Welcome!

Today we went to Béziers to pick up great swathes of fresh coriander and mint, along with copious spices from the Moroccan supermarket. It's in preparation for our curry night on New Year's Eve.

Whilst there we had a wander round the streets and I spied my favourite shop sign. The shopkeeper is a tad quirky and somewhat irascible.

It translates as 'Please shut the doors gently. Make the least noise possible. To avoid breathing would be ideal.'

The tiny 'shop' has a collection of grubby ancient articles strewn about in the manner of a junk yard. Nothing has prices and it's not even clear that anything is for sale, although I once bought a December 1930 commemorative copy of L'Illustration for a whopping 50 euros. It was a present for my Mum and the shopkeeper saw my eyes light up before he settled on his price. Every time I go into the pipe-smoke-filled shop I'm certain that it won't be open the next time. But it's been ten years now.