South Hams Friends of the Earth

I have now crossed the méridienne verte - the line which divides France into East and West, and I'm also North of the Loire again, so finally in the North-Eastern quarter of the country, the Swiss border doesn't seem too far off.

If stayed a couple of weeks at my father's house in Aubusson - I was ill for a few days, but everything seems to be working again now!

There is no let-up on the heat. I now set the alarm for 5.15 every morning and try to reach my destination by lunchtime. The afternoons are useless for anything apart from lying down and drinking water.

The climate here is changing - that is what people are telling me: "we never used to have summers like this". The more perceptive sometimes wonder whether global climate change has something to do with it...