Can you imagine going without electricity, water or a phone for several days straight? Most of you have probably heard about the big storms that the South of France experienced last weekend, and I've been watching it unfold every day on the news. About 30% of my clients down there, and the majority of them are in les Landes, the area that took the brunt of it. It's so strange for me to see all of those tiny towns on the news - sort of like their 15 minutes of fame, though not in a good way.

I haven't been able to reach many of them so far because their phone lines are still out - pretty much every time I try, I get a message saying "This number does not exist". I hope they haven't suffered too much damage though, and that none of their animals were hurt. I'd almost planned on going down there this week too, but I'm really glad I didn't now. Staying in a hotel is already getting old, let alone in a hotel with no electricity or running water!

I guess it just goes to show how spoiled we all are nowadays. I've tried to think about how I would deal here with no heat, no fridge, no oven, no lights, etc - I'm certainly not equipped for it. In fact, the only thing I am equipped for is internet, since my blackberry can act as a modem for my computer if need be! (Though without electricity, my laptop wouldn't last long.) It all just makes what Riana's doing look even smarter, ie going back to the basics and not being a slave to consumerism and technology....