A notre santé

It’d be stupid to pretend that life here as an ex-pat in France is all beer and skittles and that it was rubbish living in England. I hope I haven’t given that impression anyway. Like most things in life there are pros and cons to the country you live in, and for every positive comment [...]

A bun in the oven?

Little did we know 10 months ago, that when we bought our house we also bought this:     Although it doesn’t look much, this unprepossessing structure is actually a four à pain, or bread oven. It stands on the end of the boundary between our neighbour’s sister’s land, on the left in the picture, [...]

Oh no, Bono…

Perhaps it’s the weather – it’s raining cats and fucking dogs here – or just Sunday morning ennui, but I have an irresistible urge to vent my spleen on U2. Why am I singling out U2 from the wide world of popular entertainment ? Why not ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ – back on our screens, along [...]

Climb up on my knee…

It’s a sad fact that with the recent death of Dave ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards, the genre of music called ‘the Blues’ lost someone who was probably our last link with the people who have made the music what it is today and enriched its legacy out of all proportion to its humble beginnings. Honeyboy was the [...]

Ditches, bored cats, bog brushes and fractal vegetables

After a few hot and sunny days, it’s raining again here. Fortunately, we made hay – not literally – while the sun shone, so the ditch alongside the western boundary of our land is now fully cleared. I finished it off yesterday, which involved donning wellies again, wading ankle-deep through the thick ,black and very [...]

Mr Rob asked…

…are you a wrist twister, a forearm shaker like Clapton or a finger wiggler like Angus? You tell me…  

Firebirds and hair

Whilst ferreting about on YouTube trying to find videos to illustrate yesterday’s post about Glen Campbell, I stumbled across a video clip I’d never seen before and that I’d only heard. It features Cream guesting on the Glen Campbell Show in 1968 performing ‘Sunshine of your Love’ live and was something I’d only ever heard [...]

A ploughman’s and a promenade

We’ve just wrapped up a very pleasant and productive day with our evening meal and then a walk. We had what I suppose you’d call a ploughman’s lunch this evening. Some part-cooked petits pains finished off in the oven, some Pilgrim’s Choice Extra Mature Cheddar,  lettuce, tomato, Branston Pickle, home-pickled shallots and some crisps all [...]

Glen Campbell – more than just a rhinestone cowboy

Mention the name ‘Glen Campbell’ to most people and they’ll probably say ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ or ‘Wichita Linesman’. However, there’s much, much more to the guy than a few hit records. I’m prompted to write about Glen because of the sad news that he’s just released what will be his final album and is just about [...]

A lot of fosse about nothing

Today, I are mostly bin clearin’ ditches:     Before we moved to France, drainage wasn’t something we’d had to bother about. Rain water went off the roof and from elsewhere, then along pipes and into the sewage system…end of… However, not being attached to any proper sewage system – it’s mostly a matter for [...]