Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day thirty-nine

View from the dog walk

Day thirty-nine, 24^th April 2020

Views from the dog walk

There are times when it feels like we have been in lockdown for so long I can’t remember what we did before, or even in those first few weeks. Then there are other times when it seems to whiz by really quickly. We took the dog out for a gentle walk after lunch today and realised that almost two weeks had passed since our last walk, yet it seems no more than a few days. Before you worry that we are neglecting Mini, at twelve years old, two walks a day, every day, would be too much for her and she and Ed have been enjoying their daily exercise together since he came home six weeks ago.

Poppies

The first thing I noticed was that a lot has changed in the countryside around the village. The wheat crop has ears, the poppies have started flowering, I saw my first Bee orchids and Pyramid orchids in flower too, and the butterflies were enjoying them all. 

Acacia blooms

The Acacia tree by the village lavoir (wash house) is just coming into bloom and will smell divine in a few days. There was also something very relaxing in that the only noise we heard was the sound of birds and bees, like a gentle ringing in our ears.

The garden is a busy place at the moment as well. The great tits who nest in the back courtyard every year are frantically feeding a noisy brood of babies, safely concealed in our old (and very much unused) patio heater. The swallows are back, dipping in and out of the barn, chattering to each other as they repair their nests and stake their claim on the best beams to build on. But the winners of the noisiest birds have to go to the house sparrows whose constant cheeping outside the bedroom window is the first thing I hear in the morning, along with the noise of their tiny feet, loud and amplified as they scrabble in the galvanized gutter. Their numbers are most certainly not in decline chez nous.

Stay indoors, stay safe.

24th April 2017, Col d’Ispeguy Pyrenees

April holiday memory 

24^th April 2017 was a big day for me; my first ever attempt at cycling up a mountain pass. We were in the Pays Basque and Adrian had carefully selected the Col d’Ispeguy as it is a gradual six kilometre climb, at an average of 6%, with stunning views and most importantly a bar at the top that serves gateau Basque. It is also a border crossing, so there is a real sense of adventure and achievement in cycling up a mountain and crossing from France to Spain. It has now become our favourite col and the first one we return to every time we are back in the Basque, which will hopefully be soon.

Book review of Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist

Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist

Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist

Following on from my previous posts set in the Pays Basque, we picked St Jean Pied de Port as our location for its Camino fame, and tomorrow I will share our first tentative steps on the famous route. Today I have a review for Two Steps Forward, a novel written by husband and wife authors Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist, about two people walking the Chemin de St Jacques pilgrimage route (or Camino) from Cluny in central France to St Jean Pied de Port, and onwards to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.

Zoe is an American widow, escaping to France following the sudden death of her husband. She is not sure what she wants or needs and rather stumbles on the Camino with little prior knowledge of what is involved or time to plan. It just feels right for her as she begins her journey of recovery and starts to think about the necessary decisions for her future.

Martin is British divorcé, working in France, where he invents a handcart for long distance walkers that he hopes will prove to be a success, and hatches a plan to test it on the ultimate walking journey; the Camino.

Their start points may coincide, but there are many things that keep them apart, even when friendship begins to form. Written in alternative chapters by Graeme and Anne, the two characters Martin and Zoe have distinct personalities and their own voices throughout the book. Both of the authors are seasoned Camino walkers and their knowledge is evident in the daily struggles and challenges Zoe and Martin face walking alone day after day, often in extreme weather and crossing difficult terrain. While this book is about the Camino it’s also a novel, with emotions, issues to resolve and sparks of romance to tease the readers imagination along the way. The Camino is as much a journey for the mind as well as for the body; can it give Zoe and Martin a change of direction for their futures, can the bonds formed on the Camino last outside of the Camino bubble, and will what they learn about themselves on the journey help them with their family relationships in the future?

This book is a great mix of fact and fiction and gave me a bit of everything I enjoy; the descriptions of the physical journey of the Camino as well as the emotional journey Zoe and Martin found themselves on. If the Camino is something that interests you, I’m sure you will enjoy reading Two Steps Forward. Available in ebook, audiobook, hardback and paperback format, links to Amazon can be found below.

