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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Advent Day Five

Welcome to Day Five of my #FrenchVillageBookworm Advent Calendar. It is the weekend and my post today is a little different. The only thing I missed last December with my A to Z of French Foods Advent posts was writing about daily life in the village. This year, every weekend I will spotlight some special books and tie them in with what is going on with real village life.

French Village Diaries advent calendar The Fogas Chronicles Julia Stagg
#FrenchVillageBookworm Advent Calendar Day Five
Today I am featuring a series of books set in a small mountain community in the Pyrenees, The Fogas Chronicles by Julia Stagg. I’ve enjoyed all of these books and I think the main reason is because Julia has perfectly portrayed the life in a small, rural French commune that is inhabited by some real characters. There is village politics, the inevitable bickering that occurs when everyone knows everyone else’s business, but there is also community spirit and the teamwork that is required to make a village a special place to live. Fogas felt so real I could imagine living there myself.

If you haven’t yet experienced life in Fogas you can read my reviews below and you can read my France et Moi interview with Julia here.



French Village Diaries community Christmas decorations
French Village Christmas Elves

In my small French village, this week has been Christmas decoration week. Our community has come together over the last three weeks, volunteering time and resources to make some very special, bespoke decorations. Ideas were discussed, money was found, materials were bought, designs were perfected and production began. While some cut, drilled, sanded and glued, others painted, wrapped and decorated. This week the finished project was unveiled to the villagers who were amused to see clumps of Christmas trees popping up all over the village. I’m proud to have been part of the team and very pleased with what we have all achieved.

French Village Diaries community Christmas decorations
French Village bespoke Christmas trees
Last year many people thought it was a shame the village didn’t look very festive. This year, and hopefully for many years to come, we have our own, very special community decorations. I can imagine the residents of Fogas doing a similar thing.


French Village Diaries community Christmas decorations
Sapins de Noel

French Village Diaries community Christmas decorations
A French Village at Christmas

French Village Diaries community Christmas decorations
Christmas in France

This post has been linked to All About France run by Lou Messugo Click on the link to read more posts all about France.


Lou Messugo

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