Category Archives: Personalities

The Pros and Cons of Brits in France

Posted on 28/01/2018 by

Peter Mayle, the doyen of writers about the good life in France, died recently at the age of 78. His book, A Year in Provence (1989), describes how he restored an 18th-century farmhouse near Ménerbes in the Luberon with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books/writing, French life, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

That Which Should Accompany Old Age

Posted on 21/01/2018 by

Yesterday, we visited our elderly neighbour, whose wife died nearly two years ago. We often feel guilty that we don’t visit more often, but Monsieur F is almost 90 and now rather frail. He is very difficult to understand, even … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

A Film Record of an Aveyron Family Post-WWII

Posted on 09/11/2017 by

Just after WWII, Aveyron was a different country from much of France. It took a long time to get there from anywhere else, people spoke a different language and the way of life had existed for centuries. Change was happening, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ma Vie Française #4: Janine Marsh and the Good Life

Posted on 21/05/2017 by

Today, I’m excited to welcome someone who not only lives in France, but also has visited every corner of it. Janine Marsh runs a phenomenally successful website, The Good Life France and edits a free ezine, The Good Life France … Continue reading →

Posted in Ma Vie Française Interviews, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ma Vie Française #2: An Interview with Stephanie Dagg

Posted on 15/05/2016 by

  I’ve known Steph since 2010 but we have never met! Author, editor, blogger, businesswoman, and smallholder– she wears so many hats it’s difficult to keep up. She’s written a popular book, Heads Above Water, about her family’s life in … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, Ma Vie Française Interviews, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bach, an Ancient Village on the Causse de Limogne

Posted on 18/04/2016 by

This was a week of excursions. Yesterday, we rehearsed and sang in the biannual scratch choir concert in Puycelsi, a hilltop fortified village in the Tarn. As always, it was an inspiring event. The concerts are held in aid of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ma Vie Française #1: an Interview with Jacqui Brown

Posted on 03/04/2016 by

You’ve heard a lot from me over the past six years about life in rural France. So let’s hear from someone else for a change. This is the first in an occasional series, Ma Vie Française, in which people tell … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, Ma Vie Française Interviews, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Monsieur C – One of a Dying Breed

Posted on 28/02/2016 by

Today, we visited an elderly farmer neighbour, whose wife is in hospital with respiratory problems. They were the first local French people we met in 1997. Monsieur F has always been difficult to understand because of his strong regional accent … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, World War I & II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

End of an Era at the Hamlet of Flouquet

Posted on 22/08/2015 by

It was the end of an era in two senses, to which I’ll return below. Every year, as part of the summer walks laid on by the commune of Espinas, we visit a pretty hamlet called Flouquet. The houses are … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Four Famous Frenchwomen

Posted on 08/03/2015 by

Today is International Women’s Day. It celebrates women’s achievements and highlights the plight of the millions of women around the world who are oppressed, living in abject poverty and certainly not considered equal to their menfolk. Fellow blogger Finding Time … Continue reading →

Posted in Books/writing, French life, History, Personalities, World War I & II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Every Château has a Story: le Château de Cornusson

Posted on 08/02/2015 by

  The word “fairy-tale” when applied to a château usually makes me cringe. But there is something a little magical about the château de Cornusson, with its jumble of towers and turrets. You get tantalising glimpses of it peeping above … Continue reading →

Posted in Châteaux, History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

French Regional Cuisine: L’Auberge Lou Bourdie at Bach

Posted on 04/12/2014 by

Bach is a small village on the Causse de Limogne, in the heart of truffle country. In common with many rural French villages, it’s a quiet place nowadays. But it does have a rather good restaurant, l’Auberge Lou Bourdie.

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Monet’s Garden at Giverny

Posted on 19/10/2014 by

  Most people have heard of Claude Monet (1840-1926), one of the founders of French Impressionist painting. Many people know about and/or have visited his house at Giverny in Normandy, where he landscaped the gardens and developed the lily ponds … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Parisot Literary Festival 2014: how did it go?