Here are a few of my previous posts about the Pays Basque you might like:

Lunch in Biarritz, our first taste of the area

Cycling in the Pays Basque, from our first stay in 2014

A week in the Pays Basque, when I truly fell in love with this area

Col d’Ispeguy 

Atlantic Coast by bike

Book review of Four Seasons in a Day, a travel memoir

Book review of the French Summer Novels series set in Biarritz

Book review of The Only Way is West, a Camino memoir

Book review of The Only Way is West by Bradley Chermside

The Only Way is West by Bradley Chermside

The Only Way is West by Bradley Chermside

Having just returned from a few days in St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrénées, sharing my review of this fabulous travel memoir about the 500-mile walk from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela in Spain seemed appropriate. Many thousands of ‘pilgrims’ make this journey on the Camino every year, following the ancient route over the Pyrénées and across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, where the bones of St James are said to rest.

Bradley is one such person and this memoir tells of his journey, from the planning, his arrival in France, his blisters and sleepless nights along the way, the people he meets and the mysterious girl he hopes will be waiting for him. His writing style is funny, his descriptions and observations, especially of those he shares his Camino with, bring his journey to life, and I enjoyed every page. He certainly fanned the flame of fire within me to make my Camino dream a reality one day. 

 

Following the Camino

This book is mostly his account from the journal he kept, but also includes some of the emails sent to friends and family and their words of encouragement, that always seemed to arrive just when he needed them most. The Camino is tough on the body; the grueling terrain and nights spent in large hostels with shared dormitories and basic facilities. Plus, with long, hot days, often walking alone, there is time outside of your normal routine for your head to think and make decisions. I really enjoyed the experience of following Brad and couldn’t wait to see if he found what he was looking for at the end of his journey and also discover how the Camino changed him and shaped his future.

This book would be a great read for anyone planning their own Camino, or for those who like adventure and travel memoirs written with honesty, emotion and humour.

The Only Way is West is available in ebook and paperback format and links to Amazon can be found below.

Lazy Sunday in France, a walk in the sunflowers

A Sunday morning walk

Welcome to another Lazy Sunday in France and today I’m taking you on an early morning walk through the sunflower fields. 

This morning, a small group of us set off earlier than originally planned, in an attempt to beat the worst of the heat, but as you can see from our shadows, the sun was already busy.

Sunday is no lazy day for the farmers

As were the farmers. Sunday is rarely a day off for the farmers, especially when the weather is good and it’s harvest time.

It's harvest time

The combine harvesters and balers were out in the wheat and the hay fields.

Sunflower fields

But it was the sunflowers I was looking forward to seeing and the morning sunlight showed them at their best.

A perfect sunflower

The sight of a perfect sunflower never fails to make me smile.

Cows in the shade

We weren’t the only ladies out and about this morning, but these two were sensibly staying in the shade.

We all agreed we were very lucky to live in a village with a strong sense of community and all this beauty on our doorstep.

I hope your Sunday is a good one.

Book review of The Hairy Hikers by David Le Vay

My review today is for The Hairy Hikers: A Coast-to-Coast Trek along the French Pyrenees by David Le Vay.

David and his mate Rob decide to set out on the GR10 hiking trail to walk off their mid-life crisis by crossing the Pyrenees from Atlantic coast to Mediterranean coast. We are planning a short trip to the western Pyrenees, taking our bikes, and this book gave me plenty of ideas of places I want to visit.

It would be easy to lose interest in a book where every day the narrative was - got up, had breakfast, booted up, walked mountains, arrived at overnight gite, ate dinner, etc. but there is always a little something of interest or an amusing tale to keep this book a lively read. One of my favourite funnies was set in the dingy broom cupboard of the Internet café trying to find the @ sign on a French keyboard. Much of the humour comes from him being a self-confessed Mr Grumpy, an insomniac and a social numpty, who spent two months, day and night, in close proximity to his mate, often staying in shared gite accommodation with strangers. I would have found it very difficult and he did struggle at times, but it made a very funny read, especially his description of the orchestra of sleeping sounds from his travelling companion.

As you would expect from two blokes alone in the mountains, proudly growing their beards and turning a little feral, talk often turned to farts and with a spot of wild camping, pooing in the woods got a mention too. While some may find this distasteful it amused me no end. It was one of those books I read with a grin.

