Allez encore!

Couldn't help noticing, during the Tour de France, how many good writer's-rooms they have in France. Most of them in towers, some at the corners of chateaux and some just perched on the top of forested hills all by themselves (a decent fit-making bike ride from the village below, for the writer to tackle every morning before work and coast down in the evening full of satisfaction). Even, in the grounds of one chateau, a very nice whole writer's cottage, like the one Eleanor Dark used to work in at Varuna, only, of course, much Frencher.

It feels very wrong at around 6pm not to have Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwen rabbiting on (even if they do say 'at the end of the day' and 'the heads of state of cycling' and 'on a number of occasions' and 'he's digging deep now!' a bit too often) and all those sweeping views from the helicopter and those hair-raising shots from the motorcycles. Yes, I know 'Global Village' is back, but it's not the sa-ame.

Maybe if I outfit myself entirely in LeakyGas gear, it will cure the withdrawal symptoms...yes, I think so.