Monday to Thursday 10 – 13 August 2026

Looks like the heat wave is back. A very Albury like summer here. Hot to very hot 38C and dry as a chip. Thank God for cold beer, spicy gin and a clean pool.

A little trip to Taillebourg, 28 k’s due south on the banks of la Charente, was our Wednesday outing. Unlike a lot of other rivers running very low in France – and other parts of Europe, the Charente at Taillebourg is flowing. People are even swimming. They didn’t appear to have a rash or open sores either.

Here there are two guinguettes (a pop-up or open air restaurant) on the riverbank, serving local seafood, burgers, salad and platters from a blackboard menu, open mainly in the summer. They also have cold beer on tap and a small selection of wine.

A delightful beef burger and chips to share, with a pint of draft beer and a glass of red, was just the thing to do, sitting in the shade of the riverbank trees, watching the world go by.

On the subject of burgers, there is not a single café or casual eatery in France that does not offer burgers. The French have made it their own and in typical fashion, they have produced an excellent product. The emphasis is on the patty. Hand chopped and cooked as ordered. It comes in a regular sized milk or brioche bun, with the patty perfectly filling the bun. Not the size of a dinner plate and stuffed with so much stuff that you actually can’t get your gob open enough to take a bite.

Mostly, it will have cheese, onions and possibly some sliced cornichons to cut the richness. That’s all. No bacon, egg, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, pineapple or 200g of pre-made patty in a soggy bun. Oh no. They take it seriously here.

The let down can be the chips.  Yes, they often call them chips. Avec frittes too. Flashy has often complained about the - albeit hand cut - chips, that are often warm, flaccid and soggy. But the guinguette’s burger came with golden, crisp and hot French fries that Macca’s would be proud of. There were however, quite a lot of them. Luckily, Lady P could help in that regard.

Pizza is another food that the French have on menus regularly.  In fact, they are so taken with pizza, that they have little peopleless booths in strange, far away village roadsides, that will spit out a slice or whole steaming hot pizza at the flash of a credit card. We can’t bring ourselves to have a go at that.

And as to fashion. Ten years ago, you’d be lucky to see a chap in a baseball cap, unless you were in the US or Aus. Flashy has taken to showing Lady P the multitude of French men of all ages wearing baseball caps. Of course, she is thankful for the education.

Now, that's a proper pizza cooked in the Webber.

Chips with a side of burger.

Just about to smile!

The locals well equipped with safety gear.

Chef in the kitchen.

The tranquil La Charente.

Total eclipse, what total eclipse?