It's less than two months since the French nation stubbed out their cigarettes in accordance with the new laws on smoking in public. The last bastion of smoking freedom, the bar/tabac is now a smoke free zone. It's truly ironic , bizarre even, that you can buy your ciggies, a coffee or a cognac at any time of day, drink the coffee or the brandy(or as is usually the case with Frenchmen, both together) but if you want a smoke with it you'll have to head for the door. I never thought to see the day... the French obeying the law, and puffing away outside. Come the summer it's going to be difficult for us non-smokers to find a seat outside the café. All the tables will have been taken by the smokers. We will have to find seats inside...at least it will be a smoke-free zone. But will French bars and cafés ever be quite the same without that distinctive smell of stale Gauloise ?
Now it looks as if the French Government is hell-bent on attacking that other great French occupation... drinking. Petrol stations are to be forbidden to sell alcohol in their shops, or on the forecourts. Already there are rumblings of mutiny from wine producers who often have concessions from petrol stations to sell their locally produced wines. I can slightly see their point. Their sales come almost totally from travelling tourists, and they aren't offering wine tastings, they'll point the visitor in the direction of their 'caves de degustation' for a full blown tasting, and hopefully the sale of a few cases rather than a spur-of-the-moment bottle.
But the road accident fatalities speak for themselves. Last year road deaths in France accounted for 4,500 lives. Admittedly that figure is half of what it was in the year 2000, but most of that success can be attributed to a relentless campaign to improve driving standards ( amongst the worst in Europe) and the introduction of speed cameras. I can remember the mirth that surrounded the Chirac government's minister for transport when he urged the French to drive more like the British. We did think of having a rear window sticker in the car which read...'Drive like me....I'm a Brit,' but then we had an accident so we thought better of it.
Apparently it's the youth of France that are having the accidents. Elderly French drivers can merrily down a bottle of wine at lunch time and their driving isn't any worse than it was before lunch. (Did I mention France is bottom of the league when it comes to good driving ?) A recent report says that every day 2% of all drivers on French roads are over the recommended limit for alcohol ... yipes ! In actual fact I think in rural areas such as ours it's well over 2%. Kiss a Frenchman after lunch and alongside the overpowering smell of garlic there will nearly always be the underlying aroma of a glass or two of wine.
On the subject of grim percentages Prime Minister Fallon (he of the Welsh wife) has said that 46% of all road fatalities involving drivers under 24 are alcohol related. So a tightening of the alcohol laws are perhaps long overdue. The image of the Gauloise-smoking, lunch-time brandy imbiber should perhaps rightly be a thing of the past.
The dreaded words 'Health and Safety' seem to be making inroads into French life. Things may never be the same again !
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Keeping in Training
When I was marooned in the real world, and unable to blog, edit or email I realised I was going to have to return to the ancient form of communication and recording...pen and paper. What a chore! But the enforced absence from my computer did mean I caught up with some long overdue housework ... oh joy!
I also had a great idea (well I though it was a great idea) for a new novel. It's so much nicer to start a new one instead of having to keep editing the old one...a bit like buying a new car instead of taking the old one in for a service. Trouble is you then finish up with several novels floating around waiting for your attention..or a garage full of second-hand cars.
So the new book had to be transcribed out of my head onto paper via my usual scrawl. All well and good, but I'm now trying to decipher the hieroglyphics and get it into some sort of readable text. And I want to do more work on my very first novel 'New Wine, Old Enemies' before I recommence the soul- destroying task of finding an agent. And I have some unfinished articles that I must upload to a website. And I must try and keep my blog going.
Well that's 2008 sorted then!
The poem 'Winter Fun' was an exercise with words which I composed whilst doing the washing up. Dull chores are a great producer of ideas, some good, some just plain daft, as in the case of my poetry. I don't usually write anything other than prose, and judging by my first excursion away from it I can see why. I deliberately tried to rhyme the first three lines of each verse with the same sounding words just to make it even sillier. I don't think Andrew Motion need worry that I'm going to be a rival for Poet Laureate. I think my verse owes more to the Great Macgonagel !
New Wine Old Enemies was downloaded in an abridged version onto ww.lettersfromfrance.com where the first few chapters can be seen, should anyone be interested.
I also had a great idea (well I though it was a great idea) for a new novel. It's so much nicer to start a new one instead of having to keep editing the old one...a bit like buying a new car instead of taking the old one in for a service. Trouble is you then finish up with several novels floating around waiting for your attention..or a garage full of second-hand cars.
