It is now quinze jours since my man’s surgical intervention, not a ‘fortnight’ in France but quinze jours. He has been home for huit jours not a week. Oh what fun playing with the oral differences between the two languages.

Anyway, he has been home since Thursday 19th May. He is fine. He is sore. He has had the attention of our local infirmieres who arrived every other day to check his wounds and change his dressings. God Bless those two lovely ladies who ministered to his needs.

I know this sounds a little ‘off the wall’ but that is me. He was happy for the attention and I was happy for them to minister to him. I could not do it; I am not in their league and really appreciate the nursing profession. All nurses deserve recognition; I know what they go through when they train for their craft and what they are faced with when they qualify.

My older sister achieved her State Registered Nurse qualification in 1966. I went through the trauma with her, reading her text books (some of which were a bit yeuk) helping her with her revision, listening to her hates and loves in training, giving a shoulder for the tears and joining the celebration when she passed… She made the grade with a lot of hard work, passed her SRN exam first go and is now still working, on a part time basis, in the nursing profession. Our youngest daughter is working to the same goal, albeit at an older age and with other qualifications. It seemed to be simpler 40+ years ago but nowadays it seems to be the ‘degrees’ not the instinct and empathy that counts.

He had a visit to the surgeon this morning who checked his wounds and pronounced him fit and well. It appears that his appendix was 'plus grand' and the abscess 'grand'. With my man it is never simple. Stitches were removed and he was discharged from the hospital and advised to return only if there was a problem. Hooray!!!

Anyway, the upshot of this is that I have told himself tonight that he will get fit and will listen to me and eat what I feed him because I want him fit. I explained that although we have been married for 40+ years and that we have our differences I still love him and that I want him to be fit and well (he did smile at that!). And also, for the extended holiday that I am planning for next year he will need to be fit. He sat and nodded and agreed. He does not need to lift a finger (ha! par for the course, comme d’habitude) I will sort it all out.

Whether I have the stamina or not to keep this up I don’t know, we will see.

The dog is happy that his master is home. The cats are happy that he is home. Our neighbour is glad to see him home as well as our assorted French and English friends.

I am cooking bland food for us both. He did say ‘you don’t need to eat the same as me’. Ha, why cook two separate meals… So I am on a bland diet as well. (Bah!) Never mind it won’t be long before he can take a little bit of spice! I have arranged a curry night for friends in huit jours, he had better be able to cope with it!

At the moment, weather-wise, it is hot, sometimes too hot, and sunny although the wind has been a bit on the chilly side. There are already water restrictions for the farmers. It won’t be long before the restrictions affect the general members of the public. It has been a very dry winter and there has been next to no rain falling. The river has been low all winter and I think it is now about three years since it has ‘broken’ its banks. We have a flood meadow that hasn’t been under water for a long time. The lack of rain has been quite frightening, the grass is brown already. It does not bode well, three years of drought is not good.