Twenty years of living and working in South West France provides the basis for my blog, which is designed to be a revealing and amusing pot-pourri of observations, anecdotes and vignettes. More Info
May 13, 2012
For many of us, this part of France is the nearest to our ideal as we’re likely to find, but nowhere is perfect. One frequent moan, usually from new arrivals, is the scarcity of fresh milk. We Brits are not that keen on UHT. We can find fresh, but there’s not much of it and we have to be on… Read more…
May 9, 2012
‘This is the Gascony Show. I am John Slattery. Good Evening’. So goes the intro to the English language chat show with music on RADIO COTEAUX (104.5/97.7fm). The programme goes out on air 5-7pm every Sunday during which John DJ’s and brings listeners up-to-date on items of French news. Most weeks he has guests on the programme; local residents with… Read more…
May 6, 2012
It’s 9am and I’ve arrived at the Mairie for the second and final round of voting in the Presidential Election. I’m here not because I’ve come to vote, but because, as a member of the Conseil Municipal, I have to attend. It’s galling to be called upon to see that others vote comme il faut, but not to be able… Read more…
May 6, 2012
For the first of May, on street corners and in markets across the country, the French ‘vendeurs de muguet‘ carry buckets of lilies-of-the-valley and call out to passers-by,’Le muguet du premier mai!’ For Labour Day, (La Fête du Travail, aka La Fête de Muguet) it’s tradition here to give loved ones bouquets of sweet-scented lily-of-the-valley. They are offered in friendship… Read more…
April 29, 2012
The French love to honour their national heroes. Apart from all the statues, many town and city streets are named after famous Frenchmen. And they are usually men. Some we will be familiar with, others not. There are chaps so highly thought of, they pop up all over the place. LEON GAMBETTA is one. He escaped from the siege of… Read more…
April 25, 2012
It’s that time of year when the allergy-prone among us get ready to suffer. Poplar, willow and acacia fluff can start the noses running before the pollen comes along to do its worst. In this part of rural France, we’re likely to be surrounded by these trees. April to June can be hell for those who, like me, are particularly… Read more…
April 22, 2012
I wish I had green fingers, but the most I can manage is a few pots and the odd flower bed – raised of course. I admire those who have flourishing vegetable patches (potagers) and colourful gardens. Frequently they know the names of all the plants (sometimes in French and Latin too). As incomers to France, lots of people choose… Read more…
April 20, 2012
Nowhere’s perfect, but I think this part of France is pretty near it and when I compare life here to life back in the old country, the minuses fade into insignificance. Of course, it’s all too easy to slag off the UK – too many people, too many cars, too much drunkenness and, a particular problem for me, too much… Read more…
April 7, 2012
To say we’re off on a short holiday in UK, would be pushing it a bit, but we will be seeing friends and family. However, the main reason is that Leaf (To Live Outside the Law) is appearing on stage at another festival – the Laugharne Literary Festival in SW Wales – Dylan Thomas country. He’s doing his second double-act… Read more…
April 7, 2012
It was a lovely spring day – sunny, warm and bursting with fresh growth – cherry blossom, violets and wild daffodils. Leaf was out with the strimmer. ‘You’re not going to cut them, are you?’ I said anxiously. ‘Absolutely not!’ Under the tiny green shoots on our weeping willow, pushing bravely up through the rustic grass, was a pride of… Read more…
