Maybe you do read this column. Traffic certainly dropped off during my absence. 

When the surgeon got to work, he found both direct and indirect hernias on each side rather than the direct ones he had diagnosed. That kept me on the table for longer and ensured that I stayed in a hospital bed for two nights, but everything is back on schedule now.

I've returned to face the adoration of 9 dogs and 4 cats, but I'm walking around with my arms strategically placed to take the weight of any unwanted leaps. On Monday the stitches will come out and I'll ask for advice about rebuilding  abdominal muscles safely over the next month or so, in preparation for a trip to Europe. I'll spend most of my time in France, but I want to visit the World Travel Market exhibition in London in November. It's time to start establishing myself as a travel writer/photographer, ready for our move to France next year.

Life didn't go completely quiet while I was away. One visitor has asked me for information about the climate in the part of France he plans to settle in. In his case, I can start by putting him in contact with someone who lives in the area, but I'll follow up by finding the source of year-round weather statistics, and broaden it into an article covering the whole of France. 

Judging by the war stories that author George East has told me about many people's misconceptions, some accurate information about the climate in various parts of the country wouldn't come amiss. For the moment, let me leave you with the advice  I received from a property agent several years ago: altitude is at least as important as latitude in determining how long, cold or wet the winter will be. Those of you who managed to drag yourselves away from the Riviera to watch fireflies and eat at restaurants atop the walls of St Paul de Vence, or to immerse your very essence in the colour of the fields around the herb capital of Grasse might not enjoy them in winter, much of which they spend buried in wet clouds.

Thank you all for your interest. Keep asking questions - and tell your friends about Freebooters.