From ten years ago, a stark warning of the dangers of leaving home for any length of time… The Unkindest Cut You may not even have noticed – and I wouldn’t pretend or presume that, in the great scheme of things, it makes any difference whether you have or not – but of late there’s not been…
Back in September 2015, when I was still hankering to provide regular satirical (but affectionate) commentaries on local life. I produced this news update… What you may have missed Newer members of the growing expat community here in Faire-Le-Dodo (87) may have been nonplussed by the strange state of suspended animation that our commune appears…
Or, put another – literal – way: ‘Best Wishes’. In France, you’re more likely to hear this than ‘Happy New Year’, although in the subsequent ritual verbal exchanges it’s probably going to be escalated to ‘bonne année‘ (good year) and the final dénouement: ‘et surtout, bonne santé‘ – ‘and, above all, good health’. At this…
…to be jolly? If suppose so, if you like that kind of thing. Anyway, in these parts it’s definitely been the season for Christmas markets (marchés de Nõel). Every self-respecting village (as well as some that patently have no shame whatsoever) puts on a Christmas market at some point during the first two weekends of…
Thirty years or so ago, I worked in ‘The City’ (for the uninitiated, that’s the London financial district). As it was a requirement to get to one’s desk at an ungodly hour in the morning, like most of my fellow wage-slaves I would usually purchase my breakfast on the way into the office. On this…
Cards on the table: I am 71 years of age. This is the only possible conclusion to draw from looking at my official documents, from birth certificate onward. But do I feel 71? That’s an interesting question, which can only really be answered with another: what is 71 supposed to feel like? Darned if I…
The romantic image of rural France is that it’s a haven of quiet peace and tranquility. For the most part it is, but it’s not a vacuum and of course it has its own characteristic sounds. Bizarrely, some people – incomers, obviously – have felt moved to complain that it’s actually too noisy in the…
Ever been heckled by sheep? Well, I have. Round here is mainly sheep country. It’s pretty much entirely agricultural and although there are arable crops and other livestock, there are more sheep than anything else. That means that the bleating of ovines is part of the soundtrack of daily life. Usually, I find this rather…
While we’re on the subject of la rentrée, it might be worth pointing out that it’s not just the government, schools and social clubs that are starting up again after the summer. The chasse is back in town (well, the countryside hopefully). In case you don’t know, the chasse is the hunt and it’s a…
It’s all over. And that’s official. Summer, that is. In France. At the beginning of September, the summer holidays are officially over. The schools go back, government ministers and civil servants return to their desks, even the social clubs start up again after their two-month hiatus. And there’s currently a heatwave. As I write, the…
the only deadhead in the hameau 