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.

France et Moi with author Vicki Lesage

Welcome to ‘France et Moi’ where this week I am talking to author Vicki Lesage about what France means to her as part of a virtual book tour organised by France Book Tours for her memoir Confessions of a Paris Party Girl . I loved this book; you can read my review here.

Vicki is an IT Director by day, writer by night and a full-time nerd. She loves fondu, wine, math and zombies. She lives in Paris with her French husband and rambunctious son.

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’?

Vicki: France is a very sensory country. It has strong smells – from fresh baguettes to pungent cheese to, well, dog poo – your nose is on overdrive. There are amazing things to taste, like aged wines and gourmet pastries. But visually it’s probably the prettiest country in the world. From the well-known monuments of Paris to the glamorous chateaux of the Loire and all the flower-dotted hillsides in between, France is truly gorgeous.

2) When you first arrived in France what was the best thing about being immersed in French life and the scariest thing?

Vicki: The best was getting all my favorites – wine, cheese, and baguettes – for a fraction of what they cost in the US and way higher quality. The worst was having to figure out how to actually ask for those things in the store!

3) Having lived in France and spoken French for many years do you have any top tips for my readers on how to learn French?

Vicki: Focus on conversational French, phrases you’ll actually use when visiting. If you start at the beginning and work on grammar, you’ll end up able to say one perfect sentence that you’ll never have the opportunity to use. Instead, learn how to say please and thank you, how to order food, and how to say “Can I please get 500 more of these pastries?” and you’ll be set! Also, many people insist your accent isn’t important but I disagree. “Troy billits” doesn’t sound anything like “twah bee-yay” so if you want three train tickets, you should at least try to say it right. You’ll never sound perfect (I’ve lived here for 9 years and still get immediately recognized as American) but it’ll help you be understood much better.

4) Do you have any embarrassing language mishaps you are happy to share?

Vicki: Loads! The two most embarrassing were when I was interviewing for my first French job. My future boss asked me to name a few of my good qualities. My mind totally blanked and I couldn’t think of any, not even bad ones! I ended up saying “Well, clearly not my ability to think quickly!” Ugh. I had been so out of practice speaking French (since I’d worked from home as a freelancer prior to that) that my brain was numb. Then he asked a question about what demographic I thought would use their product and I said “mes amis femelles” which I thought meant my female friends and it does... but... you really only say “femelles” when talking about animals, not people. It’s more of a biological term, almost as if I had said “my friends who have female parts.” He corrected me, which was super embarrassing at the time but at least I never made that mistake again!

5) What do you think makes French women different to the rest of us and gives them that je ne sais quoi?

Vicki: For the most part, I’d say they’re beautiful, skinny, glamorous women that even walk cooler than the rest of the world. But they have two fatal flaws –they have an irrational fear of combs and most of them sport a frown, which results in unattractive wrinkles around their mouths. So they may seem more chic than me and my American compatriots, but I’ll take brushed hair and a smile any day, even if that makes me sound like the small-town Midwestern girl that I am!

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?

Vicki: Funny you ask since I just did a blog post about cheese and personality types. see here. I’d say I’m Brie – I can be a little off-putting the first time you encounter me, much like the crusty exterior of Brie, but once you see what’s inside you’re glad you met me.

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?

Vicki: I’d order a café crème (it’s like the café au lait all Americans think we order in Paris, but it’s what Parisians actually order) and try to make it last until 11, at which point it would be acceptable to order a glass of rosé wine.

8) What is your favourite regional French dish?

Vicki: Raclette! Melted cheese, smothered over a baked potato, served with cold cuts and pickles on the side. I could eat it every day, though it’s better when it’s cold out since it’s so heavy.

9) Is there anything French you won’t eat?

Vicki: Anything that looks like it came from an animal. I’ve seen dishes served with fish heads and chicken claws. No thanks! I like to pretend my meat grows on trees, so pâté and foie gras are more my speed since you can’t really tell what they are.

10) Can you describe your perfect French apero for us the drink, the nibbles, the location and the company?

Vicki: Champagne, cubes of Cantal and Comté cheese, and slices of saucisson, either gathered around the dining room table at my French in-laws’ house or on a picnic at the Eiffel Tower with friends.

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

Vicki: I’m currently working on a sequel to “Confessions of a Paris Party Girl,” tentatively titled “Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer.” It contains much less drinking and much more diaper changes, but all the same types of crazy things that can only happen in France. It’s slated to be released before summer.

