August again, already, yet!

Martyn's celebrated baby plum tomato bruschettas found another appreciative audience yesterday. Old friends Immy and Jon and their five daughters have been camping along at Vias Plage, so came here for lunch, laundry and a swim in the river. They are heading for Spain this morning so I hope that, as I write at 08:30, they are well on their way. France goes on holiday in August, and in consequence the main roads are chokka throughout the first and last weekends, as well as around the 15 August holiday. I remember returning from somewhere close to the border on the first Sunday in August a few years ago, and the traffic was at a standstill as far north as Narbonne. With tens of thousands of cars full of tired parents and hot, cross bairns, there are minor shunts and breakdowns everywhere, and a few more serious pile-ups. If we go out today, we'll stay clear of any roads beginning with A or N - and following the baffling and utterly wasteful reclassification of the old routes nationales - a lot of the bigger D roads as well.