It’s been a largely quiet week here at Port 80. We restarted our weekly activities including band practice and choir. The only thing to report from the early part of the week is that we put a new site live: Stars villa rentals. It was a joint project for us and we’re both pleased with it, as is the client more importantly. Things calmed down a bit after that, although the rest of the week was spent working on proposals for other sites.
We got a call earlier in the week from a Frenchman representing a vineyard. They want to sell on a wine portal, and need an e-commerce shop of their own in order to do so. So we worked up a quote for that and not really sure if they’ll go ahead. I did a proposal for an American woman who was a nightmare to work with, so I adjusted it accordingly. An existing client is interested in adding a shop to their site too. Finally, I have two more quotes to do for existing clients to either improve or rebuild their sites. I think they will likely choose the former option, which is less interesting but still pays the bills.
The gallette du rois for Milhac Loisir was Thurs night but I didn’t go since I was meant to have a conference call with a client. They do an annual party to which we were invited but they live 2 hours away and we didn’t fancy staying (or seeing them for that matter). They got a bit carried away on the wine and forgot to call, which is fine. Will went to the doctor since he’s been having problems with his hip / pain in his side. The doctor was baffled but has prescribed x-rays and a blood test to investigate further.
We had one social event on Saturday which was dinner at Jenny’s. There were 13 people in all including her, Loic, Mathias, Loic’s son, Paul & Nathalie, Evelyn plus Benoit, Virginie, Eva and Sam. We started on the vodka tonics on arrival and noshed on Benoit’s pate / fish rillettes. I spent awhile talking with Evelyn, the new neighbour who is Dutch and has lived in France 25+ years, mainly around Paris. She’s been in the Dordogne for a year and is currently renting the upstairs flat across from Jenny’s. She has a horse and two dogs and is looking to buy a place in the area. The main was raclette with lots of different meats and cheeses, plus mushrooms, peppers and of course, potatoes. This was washed down with some mediocre red, which normally isn’t the case at Jenny’s. Afterwards, there was unnecessary cheese and ice cream for dessert.
The vodkas kept flowing throughout the night which is normal for us, but not for Paul who tried but failed to keep up. We also smoked a large petard after the meal and even I was a bit lightheaded afterwards. Paul went back in and laid on the couch for a bit, then hurried to the toilet where he lost his meal, then wrapped himself around the toilet for an hour or so. It was around midnight at this point and we were all a bit worse for wear, but eventually Sam and Loic managed to carry Paul out the car and then into his house. Will and I said our goodbyes and followed on foot. We left Paul at home in a chair, wrapped in a blanket with a bucket on his lap. We came home and watched a film, wisely skipping the digestif.
We had band practice yesterday and it mainly went well, despite our sluggishness. Our next phase is to remove the backing vocals from the backing tracks so we can see how we’re sounding. I have choir tonight and I’m pleased to report that Paul is up for going. It’s turning cold(ish) for the next few days and we’re due a couple of centimetres of snow. It warms up again by the end of the week, so it shouldn’t last long.