Thanks folks for all your best wishes, very much appreciated.
Had a great day, lunch at a local gourmand restaurant (the only one open in our area because of the French elections & today is also a national holiday!) Was presented with an Ipad by my kids - so now have something else to learn. The 12 yr old Islay is going down quite fast, so it wont last that long

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Looks as if house hunting will now be the priority as have accepted an offer on this one..... Its all go!
Keith