A Bat's Life in the Touraine

 Sometimes they are fast asleep.

 

 Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Fr. Pipistrelle commune).

From November to April they hibernate in stable cold places with high humidity. By spring they will have lost a third of their body weight. Their hearts beat 15 times less rapidly and they only breath once every hour and a half.

 

Greater Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Fr. Grand rhinolophe). This bat may look asleep, but it knew we were there. It has drawn itself up a bit. A relaxed bat hangs on remarkably long legs.

Photo courtesy of my sister.

 

I cannot stress enough how important it is to not disturb hibernating bats. If you disturb them to the extent they fly then they are using the energy they need to get them through to spring alive. Do no speak if there is a bat present. Make as little noise and movement as possible. Do not deliberately go into a hibernation site just to see the bats and photograph them. If you want to see bats, do what I did, which was join a survey group, with an authorised person in charge.

A Common Pipistrelle in flight over our garden.

Sometimes they are active.

 

 Greater Mouse-eared Bat Myotis myotis (Fr. Grand murin). This is the largest bat species in France.

In spring they put the weight back on, before heading for their summer roosts. Some of them migrate just a few kilometres, others will go more than a thousand.

 

 Daubenton's Bat Myotis daubentonii (Fr. Murin de Daubenton).

 

In summer the females gather in maternity colonies. The mothers give birth to a single offspring per year, sometimes two. Only the females are involved in raising the young. The males live alone during summer or in small groups. Just as you must not disturb hibernating bats you must not disturb nursing mother bats.

This Daubenton's bat entered our bedroom when the window was open but the louvred shutters were closed. The best method of encouraging a bat in this situation to go back outside is to turn the light out, close the door and wait for them to fly or crawl back out of their own accord.

 

In autumn the males and females join one another and mating takes place and start checking out their hibernation sites.

 

 A Brown Long-eared Bat Plecotis auritus (Fr. Oreillard roux) hunting in our graineterie. I gather from an excellent lecture on bats that I attended recently that the population of this species is in freefall. It made me realise that I haven't seen one, or picked one up on the bat detector, for some years.

All the photos in this post are poor quality because I was being careful not to disturb the bats. No flash on hibernating bats, just the briefest possible time with a torch shone on them by my companion. 

 

A maternity roost of  Lesser Horseshoe Bats Rhinopholus hipposideros (Fr. Petit rhinolophe).

Photo courtesy of my sister.

All bats are protected in France, so it is illegal to disturb them or their roosts.

Look Out For Greater Star of Bethlehem in the Touraine Loire Valley

 Greater Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum umbellatum (Fr. Dame d'onze heures).

Greater Star of Bethlehem is a bulb with pure white flowers. The French name refers to the way the flowers do not open until they are in full sun, and then close again each evening. The 6-8 leaves are long, narrow and grooved, with an obvious white stripe running along the groove. The starry white flowers, which appear from March to June, have a green stripe running down the middle of the underside of each petal, and are pollinated by insects.

The species can be found anywhere in France, in grassland, along roads and tracks, and amongst vines. It is native to central and southern Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. Greater Star of Bethlehem likes poor clay soil that is low in humus.

In the Touraine Loire Valley it is not considered rare or threatened.

The plant is toxic, which is only a problem if you can't tell the difference between it and the much prized edible wild plant Ramsons (apparently it has been known...). Ramsons doesn't have the green stripe on the petals, the leaves are broad pointed ovals, it grows in damp woodland, and it pongs of garlic. But apart from that it's really hard to tell the difference...

 

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It is a lovely enough flower to have attracted the attention of the great Leonardo da Vinci, and there is a drawing of it in one of his notebooks.

Sainte Maure de Touraine, the Cheese

Sainte Maure de Touraine is the name of a town about 50 km from Preuilly sur Claise. It is also the name of one of our local fromages de chèvre (goats' cheeses), the others being Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Selles sur Cher, Valençay and Chavignol. We've found that even people who have not liked the goats cheese they've tried in the past discover that they really like Sainte Maure de Touraine.

 

What grows together goes together. 

Sainte Maure de Touraine cheese goes very well with Vouvray wine.

 

Sainte Maure de Touraine is an AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) which roughly follows the boundaries of the old Province of Touraine. It has to be made by traditional methods - this means that all the cheese is made by hand from fresh ingredients, either on farms or in dairy co-operatives. There is an industrial version made in the same area, but this is called Sainte Maure (without the Touraine bit). We are surrounded by goats cheese producing farms, several of them prize winning and highly regarded, within a 5 kilometre radius around Preuilly.


