In the more than four years that I’ve been (sporadically) writing this blog, I’ve owned up to a lot of things that I never thought I would impart to another living soul. Although if you saw my stats, you’d probably tell me not to worry, because I haven’t told anyone. On the same principle that…
In a searing indictment of the awfulness of French TV, close to 300 people packed into the local village hall (salle polyvalente) on a Saturday night, in order to play bingo or – as they call it here – Loto. We joined them, eschewing the far more uplifting televisual entertainment offered by British programme-makers (Britain’s Got…
Some of you may be wondering whatever happened to the public service joint venture – announced with so much fanfare at the beginning of last year – between this blog and the local newspaper, ‘Le Quotidien de Faire-le-Dodo (87)’. Late last year Le Quotidien, like so many other print journals faced with rising print costs…
Many French expressions have found their way into everyday usage in the Anglophone world. Think of fait accompli, for example, or le mot juste. Even that (allegedly) archetypal British character trait, sang-froid. I could throw in déjà vu as well, but you’ve probably already seen it. There’s rather less linguistic traffic in the other direction, which is probably…
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 to have settled into for the past few weeks. Please be reassured, this is perfectly normal. Indeed, the French have a word for it – août. That’s August to…
Tuesday was a public holiday in France. Arguably, it was the public holiday: July 14th, the Fête Nationale. You may even think it was Bastille Day. Wrong. We were surprised to discover that French people don’t refer to it by that name and would quite likely have no idea what you were talking about if you…
The traditional tranquilité of our commune was shattered yesterday when two members of the local constabulary were called to an altercation at La Petite Superette et Salon de Thé. This is believed to be the first time that the gendarmes have had to be diverted from their usual job – manning speed traps on the Route Départemental…
As our regular readers know, this site has merged with the online edition of the local newspaper, ‘Le Quotidien de Faire-Le-Dodo (87)’. As a public service, we are reproducing below an article written by Jean Le Bidon, the paper’s chief investigative reporter, in which he addresses an area of major concern to the local expat population. We…
Some people swear that “It’s impossible to eat badly in France”. Well it isn’t. It’s certainly possible to eat extremely well in France – often in the unlikeliest and unpromising places, which is part of the country’s great charm. But restaurant quality is as variable here as anywhere else. Contrary to the image that they try to…
As part of the public service brief adopted by this site in its jjoint venture with the local newspaper, Le Quotidien de Faire-le-Dodo (87), here is the latest online edition of our Community Noticeboard: Super-Loto: Saturday night at the Salle Polyvalente. Join us to sit on uncomfortable plastic chairs in overcrowded conditions for six hours…
the only deadhead in the hameau 