Welcome to ‘France et Moi’ where this week, as part of the blog tour to coincide with the release
of her new novel The Forgotten Summer
I am talking to actress and author Carol
Drinkwater about what France means to her.
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| Carol Drinkwater |
Carol Drinkwater, known for her award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot
in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small, is the author of the
nonfiction Olive Farm Series of memoirs which inspired The Olive Route, five documentaries
following her travels in the south of France. Her memoirs were great comfort
reading for me when we moved to France in 2004 and everything felt daunting and
different. She is also the author of three bestselling Kindle singles.
1) I think France is a special place, famed for many things including its
cheese, wine and diverse holiday locations plus, dare I say it strikes and dog
poo littered streets. What do you think makes France so very unique and
‘French’?
Carol: Our dogs run free on
our land so we have no part to play in your observation of French streets!
France is a republic where the individual counts above the crowd, and
that is very important to the psyche and the way people live here. The French,
although I don’t usually go in for sweeping generalizations, respect freedom of
the individual. They will stand up for this, as last year’s attacks proved. The
right to think, worship, live as each feels is fundamental (within the law, of
course). It is this philosophy that is at the heart of the hugely diverse
choice of cheeses and wines. Each region, even a tiny village, is protected by
its hard-earned AOC - Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée - label. Our olive oil,
for example, comes under the AOC ‘Olive de Nice’. This oil cannot be produced
anywhere else. As with all AOCs, it is the marriage of soil, climate, product.
2) What is your first memory of a trip to France?
Carol: Riding on a coach
tour with my parents down to Italy, stopping for sunny lunches on terraces,
flying through the Alps, hitting the Riviera coast –the Belle Epoque villas,
the glittering Mediterranean, that hot embracing sun - and then a stroll round
Monaco. I was about ten or eleven so, I would guess, early times in terms of
tour operators to “the Continent”, but I thought it was magical. It was all so
exotic to me back then, and so glamorous.
3) When you first arrived in France what was the best thing about being
immersed in French life and the scariest thing?
Carol: Our very first
summer, I went to Nice university and enrolled in a two-month course in French.
I had studied Latin languages at school but this was essential. I have two
fabulous step-daughters, who were thirteen at that time. They both spoke some
English but refused to converse with me in my mother tongue. If I wanted to
engage with them it had to be in French, and they were not slow in correcting
my errors!
4) Do you have any embarrassing language mishaps you are happy to share?
Carol: Here is one I have
recounted in The Olive Farm. My parents were coming to stay for the first time.
I was nervous, keen for them to approve our mad purchase of a dilapidated olive
farm overlooking the Bay of Cannes. I had cleaned up everything as much as was
possible with little money to spare and next to no furniture. Wild flowers in
vases in the bedroom, our best linen on their bed. Wine and food all ready to
be served. And then I noticed a rather unattractive “leak” seeping out of a
drain right alongside the swimming pool, newly renovated and filled for the
first time. I panicked, ran indoors and called the plumber who was not home.
His wife answered. I yelled that her husband had to come immediately. There is
a HUGE TROUT coming up through the drainage system and it will slip into the
swimming pool any minute now.
‘A TROUT, Madame?’
‘YES, please get your husband here as soon as possible....’
The plumber was there within fifteen minutes.
‘Where is this giant fish then,’ he grinned.
‘FISH? What are you talking about. We have a LEAK.’
I had confused the words: TRUITE for trout and FUITE for leak.
5) How does France inspire your writing?
Carol: In every way, and
more and more profoundly. I regularly read about France, read in French, dig
into history. I am keen to get beyond the clichés to discover the spirit of the
country. I am also constantly bowled over by the beauty and the variety of geographical
locations here. The wild Atlantic scenery, the Mediterranean’s chic yet natural
beauty. The elegance, the snobbery, the poise of capital city women, the love
of art and language, cinema, literature. The investment in the arts, the pride
the French take in all that is French... Every day, there is something new...
6) Your new novel The Forgotten Summer
is set on a vineyard in Provence,
how important do you think it is to match your French wine with your food? Any
top matching tips you can share?
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| The Forgotten Summer |
Carol: We don’t have this
habit. We drink lighter wines in the warmer seasons – Chablis, for example,
with a home-grown salad dressed with garlic and our own peppery olive oil. With
our winter foods such as Boeuf Bourguignon or Pot au Feu we would go for a red
Bordeaux such as a Saint-Emilion.
7) Imagine you are sitting outside a French café at 10.00am on a sunny
morning watching the world go by, what do you order from the waiter?
