Walnuts, anyone?

 

5^th September

Thunderstorms at 11.20pm last night. Almost continuous sheet lightning that lit up the entire mill, front, back and sides at the same time. Thunder but no rain, or so little rain that we did not hear it. Perla being totally deaf is lucky in these situations as she slept right through. Tim would have been bouncing around – totally alert, half afraid and half aggressive.

Dh drove into Vergt and did a shop that is supposed to last until we leave for home. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don’t, but it is not a worry as we have to go into Vergt on Monday to see Monsieur le docteur le vétérinaire to get Perla’s worming tablet and her Animal Health Certificate signed off. Then we have a few hours to get to Calais and through the tunnel back into England. (Out of interest for anyone thinking of taking their dog to France, we were charged £65.) Considering the £225 in England for the AHC before we went, and £65 in France, it is an expensive option – thanks to Brexit! Bah humbug.

The mornings are noticeably colder now, and likewise the evenings. A good time to get work done – it was far too hot when the temperature was in the high thirties, but low twenties is ideal. The nasty little biting creatures seem to be gorging on us as if to fatten up for the winter. I don’t see them, but I have several nasty bites, and they have attacked Perla’s paws as well. The pool is not quite so inviting now, and the leaves are turning yellow gold. I sweep the fallen ones from the bolly every morning. Sadly, the walnuts are not falling yet, but they are growing.

The very first Sunday of September and a hunter was out with his dogs, shooting at goodness knows what. Possibly deer, rabbits or boar, none of which we have seen, though we have seen signs that tell us they are around. It must be a struggle for them to find water, for the stream that runs through the mill land is still just a trickle and seepage. The spring that feeds the pound, however, runs as it ever did, so they will always find water here.

It was an expensive struggle

 For the sum of £225 we are now proud owners of an Animal Health Certificate.

All ten pages of it, every page with multiple red stamps and signatures.

There are strict time limits. We are now on a timetable to get Perla into France before said document  becomes invalid. A similar time limit operates when we want to come home, too. A bit like Cinderella, really.

If we decided we wanted to come back home for a week and then return to France, we will have to ask our vet to complete another form and pay another £225. I thought  the AHC would be valid for at least a year, but no; one trip only, then we start all over again. 

If everything that leaves this country has to undergo similar formalities, then it is understandable why the roads around Folkstone are clogged with vehicles. and why people are so incensed about queues and waiting times Pre Brexit, it was all so simple, easy and and hassle-free. 

It is a staggering thought that it has actually cost more to get Perla to France than to get me, dh and the car to France.