This French Life

  • A taste of gold

    196066185_20139b64b5_mBOURGOGNE or Burgundy is a historic region of France, which has been inhabited by the Celts, Gauls, Romans, and various Germanic peoples, the most important of which were the Burgundians; an East Germanic tribe from mainland Scandinavia who immigrated to an island called Bornholm, in Old Norse Burgundarholmr, the island of the Burgundians.

    In time, the region was divided between the Duchy of Burgundy (west of Burgundy) and the County of Burgundy (east of Burgundy.) The Duchy of Burgundy became the more famous of the two being the one that achieved historical fame.

    Later the Duchy of Burgundy became the French province of Burgundy, while the County of Burgundy became the French province of Franche-Comté (free county.)

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  • Animal rescue centres in France

    Animal rescueTHERE are many animal sanctuaries across France set up by volunteers who can both help with questions, as well as offer advice on adopting a pet.

    But even if you can’t take a cat or dog in they will always be on the look out for volunteers to help in the facilities or raise much needed funds.

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  • Guide to writing letters

    Pencil_2005IF you need to cancel a service contract or are unhappy with a product you’ve bought, if you’ve not written down your displeasure few organisations will recognise your concerns.

    But getting your complaint written down can be a bit of a challenge if your French language skills are not up to scratch.

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  • Online help for your French

    Ma FranceIF you are keen to boost your French language skills then there are a number of websites that can help you out.

    With the spread of broadband you can both listen to lessons, as well as in some cases watch them, which is likely to prove more effective than reading a reference book.

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  • Say hello to Coral

    CoralgeorgelukeTHE more observant amongst you will have noticed the addition of a few new articles on the site yesterday, well these have been written by the site’s newest recruit Coral Luke.

    Coral has written the occasional article for This French Life in the past and helped with the setting up of a site on Burgundy, but now her work will be appearing here bringing her knowledge of the Côte d’Or, as well as offering an insight on French life and health issues, to readers.

    To find out more about Coral and her husband Georges’ move to France, read her introductory article.

  • About This French Life

    Click play to hear my chat with BBC Radio Kent’s Julie Maddocks about French life

    THIS French Life provides many interesting nuggets of information and is of service to people who are keen to move to France, or those already living there.

    There are articles about setting-up a wide variety of necessary services, from banking to the internet, as well as some of the more enjoyable things about life.

    It also features interviews with people from the area, those that have lived here all their lives and those that have moved to start a fresh in France.

    The site is organised by categories and from the front page of the site you will be able to read the latest articles and news.

    Contact me via email: craig@thisfrenchlife.com

    Craigmcginty_2About Craig McGinty:
    I am a journalist with a wide variety of experience in both daily newspapers, breaking news websites and public relations.

    My most recent position was as editor of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph’s website thisislancashire, which enjoyed around two million page impressions a month.

    It provided a rolling news service and covered everything from September 11th, local and national elections and major sporting events including the Champions League final.

    Previous to this I handled the public relations for the National Computing Centre ensuring coverage in a wide variety of media, including the BBC.

    I achieved my journalism qualifications whilst working on the award winning Stockport Express, and prior to this worked for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Big Issue.

    Coralgeorgeluke_2About Coral Luke:
    My name is Coral Luke, I was born in Brighton Sussex in 19**! I am married to George and we are both retired.

    Well there is nothing new in retired people being in France, is there? But for me retirement means being busier than ever; just one thing that makes it a bit more difficult is that I am disabled.

    My life changed over night in October 2000 when I had a stroke. I had worked full time, been a Guide Leader, swam four times a week, did aqua aerobics, evening classes in French and still managed to have a happy home life.

    We had taken a holiday in the Morvan area of Burgundy that summer and had been investigating buying a house.

    After my stroke that had to go on hold along with the rest of my life, more…

    About Zach Spittler
    Zach Spittler was born in Houston, Texas, but was raised in Manchester, Iowa. He graduated from The University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication and in French in 2006.

    He minored in Music. As part of his musical endeavours, he played for four years in the Hawkeye Marching Band in the trumpet section and in the drumline, more…

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  • Camping is in-tents!

    The Brits are coming! That is the cry of campsite owners in France.

    After years of holidaying abroad Britons are heading back to France and some regions are finding their sales up by 36%.

    Eurocamp, who have provided family camping holidays for 30 years, have shown that Brittany and the Pyrénées are the most popular destinations. Brittany Ferries are also showing an increase in bookings.

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  • France welcomes Australian Cricket Team

    The world famous Crusaders Australian cricket team will be playing a 50 over match at Saumur, the nearest turf wicket to Paris, on Wednesday 27th June.

    The Crusaders, international ambassadors for cricket, arrive in Europe on 8th June for a 42 day tour that will take in 31 cricket matches in six European countries.

    Honorary Patrons of the Crusaders include Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and English chat show host Michael Parkinson.

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  • Is it the end of the café culture in Cote d’Or?

    Following an investigation by France Boisson-Gira, it appears that the number of cafés in the Cote d’Or department is falling. With an 18% drop in the last three years the days of sitting with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine outside a café watching the world go by could be a thing of the past.

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  • Stand up for the French loo

    Had I been in the UK, the chances are that I would have been arrested – quite wrongly, I must stress – for indecent exposure, writes Peter Clayton.

    But I was in fashionable Le Touquet, relieving myself in the fashionable unisex loos of a fashionable bar. Suddenly, the door swung open and in came the cleaning lady who started mopping between my feet as I stood, minding my own business, facing the urinal.

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