A Quiet Month

Sunday 7th June

We're well into low season now. Many of our usual cafes and bars have closed down - some permanently, others to allow owners some holiday, some because they've changed hands. Still, there are enough places to keep us entertained, fed and watered and the town is peaceful with far fewer tourists.

Damian and Da have gone to Europe for 3 months, Josephine and Simon leave for Switzerland next week for a month and Simon and Nar are off to Canada soon. Brent disappeared to California, Denis returned to Canada, Phi went back to France and Tall Paul headed south. Faces change. Some will return.

It's been very hot recently so when the sudden rainstorms arrive - which they do every few days - they are very welcome.

From our viewpoint we can see the rain moving along the Mekong Valley. There's no transitional phase between bright sunshine and downpour so we have to keep an eye on our washing

I allowed a caterpillar to stay on my small citrus plant and was lucky enough to see the butterfly when it had just emerged. Common Mormon Swallowtail

Trevann's birthday happily coincided with the annual Crossroads music festival. Great gig with stunning visuals created by Simon and FFGS. His (AI-aided) video of Laos in a snowstorm with snow-covered buffalo was inspired

A new Bailey bridge is being built in the village to replace a ford across the stream

Some of the buildings in town are showing their age. I guess that wooden buildings built in the first half of the 20th century are reaching their end of life. Sadly, this one will soon be gone too

Interesting that petunias just keep flowering. We bought these in January

A new venture - we've joined an informal dance class on Wednesdays. Merengue, cha cha cha, salsa ... Strange but true!

The hills are so beautiful and green

Fabrice brought his pet civet cat into the Fat Cat. I'm not keen - it nips!

Oh yes, and I made an attempt to learn watercolours. Work in (very slow) progress

A tale of two plumbers

Saturday 9th May 2026

On Wednesday we got back to Naxangvuey. There was no cold water in the kitchen tap. Called landlord. First plumber arrives, spends a day digging up concrete, replacing all the pipework for shower, bathroom and kitchen, drilling holes through walls. Still no water. I'll come back tomorrow, he says, to replace the main pump. Second plumber comes in next day. Unscrews the filter on the kitchen tap, removes a bit of gunk. Water flows freely!

Our trip to the UK (31st March to 6th May) was busy but enjoyable. We did a lot of socialising, sorted our wedding plans, had the boiler fixed, weeded the garden and got rid of one or two books. It's a relief to be back to P&Q.

Diary events included four visits to dentist, wedding registrar for notice, two Turner's workdays, one Tatnam workday, hearing aid check, Marylyn's eco event, two badmintons, tree planting with Sarah, Charlie and Ian, trip up north (Jen & John, Chris & Jill, Holly, Dawn & Al), Transition Town Poole gathering at Martin's, meals with Isobel & Keith, Malcolm & Liz, Karen & John, Brian & Sally, Rob F, Jacqui & Manuela. Phew! A few pounds added.

Back in March, Simon and Josephine next door had their roof re-done

We had a farewell meal with them and Damian and Da before we left

It's always a surprise to find extraordinarily talented musicians travelling through. This guy could play Mozart's entire Clarinet Concerto beautifully from memory. 

We took a boat to Cucumber Island, an ephemeral sandbank in the Mekong which hosts a temporary bar. There were lots of cucumbers - and sunflowers

I spend hours trying to photograph golden orb spiders. Here's one eating a cicada

Trevann tidying the garden before we left. We employed our tuktuk driver, Kian, to water the garden while we were away

Bangkok airport - for a 9-hour layover 😒

Back in Poole (eventually) the plum trees are in full blossom

Turner's Community Orchard in good hands in my abence

Vishwam came down from Shetland to visit. We had lunch and a walk with Charis and hounds

The Japanese cherry is exceptional

I celebrated Lao New Year (Pi Mai) by planting trees at Turner's. One of the dog-walkers donated four saplings for the woodland

Then we went up North for the usual round of family

Chris had just finished his last chemo. Looking good considering

 Holly has always loved this necklace that her Grannie often wore. So I was happy to pass it on. It suits her.

A walk round Sandal reservoir with Dawn and Al

Their spring garden is full of colour. Dawn retired 2 days after our visit and the house is on the market.

Useful reminder for dates

I cleaned up Dad's desk chair ready for recaning. To be completed next visit

Back in Poole, Malcolm & Liz have their millionaire's mansion on the market too

Nice pic of Manuela

Lovely salmon teriyaki lunch cooked by Jacqui

Fiona, Tanya and Ian - the Turner's crew!

And we have a pair of ducks on the pond at Turner's for the first time

Ben came back from Teddy Rocks Festival in good spirits.

And then it was Time to Seek the Lord (or wait for the coach to Heathrow)

We think these are Common Tree Frog eggs in the pond at Naxangveuy

I put them in a bucket because the tadpoles will eat the fish

Mango season is just starting

We have a new resident in the garden

Mango rains

 

11th March 2026

Most of the time it's hot and dry now, getting hotter every day as the air quality gets worse, with no real rain for weeks. And then once in a while the skies cloud over and a heavy shower arrives. This is known as mango rain, because the mangos are in flower. Suddenly the mountains reappear and everything feels fresh and alive.

Mango flowers

Nothing major to report for late February, early March other than an exciting day spent filming on set with a Chinese film crew, our tenants finally handing in their notice (leaving on Sunday 15th) - oh and a marriage proposal.

In the evening light after a rain storm

The hillside digging continues apace. They are now taking away stone and soil to sell elsewhere

The resident skinks are back again, now the weather is hotting up. They need to be wary of next door's cats, who in turn need to be wary of the Red-necked Keelback that Josephine has spotted

Sunset beer by the Mekong and the paddlers were practising for the boat races later in the year.

We were sitting in a riverside cafe a week ago when a young Chinese guy approached us and asked whether we would consider joining them next day to appear in a short film. Our default would be a firm "No" of course (we're English!) but somehow we ended up agreeing

As it turned out it was fun. We had to play an elderly couple sitting in a cafe (hard to believe, I know). The storyline was that the female lead sees us and is reminded of her recently deceased grandma! Here's me on set. We were paid in coffee and croissants (which the continuity guy had to keep replacing when Trevann ate them!)

The young star checking the rushes. We look forward to seeing the final film.

It's a great time of year for butterflies

Yes, we've decided to get wed. Sadly less romantic than financial but it seems a sensible step after 43 years together. We can't get the dates to work for April but hope to set it up for September. Registry office, two witnesses, cheap as chips!