Britain vs France - on the field and in the orchard

Cycling Tuesday: 14.8km

Cycling Wednesday: 14.8km

Swimming Wednesday: 0.95km

Walking Thursday: 3.9km

Walking Friday: 3.8km

Moles:

Pip: 1 this week; 7 year to date

Tim: 3 year to date

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There are only a few reasons why we have UK Satellite TV and don't have French TV. Actually only one, French TV is, by common consent among every French person I've ever asked, terrible, really terrible. However, sometimes it has something that we can't get easily anywhere else; like England-France rugby from Twickenham last weekend. As we had John, a keen rugby spectator, staying with us (and I can't resist any opportunity to get ammunition to get one over the hockey team) I linked up the France 2 direct internet feed via the iPad and Apple TV so we could glory in another victory for the whites. Bearing in mind that our internet connection relies on 3km of cables from the village, strung along a set of crazily leaning (and presumably rotten ...) posts the quality was pretty good. Not HD but perfectly good SD quality.

There's been another sort of Anglo French rivalry in our orchard. In 2011 we planted three plum trees; that great staple of British orchards, Victoria, and two French varieties "Quetsche" (a damson) and Reine-Claude d'Orléans (a gage).

Victoria fruited in the first season, has done very well this year and our single tree has produced 8kg of beautiful fruit:

Quetsche has produced a few (13) very pretty fruit but hasn't really competed:

And Reine-Claude d'Orléans shyly produced a few flowers, set some fruit but then dropped it all in a big sulk when the weather was cool in June.

England 19 - France 14; plum production - I think there may be a pattern there .........  !!!