We've had the following word from Jonathan, who is currently filming a three-part series on France for the BBC.
'The problems caused by the lack of rain and the consequent near drought in western France are going to be overcome by a «comité de sécheresse» set up by Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet the (generally invisible) ecology minister. So that's ok.
One result of the dryness is that we had a fire here. Not in the house but in the part of the terrain on the other side of the metalled road. Presumably one of the local boy racers chucked a cigarette end from his quad bike or, just as likely, caused a spark. The conditions are exacerbated by the drifts of what our Russian chums call pookh - the seeds of balsam poplars which burn like petrol. (Moscow yobs cause untold damage by setting fire to the stuff in streets).
Luckily we smelled the smoke. Equally luckily a man driving on the main road came to help. The fire brigade's conduct might have had dire consequences. As it was it was merely risible. It took forty minutes for anyone to arrive. I had two calls asking the way. Although we had just about managed to put it out we could have done with some help from the six vehicles - two fire engines, four Range Rovers - which parked for ten minutes at the junction of our road and the main road, watching.
When they arrived we realised that we were in the middle of a demarcation dispute. The fire officer from Chalais claimed it was 'his' fire, his colleague from Barbezieux begged to contradict him. Then the Baignes fire brigade turned up saying it was theirs - this was an hour after my initial call. The fire engine from Chalais turned out to have an entirely empty tank. Three of the fireman stood around smoking. Two gendarmes rolled up. I signed six pieces of paper. Altogether we counted seventeen people. Three of them lurched about with a dribbling hose. One of them was incapable of even lurching because he had lunched: indeed the lesson here is make sure that nothing goes wrong between 12.00 and 2.30.
I'm off to Metz to shoot my first show. Then back for a week, then a holiday in the Aveyron before leaving France for the independent city state of Marseille.'