FAMILY LIFE IN A FRENCH COUNTRY VILLAGE
This is kind of a strange post because I have lots to say. I receive many emails and messages from people who tell me how much they love the blog, thank you, and also how they love visiting France through my eyes because it is their dream to visit but they think they most likely never will and this set me thinking. Read more
I’m sure we all have our favourite walks, where we know every curve in the path, every furrow, every gap in the hedge. I certainly have mine, it meanders through the very edge of the village and then out into farmland. I pass two tiny vineyards, although really this name is far too grand, for they are merely several long rows of grapes between crops. Ideal for producing enough vin de table for the year. I know this route so well, I know where the wild daffodils grow in the spring and where the sweetest blackberries can be found at the end of the summer. Read more
September is one of those slightly strange months, one never knows quite what to expect in the weather department, one day might be distinctly autumnal when we are reaching for a jacket and lamenting the end of summer and the next we’ll once again be back in shorts and dining al fresco. September throws up the expected and unexpected in equal measures. And true to form the last three weeks have served up a totally mixed bag and kept us on our toes. Rain in the morning has given way to afternoon sunshine, stiff breezes which have sent the leaves scurrying around the garden have abated just as quickly as they came about giving way to a quiet calm. We’ve swum in the sea, sought shade from blistering heat, luxuriated in deliciously warm evenings where we have sat outside staring at the stars and at the other end of the scale we’ve closed the front door and welcomed a heartening soup. Read more
There are times in life when I feel extremely hard done by. I hate to coin the phrase ‘grumpy old man’ but just occasionally it is exactly how I feel, it’s good to have a darn good moan and get it off one’s chest. Yes I know, I am in fact canine rather than human, I have four legs instead of two and I am useless at modern technology. But I’m told my stories are quite funny and every now and then I like to hijack ‘her’ blog and vent my frustration. So my apologies in advance if I offend anyone, but this is me, Bentley, letting off a little steam.
I’ve plenty of things to chat about so this is really going to be rather like a letter this week. If I am honest, that is how I think of this blog all the time. It is an email with photos to a group of friends about life here in south western France. Because what I really enjoy is the fact that many of you have become friends, some in real life and many just virtual, but I feel as if we have developed a little community and that in itself is fabulous. Read more
Do you ever feel as if you are living life at an alarming pace, but that you are not taking the time to really enjoy it ? The other day I had one of those moments. The children wanted to go blackberry picking, as always I had a million things to do and my instant reply was I hadn’t got the time. But something stopped me in my tracks; “Why not ?” I thought. The school holidays are flying by, and my babies are now teenagers; I have to make the time, because one thing is for sure, time is not going to wait for me. “Let’s go” I said – everything else would simply have to wait. Read more
Throughout this summer, Normandy has been celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy which began on 6 June 1944. We happened to be in the Department at the end of July. Many of the main festivities were over but even just walking or driving anywhere near the landing beaches one could not help but stop and remember. Pausing and reflecting on so much history and so much destruction really brought home just how lucky we are and how grateful we should be to so many whose lives were lost or altered forever during those dreadful days 75 years ago. I cannot deny it was moving beyond belief just to be in this part of Normandy this Summer. Read more