The writing gave me the impression they were a likable duo who had fun on their adventure, despite the pains and issues they faced, and came out the other side of their mountains appreciating not only what they had achieved, but also the things that are important in life.

The Hairy Hikers: A Coast-to-Coast Trek along the French Pyrenees is published by Summersdale and available in ebook and paperback versions. From now until the 1^st September 2014 the ebook is only 99p on Amazon UK. David also has a new book out this summer, A Tour of Mont Blanc: And other circuitous adventures in Italy, France and Switzerland  that I'm looking forward to reading.

Dog walking delights

The ragondan stream

This afternoon we took a warm and sunny wander along the lanes, the birds were singing, the butterflies were busy in the flowering hedgerows and when we stopped for Mini to have a paddle in the stream, a ragondan ducked underwater and out of sight.

Back on the track, with Mini hugging the shade from the trees, a rustle in the ripened wheat field alerted her, and with ears pricked up she turned toward the noise.

We stood and watched as the head of a deer appeared from the wheat, hoping to dart unnoticed across the path, but startled as he saw us, he spun and disappeared. 

A deer in the wheat

Mini could resist no longer and with all her 24kgs of muscle, she charged towards the field until she reached the end of her lead. My shoulders were strained in their sockets, my feet were dragged along the ground, but the deer was safe and very soon, peace and calm returned to our walk.

Dog walkers in France beware

Dog walkers in France beware

Living in rural France is not always as idyllic as it may seem. Over the years we have had tears over rats killing our ducklings, fouine (martins) killing our chickens, hunt dogs killing our ducks and bees invading our bedroom. Yesterday we unfortunately experienced another reminder that life here has it’s downs as well as ups.

The hunting season in France runs from September to March, but the local hunt have the authorisation to set traps for fox, fouine and ragondan throughout the year. Adrian was walking our dog Mini while I was out at Ed's school running an English conversation club yesterday when she got her foot trapped in a snare. As I wasn’t there he had to leave her screaming and alone in the field while he ran the 3 km back home to get the car. You can imagine the distress felt by them both I am sure. I met him at the vet where they had to sedate Mini in order to free her leg, which thankfully is undamaged. The same can’t be said for Adrian as while he was trying to release her she bit him quite badly on the hand, however the vets were brilliant and cleaned and bandaged him while waiting for Mini’s sedation to take effect. They did advise us to see the doctor, which we said we would, but had wanted to free the dog first. This produced quite a bit of laughter as we all realised the dog had been prioritised over Adrian – oops!

I have spoken to our Maire and these traps, although evil seem to be legal. I will be asking for warning signs to be placed in areas where they have been set, but the only other thing I can think of doing is spreading the word to other dog walkers. If you walk your dog in rural France, please be on the look out for traps, often baited with meat which greedy dogs like ours can sniff out from a long way off. Please share this post with your dog walking friends so we can save other sore paws.

My penance 

I think I have made up for my husband neglect by hoovering out the inside of his car which is being prepared for our next big adventure, an eight day road trip via the Canal du Midi, the Cevennes, Provence, The Mediterranean, Mont Ventoux, the Massif Central, Dordogne and home. We love Mini Cooper road trips in France and this seemed a great way to celebrate the 20th birthday of our Mini Cooper Gizmo. 

A calm dog walk

I’m pleased to report that today both my patients are feeling much better and we all enjoyed a sunny, relaxing dog walk this afternoon with no unnecessary excitement.

Book review of Vic's Big Walk by Vic Heaney

My review today is for Vic's Big Walk by Vic Heaney. Vic is cool! Vic walked from his ‘home’ in the south of France, to the house he was born in 70 years earlier in Blackpool (north west UK). This epic walk of nearly 2000kms was timed to take 70 days and arrive on his 70^th birthday. It is not uncommon to want to celebrate a big birthday with a challenge, but for Vic the real goal was to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer research and he felt it had to be a significant challenge to bring in the donations. He was always happy to talk to those he met en route about his fundraising and continues to raise money through the sales of this book. So far he has raised a whopping £9,375.

