http://www.francethisway.com/wp Living in France and daily life for a UK expat in the French blog! Tue, 22 May 2012 06:28:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/big-freeze-receding/2012/02/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/big-freeze-receding/2012/02/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:46:39 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3336 For anyone who thought the south of France basked in eternal sunshine – you are wrong! This week I think we had more snow than we’ve had at any time during the last 10 years (perhaps 15 centimetres?) and startlingly cold temperatures. Last night it was minus 16 centigrade which is pretty cold for anyone [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/big-freeze-receding/2012/02/feed/ 5 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/trip-to-london/2011/12/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/trip-to-london/2011/12/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:50:08 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3262 We just had one of our (exceptionally rare) trips to England, for a couple of days of self-indulgence, and stayed in a hotel in central London. Although I worked in London for many years, and have visited it at many other times, it’s almost the first time that I’ve visited as a tourist and definitely [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/trip-to-london/2011/12/feed/ 3 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/the-best-laid-plans-of-wives-and-expats/2011/09/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/the-best-laid-plans-of-wives-and-expats/2011/09/#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:36:17 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3105 …will often go awry! This week should have been straightforward. Daughter 1 had to show up at her apartment then go to some meetings at the University before term starts, and Mrs B was going to spend a week visiting Annecy and region before coming home. How complicated can that be? As it turns out, [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/the-best-laid-plans-of-wives-and-expats/2011/09/feed/ 7 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/coping-with-the-canicule/2011/08/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/coping-with-the-canicule/2011/08/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:15:52 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3055 We have been having a mini-canicule (heatwave) these last few days with temperatures pretty close to 40° c  (just over 100 fahrenheit if you prefer) which is great for a while but rapidly becomes a bit too tiring, so we’ve been looking for ways to cope. Mrs B spends the day thinking of things she [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/coping-with-the-canicule/2011/08/feed/ 4 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/snippets-from-an-idle-life/2011/05/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/snippets-from-an-idle-life/2011/05/#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 17:32:51 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=2831 I’ve touched on customer service in France more than once in the past, so to avoid looking like Mr Grumpy I tend not to talk about it much any more. But sometimes I just can’t stop myself… One of the DIY shops near us have never been famed for their friendly welcome, and it seems [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/snippets-from-an-idle-life/2011/05/feed/ 17 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/sounds-familiar/2011/02/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/sounds-familiar/2011/02/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 07:10:55 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=2654 The struggle for democracy in Egypt has prompted me to reflect on my own position, and certain similarities between the two… It was in the 1980′s that I met Mrs B. No one thought it would last more than a few months but against all odds it did, and of course we are still together [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/sounds-familiar/2011/02/feed/ 10 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/fete-de-la-chandeleur/2011/02/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/fete-de-la-chandeleur/2011/02/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:12:41 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=2632 Mrs B has sneaked off to England for a few days and left me holding the fort – or ‘looking after the children’ as it is better known. In principle two teenagers shouldn’t take much looking after, although today didn’t started so well… 1) First challenge, daughter two emerged to display a curiously swollen eyelid. [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/fete-de-la-chandeleur/2011/02/feed/ 9 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/christmas-in-blighty/2010/12/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/christmas-in-blighty/2010/12/#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:09:14 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=2558 If you enjoy pub quizzes you might be interested to know that the word Blighty comes from a Hindustani word (vilayati, pronounced bilati) meaning foreigner and dates from the days of the Raj. That’s enough education for one day. We just got back from Christmas in Yorkshire – our first Christmas in England for 10 [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/christmas-in-blighty/2010/12/feed/ 9 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/all-i-want-for-christmas-is/2010/12/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/all-i-want-for-christmas-is/2010/12/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:14:27 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=2498 I’d love to say that I’ve battled through the snow to post this entry, but in a strange quirk of nature we are completely snow free while all around us, from Scotland to Portugal (including parts of the Dordogne 50 kilometres to the north of where we live) people are battling with freak weather conditions. [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/all-i-want-for-christmas-is/2010/12/feed/ 9 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/time-for-a-facial-scrub/2010/11/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/time-for-a-facial-scrub/2010/11/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:52:16 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=2412 Halloween stopped being an ‘event’ in our family a few years ago, and because we live a mile or so from the local town we aren’t on the ‘visiting list’ for the hordes of children demanding sweets. Even so I think this was the first year in a very long time that we didn’t have [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/time-for-a-facial-scrub/2010/11/feed/ 2