22nd January. I was ambling around Saint-Jean-de-Luz in mid-2023 when my eye was caught by the sight of a gleaming gold ingot in a shop window. Once back home, and solely out of idle curiosity, I looked up the current price for a 1kg ingot and I found it was 57,000 euros. I later returned to the website every few months to see if there was a trend upwards or downwards. You might be interested to know that today's price for it is - wait for it (put your cocoa down!) - a hefty 132,000 euros. That should tell you all you need to know about the present political situation. 14th January. Mid January and need a lift? This piece should do it!
13th January. We had a spell of cold weather recently (in the bracket 0° - 5°C) and as a result, the bougainvillea that I planted last year is now looking the worse for wear. It had quickly climbed up the front wall of the house to a height of around 8-9 feet - but I've just noticed that all the leaves have shrivelled due to the cold. My question is this: should I prune it back hard - or leave it and let Nature take its course? The outside temperature is now up in the mid teens.
2nd January 2026. First of all, a happy New Year to you!
I just had to check how long it had been since we arrived in the Pays basque.. The answer? 18 years and 4 months.. Phew.. It has f-l-o-w-n by..
We went out yesterday to have lunch at an old favorite of ours - the Restaurant Larralde, Ascain. If ever a lunch started a year with a bang, it was this one. Suffice to say, without going into detail, they did us proud.. and I imagine it will be a long time before we enjoy a better lunch than we had yesterday.. (but I'm always willing to be proven wrong!😃)