The cheese is made in the shape of a log about 17cm (7") long and has a rye straw running through it to help support the cheese log as it is rolled in salt and ash. The straw is stamped with the name of the maker and the tradition is to use a knife that isn't too sharp to cut around the straw so it is left in the cheese. The industrial version doesn't have the straw.

Sainte Maure de Touraine cheeses just after having received their coating of ash and salt at the Limouzin Frères farm dairy near Le Petit Pressigny. They will be left to dry and mature in a controlled atmosphere room for about three weeks, before being sold at local markets and direct from the farm.

In other news: It snowed here yesterday!! Here's a photo from our attic window taken at 8:30 am. The last time it snowed here in March was 2018.

A Moss Outing to the Chateau de Brou

The Association de botanique et de mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine (aka Botamyco37) organised an outing to learn moss identification and to survey the species in the grounds of the Chateau de Brou. The outing was set for the afternoon of Saturday 1 March, which turned out to be freezing. But we survived, and surveyed about 20 species of moss. None were rare but they certainly highlighted the challenges involved in learning to identify mosses. A big thank you is owed to Franck the Forester, who led the outing and shared his expertise, and to Marie-Claude, who took on the task of writing it up afterwards, with help from me and Corinne, and corrections as necessary from Franck.

Mosses absorb four times as much carbon dioxide as the trees in the forest, so we should show them some respect. There are around a thousand moss species in France, of which only 14 have legal protection, due to their rarity. They are bioaccumulators so they can act as indicators of the health and age of a woodland, and they provide shelter for thousands of tiny organisms such as collembolas, which are vital to the rich biodiversity of the forest. Despite the way they thrive in damp shady environments, they are capable of surviving extended periods of drought.

 

Cypress-leaved Plait Moss Hypnum cupressiforme (Fr. Hypne cyprès). This one was found on dead oak but it is common in the forest on acid substrates ie bark and wood both living and dead. It is relatively easy to identify, with leaves that curve like claws.

A feather moss of some sort Brachythecium sp. This is a very difficult genus to identify to species level and you need to look at it under magnification. They are common early colonisers of disturbed pH neutral sites that have low pollution.

Silky Wall Feather Moss Homalothecium sericeum (Fr. Homalothécie soyeuse). Identifiable by the very long tapering point on triangular leaves that are pleated lengthwise. A very adaptable species that can be found in a wide variety of habitats.

Larger Mouse-tail Moss Isothecium alopecuroides (Fr. Isothécie queue de renard). An epiphyte that grows on bark, frequently at the base of tree trunks, but it can also be found on rocks.

Forked Veilwort Metzgeria furcata, not a moss but a hepatic, with green leaves. Hepatics differ from mosses by not having a central vein in their leaves. This species is epiphytic, sticking itself to smooth barked forest trees, especially Hornbeam in the Touraine.

A pocket moss of some sort Fissidens sp. The genus is distinctive and easy to recognise, but determining a species is difficult.

Common Smoothcap Moss Atrichum undulatum (Fr. Atric ondulé) can be distinguished from Polystrichum spp by its overall smaller size and translucent wavy tooth edged leaves.

Common Tamarisk Moss Thuidium tamariscinum (Fr. Thuidie à feuilles de Tamaris) grows in layers. It is typical of oak woodlands and is tolerant of a wide range of pH in the substrate so long as it is well drained.

Rambling Tail Moss Anomodon viticulosus, which is found at the foot of old trees, in the shade.

Common Striated Feather Moss Eurhynchium striatum (Fr. Eurhynchie striée) found on cool rich forest floors.

A Scalewort of some sort Frullania sp, with tiny (2 mm) brown leaves. This is a very common hepatic, not a moss, found on smooth barked trees such as Chestnut or Hornbeam, and is an acid indicator.

Look Out for Snakeshead Fritillaries in the Touraine Loire Valley

 

Last year the Snakeshead Fritillaries flowering coincided with widespread flooding so if you weren't in the right place on the right day you didn't get to see them because they were under water. This year the conditions have been much more to their liking, with flooding earlier in the winter. The flood meadows are still a bit squishy, but the Snakeshead Fritillaries are very happy and flowering well. 

