School holidays are pretty rigid. Understandably, families rush to find a suitable venue in which to spend that valuable time together.

As a result the 6-8 week July and August period can become extremely busy. However, many retired or professional couples who don’t have those restrictions and remain flexible may be looking for that elusive magical break after the school holidays.

The advantage of this are fewer tourists to hustle you as you amble through that Saturday market or Bastide town.

Furthermore, you can turn up at the best restaurant in town without a reservation and of course it might be more peaceful as you take that long leisurely meal after a day spent by the pool.

One of the major benefits here  in south west France is September, October and a lot of November are still very warm.

Has Christmas all but passed us by again?

I know only yesterday was boxing day but it seems like last week!

Mind you, we are not planning anything until the 2nd or 3rd of Jan so still time to relax.

I thought I would share these piccy's with you. We have had hard frosts for a week now with on and off fog which has adorned all of the foliage.

This morning though, the sun is shining brightly which makes this 'snowy' appearance sparkle.

2006 has been a huge roller coaster of emotions and hard work for us here at Perigord Vacance but most of all a successful one.

Thank you to those of you that came to see us and take your summer holiday. It was just as much a wonderful experience for us. We have had the greatest of years and we hope that we continue to do so.

I, on behalf of Donna, Henners and Fleur would like to thank you for taking an interest in our story and progress and for your generous support and encouragement.

As the year draws to a close I would like to extend the seasons greetings and wish everyone a fantastic Christmas and the most prosperous 2007.

Whatever you are doing and where ever you are, have a great time and hopefully we can look forward to welcoming you to Jean Blanc in 2007.

Best regards

Phil Voice

As promised I popped into Bergerac Airport on my way to the last minute shopping.

Unfortunately, at 12 noon the Fog remained as thick as ever and temperatures were -2.

I popped into the check in and it was empty with all terminals turned off. Of course it might have meant that no planes were due rather than cancelled.

I understand that Bergerac does not have advanced equipment to handle aircraft approaches in dense fog so in the circumstances regular checks if you are planning to travel to Bergerac or collect from Bergerac are well advised.

Saturday 23rd December 2006

If you have a scheduled flight into Bergerac Airport today the 23rd or Christmas Eve then you would be wise to telephone your airline operator to confirm that they are able to land.

You can visit the Flybe website here or the Ryanair site here

So its Christmas and apart from a little clearing up tomorrow Chez Voice are knocked off for Christmas.

Because it is Christmas it is time to forget about France, building and the freezing cold for a bit.

Take a look at this little game, I bet it will get you hooked.

Ok, I admit to being a sucker for testing out the odd money making scheme in the past so now I take any online claim to make you money very, very warily.

I have come across this and I have registered to see if this one actually works.

Check this out or continue reading the details below.

This morning started extremely cold again with a very hard frost overnight. With clear skies all night this morning temperatures were in the region of -2 or -3.

The scene was of a winter wonderland as I walked down at dawn with Hector and a jug of Maize to feed the Puddleducks but as I approached I sensed something was up and sure enough I could only count 5 ducks swimming on the pond.

The drake who we had nicknamed Charlie (OK it seemed a good idea at the time) was not to be seen.

I have been reading about the potential disaster facing the resort owners in Europe's mountains because of the lack of snow this year. It has been very warm right across Europe but I cannot help wondering if there is a little too much scaremongering about global warming?

My remedial and advisory work at Les Mirandes, the small Golf course near Bergerac, is completed.

In fact I finished about a month ago but I returned yesterday to chat with Michael and look at the progress.

I came away feeling moderately pleased with results, especially on the top 9 greens.

On arrival the greens were on their last legs due to a prolonged dry spell and no maintenance for the previous 2 months. The grass  on the greens was longer than the rough with large areas apparently damaged by an overdose of chemicals.