One of January’s highlights (mainly because there aren’t many) is the Cérémonié des Voeux held by the Mairie.  This is where they present their best wishes for the New Year and invite us to share a ‘moment of sharing and exchange’.  No it’s not one of ‘those’ evenings (the village hall is far too cold!) but there is food and wine, so we went. There seemed to be a particularly good turnout this year and our village is increasing in population every year so it is always good to see the arrival of young families but, as ever, perhaps 70 - 80% of the people there were over 70 or 80 yea ..read more

I’ve been looking at the pictures of people in the UK celebrating their first outings since the lockdown was eased - sitting in pub beer gardens wrapped in thick coats with umbrellas protecting them from the traditional bank holiday weekend downpour - and I feel envious!   Here in France we are in what could be called ‘loose confinement’ - which sounds like a great description of the elastic-waisted jogging bottoms I have been living in all winter.   From having been restricted to ‘free movement’ within a 10km radius (or 30km with an attestation proving we have a valid reason for th ..read more

My car has many dents and scrapes but none of them were my fault but caused by badly placed pillars in car parks, or having to scrape the front gate in an effort to avoid running over my dog (for example).  It appears that many people have the same problems with car park pillars and gateposts as I do as it is rare to see a car in pristine condition - we get odd sitings of immaculate cars in the summer but they are usually driven by tourists.  You can tell where each car is from as the Department number is marked either on, or just beside the number plate (depending on the age of t ..read more

This is the first of a series of articles about general stuff that I wish I’d known when I first moved to France.   This week - Banks. You will need to open a bank account, and this will involve a ton of paperwork, because this is France.  They will ask for proof of ID (with photo), proof of address (recent utility bill, rent statement), proof of funding (previous bank statements, wage slips or tax return if self-employed).  These are just the basics and different banks have different requirements so keep your 10-metre swimming diploma and ‘O’ level certificates to hand, jus ..read more

Due to various ‘incidents’ over the years I have had some experience of the french medical system, and the fact that while some doctors will prescribe vast quantities of strong medicines, others will recommend homeopathic and alternative remedies.  Which is why I should not have been at all surprised when the vet suggested I take my dog to a physiotherapist! I’ve had Loulou, my border collie, for over 8 years now and as she was from a shelter it is hard to know how old she is but the vet reckons she must be at least 12 years old, if not more.  I have no idea how old I am in ‘dog ye ..read more

At 3.30pm yesterday I was doing a property viewing with clients and was showing them the spectacular view from the roof terrace.  I looked down onto the street below where a group of mourners were chatting outside the church, and discreetly waved to my partner, who had also attended the funeral with me…. Yesterday my friend Francis died.  He was the man who persuaded me to start playing tennis with the team of ‘old’ men in the village and made me feel so welcome.  As he lived alone (apart from his dog) I had called him in April to see how he was coping with the ‘confinement’ a ..read more

I have been spending most of September lying on a sun-lounger by the pool (and to be honest, most of July and August too…!).  Normally I think of my September ‘holiday’ as a well-earned break after a hectic summer of running holiday rental properties.  Most Saturdays would find me hurtling between several villas checking that the cleaners had turned up, making sure there were enough basic provisions for guests (loo rolls & washing up liquid for the 3* properties, welcome packs of cheese and wine for the 4* properties), doing ‘meet and greets’ or making sure the keys were hidden i ..read more

I have just been asked to put a property on the market on behalf of the owners who live in Scotland.  I’m always pleased to be asked to sell a house (particularly when there are no agents involved!) but this time I’m feeling a bit sad for the owners.  The house was a holiday home and because of Covid-19 and all the uncertainty over travel restrictions they realise they won’t be able to visit and enjoy the house as much as they used to so have decided to sell.   When I went to check out the house it was as if they had just popped out for a while - the beds were made up, towels ..read more

During this pandemic it is perhaps best to avoid any public medical facilities, unless absolutely necessary.  That was my plan - but due to yet another alcohol related incident, I can now write about what it is like to have a medical problem during this Covid-19 situation! When I say ‘alcohol-related’, in fact not a drop had passed my lips, I was just preparing for having the neighbours over for an apero.  I went down to the cellar to bring up some bottles and as I was walking back up I slightly mis-judged the step and my foot slipped a little, twisting my big toe and causing a f ..read more

   Every 2 weeks I write an update of the local news stories, translated from french media, and it is published in a newsletter/facebook page/forum for the english-speaking community.  I do it a) Out of the goodness of my heart, b) It is good for my language skills and c) Because the Editor adds a link to my website at the bottom.  OK, mainly c), but I also enjoy doing it! The problem is that I am starting to get complaints that there is too much bad news!  We even had to change the title from ‘A Light Look at the  Latest Local News’ to ‘A Quick look’ be ..read more