On Christmas evening we launched a few Chinese lanterns into the skies of south-west France – very pretty to watch but slightly dangerous perhaps and we were slightly worried we’d burn the house down. So we need a New Year plan that is both fun and safe. Of course, there’s nothing I like more than [...]
Given the wonders of blogging technology this post should have appeared on Christmas Day, despite actually being written before the festivities began. Very Happy Christmas to all!! In truth my Christmas responsibilities are small and probably nobody will notice even if I spend the whole day playing on the internet, but I daresay I will [...]
Little known curiosity, we seem to get more days of snow each year here in south-west France than we used to when we lived in south-east England, and it is usually at least once a year that we wake up to this view from the kitchen. It almost always melts by lunchtime, is rarely more [...]
Christmas is drawing ever closer and all the world is in a ho ho ho kind of mood. I would enjoy it more myself if I wasn’t trying to install a shower and mend a broken toilet before relatives arrive for the festive season. I did used to try and look jolly myself at Christmas, [...]
Remember I mentioned we were planning to change the shower in our house? A couple of days work, I thought. Seems I thought wrong. When I removed the old shower the floor underneath seemed damper than I expected – not altogether surprising since the old shower leaked, which is why we’re replacing it. ‘Let’s give [...]
It was more than 200 years ago in France that Marie Antoinette met an untimely end when she was executed by guillotine. Among other ‘crimes’ she had made herself supremely unpopular by spending great amounts of money on herself while the people of France were suffering from desperate poverty. Thank goodness that could never happen [...]
Episode 1 Last year when we closed the (rental) house up for winter I carefully emptied the hot water tank, turned off the electricity, closed the valves on the gas tanks etc so that we were confident that the house could be ignored for a few months. I also left all the taps open so [...]
Note: this entry is inspired by the ‘weekend of patrimony’ in France (this weekend) when many of the great buildings are opened free to the public. Our daughter has just started her second year at lycée and one of her subjects is history. Turns out her history teacher is in training to be an architect, [...]
I’m a long way from home travelling around Burgundy at the moment, which presents me with a challenge – whenever I go away, Mrs B and the girls complain that I don’t think of them at all. This is based on the fact I that I never buy them presents from whereever I’ve been. Earlier in [...]
Having recently visited the Gorges de l’Ardeche, I was interested to see them featured on the news. Lots of people canoe along the river through the gorges, but it seems it is also possible to be accompanied by someone who will show you traditional ways of hauling fish from the river, so that you can [...]
Those of you who need to keep in touch with your office or access your emails while you travel probably keep an eye out for hotels that have wifi (internet) access when you are planning your trip. Note to hotel owners in France: for me, and many others, this internet access is actually quite important. [...]
First we had crop circles littering the countryside as careless aliens parked their spaceships in the most improbable places. Then we had Andy Goldsworthy sprinkling giant snowballs across the streets of London in the middle of summer. Now a new and greater mystery has arrived, a phenomenon that is undeniable, inexplicable, and several other big [...]
It’s always interesting to look back on a year of change, so here is our personal summary – a Queen’s Speech from France if you like, but without the Queen. Or the speech. The year has been hectic for us – and as it turned out pretty hectic for most expats in France, along with the rest [...]
1. Had ten steres (cubic metres) of wood delivered this morning, ready chopped and ready split for use in the wood-burning stove this year. We are now ready for a Siberian winter, without being held hostage to oil prices. Of course my opinion of a Siberian winter might be different to others – someone who stayed [...]
Let’s try and keep our spirits up. Petrol prices mean that everyone needs to stay at home, petrol shortages mean that we can’t go anywhere anyway…and I’ve hired a car starting this evening so I can go and do research on the Nimes region. So either I won’t be able to set off, or I’ll [...]