Snakeshead Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris (Fr. Fritillaire pintade) is endemic to northern and central Europe. The species is an indicator of a damp habitat, and they favour flood meadows that are fertilized by silt in the winter. They can be found up to 1800 metres above sea level in several areas of France, but the Loire Valley is one of their most important strongholds. It is concentrated in the west of France. Until last year it had been considered extinct in Belgium for over a hundred years. 

The population and distribution of this species is reducing, because of intensive farming methods and the urbanisation of flood meadows. Annual surveys indicate that there are well over a million plants in western France, but numbers are declining. Snakeshead Fritillaries are protected either fully or partially in most of their area of distribution in France.

Look Out For Wild Daffodils in the Touraine Loire Valley

There is a big colony of Wild Daffodils Narcissus pseudonarcissus (Fr. Narcisse jaune) that flower reliably around this date in Chaumussay. They are easily visible from the greenway (Fr. voie verte) so there will be lots of people enjoying them as they pass. I was impressed to see that there is no sign of flowers being picked, so they are being left to be shared by everyone.

Wild Daffodils are the most abundant wild Narcissus species in Europe and they have dozens of vernacular names. The term 'jonquille' in French for this species was introduced for tourist promotion reasons in the Vosges, but it more properly applies to N. jonquilla, a different species with a southern (Mediterranean) distribution. Unfortunately the French media persist in using 'jonquille' when they mean the Narcisse jaune.

Wild Daffodils can form large colonies, growing in the forests and meadows, on grassy banks and roadsides. They are abundant in some areas, rare in others. Nevertheless they grow throughout France, up to about 2000 metres above sea level. The Vosges and Alsace are famous for their meadows covered in Wild Daffodils.

They are widely cultivated in gardens and the bulbs live for a long time if conditions are a bit damp. They are fully protected in the wild, or picking is regulated, in some areas of France. Garden varieties are usually hybrids, produced to give bigger flowers, more robust plants and a greater range of colours.

The plants contain a number of quite dangerous toxins. In bad cases, ingestion of the bulb can be fatal, and just sucking a stem can result in nausea and vomiting. The plants contain sharply pointed calcium oxalate crystals which irritate the digestive system and can cause skin rashes on contact. As a consequence they are not eaten by grazing stock. 

Since the leaves disappear as soon as seeds have set they don't pose a hazard if hay is cut in the summer from a meadow where they grow. The roots can form an important element of stabilising banks, slopes, ditches and streams.  

The perfume seems to have a narcotic effect on some people, but this has never been scientifically investigated.

Look Out For PurpleToothwort in the Touraine Loire Valley

 Purple Toothwort Lathraea clandestina (Fr. Lathrée clandestine).

This curious spring flowering plant is to be found in damp woodland at the bottom of valleys and generally next to a stream. It's a parasite so needs to be attached to the tree roots of willow, alder, poplar, oak or hazelnut. It has no chlorophyll of its own and takes all its nutrients from its host tree.

In the springtime it sends up small tight rosettes of pigment free white fleshy leaves, which because of their resemblance to molars give the plant its English name. This above ground part gives you no hint of the much more substantial rhizome part that remains underground, often weighing several kilos.

The long hooded flowers, which seem to come directly from the ground, are a deep purple and appear  in the spring. Its distribution is basically franco-iberian, along the Atlantic coast, and from the Loire Valley to the Pyrenees in the south-west of France. Other pockets where the plant occurs are probably the result of accidental introductions on tree roots. It is rare enough in its natural distribution to be protected everywhere except the Charentes, where it is abundant.

Foraging Wild Garlic in the Touraine Loire Valley

Spring is the time new plants start emerging in numbers and it's a great time for wild foragers. One of the plants they will seek out is wild garlic, known as Ramsons in English and Ail des ours ('Bears garlic') in French. It grows in damp woodland places, often beside streams. Where it grows it tends to grow abundantly so there is no danger of over harvesting if you are just picking for personal use. And bears aren't present in the Touraine so you are not depriving them now.

 Ramsons growing on the banks of the Courtineau.

Usually you find it by noticing the strong garlic scent in the air. It really pongs, but in fact the taste is much milder, more like chives. You can chiffonade it and use it in omelettes or you can make a creamy sauce for steak, chicken or fish. The sauce freezes well, and is easier to make in a reasonably generous quantity.