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

Vicki: Thank you for having me!

You can read more from Vicki on her blog, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

http://francebooktours.com/2014/02/10/vicki-lesage-on-tour-confessions-of-a-paris-party-girl/

Book review of Citadel by Kate Mosse

Today I am taking part in a virtual book tour via France Book Tours for Kate Mosse’s Citadel.

I have to admit that this is the first Kate Mosse book I have read and I’m embarrassed by this oversight, but to be honest Labyrinth was such a huge book and I can’t pronounce the second title Sepulchre so they seemed rather daunting. Citadel, the third book, however, really did appeal as it is set during the occupation years of World War II and highlights the work of the women in the Resistance movement.

Synopsis (provided by the publisher)

From the internationally bestselling author of Labyrinth and Sepulchre comes a thrilling novel, set in the South of France during World War II, that interweaves history and legend, love and conflict, passion and adventure, bringing to life brave women of the French Resistance and a secret they must protect from the Nazis. Like their ancestors who fought to protect their land from Northern invaders seven hundred years before, these women—codenamed Citadel—fight to liberate their home from the Germans.

But smuggling refugees over the mountains into neutral territory and sabotaging their Nazi occupiers is only part of their mission. These members of the resistance must also protect an ancient secret that, if discovered by the enemy, could change the course of history.

A superb blend of rugged action and haunting mystery based on real-life figures, Citadel is a vivid and richly atmospheric story of a group of heroic women who dared the odds to survive.

My Review

Set in Carcassonne and the mountain villages of the Pyrenees, this book follows the lives of more than one character and as Kate keeps their stories separate, to begin with it took me a while to slip into a rhythm. However, once there I was taken over and by building up each story, then cutting back to a different character I found the excitement and my emotions much more intense.

It made me cry in places and made my heart race in other places. Many times I was unable to put it down, but sometimes it was so intense I had to stop reading and have a break. The stories will stay with me for a long while especially those of Sandrine, Raoul and the other Resistance fighters, bravely trying to outwit the German Milice, never knowing who to trust, putting themselves in horrendous situations and losing many of their friends and loved ones. As well as their fight for the freedom of France the race is on to find and protect an ancient codex that legend says is hidden in the mountains and has a dark power that must not fall into enemy hands. This adds an extra dimension of mystery and danger to the story.

This book was totally addictive, the characters felt real, the plot felt very real and I forgot I was reading a novel. In fact it felt like I was learning about a period of history, but without being lectured to.

About the author

Kate Mosse is the multimillion selling author of four works of nonfiction, three plays, one volume of short stories and six novels, including the New York Times bestselling Labyrinth and Sepulchre.  A popular presenter for BBC television and radio in the UK, she is also cofounder and chair of the prestigious Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) and a member of the board of the National Theatre of Great Britain. In 2013, she was named as one of the Top 100 most influential people in British publishing and also awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to literature. She divides her time between England and Carcassonne, France. You can follow Kate at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Virgile's Vineyard and Arrazat's Aubergines by Patrick Moon

For a France lover who is equally keen on the wine and food of France too, these books from Patrick Moon, focusing on the regional delights of the Languedoc were calling out to me. Before I’d even opened them the titles and front covers had peaked my interest and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

In the first book, Virgile’s Vineyard we join Patrick as he spends a year in the Languedoc at the house he inherited from his uncle. As well as exploring, taming his land and getting to grips with the unique water supply, Patrick sets himself a challenge to discover and understand the wine of the region. With his three self-appointed experts we learn alongside him; the history of the area (from an expat divorced history teacher), the way of the locals (from Manu, his wine drinking neighbour) and the art of Languedoc wine making (from Virgile, a local vigneron).

This book was a pleasure to read and I have to admit to smiling from the very beginning as so many of the great descriptions were spot on. It is not difficult to imagine you are in the Languedoc and learning about the life and wine alongside Patrick, with just enough information and snippets of history to be interesting rather than over bearing.

For a memoir, Patrick unusually keeps himself in the background and it is his three experts who come alive from the pages, especially Manu – the loveable rogue. I couldn’t wait to carry on and read Arrazat’s Aubergines.

