Discovering the Boutonne river valley by bike: I should have known our 80 km bike ride to a friend's party near the Marais Poitevin last weekend wasn't going to be simple when I saw how my husband had marked our route. Note, in the left hand photo, that at least 3 lines lead nowhere - and one starts nowhere. Note how, in the top left corner of the right photo, he highlighted a route across countryside without any roads...

If you follow my terribly irregular blog posts, you'll know that Cognac's European literature festival (LEC) celebrates literature from a different country each year. Last year we were spoilt rotten with Ireland. Which European country do you think 2025 will feature? Here are some clues: mountains, cheese, chocolates, army knives, banking and watches... Have you guessed? On the subject of Swiss watches, I recently read a brilliant historical novel that gave me a fascinating insight into Switzerland's rôle during World War II: …