The new year arrives and so do the Mayles. But settling into their glorious 200-year-old stone farmhouse complete with wine cellar, courtyard, swimming pool and almond trees proves unsettling, for the infamous Mistral, a bitter cold northerly wind has also arrived. It freezes the water pipes on the second day. And so the Mayles open the door to the famous Colombani, the Napoleon of plumbers , and with him comes a flood of delightful characters that will keep Peter Mayles busy writing all year...even if he does have to write with his gloves on