In book two, Arrazat’s Aubergines, Patrick is back in the Languedoc but on a more permanent basis and it is the food that piques his interest this time. Many of the people we met in book one are back, enriching and hindering Patrick’s life, but also encouraging his love of food. Neighbour Manu and his wife persuade him to dig a large potager and fill it with their favourite vegetables. Winemaker Virgile takes him to lunch at Laurent Arrazat’s new restaurant where he finds himself invited to follow behind the scenes and learn about food from a master chef. As well as trying his best to keep up and help out during busy services, Patrick also makes many other foodie visits during the year to meet cheese makers, snail farmers, honey producers, salt masters, oyster farmers and more. This book often made me hungry and despite the privilege of learning what goes on in a French restaurant kitchen it was the visits to the local producers I enjoyed the most and it has made me more determined to get out and explore my local producers.

The antics of his neighbours, as in book one, regularly made me chuckle and having read these two books back to back I’m going to miss the daily goings on of Manu and Patrick.

These books have both recently been updated and re-released and would be ideal for those who love life in France memoirs, plus those with an interest in French wine and the food of the Languedoc. But be warned, they will make you hungry and want to visit the area. Available in paperback and ebook format, links to Amazon can be found below.

Cycling in the Vienne

Charroux

We celebrated the first day of spring with a bike ride in a never before (by us) cycled location in the Vienne. Even the drive there was spring-like; the blue sky, the bright green fields, the flowering hedgerows and the haze of new growth on the tips of the deciduous trees.

We parked in Charroux and ate our power picnic (pasta, tinned fish, banana and homemade coffee cupcakes) before setting off to explore what we hoped would be a landscape a bit more undulating than where we live. Thank you to the town of Charroux for providing the perfect car park; free, plenty of spaces, a bench for our lunch and joy of joys – a clean toilet and all this with their attractive tower as a backdrop.

The ride didn’t disappoint. Plenty of hills for Ade to stretch his legs and lose me on, pretty chateaux, lakes with ducks and fields of very pretty cows to keep my interest. The circuit that Ade had programmed into his clever-gadget-thingy centred on the River Charente and we crossed her a number of times as we zigzagged up and down her valley. Taking the back roads by bike really is the best way to see the hidden beauties in the French countryside. I hope you enjoy the photos.

We finished our 38 km in a couple of hours, feeling contentedly exercised rather than totally exhausted which for the beginning of our cycling season felt good.

Pretty cows

River Charente

Chateau

Cycling in the Vienne

Book review of My Wish List by Gregoire Delacourt

Today I am taking part in a virtual book tour via France Book Tours for Grégoire Delacourt’s novel My Wish List that will be released on March 25^th.

Synopsis (provided by the publisher):

A cathartic, charmingly tender, assuredly irresistible novel, MY WISH LIST imagines one answer to the question: If you won the lottery, would you trade your life for the life of your dreams? With sales of more than half a million copies in France alone, rights sold in twenty-five countries, and a major motion picture in development, this slim yet spirited tale has sewn up the interest of the literary world.

Jocelyne Guerbette is a forty-seven year old who runs a modest fabric shop in a nondescript provincial French town. Her husband—instead of dreaming of her—wants nothing more in life than a flat-screen TV and the complete James Bond DVD box set. And to Jocelyne’s two grown-up children, who live far from home, she’s become nothing but an obligatory phone call. Perpetually wondering what has happened to all the dreams she had when she was younger, Jocelyne finally comes to terms with the series of ordinary defeats and small lies that seem to make up her life.

But then Jocelyne wins the lottery: 18,547,301.28€! And suddenly she finds the world at her fingertips. But before cashing the cheque, before telling a soul, she starts making a list of all the things she could do with the money. While evaluating the small pleasures in life—her friendship with the twins who manage the hairdresser next door, her holidays away, her sewing blog that’s gaining popularity—she begins to think that the everyday ordinary may not be so bad. Does she really want her life to change?

MY WISH LIST is an essential reminder of the often-overlooked joys of everyday life and a celebration of the daily rituals, serendipities, and small acts of love that make life quietly wonderful.

Gregoire Delacourt

About the Author:

Grégoire Delacourt was born in Valenciennes, France, in 1960. His first novel, L’Écrivain de la Famille, was published in 2011 and won five literary prizes. MY WISH LIST has been a runaway number-one bestseller in France; publication rights have been sold in more than twenty-five countries. Delacourt lives in Paris, where he runs an advertising agency with his wife.