So the new book had to be transcribed out of my head onto paper via my usual scrawl. All well and good, but I'm now trying to decipher the hieroglyphics and get it into some sort of readable text. And I want to do more work on my very first novel 'New Wine, Old Enemies' before I recommence the soul- destroying task of finding an agent. And I have some unfinished articles that I must upload to a website. And I must try and keep my blog going.
Well that's 2008 sorted then!
The poem 'Winter Fun' was an exercise with words which I composed whilst doing the washing up. Dull chores are a great producer of ideas, some good, some just plain daft, as in the case of my poetry. I don't usually write anything other than prose, and judging by my first excursion away from it I can see why. I deliberately tried to rhyme the first three lines of each verse with the same sounding words just to make it even sillier. I don't think Andrew Motion need worry that I'm going to be a rival for Poet Laureate. I think my verse owes more to the Great Macgonagel !
New Wine Old Enemies was downloaded in an abridged version onto ww.lettersfromfrance.com where the first few chapters can be seen, should anyone be interested.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
My Poem
WINTER FUN
Snow has come to the Pyrenees
On the nursery slopes, behind the trees
Beginners are learning to 'bend zee knees'
The winter sports season is here.
Snow has come to the Pyrenees
On the nursery slopes, behind the trees
Beginners are learning to 'bend zee knees'
The winter sports season is here.
Out of the cupboard come goggles and skis.
The sun is up, there's a day to seize.
Dust off the snowboards, grab the car keys,
We're off to the ski slopes today.
Up on the chairlift our cheeks start to freeze,
The sun in our eyes is making us sneeze.
It's down with the goggles and jump off the trapeze,
Hooray to be skiing again!
Zooming down to the bottom...we've found it a breeze,
But our unfit muscles are needing some ease.
So it's off to the bar for a toastie and cheese,
And hot chocolate to keep out the cold.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Back in Bloggerland.
Well, Alleluia...praise the Lord, and pass the biscuits! I'm back online. I have a serious problem with computers. I think it's something to do with my aura (goes into hippy mode here!). Either that or I should just stop fiddling with technology and stick to basics.
So were were we when I took my enforced sabbatical from cyber-world?
Ah...the Rugby World Cup. Well the less said about that the better. It was just a pity France and England weren't able to be up against each other in the final,but hey.....the Six Nations is about to start( or should that be are...the absence of daily writing has sent my grammar awol!)
Christmas has come and gone. Apart from the shops being full to bursting with foie gras, chocolate, sea food and champagne the festive season is nowhere near as festive as in the UK. The official holiday is just Christmas Day, and as the French indulge in their eating orgy on Christmas Eve (traditionally after Mass, but how many of them actually go to Mass in the 21st century?) Christmas Day is as hung-over as Boxing Day in the UK. All very hushed and with an overwhelming feeling of bloatedness.
I do really miss the Christmas build-up. OK I can, and do, thankfully give up the mass hysteria that overtakes the average UK High Street but I would like just a smidgen more atmosphere. The local Christmas markets are quite a good source of pressies, but oh how I yearn for a brass band or even some buskers playing carols while I'm there.
But there was some snow on the mountains, and if we had ventured into Tarbes or Toulouse there would have been ice rinks and chestnut sellers. I guess we don't want to travel for our festive fix. A sign of old age, no doubt !
France, being a republic I suppose, has definite lines of de-markation between church and state, therefore priests are not allowed in state -run schools. This is fine as far as it goes...no sinister infiltration of young and susceptible minds...faith coming only from the family etc...all very upright and worthy but it also means that there are no nativity plays in the village church, no Carol services (candle lit or otherwise), no Christingle (well, not here at any rate) e.g ...no community feel about Christmas.
Oh well, moan over! It's 2008 so time to look on the positive side.
Umm...let's think...
a) we haven't had any snow down here in the village, but a nice lot fell early in the Pyrenees, so that will cheer up the ski stations no end. They had such a bad year last winter they deserve some luck.
b) the french government has re-thought it's position in health care for immigrants. Not too sure what the new measures are but there was such an outcry from the Brit expats in particular that
people power seems to have had some clout. It was all very complicated and involved immigrants having to provide their own top-up care under the national health scheme, where as previously they were able to claim various benefits after their initial cover by the British Government expired (after 2 years I think) Anyone thinking of re-locating to France should go onto www.totalfrance.com . It's all discussed at length there on the forum, and they know a lot more about it than me.
c) the daffodils John planted in the lawn are coming up a treat, as are the miniature tulips and the crocus. the primula have been out since early January, and the nights are really pulling out...sunset 6.02 pm I see from the Meteo.Can spring be far behind? Well maybe...we've still got February to come, and although lots of friends down here have said February is their favourite month I've yet to actually witness it. I'll stick with October as my favourite.