In addition to the walking, Vic also updated his blog as he was on the road and made plenty of notes for this book which is so much more than a walkers diary of ‘I got up, walked, got there, had dinner, went to bed’. It is an entertaining account of his adventure and I was a bit sad when I finished this book. I was obviously pleased that Vic had achieved his goal, but to be honest I could have gone on rambling alongside him, although I’m guessing he was pleased to leave it there.

Although this was a solo walk Vic had a great team behind him - his wife; who was driver of the motor home support vehicle/accommodation for the trip, chief laundry steward, cook, route planner and more. The physical challenge of this walk would make me, a person half Vic’s age, think twice about completing it, but when I read that Vic also has an eye condition that makes map reading almost impossible it just increased my awe for him. Vic is tres cool! If Vic can walk an amazing 2000km to raise money the least we can all do is buy this book to help him.

You can find Vic’s JustGiving page here. You can read Vic’s guest post he wrote for me here and my ‘France et Moi’ interview with him here. 

A warm winter walk

The weather this week is somewhat mad; the sunshine, blue skies and mild temperatures are whispering about spring, but the wild winds are refusing to let thoughts of winter disappear just yet and when it rains it does so with gusto. We are also on an orange alert for high winds this evening, but so far this winter our little Poitou-Charentes microclimate seems to be doing it’s thing and compared with many other places in France, the UK and the US we really can’t complain. It would really make my winter if we escaped with no snow.

This morning was my first yoga session of the year and it feels good to have given my body a real stretch and enjoy the sense of calm that washes over the mind after the meditation and relaxation. But this afternoon has been anything but relaxing.

After a coffee, the dog and the weather were taunting us to get out, despite the fact we got soaked to the skin yesterday and as today is a hunt day, there is a real risk of being shot!  We didn’t regret it. It was the sort of walk where you start off wrapped up with hat, coat, scarves and gloves, but the further you walk the warmer you get, off come the gloves, down goes the zip on the coat and off comes the scarves and hats. It was a real mind blowing walk – the wind was so strong it blew into every corner of my mind uprooting thoughts long forgotten. It was lovely to feel the sun on our faces, see the vibrant green fields and watch the deer in the distance dash away before the wind carried their scent to Mini’s super sensitive nose. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Having blown the proverbial cobwebs away we lunched on courgette soup, the first tasting of our homemade pork terrine (very yummy, recipe coming soon) and plum cake before kitting up in the lycra and taking the bikes out. Despite the wind we managed to complete our 21km triangle route in an hour. It was the perfect day to road test our new wind block cycle tops and as they worked in the gusts today, normal wind will be a breeze.

Our dog walk lane

Winter ploughed fields

Can you see the deer?

Run!

Book review of On Foot Across France by Tim Salmon

My bookworm Wednesday review today is for On Foot Across France - Dunkerque To The Pyrenees by Tim Salmon. This book had me hooked from the beginning; anyone who starts a book talking about weighing his underwear must have a great story to tell, and he does. Tim’s story is about his walk from Dunkerque in the north of France to the Pyrenees, following La Méridienne Verte, the line that neatly bisects France straight down the middle. In 62 walking days he covered approximately 1315km on foot, but unfortunately it was not as straightforward as locating the track in Dunkerque and following clearly marked signs all the way down. It was a true navigational adventure.

Throughout the book there is as much rambling of his thoughts as there is of his feet, however with an intelligent eye and interesting take on France, the UK and the changes in Europe this was OK with me. I have read more light-hearted books about long distance walking in France, but I know myself how my mind wanders on our daily dog walks, so I felt a real honesty came out of his thoughts as he was on the road. He is certainly not afraid to voice his opinions honestly, although I’m sure not everyone will agree with them. Some of his thoughts paint quite a depressing picture of his view of what the future holds for us, but if I’m honest I have to say he made a lot of sense to me. Sometimes it was a shock when he suddenly switched back to talking about his route or those he had met that day, as I was so away with his thoughts I’d forgotten we were walking through France. I loved that he took the time to talk to those he meets; the old farmer sat on his favourite plank, those he stays or dines with and recounts the tales they share with him. I also can’t ignore the fact there is as much description of the many ladies he meets and visually appraises as there is of the villages and countryside. Not every day was as idyllic as this description, but this was one of my favourites from the book:

“It was to be a day of hamlets and hay meadows, oak wood and deep descents to rivers, few houses and scarcely any people.”