My review:

We follow Jocelyne, an ordinary wife and mother in a family with communication issues, who doesn’t have a great sense of self-worth as she reminisces about her life and unfulfilled dreams. When she wins the lottery she makes a list of things she would like, things she could now buy without worrying about the money and these are surprisingly ordinary things! She is very level headed but also frightened of change and keeps the win to herself initially. However, not everyone in her life thinks the same way she does and that is where the real story begins to unravel.

I found this a quick read novel with a rather bizarre set of characters, many of who were difficult to warm to. It is real-life and gritty so I didn’t find it an uplifting book, maybe not ideal for those who want an afternoon or two of happy escapism and Champagne filled glasses. However, I liked that it made me think. What is it that is important in life? What is happiness? What difference would a lottery win make? Does/can money make you happy?

My Wish List is published by Penguin in paperback format and will be available from 25^th March.

France Book Tours

Leek tops and slow cooked chicken

I always try not to waste food, but until I had spent some time in a kitchen with my French friends and neighbours making a communal charity meal, I never used the green leek tops. I was a chop-em-off and compost them girl! When I tried this at the salle des fêtes kitchen, cries of horror went up all around me and it was explained these would be tidied up, thoroughly washed and added to the vegetable soup to give bulk, but more importantly flavour.

Leek tops

I am now converted. Whether they make their way into a soup or I use them as a flavour bed for a slow-cooked chicken, I never now throw them out (except for the first few outer leaves). This weekend I’ve used them in my slow cooker and they are a gift that keeps on giving. Having flavoured the slow-cooked whole chicken, the leeks were then added to the stockpot with the chicken carcass to make a delicious stock. The stock then became a tasty soup and a base for a risotto using the leftover chicken and the white leeks. There was also enough cooked chicken for a homemade pizza.

Ready for the slow cooker

If you have a slow cooker, here is my tried and tested, perfectly moist chicken.

1 whole free-range chicken

1 onion or three leek tops, finely sliced

1 carrot finely sliced

Herbs and spices of choice

1 glass of wine – I use white or rosé

Enough water to give a liquid level of 2 cm in the bottom

Brown the chicken on all sides in a frying pan to give it some colour.

Place the chopped vegetables in the slow cooker with the glass of wine and then place the chicken on top. If necessary add water to cover the bottom to a depth of 2 cm and add your herbs or spices of choice, season with salt and pepper and then cook on low for about six hours. The chicken will be falling off the bone, but remains deliciously moist. My favourite flavours are cumin and curry powder rubbed into the skin, or parsley sprinkled over plus a few lemon slices added to the cavity or a crushed garlic and herb rub, but the possibilities are endless. This is a great dish if you want to spend the afternoon in the garden or out on your bikes.

Cycling the Charente route 33

Today we completed our first Charente cycle circuit of the year with the smell of sun cream in the air as we bared our white winter legs and arms in the warm sunshine. Our start point for Circuit 33 is two villages away and following route B gave us a 34km ride through pretty villages, fields of leeks, peas, wheat and rapeseed, tidy pruned vineyards and wide open vistas. Also spotted today were a Frankton Trail memorial commemorating Operation Frankton – a Royal Marine Commando raid on Bordeaux in 1942 using canoes via the Gironde estuary and an amazing 160 km escape on foot to Ruffec, an old washhouse, an old walnut millstone and a medieval graveyard, the final resting place of crusading knights. These are just some of the reasons I love cycling in the French countryside and I can't wait to get out and about on a regular basis this year.

The Frankton Trail

Leeks

Tidy pruned vines

Washhouse

Walnut millstone

Medieval graveyard

The air that we breathe

Hazy horizons

Breathing in the fresh countryside air isn’t always as idyllic as it sounds. This week the farmers have had a major manure spraying session leaving the village a stinky place to be. Thankfully, as the weather has been good lots of us (me included) have been out mowing, so the aroma of fresh cut grass has sweetened the air a little.

Unfortunately this early good weather has given France a problem with it’s air quality leaving the majority of regions on a high pollution alert. I am no meteorologist, but from the articles I’ve read in the French press it seems the cold nights and dry warm days have led to a build up of small dust like particles in the air. The lack of wind has left these pollutants suspended in the air, giving a smog-like film over the cities. Here in the countryside the horizon has been hazy all week, even on the sunny days and today it has taken until late afternoon to see the sun at all. With the springtime rise in pollen, those with allergies are being warned to take care. Thankfully we are not a hay-fever suffering family, although Ed has complained of sore eyes a few evenings this week.