Yes, all in all,positivity has returned.....roll on the Spring
So were were we when I took my enforced sabbatical from cyber-world?
Ah...the Rugby World Cup. Well the less said about that the better. It was just a pity France and England weren't able to be up against each other in the final,but hey.....the Six Nations is about to start( or should that be are...the absence of daily writing has sent my grammar awol!)
Christmas has come and gone. Apart from the shops being full to bursting with foie gras, chocolate, sea food and champagne the festive season is nowhere near as festive as in the UK. The official holiday is just Christmas Day, and as the French indulge in their eating orgy on Christmas Eve (traditionally after Mass, but how many of them actually go to Mass in the 21st century?) Christmas Day is as hung-over as Boxing Day in the UK. All very hushed and with an overwhelming feeling of bloatedness.
I do really miss the Christmas build-up. OK I can, and do, thankfully give up the mass hysteria that overtakes the average UK High Street but I would like just a smidgen more atmosphere. The local Christmas markets are quite a good source of pressies, but oh how I yearn for a brass band or even some buskers playing carols while I'm there.
But there was some snow on the mountains, and if we had ventured into Tarbes or Toulouse there would have been ice rinks and chestnut sellers. I guess we don't want to travel for our festive fix. A sign of old age, no doubt !
France, being a republic I suppose, has definite lines of de-markation between church and state, therefore priests are not allowed in state -run schools. This is fine as far as it goes...no sinister infiltration of young and susceptible minds...faith coming only from the family etc...all very upright and worthy but it also means that there are no nativity plays in the village church, no Carol services (candle lit or otherwise), no Christingle (well, not here at any rate) e.g ...no community feel about Christmas.
Oh well, moan over! It's 2008 so time to look on the positive side.
Umm...let's think...
a) we haven't had any snow down here in the village, but a nice lot fell early in the Pyrenees, so that will cheer up the ski stations no end. They had such a bad year last winter they deserve some luck.
b) the french government has re-thought it's position in health care for immigrants. Not too sure what the new measures are but there was such an outcry from the Brit expats in particular that
people power seems to have had some clout. It was all very complicated and involved immigrants having to provide their own top-up care under the national health scheme, where as previously they were able to claim various benefits after their initial cover by the British Government expired (after 2 years I think) Anyone thinking of re-locating to France should go onto www.totalfrance.com . It's all discussed at length there on the forum, and they know a lot more about it than me.
c) the daffodils John planted in the lawn are coming up a treat, as are the miniature tulips and the crocus. the primula have been out since early January, and the nights are really pulling out...sunset 6.02 pm I see from the Meteo.Can spring be far behind? Well maybe...we've still got February to come, and although lots of friends down here have said February is their favourite month I've yet to actually witness it. I'll stick with October as my favourite.
Yes, all in all,positivity has returned.....roll on the Spring
Sunday, October 14, 2007
A Really Great Weekend
I woke up this morning with a slight hangover which soon disappeared. Why? Because the sun was shining (yes it was that late!), and I discovered ,when I came downstairs to make myself a cup of green tea, that my laptop,which I feared was gone to that great 'puter' never-never-land had returned from that place and was actually working, That would normally be enough to put me on cloud nine for the rest of the week,but the real buzz was the fact that England was through to the final of the Rugby World Cup. It really doesn't get much better than that.
The only downside was that England were playing France.
Hmmm....could have been a better draw. Well, for me anyway. Who should I be cheering for? The country of my birth, or the adopted country that I've committed myself to?
Last weekend it was smiles all round. After all, Les Bleues and Les Blancs had sent the antipodeans back to where they belonged with their tails firmly between their legs! How the mighty were fallen! Yip a dee doo!
But now it was going to be a battle with "the Old Enemy"
Oh dear, there was going to have to be a victor and a vanquished. Law of logic......50% of the players were going to be elated, 50% deflated.
We had some friends round(English, of course) to watch the match. They came armed and ready with beers and wine.
At nine o'clock you could have heard a pin drop in the village. Even the dogs were silent.
And then an hour and a half later it was all over......the neanderthal Chabal was crouching on the pitch in tears, the rest of the blues had got a distinct attack of them ! England was generous in victory, the old rivals parted friends, even though the nation was numb with disappointment. And in Paris the party had only just begun. The proprietor of the Frog and Rosbif bar which had become the unofficial HQ of the England supporters must have thought he'd won the lottery...and he'll be serving up full English breakfasts and pints all over again next weekend.
A few cars drove quietly back from town, having watched the match on big screens in the two cafes in the main square.