This book would be perfect for the thinking armchair traveller who wants to see France and talk to her people.

Many thanks to the publisher Blackbird Digital Books who sent me a copy to read and review. On Foot Across France - Dunkerque To The Pyrenees is available in paperback and ebook format and links to Amazon can be found below.

Happy New Year

Poppy the fat cat

If Christmas and New Year were as indulgent for you as they were for us, Poppy and I know exactly how you are feeling. We would both like to loose a kilo or two and are determined to do more exercise this year. Yoga is a favourite for us both and a daily stretch or two is as good for the mind as the body, just like a good dog walk, although Poppy doesn't agree with me on this! My main sporting challenge this year is to get out more on the bike and get fit enough to take on a few more hills and maybe even a mountain or two. We (Ade and I, not Poppy and I) are already planning some great cycle routes, both close to home and in some more exciting terrain.

Poppy's diet started today and she wishes you well if you are also cutting back. For me, I will attempt an alcohol free January and now we are back home from our UK trip my diet will be rich in garden veggie soups. We've only been back a day, but I've made a lovely batch of pumpkin soup, so far, so good and so tasty too.

Thank you all for reading and commenting on our life here in France and we wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful 2014. If you have also set yourself some challenges/goals/resolutions, then good luck, keep positive - you know you can do it!

Early December

Café de la Paix, La Rochelle

I have been a little quiet on the blog as I took some time to enjoy five treasured days, the only ones that Ade had at home this month. I collected him from the airport at La Rochelle and we treated ourselves to a date at the delightfully decorated Café de la Paix before heading home where I kept him busy with the list of things that had broken/gone wrong in the time he had been away. I can’t tell you how lovely it was to have someone who was strong enough to put the front gate back on it’s hinges, someone to look at the slow puncture on my car, someone to struggle along with when manoeuvring the heavy pot plants indoors for winter, someone to encourage me to get out on the bike, someone to snuggle up with at night and someone to talk to when watching TV of an evening, even if we did miss many of the programmes when the talking took over. I even enjoyed getting up early on Sunday and making him a fresh batch of plum jam that was still warm when we breakfasted on our croissants and coffee.

My lovely weekend has evolved into a very busy week, as I am part of the organising team cooking up a meal for over 100 people for the Téléthon charity this weekend. I have been shopping for vast quantities of food and drink, helped with peeling kilos of vegetables and tonight we will be setting out the tables and chairs in the salle des fêtes before eating a yummy tartiflette together. Top tip – if you want people to come and help with something always offer a delicious homemade meal.

Thankfully having Mini and her doggy friend Toffee, who is staying with us this week, means I do have to go out every day and enjoy some quiet time in the countryside. There is not much to beat a crisp, early morning December walk with frosted hedgerows and mist clinging to the fields. Winter isn’t my favourite time of year but I can appreciate the beauty that is out there when you take time to look. The cold and frost are suggesting winter, but the stubborn golden leaves are still clinging on to autumn. There are deer in distant fields that thankfully the dogs don't notice and clouds of lapwings crying and calling out in protest as we disturb them in the fields. Life may be busy, both for Ade away at work and for me but I’ve lots to be thankful for and it won’t be too long before I have another date with my favourite man at my favourite café in La Rochelle. I hope you enjoy these pictures from my dog walks.

Frosty morning walks

December country walks

France et Moi with author Vic Heaney

Welcome to ‘France et Moi’ where this week I am talking to author and walker Vic Heaney about what France means to him. Vic, who lives in the Pyrenees, celebrated his 70^th birthday in 2010 in a slightly unusual way, undertaking a 70 day walk from the South of France to where he was born in the North of England. The walk raised money and awareness for pancreatic cancer research and all proceeds from his book Vic's Big Walk also go direct to pancreatic cancer research.

Firstly, I think France is a special place and it is 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’?

Vic: There is a much more relaxed lifestyle.  There are obviously cultural reasons for this but also the fact that there are roughly the same number of people as the UK but spread out over a country which is more than three times the size helps – less people per square mile. There are many fewer cars per person, again spread over much more area and better roads. More people in France still seem to live in rural areas and to work in low pressure jobs. So everything seems to be so much calmer.

