IT was raining and a light mist hung in the air, with drops on the knee high grass and rain on the wild strawberries and along the bank that skirts the wood overhanging the chestnut grove.
But summer was still in the air.
Catching sight of the low backed lorry stacked with yellow and white
crates in a clearing, I approached, and the driver stepped down,
happy to explain about his beehives or 'ruches'.
THE building of an airport has stringent standards and a certain flavour about it of an engineer’s workshop, writes Carol Miers.
The jigsaw pieces are from many professions architectural, electronic, public sector, security, hygiene, logistics, legislative, municipal and many others.
IMAGINE an 'office' within walking distance of home on an ancient site, first inhabited thousands of years ago.
Imagine this is where you work flexitime, responsible for thousands, in spite of seasonal fluctuations.
IF you are up for working outdoors, beneath the summer sun, why not try your hand at volunteering for an archaeological dig?
The French government has put together a list of projects that are taking place over the coming months the length and breadth of the country.
There are many projects which could see you involved in the cleaning of items, producing drawings or taking photographs covering dates from the Middle Ages, right back to pre-historic times.
FROM her home in Deux-Sèvres, Beryl Brennan has been writing about, rescuing and homing galgo dogs often abandoned on the streets of Spanish towns.
Beryl has put together an ebook covering the history of the galgo, as well as the difficulties the animals face today, which is titled From Heaven to Hell – The Story of the Galgo Espanol.
A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Beryl’s galgo fund for donations to appeals for help posted on Galgo News.
THE end of May sees the deadline for the submission of details about your income to the French tax authorities.
If you make your declaration online then you have a little longer, and if you are already registered in the system and employed, then it could be just a case of checking the figures.
Your first port of call with any questions should be your Trésor Public as they will be able to supply you with the latest advice, you can search for Trésor Public offices here.
WHEN looking for a property in France (like any property search elsewhere in the world), the estate agent is often the first person to be contacted, writes Guillaume Barlet.
Whether you have seen an advertisement in an estate agency window or browsing the web, l’agent immobilier will be, most of the time, your first contact in the purchasing process.
All estate agencies in France must be registered with the French trade authorities. The activity of estate agent is regulated by French law (Loi Hoguet) which applies as soon as an individual or any corporate entity carry out or assist in an operation, on a regular basis, relating to someone else’s property.
A COLLECTION of photographs from when I take the dog for a walk every morning around Loubejac, in the south of the Dordogne (map).
IF you suffer from hay fever then you can get a little bit of advance notice of pollen levels from the Le Réseau National de Surveillance Aérobiologique (RNSA) website.
There are historical records for towns and cities across France enabling you to spot when pollen levels are at their highest.
And the pollen levels of individual towns and cities can also be checked, they can be found to the right hand side of the page, with an estimate of forthcoming pollen levels plotted on time graphs.
One feature of the RNSA website that could prove particularly useful is a weekly email service that allows you to choose up to three départements and get updates to your inbox about pollen level risks.
IF one thing was learnt from the chaos caused by the volcano in Iceland, it’s that our travel plans are balanced on a delicate knife edge.
As the skies above Europe closed down and flights were grounded, millions of people saw their trip overseas crumble, with most people having to find their own way home.
Whilst I tried to offer some advice and travel news updates through This French Life, I thought it might be worthwhile bringing together some of the websites and Twitter accounts I constantly refreshed, as well as a few of the observations I made.