As part of our continuing commitment to keep the expat community informed of significant goings-on in our lovely commune of Faire-Le-Dodo (87), we’d like to take this opportunity to provide a list of things to look out for to provide reassurance that, here in the heart of rural France at least, spring is just around the corner.
We have been alerted to the potential need for this information by the recent severe weather back in the UK. It should be noted that.we use the word ‘severe’ here in its Home Counties context of anything beyond two degrees of frost and half an inch of snow.)
Given that we know hardly any expats who watch French TV in preference to British broadcasters, we suspect that most of the meteorological information that you may have received lately has come from the likes of that bloke at the end of ‘Countryfile’. It’s certainly possible that it could have convinced you that the world is slipping back into a new ice age rather than looking forward to a new cycle of rebirth..
Do not be alarmed. Yes, hereabouts it is still raining and blowing a gale more often than not, but we can assure you that spring is very much on its way. Here is a checklist of some of the tell-tale signs we’ve spotted.
- The last Christmas decorations have been taken down.
Even the Santa Claus climbing up the wall of Madame Oublieux’s house on the high street has finally disappeared. Until October.
Oh yes it is
- You’ve run out of logs for your wood-burning stove.
This absolutely guarantees that there are no more than another six weeks of this chilly weather before you won’t need any heating anyway.
- Your post-box is stuffed with seed catalogues.
No-brainer.
- The supermarkets are running their foires au vin…
For the uninitiated, that’s when you go the shop and you see a sign advertising that wine you particularly wanted to try, at a bargain price. You know, that sign above the empty pallet.
- …and selling compost
Always assuming you can find the way to where your wine isn’t between the towers of 50-litre bags of potting compost that have suddenly appeared in the supermarket, taking up valuable wine-selling space.
- Your lawn looks like it could do with a trim.
Bollocks. Here we go again.
the only deadhead in the hameau 