The Circle of Life ('The DSM')

Anna, my wife, doesn't like having 'the big light' on of an evening. She prefers 'mood' lighting, which involves having several lamps dotted around the room in strategic places ratcheting up our electricity bill. Some nights the living room can resemble the lighting department of BHS and it can take several minutes to turn off all the illuminations at bedtime (who was it who thought putting the on/off switch halfway down the flex was a good idea?). 

On top of a lamp, next to the TV, a small beetle can often be seen walking around the rim of the lamp-shade. In a never ending journey the little fella goes round and round throwing a giant Kafkaesque shadow onto the wall behind. When it first happened it scared the bejesus out of us.

Whether he thinks he will one day arrive at his destination or is content to beetle in a never ending loop I do not know (this is where I might suggest the beetle is a metaphor for our own lives; wandering in eternal circles until one day the light is extinguished and we fall off the lampshade...but I won't).

For years Brits have been moving to France, renovating dilapidated buildings and opening gîtes. This month Anna and I celebrated our fifth anniversary of buying our French home. In that time life in France has dealt us some wonderful 'highs' and a few 'lows'.

Within half a mile of our house some English friends (who have been living in France for twenty years), decided that their French adventure had come to an end and it was time for them to return to the UK. Another couple, having had a maison secondaire for many years, decided to move out permanently. This constant merry-go-round of coming and going must be replicated hundreds of times throughout the country. 

Anna was the driving force behind our move to France. She was the one who watched the TV programmes, organised the viewings, purchase, and endless paperwork. I just did what I was told and saw it as a way out of teaching. Being a sensitive Englishman I have always 'ummed' and 'ahhed' about being away from friends and family, whereas Anna, being a cold fish from Scotland, does not find it a problem. 

In so many couples we have met living in l'Hexagone there is one who would never return to the UK and one who has a suitcase packed under the bed. A difficult balancing act for many people. 

We have had five very happy years living in France and long may the adventure continue. I imagine with the year we've all experienced a lot of people will be changing their direction in life...unlike the beetle on the rim of our lamp who just keeps walking round and round.