It’s not very British, but if an owner is imposing on your holiday you do need to say something – you don’t get many holidays a year and can’t afford for any to be spoiled. You don’t need to be rude – just ask if they can do the job ‘tomorrow, when we will be out all afternoon’ type of thing.

You know, most people change their mind about all that sightseeing about half an hour after they arrive, especially if children are involved and the sun is shining, and very often there is no time when we can rush into the garden etc. This can make saturdays, between one family leaving and the next arriving, a bit of a rush as you can imagine.

Hope you are coming to France this year – have a nice holiday!

Ahhh… that is thoughtful! I have been put off renting gites where the owners are still around after having a couple who were always in our garden! We chose a nice secluded place with a pool(so that I could feel comfortable in my swimsuit!!) only to find the garden/pool area constantly full of the owner and his family mowing, weeding and generally milling about while I was trying to enjoy a private swim. If only they had thought to wait until we were off our sight seeing!