 Sweating the ramsons leaves with onion.

Ingredients:

50 g butter

1 onion, sliced or chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

A generous handful of ramsons, washed, leaves only

100 - 200 ml cream

Other herbs eg chervil, tarragon, chopped (optional)

200 g mushrooms, chopped or sliced (optional)

Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan.
2. Sweat the onion and garlic.
3. Add the mushrooms if using and cook until they release their liquid. You may want to tip some of the liquid out.
4. Add the ramsons and herbs (if using) and sweat them until thoroughly wilted.
5. Transfer to a blender and add the cream and salt.
6. Blend until reasonably smooth.
7. Warm gently to serve (this recipe makes at least 6 servings and if you've used mushrooms, twice that amount).

Sauce for the freezer.

Three Ages of Tin

Colloquially know as "tin roofs", corrugated iron roofs were once ubiquitous in Australia. Sheets of hot-dipped galvanised iron, cold-rolled to produce the corrugated pattern, the alternating grooves and ridges add weather resistance and increase strength. It usually goes onto the roof in an unpainted state but even after being hot dipped in zinc, after a couple of years it starts to rust. At that stage it's wise to paint it. The traditional colours are red or green: I assume the red was red lead, but I have no idea what the green was - copper maybe?

Anyhow - here are three tin roofs in varying stages of beauty.

A Complete Huntsman

When we were in Australia at the tail end of 2018 we photographed a rather incomplete huntsman spider. This one photographed on my brother's bedroom door last year had no such issues.

They're not venomous, but they can be assertive. I was sitting chatting to Bruce, when my brother's cleaning lady came in and said that she wasn't scared of spiders, but there was a huntsman on the sofa and she didn't do moving spiders. Bruce volunteered to pick the spider up and take it outside, at which stage the spider bit him and scuttled off. Cue one throbbing finger, remedied by the consumption of chips and coca cola, and a bit of hilarity.

I can't confirm that this is the same spider, but I guess it's possible. It measured about 10cm across, and I noticed it on one of my many nocturnal trips to the WC a couple of days later.

Look Out For Glanville Fritillary Caterpillars in the Touraine Loire Valley

For butterflies to survive the winter they have to hibernate, or at least seek protection. A few, like Red Admirals and Peacocks, hibernate as adults, clinging to walls inside barns and garden sheds and hoping not to freeze. Some hibernate as eggs, hidden deep within the larval food plant, and others as pupae, ready to hatch at the first hint of nice weather in the new year.

A few don't actually hibernate, but spend the winter as caterpillars. When it's warm enough they munch their way through a leaf or two, but if it gets very cold they go dormant until the freeze is over. Of course, they don't go about in the open in the middle of winter. They huddle together in groups, protected by leaves and a web which they produce to keep the cold and predators out.

Glanville Fritillary caterpillars live communally when they are young, building a web which serves as a shelter from the cold and wet of winter at the base of their food plant. They will sallie out on all but the coldest days to eat and by the spring they will have gone from 10mm long to about 40mm and be ready for the transformation into adult butterflies.

The orchard has a plentiful supply of both ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata and Persian speedwell Veronica persica. Being open and south facing this suits Glanville Fritillary butterflies Melitaea cinxia (la Mélitée du plantain in French) very well if the timing of the mowing has been right and the grass is not too long. They are also badly affected if the preceeding spring was dry.

Some years the orchard is home to a satisfyingly numerous population of Glanville Fritillary butterflies. In March and April I have to be careful not to tread on the caterpillars as they munch their way through the speedwell or plantain. Other years there may be very few, or even none, which is a worry, as it takes the species some years to bounce back and recolonise an area. Surprisingly, they are apparently not very mobile and stay within a very small radius of where they were hatched.

Glanville Fritillaries produce two generations a year and lay their eggs in clusters on the underside of Plantain leaves, where the caterpillars hatch out and live communally in their homespun silk nest. When the caterpillars are mature they are red headed, but young caterpillars are pale ochre with dark heads. The young ones greatly resemble the plantain flowers in the spring. The species seems to benefit from traditional agricultural practices, as the nests are often found in fallow land and along rural tracks where the roadside vegetation is full of plantain.

Adult males often sit with open wings on these dirt tracks, or on the tips of grass seed heads. They are assertive, agile and rapid flyers, and quite agressive to one another.

