Living in Brittany

Its turned autumnal this last week with leaves falling its time for collecting chestnuts in the woods and roasting them on the wood burner in the evenings.Its also the shooting season we get a lot of hunters around us due to the maize crops which are home to pheasants. They all have to wear florescent red hats as they have a habit of shooting each other. On average about 50 hunters get shoot a year, I had friend who went hunting with some French hunters ,they drank an enormous amount of alcohol did various dangerous things and at the end of the afternoon they shot their dog ( not intentionally ) so had to take it to the vets ( it survived ). The moral is to wear something bright when you walk in the countryside
Bas picked up his first speeding ticket at St Efflam, he hasn't even passed his test yet. You don't expect hidden radar traps Sunday afternoon at the sea front.I think its more of a revenue collecting exercise than genuine concern of road safety. Paulien took it on her licence and he paid the fine 90€........
Its our last full week this week before Christmas, Plestin has been quite busy with Parisian on holiday at the weekend. I was thinking Plestin must be quite recession proof as there is no industry and 80% of the population are retired and on pensions so the main beneficiaries are the pharmacists, flower shops and the hairdressers although the funeral shop does a good trade.
Xav has joined the homework club at school they have a supervised session after school so we pick him up at 6.15 and homework is done . No arguments but its a long day 8.00am - 6.15 pm

Its an amazing year for apples last year hardly any this year its like a carpet of them in the orchard.Although we have nearly 50 trees only 3 are eaters the rest being cider apples specifically for making cider and of the eaters they are a variety which doesn't keep so its a matter how many can you eat in a day. I find 4 to be my maximum. At the moment we are doing a lot of gardening or tidying the back of the orchard there is an area where I have been dumping branches for a couple of years so I pulled out the shed a mulcher I bought a couple of years ago used it once and decided it was rubbish and hid under a pile of junk in my garden shed. This time I think I have sussed out how to use it and reduced a very big pile of branches to pulp or the bigger bits to be chain sawed into wood burner size
Last week I was out walking my dog ( Jimmy a very slight built dog lovely temperament, wouldn't hurt a fly,perhaps a chicken though ) pass the neighbours ,stopped and chatted when their big Alsatian jumped on Jimmy attacking him,she has a record as she has previously attacked Yann and he had to have loads of stitches. Now I remember someone telling me how you seperate dogs but it was obviously too intellectual and didn't listen so instead I kicked her a couple times in the ribs ( fortunately was wearing my working boots with hardened toe cap ) and she stopped attacking Jimmy and turned around to have a go at me by which time I had got my voice going,you have to speak in a testosterone manner and shout " get back " pointing and she turned around and slunk back into the farmyard.Fortunately the farmers wife had witnessed everything so she applied a little more "rustic " discipline , I almost felt sorry for the dog hearing it whimper in the distance.Still it didn't stop us giving the farmer the vets bill as our dog required a couple stitches