer won't be busy today.
I spent some time yesterday adding some new information to the Xerox page of the website.

Outside it's grey .....

17/9/2011

Ricoh Aficio AP3800CMF

....and a persistent rain is tapping gently at the windows. There'll be no trip to the Lake District today.

I've been making progress learning more about the latest addition to the printer line up (Ricoh AP3800CMF) and sorting out some of the relatively minor problems which it arrived with. With the weather as it is today, I will probably spend some more time on it and see what else I can discover. It's done quite a lot of miles this machine, but it is still working well, and with a couple of new drums it will be back to top quality. The flaws are minor, so I'll live with them for now, and keep an eye out for a good source for the drums.

An unexpected bonus ....

16/9/2011

Young fig tree

..... in more ways than one, came my way yesterday. There was a mild and sunny day which prompted my good friend J to call and propose a trip to the Lake District for coffee at a garden centre. We were able to sit outside in the sunshine to enjoy our coffee which is quite unusual in September in these parts. Furthermore I came away with an addition for the garden, in the form of this fig tree - a gift from my friend. This will make its way back to France with me next week, where it will hopefully thrive and fruit.
The unplanned outing, and significant time lost tyring to purchase train tickets on the internet - thwarted by "fraud checks" by my credit card company!! - meant I wasn't as prepared as normal for another friend M who came for dinner, but we had plenty of catching up to do, so it all worked out well in the end. An action packed day overall!!

After a long drive ....

14/9/2011

Ricoh Aficio AP3800c test pages

..... and the night on the ferry, I've returned to the north of England for a short visit. It was a relatively smooth journey, despite some strong winds which had been forecast for the north. By the time I arrived the worst was over.

My first chance to spend some time on the latest addition to the printers .... it wasn't working and it was acquired "for a song", but I've already made some significant progress as the photo manifests. I'm hoping to build up the information on the Ricoh page of the website over the next couple of weeks.

Yesterday evening ....

11/9/2011

sunset

..... ended with a dramatic sunset - the atmosphere wasn't really captured by the camera, unfortunately.

As predicted, the cloud moved in over night and we have a very dull morning. There is some chance of brighter weather later on, though.

A beautiful day .....

10/9/2011

.... with temperatures peaking about 32c. It was a little breezy at times, but that helped dry up the dew and enabled a thorough mowing exercise this afternoon. Water in the pool is still above 30c, so the mowing was followed by a swim. The shortening days will inevitably result in the pool cooling quite rapidly over the next few weeks, although the rate of decline will be very much dependent upon the amount of sunshine we get. The upgrade to the solar heating we did a few weeks back is proving reliable now, after the initial teething troubles.

A visit to UK is looming next week - I expect the climate difference will be very marked at this time of the year. It still feels very much like summer here, but the north of England will probably be much more autumnal, I fear. Nonetheless, it will be good to catch up with friends, and also to make a start on fettling the AP3800CMF which I recently acquired.
Work is also on the horizon once again, as I'm back out to Hong Kong at the end of the month.

There are some unedited photos from the trip to the Pyrénées, mostly taken by David, available here. (Click the images button on the top RHS of the screen to see the thumbnail images.)

The September "spring" ....

10/9/2011

pinks

.... which is quite a feature of the garden here, continues to produce some attractive colour.

This morning I spotted that these pinks had appeared in the bed behind the pool .... they flowered earlier in the year, but had done very little over the main part of the summer.

ceanothus repens

The ceanothus bushes suffered badly from a very cold snap two winters ago, and although they recovered somewhat during last year, they didn't really flower much at all this spring. Now they are starting to produce some big flowers which will hopefully last until the cold weather returns.

If this winter isn't too severe, then they should be a mass of colour next spring.