March 2014 (original title, eh?)

So back in Briare the weather was hot, so a Boules-based picnic was suggested by our friends there, as several had cars, so we went up-canal to Rogny-les-sept-ecluses (the seven locks) although it only has 6 now, but the old staircase cluster of 7 can be seen, built by Henry IV, well, not by him as such:

Briare was still looking good:

Then in a moment of madness we'd booked a ski chalet for a family holiday & get together;  it was lovely:

We had a log fire, but it was such a warm house, and not cold in the village, so we'd roast a bit when I lit it!  I'll not show you skiing, but a snap of us in a Yurt after a long and quite demanding (we fell down!)snowshoe walk up in the snowline;  the humidity plus alcohol makes the image here a bit hazy !

While we were away, the daffodils had really gone crazy on Archangel:

Then we had the last trip back to UK before we were due to set of travelling, this time by ferry:

Caption reads "Oh yes, I could manage one of these!"