The Viaduc de Monts

We have published pictures of the viaduct visible from the Chateau of Candé before. 

The Viaduc de Monts is a significantly big railway bridge that allows the "classic" Paris to Bordeaux-Saint-Jean line to cross the Indre River near the Domaine de Candé. Constructed between 1845 and 1848, it was one of the longest bridges in France at that time. These days most of the TGVs use the almost parallel Line Grand Vitesse which opened in 2016.

The viaduct is reported as either 708 or 751 meters long, depending on the source (I can't work out which measurement is the correct one) and comprises 59 arches. It's built from stone, with its core made of limestone rubble sourced from a quarry in Joué-lès-Tours. The facing is constructed from ashlar stone from Chauvigny, known for its aesthetic qualities.

The construction of the viaduct was overseen by engineer M. Morandière. The project faced challenges, including delays caused by floods of the Indre in 1845 and 1846, several strikes by workers demanding better working conditions, and the dismissal of Belgian workers hired alongside them. The viaduct was inaugurated on July 1, 1851, by Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, although the line had been operational up to Poitiers for several weeks prior.

We were at Candé on Tuesday for the launch of the annual list of nature walks and events in Centre Val de Loire. Or rather, Susan was. I was having an unsuccessful shopping foray. I was only at Candé long enough to take the photo of the viaduct in winter.

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As an aside... What is the French equivalent of Maplin? That's what I was looking for.

Preparing for the Arrival of the Wolf

 

This poster is on the town hall noticeboard in Yzeures sur Creuse. It says:

Preparing for the Arrival of the Wolf

What to do

You are a grazier wanting to protect against attacks:

• bring all your animals in to a closed building at night if possible, or gather them into an electric fenced enclosure (4 strands minimum).
• check on your animals regularly in order to: discern any abnormal behaviour; do a head count.

You suspect a wolf in proximity to your herd:

• contact the OFB* with any sightings of any animal ressembling a wolf.
• leave a message with your name, phone number, address, where the animal was sighted and any other information you think is pertinant.

Your herd has just been attacked and you suspect a wolf is responsible:

• you must immediately phone or email the OFB.

• immediately email the DDT*, giving them your name, phone number, address and name of the place where the attack happened, the number of animals injured and/or killed, and any other information you consider relevant.

While waiting for the case officer touch nothing.

• note where all the bodies are.
• protect the bodies from scavengers without moving them (cover them with sacks, tarpaulins, rocks, etc).
• avoid walking around the site to preserve possible tracks and signs left by the predator.
• if necessary call your vet for possible care of injured animals and ask them for a detailed bill. The vet must under no circumstances complete the damages statement. Only the case officer can do this.
• record the full identification number of each of the killed or injured animals along with their characteristics (age, weight, status in the herd).
• wait for the case officer to complete the report before calling the knacker.

A report by the case officer will be produced within 48 hours of the attack being declared. The livestock owner must also adhere to this time frame.

In the case of an attack not being confirmed as a wolf [by the OFB] you can apply to the DDT for a review.

The map at the bottom shows that graziers in Indre et Loire could be eligible for State aide to protect their flocks with guardian dogs, and have access to an advisor.

*OFB - Office Français de la Biodiversité; DDT - Direction départemental des territoires.

Look Out for Bee Flies in the Touraine Loire Valley

Along with the early emerging bee species in the spring, we get the early emerging bee flies in the Touraine Loire Valley. The bee flies time their emergence to coincide with the bees because they are parasites of the ground nesting bees. This makes them sound like the bad guys, but in fact, it is an indication that your population of solitary bees is healthy and can support a bit of natural predation. 

The bee fly you will see most often in the spring is the Dark-edged Bee Fly Bombylius major (Fr. Grand bombyle). It is the most important pollinator of Primroses Primula vulgaris (Fr. Primavere), and it loves other early wild flowers such as lungwort.

They are fascinating to watch, with their long tongue which cannot be retracted, their long spindly legs, which they use like stilts to steady themselves on flowers, and their fluffy bottoms, which they coat with sand in order to better control the eggs they are throwing in to mining bee nests. Watch them in action for even just 10 minutes and you will be as captivated as I am.

Prostate Cancer II

Six weeks after my operation in June I had a blood test and follow up appointment with the surgeon. He apologized, but said it was bad news. As I suspected, my PSA was way too high (5•95) which means they didn't get all the cancer with the operation. That was a real blow - I was sick to my stomach.