Add to that all the visible history – in England most of the town centres were demolished in the 60s and replaced with concrete blocks with or without coloured plastic panels.

The strikes here do not affect us much so they play no part in my attitude. But I do loathe the fact that in any town you have to walk round with your eyes glued to the ground because of the dog droppings.

2) What is your first memory of a trip to France? What is your favourite holiday location in France?

Vic: My first visit to France was as we drove across it on the way to visit my daughter in Italy. As we drove down the autoroutes, the overhead temperature signs dropped to below zero. We stayed overnight somewhere in the middle of the country and awoke to find the place covered in deep snow. This was in late May! 1991 I think. The wine growers had lost much of their crop. It was not a good introduction but we had seen enough of this beautiful country to visit many more times and eventually to move here as a resident.

The first place to which we made a deliberate trip was Carcassonne, because I had read a description of it in a book. For the past 16 years I have lived within 55 kms of Carcassonne and I still think it is one of the most stunning sights in the world – especially on 14th July, when the spectacular fireworks display multiplies the population of the town to an epic degree.

3) Having spent some time living in France do you have any embarrassing language mishaps you are happy to share?

Vic: Nothing specific. My wife spoke decent French before we arrived here. I learned French at school but with no particular interest in the subject and 40 years had passed before I spoke to a French person. I have improved a lot and can get by but I am shame-faced to say that I have always sheltered behind my wife in this regard because it was so much easier for us to get things done.

4) 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?

Vic: I am a simple soul. I would order a grand crème and drink it while I munched on a pain aux raisins or croissant amandes which I would have bought separately at a boulangerie. France is the only country I know where this is an acceptable practice.

5) What is your favourite aperitif and ideal location to be drinking it?

Vic: Blanquette de Limoux, our local bubbly and 100 years older than champagne. We are not in the Champagne region so they can not call it champagne, despite its history – it is said that the champagne makers came to Limoux to find out how to make it. But there is a silver lining – because it can not be called champagne it is considerably cheaper.

My favourite place to drink it would be at the buvette by the lake here in Puivert, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounded by spectacular scenery and my closest friends and family.

6) France has many different cheeses, a silly question, but which French cheese are you? A hard and mature Tome, a soft, fresh and lively goat cheese, the creamy and rich Camembert or maybe the salty and serious Roquefort?

Vic: I have not yet met a cheese which I did not like so I will not choose – just bring it on.

7) Do you have a favourite French regional dish?

Vic: As a vegetarian, one of the worst things about France is that they do not understand the concept of not eating meat. So there is not a regional main dish which interests me. I don’t eat many sweets but I am very partial to a crème Catalan, something I discovered late in life and a specialty of this region.

8) When you were walking through France did you have any strange encounters or nice surprises?

Vic: Nothing specific but I did meet many lovely people and continued to be impressed by how much beauty there is in this country. And, unlike the rest of my journey which took me through England, there were many days when I could not hear traffic.

9) If money and commitments were no object where in France would you like to own a property and what sort of place would it be?

Vic: I could think of no better place to be than the area where I live, which I have heard described more than once as “Paradise”. But it would be nice to have a place by the sea as well. It is the one thing I miss, having grown up by the sea and having worked upon it as well, in my first job as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer.

Finally, do you have any current projects you would like to tell my readers about?

Vic: My first two books are out there – Vic's Big Walk and Living In The Real Cyprus . Two more are planned – “Swim The Atlantic?” – a memoir, and “Vic’s Shorts” – a selection of short stories. The proceeds from all books go to pancreatic cancer research. I also seem to have moved into another career presenting my book, mainly reading from it with some humorous links, then selling (no obligation to buy) personally dedicated and signed copies. I am happy to be approached to do these talks.

Another project I have on the stocks is that my wife and I have decided, for family reasons, to move back to UK after 20 years of living overseas. If you had asked us 6 months ago we would have said “no way!” but things change and it is time to move on. I have little hope of selling our house – built by a drum major in Napoleon’s army – in the current French financial climate, so we may end up shuttling between the two places, as many do.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions about France and you.

Vic: Thank you also, Jacqui. Any time.

You can read Vic's guest post he wrote for me last year here and read his latest news here.