A week is a long time in world cup matches......there were no honking horns, no 'Marseilles' being sung from open car windows this Saturday night.......just a sad acceptance that once again France had failed to win the 'Tournament Mondial'.
They had been warned though. There had been a midday interview with the French mascot....the noble cockerel who had witnessed 48 French matches. Well, the interview was actually with the chook's owner...chickens aren't good subjects for profound pre-match statements. So M'sieu Le Coq stared balefully at the camera whilst his owner mournfully confessed that if 'Le coq chant( sings) ' France always won. Unfortunately he hadn't obliged so far !
I have a feeling he might have been the main ingredient for a Sunday coq au vin today. I just hope they started the casserole in good time. Looking at him I think he might have needed several hours on a low simmer.
So England (to pinch a word from the 'Marseilles') marchon to the final...and meet either Argentina or South Africa. By 10.30 tonight we shall know........Swing low, sweet chariot. But win or loose next week they can't take away this great Sunday in SW France.
The only downside was that England were playing France.
Hmmm....could have been a better draw. Well, for me anyway. Who should I be cheering for? The country of my birth, or the adopted country that I've committed myself to?
Last weekend it was smiles all round. After all, Les Bleues and Les Blancs had sent the antipodeans back to where they belonged with their tails firmly between their legs! How the mighty were fallen! Yip a dee doo!
But now it was going to be a battle with "the Old Enemy"
Oh dear, there was going to have to be a victor and a vanquished. Law of logic......50% of the players were going to be elated, 50% deflated.
We had some friends round(English, of course) to watch the match. They came armed and ready with beers and wine.
At nine o'clock you could have heard a pin drop in the village. Even the dogs were silent.
And then an hour and a half later it was all over......the neanderthal Chabal was crouching on the pitch in tears, the rest of the blues had got a distinct attack of them ! England was generous in victory, the old rivals parted friends, even though the nation was numb with disappointment. And in Paris the party had only just begun. The proprietor of the Frog and Rosbif bar which had become the unofficial HQ of the England supporters must have thought he'd won the lottery...and he'll be serving up full English breakfasts and pints all over again next weekend.
A few cars drove quietly back from town, having watched the match on big screens in the two cafes in the main square.
A week is a long time in world cup matches......there were no honking horns, no 'Marseilles' being sung from open car windows this Saturday night.......just a sad acceptance that once again France had failed to win the 'Tournament Mondial'.
They had been warned though. There had been a midday interview with the French mascot....the noble cockerel who had witnessed 48 French matches. Well, the interview was actually with the chook's owner...chickens aren't good subjects for profound pre-match statements. So M'sieu Le Coq stared balefully at the camera whilst his owner mournfully confessed that if 'Le coq chant( sings) ' France always won. Unfortunately he hadn't obliged so far !
I have a feeling he might have been the main ingredient for a Sunday coq au vin today. I just hope they started the casserole in good time. Looking at him I think he might have needed several hours on a low simmer.
So England (to pinch a word from the 'Marseilles') marchon to the final...and meet either Argentina or South Africa. By 10.30 tonight we shall know........Swing low, sweet chariot. But win or loose next week they can't take away this great Sunday in SW France.
Monday, October 1, 2007
I found these postcards at the annual cattle show in Boulogne sur Gesse last weekend. They have been printed by the Chambre d'Agriculture of the Haute Garonne.
I thought they were rather nice and are a good advert for the Haute Garonne producers.
The cattle show was awesome. There were rather a lot of bulls about for me, I still don't really trust being that close to a tonne or more of grumpy testosterone on the hoof.
But it was a great day out for the producers who treat it all very seriously. And the cows and calves looked nice. The sight of a whole cow being roasted in a wood fired spit was a bit off-putting, and what it's friends and relatives though I really don 't know, but I seemed to be the only one who thought it strange.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Snow! I don't believe it!
Arrrgh! When we woke up yesterday morning there was snow on the Pic de Midi. And when we went into town and could see more of the other mountains it was even worse! It must have been down to 1,000 feet, and it's only the end of September. What is it with the weather this year? After Christmas, which is the best time for skiing in the Pyrenees there was hardly anything to even toboggan on. The saving grace for the ski stations was a good covering for the February half term holidays, but that only amounted to about a month of serious skiing. And now this !
Well I just hope it goes away and comes back when it should.....the middle of November. I want a nice warm, golden autumn like we always have, or I'm going to demand my money back !
Well I just hope it goes away and comes back when it should.....the middle of November. I want a nice warm, golden autumn like we always have, or I'm going to demand my money back !
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