In an attempt to reduce traffic pollution many of the larger cities have been promoting the benefits of car sharing and are encouraging the use of public transport this weekend by offering it for free. There are also speed limit restrictions in place on many of the motorways. If you are out and about in France this weekend, although facemasks are probably not necessary just yet, do take care and think before you drive.

Book review of Hotel Paradise by Carol Drinkwater

Hotel Paradise is a new Kindle single (ebook short story) by Carol Drinkwater, whose descriptions of life in Provence never fail to transport me there.

Beginning and concluding in the present day, most of the story in Hotel Paradise occurs twelve years earlier when a young couple, who met by chance in Paris, make their way south to an island off the Cannes coast following an unknown path of adventure.

Genevieve and Paul find themselves in a long forgotten, dusty hotel that might just be ready to awaken to their touches. There is passion, a sense of adventure, hurt, grief and many other emotions, and the spell of the place fills their heads with dreams and ideas for the future. Then a newcomer arrives on the island, but will this upset the balance and with it their dreams?

Throughout the book there is no doubt about the location, Carol’s beloved Mediterranean coast. She describes the food, the markets, the flora, the wildlife, the coastline, the weather, the sounds and the scents. I feel I know the shores of this island despite never having visited it. I think it’s familiarity comes from the pages of one of the Olive Farm books and Carol’s descriptions make me feel I am returning to somewhere special. It has made me want to delve back into her earlier books (again).

This is a neat, perfect example of a short story. A quick morning read on a beach or by the fire – actually, it doesn’t matter where you are, just sit back and let Carol take you to the Mediterranean.

Hotel Paradise is available only as an ebook from Amazon. I can also recommend Carol’s other Kindle single The Girl in Room Fourteen (Kindle Single) , you can read my review here.

My name is

Jacqui Brown

My name is Jacqueline or Jacqui (these days I'm happy to answer to either) but it's a name that has caused me a bit of bother over the years. As a kid I disliked Jacqueline, mainly because it is so long to write and even seems to take forever to pronounce 'jac-que-line'. I was still in primary school when I adopted the shortened version Jacqui, that has suited me fine ever since. Although it is true to say I do have to spell it a lot and not get too hung up about an extra 'e' added on the end, especially here in France.

Sixteen years ago I became Mrs Jacqui Brown and unfortunately this fantastic event coincided with the release of the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown. The seemingly endless jokes from work contacts when I mentioned my new married name was enough to put me off ever watching the film for myself.

Moving to a small French village almost ten years ago we found we were not the only Browns in the village. The rural postal service tends to deliver by name rather than address and a mix up of mail is how we came to meet the other Browns, who have since become very good friends. It now seems I am not the only Jacqui Brown in the local area.

Last weekend I received a steady trickle of confused emails from local friends following another Jacqui Brown's mail shot advertising her cleaning and gardening maintenance business. Confused and amused is probably more accurate as anyone who knows me will agree, housework and cleaning aren't really my thing! It is the first time in 16 years that I have come across another Jacqui Brown with an identical spelling and to be living so close to each other in rural France is quite bizarre. To avoid any further confusion, and in the interests of her business, I promise to stay well away from cleaning, but if the weather is good, you might just find me doing some weeding in my garden. If you would like more information on Jacqui's business, you can contact her here.

France et Moi with author Stephanie Dagg

Heads Above Water

Welcome to ‘France et Moi’ where this week I am talking to author Stephanie Dagg about what France means to her as part of a virtual book tour organised by FranceBookTours for Stephanie’s memoir Heads Above Water . You can read my review of Heads Above Water here.

Stephanie lives with her family on a 75-acre farm in rural Creuse, running a gite, carp fishery and llama trekking business. She manages to fit her writing and freelance editing around family life, farming and renovating a 200-year-old farmhouse. I have virtually known Stephanie through blogging for many years and would love to sit and chat to her over a coffee, but for now I will have to make do with asking her a few questions here.

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’?