Carol: Coffee. Double
espresso. I am not a great one for food in the morning so I am happy with my
coffee. When I am at home, I might sweeten it with a semi-spoonful of honey.
Otherwise, I drink it neat.
8) France has many different cheeses, this is a silly question, but which
French cheese are you? A hard and mature Tome, a soft, fresh and lively goat
cheese, a creamy and rich Camembert or a salty and serious Roquefort?
Carol: Je suis fromage! Ha
ha. A soft, melting, creamy Brie full of delicate tones.
9) Can you describe your perfect French apero for us, including the drink,
the nibbles, the location and the company?
Carol: Champagne on the
terrace at our home overlooking the Bay of Cannes where we can watch the sun
set over the Mediterranean. In the company of my husband, Michel, (who prefers
chilled rosé) and perhaps also several dear friends, with our dogs dozing at
our feet. On those warm evenings with jasmine and orange blossom perfumes
wafting our way, we eat outside. We have three barbecues of varying sizes.
Michel will have the fire going to get the meat or fish grilled and as we sip
our drinks, the scents of cooking waft our way. We grow the ingredients for our
salads and mixed herbs, our own potatoes... Usually, to nibble with our apéros,
we like to serve roasted almonds (also grown on the land) and slices of charcuterie.
Not too much or we will have lost our appetite for the dinner yet to come!
10) France has some beautiful cities and there are a few that constantly
battle to be my favourite, what is your favourite French city and why?
Carol: Paris, toujours Paris.
It has everything. Even after all these years, it thrills me to be there. There
are certain quartiers I know better than others and I tend to head for them. I
am particularly fond of the Bastille area. I shop and hang out around the 5th
and 6th arrondissements. This includes Bon Marché, the splendid department
store which has a fine bookshop and a small restaurant on the same floor. I buy
books and then dip into them while enjoying a coffee or lunch. I go to the
cinemas around L’Odéon or along the Champs Elysées.
Finally, do you have any current projects you would like to tell my
readers about?
Carol: I am at work on a new
novel, also set in France. It is too early to talk about it but I am aiming to
create a story that is epic and dips into some recent French history as well as
being a very up-to-the-minute tale.
Thank you for taking the time to give some great answers to my questions about France and
you. I really enjoyed The Forgotten Summer, even if it did make me cry and I’m
sure readers will love it. I will be waiting patiently for your new novel.
Carol’s Olive Farm and Olive route books are available in paperback and ebook format. Her Kindle Singles are ebook only novellas. Links to Amazon can be found below. My reviews of two of her Kindle Singles can be found by clicking on the links below.
The Girl in Room Fourteen
Hotel Paradise
- a murder mystery set in the Averyon, France. This is a new release by Steve Goldenburg who contacted me direct to let me know of this promotion. I will be reviewing this book in the coming weeks.
- the first novel in the series A French Summer by Laurette Long. Laurette is an active member of the Francophiles Goodreads Group. If you are on Goodreads, do come and join us.
by Marie Laval. I really enjoyed this mysterious romance, set in Provence. Read my review here.
by Jan Moran. This is a beautifully written novel of loss, love, war and perfume. Read my review here.
seems to have more than just secrets that are waiting
to be uncovered. I was gripped from the first mysterious chapter and then we
met Jacques Forêt, Gendarme, originally from Paris, with a past and currently
not really sure where he belongs. I liked him straight away. He was just the
person to unravel the seemingly unrelated events that have been reported in the
area and keep an eye on the odd goings on of some of the village residents. He
has his own way of working, that doesn’t always tie in with his boss, but his
independent rebellious streak just added to his appeal. Someone who tries her
best to ignore his appeal is Beth, past love interest of Jacques (lucky lady),
back in the village to tie up loose ends before moving on. However, as she tries
to sell the chalet she has inherited, it seems to open up her own personal
mysteries that need to be solved before she can work out her future. Knowing who to trust is the key.
Angela Wren
Having followed a career
in Project and Business Change Management,
I now work as an Actor and Director at a local theatre.
Iíve been writing, in a serious way, for about 5 years.
My work in project management has always involved drafting,
so writing, in its various forms,
has been a significant feature throughout my adult life.
I particularly enjoy the challenge of plotting
and planning different genres of work.
My short stories vary between contemporary romance, memoir,
mystery and historical.
I also write comic flash-fiction and have drafted two one-act plays
that have been recorded for local radio.
The majority of my stories are set in France
where I like to spend as much time as possible each year.
