But what is impressive – to me, at any rate – is that the French will invest so readily into preventative medicine. It sounds idyllic: three weeks of spa treatments and massage – but three weeks is a very long time and, as one doctor told me, is why the French medical service won’t agree to shortening the time for a ‘cure’.

They feel that if it were available for a week or 10 days then people would just treat it as a spa treatment and as some sort of holiday.

Having said all that, while I was there I had a wonderfully relaxing time. The weather was stunning – blue skies and sunshine every day – and just eight kilometres up the mountain (whether by car or cable-car) is the ski resort of Bonascre – perfect for a relaxing lunch to recover from the morning’s treatments.

It was a long time – but an amazing experience. The mineral waters are a steady 38° and all the staff were delightful and seemed totally committed to the well-being of their clients.

Anyway, I’m back at work now.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job (apart from getting paid…) is seeing houses transformed by people with great taste.

When Anthony and Rachel talked about what they wanted to do with this house, I could see it all – but people always have to make compromises once the bills start coming in..

Anthony and Rachel Pinwill, however, seemed unprepared to cut any corners to attain their vision of what Maison Laurent could become. House and garden are quite simply stunning and, rather than letting me drivel on here, I suggest you look at their website and Anthony’s blog.

As well as their thriving chambres d’hôtes, they now also provide a table d’hôtes and a group of friends and I went there to eat last night.

A superbly-cooked four-course meal costs 27.50 euros and they have an excellent local wine list. Anthony and Rachel create a lovely, relaxed atmosphere – whilst being attentive to your every need – so it just feels like dinner amongst friends!

Maison Laurent is in the pretty village of Pieusse, on the edge of Limoux and the Corbières hills – and so worth a visit!

www.maison laurent.com

Thus yesterday was a public holiday and in villages throughout France there was a short ceremony and one minute’s silence as flowers were placed at the foot of the Monument aux Morts.

Our village has fewer than 100 inhabitants but most of us turned out to pay our respects to those killed in two World Wars.

At the end of the minute’s silence, the Mayor read out a speech sent out from the President to all communes in France.

And then, of course, we all had a jolly apéritif and sat down to moules frites!

Small though our village is, we often don’t see many of our neighbours except to pass in our cars when leaving or entering the village and so these occasions are a really nice opportunity to catch up with everyone’s news.

Today was one such challenge. There are always restaurants open in the main towns but we had wanted something a little different and special.

Amazingly – given my powers of recall these days – I suddenly remembered a château just outside Carcassonne where I’d met some clients for a drink one day.

I googled the vague area I thought it to be and came up with the Château St Martin Trencavel at Montredon – a suburb of Carcassonne. I had remembered it as being in a very incongruous situation – a medieval tower on the edge of a modern housing estate.

The fact that it’s not at all easy to find somehow makes it all the more rewarding once you do. You drive through a large gateway into surprisingly English-style gardens, bordered by box hedges.

There’s a three-course menu for 33 euros and four-course menus at 48 and 57 euros. All are served with “amuse-bouches” and home-made delicacies with coffee.  We all had the 33 euro menu and it was superb!

The surroundings are quite classily old-style French – circular tables looking towards gracefully-curtained doors onto the wide terrace overlooking the gardens.  And the service is extremely attentive without being unctuous – if you know what I mean…

www.chateausaintmartin.net

I have now been on two occasions to the oyster sheds at Port Leucate and the only way I can salve my conscience – to you the reader as well as to my friends – is to tell you about the experience but not be too precise about how to find them.  Not very helpful, I know, but I do need my friends…
The oyster sheds are a series of restaurants on the right and left bank of the port at Leucate. The oysters, mussels and clams come in on boats at the back of the restaurant and are sold or served (with a glass of icy white for 1 euro) at the front of the restaurant.
There are probably about 14 or 15 of these outlets on the Rive Droite and the Rive Gauche so it’s worth a stroll past them all before deciding where to eat.  We chose Le Petit Bigorneau – which was superb!  Oysters bigger and better that I’ve ever seen!

Everything is raw so it’s not for the faint-hearted, but what’s so lovely about this experience is that, not only do these establishments serve the freshest produce you’re ever likely to come across, but they’re totally unexploited by tourism.

These sheds are as they must have been for generations and are filled with local French people on Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes.

And that’s all my friends will allow me to say…