Stephanie Dagg

Steph: For me, experiencing France from a rural perspective, I think it’s space and time. We live in Creuse, one of the least densely populated départements of France, with lots of scattered farms, small villages and a few large towns. On top of that we have a 75-acre farm to ourselves (and something which we would never in a million years been able to afford back in Ireland) and our neighbours are all distant specks on the landscape! And as for time, yes, we have to keep an eye on the clock during term time since there’s the school bus to deposit our youngest on and retrieve him from. But time is more fluid here. There’s always time for a few words with the bus driver, people in the village and local town when we pop there on errands, anyone who drops by. If something can’t be done or finished today, then there’s always tomorrow. Plans can be changed.

2) What is your fondest memory of time spent in France?

Steph: Before we moved here, we had many fun family cycling holidays, so those are the best memories – cycling along tree-lined avenues, coming across life-saving cafés in the most unlikeliest of places and generally enjoying the great outdoors. 

3) Having lived in France and spoken French for many years do you have any top tips for my readers on how to learn French?

Steph: Listen to how the language sounds and copy that, but most of all just have a go at speaking the language. If you make mistakes, it doesn’t matter. It really is the only way to learn. Jump in at the deep end!

4) You are a Mum of three, and have seen all stages of the French education system and the Irish one too. How do you rate the French system?

Steph: I’m a huge fan. My kids have spanned maternelle to university now. We’ve gone the state school route and it’s proved excellent. They cover a wide range of subjects, although I do wish there was a bit more creative writing fitted in along the way. There are school clubs and trips at all levels, and youngsters are encouraged to go to study beyond the Bac i.e. go on to university or to other places of training and learning. Uni perhaps is more like an extension of lycée, at least initially, in that it’s more test-based than a UK or Irish university but both my older two will be able to study abroad through the Erasmus and other programmes. And most importantly of all, there’s financial support for students. No getting ridiculously into debt. 

5) As well as writing you are a Llama Farmer, what attracted you to llamas and do you eat them or use their fleece?

Steph: There are some I wouldn’t mind eating when they decide to go walkabout or lean against the fence and break it! Only joking – they’d be very expensive snacks. As for using the fleece, it’s on my to-do list. I have a spinning wheel but, despite going on a course, I’m still struggling with that a little. I’ve used small quantities for felting and stuffing, but since llamas don’t actually need to be shorn, and we only do our alpacas (I have about seven alpacas) every two years, there’s not too much of a wool stockpile. But there are rather more sacks of wool lying around than I have space for! 

We got into llamas by accident really. We’d seen some at an agricultural show in Bandon shortly before we left Ireland. We teased our eldest son, who was 14, that when we got to France we’d get him a scooter and a llama. Well, once we were here, we decided we’d go and see some llamas, out of interest. We went to a llama farm in Limousin and fell in love with these curious, majestic, beautiful creatures. And that was that! We diversified into alpacas a few years later, and we now have some huarizos, which are a cross between a llama and alpaca. They weren’t planned but we ended up with ten of them! That’s another story…

6) What is your favourite thing to buy in a Boulangerie/Patisserie?

Steph: Do you know, I’m not actually a great one for the fancy buns. I usually indulge in a pain aux raisins, or a pain au chocolat. However, you can tempt me from time to time with a mille feuilles though. Yum.

7) France has many different cheeses, a silly question, but which French cheese are you? 

Steph: Blue cheeses are far too scary for me! I’m very partial to Cantal jeune (a hard cheese) and cream cheese with figs and nuts in. The cheese we eat most in our house is grated Emmental – I buy it in huge bags.

8) 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?

Steph: My very favourite part of France is Cantal, and my husband’s is the Auvergne so we’d have to find a small, old house with a huge garden in between their respective volcanic ranges. However, with a farm full of animals, travel is something we can’t do these days, at least not together!

Finally, do you have any current projects you would like to tell my readers about? (I’m hoping for a sequel to Heads Above Water).

Steph: I have made a start on Total Immersion, which is the sequel to Heads Above Water . And I’m also tempted by a look at Belle Epoque France, inspired by all the magazines and newspapers of that period that we found in the attics of the houses here at Les Fragnes. I have a number of novels on the go too. I’d like to get something finished this year, but the busy season on the farm and with our gite and fishing lakes is about to start so creative time tends to be hard to find. But I will make a big effort. 

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

You can read more about Stephanie’s life in France on her blog here, find her on Twitter here and here and Facebook here. If you haven't yet read Heads Above Water, please do, it is a very funny account of life in rural France.

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