He sketched out the path for treatment: another trip through the atomic donut to try find the source of the cancer then 7 weeks of radiotherapy treatment 5 days a week. While we were waiting for that to start I was put on anti testosterone injections, one a month for 6 months. They go straight into the belly - very slowly - and sit there in a lump, gradually diffusing. They're painful, ugly, and cause mood swings and hot flushes. I know they're keeping me alive, but I approached every fourth Monday with trepidation. They are accompanied by massive daily doses of calcium and vitamin D to try avoid osteoporosis.

In mid-September I had my scintigraph in Tours. We arrived 10 minutes early and then had to sit around for about an hour because they had run out of "product" and were awaiting more from the lab. Whether the "product" they were talking about was saline drip or the atomic isotope I don't know.

Anyway... After a long wait I was called into the room, a vein in my arm was found, and the catheter inserted. I was attached to two bags of liquid and left for about 10 minutes. Then the technician reappeared with a metal canister that looked like a high tech - but small - teapot. She hid behind a screen, attached the capsule to my catheter and turned in on using a long stick thing. Remember - she was hiding from it, yet it was going into me.

A couple of weeks later, and a month after my first injection, I had a blood test, and almost celebrations. My PSA was way down to 0•09. I was pleased, but aware that it should be zero.

Then the hospital rang, with an appointment with an oncologist, who said my blood test result was "very good but not excellent". He prescribed a second set of hormone treatment, this time daily tablets in addition to the monthly injections. He also increased the already unfeasible daily dose of calcium and vitamin D.

He also gave us a window to visit Australia. By this time I was spending a fair bit of each day in a fog. I wasn't sleeping properly, just napping for two hours at a time, getting horrendous migraine like headaches, and struggling to think.

Once we returned from our hectic time away, in December I had a blood test, and more almost celebrations. My PSA was <0•03, which is basically within the margin of error of zero. 

In late January I had another blood test, and once again my PSA was <0•03. I also had another scintigraph, which showed the areas of concern were disappearing and there was no metastasis. We saw the oncologist, who said the results were excellent and changed my injections to one every six months, still taking the daily tablets and calcium and vitamin D. He also made me an appointment with a physiotherapist, who has given me some very effective exercises and techniques for dealing with the damage done by the operation.

We see the surgeon on Friday, for a post op follow-up. Not quite sure why...

But in short: I'm getting there, even though it has been absolutely no fun. The bladder control isn't all it could be, especially when I'm stressed or tired. I will still have to have the seven weeks of radiotherapy, and it could be I'm on the six monthly injections for years to come. Sometimes I feel like the side effects of the treatment are worse than the illness, but I'm guessing that's only because it was diagnosed before the symptoms appeared.

Part 1 of this story is here

Free WiFi in Australia

Here's a handy money saving hint for when you're in Australia. Since 2021 Telstra phone boxes in Australia have allowed anyone to make unlimited local and national calls, as well as call mobile numbers for free.

In addition to free calls, most (if not all by now) Telstra phone booths are also WiFi hotspots. You can connect to "Telstra Air" without needing a Telstra account, making it convenient for people like us who need internet access on the go, but are confused by the multitude of offers available. This was particularly useful for us when I had phone issues last year. Some boxes even do phone charging, although I'd make sure you had your own charging cables that didn't do data transfer.

Unless your accommodation is within 20 metres of a phone box I doubt if it would replace having your own SIM card and data, but it is a great excuse for stopping for a rest if there's a bench (or cafe, or ice cream parlour) nearby.

The free WiFi at the Steyne Hotel in Manly.

We used the service a couple of times last year, including a couple of times whilst sitting in the car. It's very handy in a big country where mobile phone coverage can be sketchy once you're outside urban areas. There are phone boxes in all sorts of unlikely remote places.

One common urban myth is that calls were made free because coin boxes were frequently raided for loose change. With the decline in payphone usage it probably ended up being more expensive to pay people to collect coins than the value of coins collected.

In contrast, France mainland probably now has no public call boxes, although there are always rumours that one has survived.

The 19th Annual Cowslip

We saw our first coucou (cowslip) on Monday as we were on our way to Tours for (surprise surprise) a medical appointment. We didn't stop, but yesterday we took this photo.

They're not out in profusion yet, that's probably six weeks away. Cowslips were my Mum's favourite flower.