They are a world apart, complete opposites, like chalk and cheese and yet they go together so well, existing side by side in perfect harmony. Where one might add a little glamour, put on her sparkling jewels, high heels and strike a pose, the other will stick to her tweeds, her sensible shoes, twinsets and pearls. Yet they are still the best of friends and neighbours, living contentedly side by side as the days turn into nights, the weeks into months and the years into millenia. Continue reading “Where Opposites Attract”
Do you ever get those days when you have invited a couple of friends to lunch, but you’ve drawn a complete blank about what to eat? You don’t really have time to cook for hours in advance but you want to make an effort. I can assure you even if you don’t get days like this, I do! But when I’m struggling to find something inspirational to cook, I always consider what is in season and go from there. I’ll see what we have in the garden, and what is available at the local market, because using only what is grown locally makes everything so much easier and the produce is so much fresher. 
April showers bring May flowers. Dark brooding skies seem to clear as quickly as they appeared, a chink of blue will come into sight and then steadily take over, spreading like ink on blotting paper until it fills the entire page.
For those of us in the northern hemisphere we’ve got to that time of year when we start thinking about summer holidays, or perhaps a little getaway in the spring; for those in the southern hemisphere I know it’s also a time when quite a few of you come to visit Europe. Not everyone who visits France from either direction is necessarily a seasoned hand so I thought it might be fun to take a light hearted look at some of the day to day things you might come across here. And even if you’re not travelling at all, I hope you will still find this little post enjoyable because I am a firm believer in armchair travel, and the more knowledge we have at our fingertips the more extensive our dreams can become. 
This is a time of year when we can literally feel spring coursing through our veins. It’s a season full of rebirth and new growth, a time of endless possibilities, and a time of innocent hope. Whilst our climate is generally mild here on the coast and the risk of a frost is pretty much gone now, March and April can be fickle months; we can be dining al fresco with windows and doors wide open one day, and the next be plunged into less favourable temperatures with chilly winds and in definite need of a coat. It’s also a time of year when you can bring spring inside too, when branches of blossom can fill the house with colour and scent 
Our French Oasis 