Posted on 13/10/2014 by

  This poor old blog has been a bit neglected of late, but that’s because so much has been going on that it’s been hard to get to it. One of the local events that has taken up some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books/writing, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Corsican Vendetta in Fiction and in Reality

Posted on 28/09/2014 by

  We have recently returned from our fifth visit to Corsica, the setting for my novel, The House at Zaronza (reissued in April 2018). L’Île de Beauté is a captivating place, with a savage beauty and a culture all its … Continue reading →

Posted in Books/writing, Corsica, History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

17 Years in France: What’s Changed Since 1997?

Posted on 27/08/2014 by

Well, I’m 17 years older. And I don’t want to think about how old I will be in 17 years’ time. So let’s look back instead and think about what’s changed here since 1997. Yesterday was the anniversary of the … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Beaumont-de-Lomagne: Garlic Capital of Southwest France

Posted on 06/04/2014 by

  I’ve been getting out and about a lot recently, interviewing people for various magazine articles. This gets me away from the computer and the internet and introduces me to places I might not otherwise have visited. On Tuesday, my … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Anniversaires and Albi Revisited

Posted on 14/02/2014 by

Anniversaries were in the air this week. My blog is four years old today. When I started it, I barely knew what a blog was, let alone how to set one up. Thanks to WordPress and a lot of practice, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

A French Country Upbringing

Posted on 28/11/2013 by

‘Of course, Occitan was my first language,’ our friend Georgette said. I was sitting next to her at an association lunch today. She has never talked much about her childhood but, once I had started questioning her (no one is … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, History, Personalities, World War I & II | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Secret of Le Château de la Reine Margot

Posted on 11/08/2013 by

  ‘Queen Elizabeth I slept here.’ It’s well known that Tudor monarchs imposed on their subjects’ hospitality to reduce their own household expenses. But if Elizabeth I stayed in all the places that lay claim to it, she would never have … Continue reading →

Posted in Châteaux, History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Original Exhibition at the Abbaye de Beaulieu

Posted on 30/04/2013 by

I have to admit that contemporary art isn’t always my tasse de thé. However, they do put on some good exhibitions at the Abbaye de Beaulieu, a Cistercian gem a few kilometres away. As well as being an historic monument, … Continue reading →

Posted in Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Bishop Comes to Town

Posted on 15/03/2013 by

I don’t recall ever having met a bishop before. But such are the exalted circles in which I move these days that I recently had not one but two occasions to meet Mgr Bernard Ginoux, Bishop of Montauban (there’s his … Continue reading →

Posted in Personalities, Teysseroles chapel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Musée Ingres at Montauban

Posted on 08/03/2013 by

We took advantage of yesterday’s spring-like sunshine, abandoned the computers and awarded ourselves a day off. We spent it at Montauban, where we had to go anyway to collect our new identity cards – more of that anon. I’ve written … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

French Provincial Cooking

Posted on 13/11/2012 by

When pondering what to serve dinner guests this coming Saturday I reached for my disintegrating copy of Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking. Not because I expected to copy a user-friendly recipe but because it is chock-full of ideas. First published … Continue reading →

Posted in Books/writing, Food/drink/recipes, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Chestnuts and Chestnut Recipes

Posted on 14/10/2012 by

This autumn’s chestnuts It’s that time of year again when the sweet chestnuts are falling. Very few chestnut trees grow near us but not far away, around Najac and Laguépie, they clothe the slopes. If you walk along the River … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, History, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Parisot Choir’s Debut

Posted on 01/07/2012 by

Phew, what a week it’s been. Who says nothing happens in la France profonde? I’ve already told you about our fête last Sunday and I’ll say a bit at the end about the verdict. This week’s major event was the inaugural … Continue reading →

Posted in Personalities, Places | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

What Happens to Former French Presidents?

Posted on 21/05/2012 by

  For the past two weeks, the spotlight has inevitably been on François Hollande, France’s new socialist president. Last Tuesday, his first day in office, was not entirely happy: he got soaked during his triumphal progress, his plane was struck by … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Musical Moments

Posted on 13/05/2012 by

I never cease to be amazed at the high standard of musicians and music to be found in la France profonde. In the summer, of course, you can’t move for concerts and recitals. But even out of season there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Aveyron, French life, Personalities | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

The French Presidential Elections 2012

Posted on 21/04/2012 by

  This post was written two weeks ago on 21st April. Anyone looking at it now will realise that it has been superseded by the news at 20h00 6th May that François Hollande is most likely to be France’s next president. Bonne … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, History, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Burning Desires: Enleveurs de Feu in France

Posted on 22/01/2012 by

The old year didn’t end terribly well for me since I managed to burn three fingers of my right hand while removing a metal oven tray from a very hot oven, using a holed and damp oven glove. I couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, French life, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments