AS people become more aware of the impact their travel plans have on the environment, schemes have been introduced where you pay a small fee that goes towards a sustainable project.
But for Graeme and Graziella Swan this wasn’t quite enough, so they looked closer to home for a way to reduce the carbon footprint of their three gites in the Poitou Charentes, as well as that of visiting holidaymakers.
I AM a big fan of listening to and watching the news to improve your French, as well as to keep you in touch with what is going on in the country and further a field.
It is also useful for when you want to learn how to compose questions and answer others, although quiz shows are good for this as well, and ten minutes or so every day will really help.
SO as France wakes up with Nicolas Sarkozy set to take the presidential suite in the Élysée Palace, what next for the country?
Supporters of the right will be nursing a sore head after a night of celebration, whilst those on the left may have spent the evening drowning their sorrows.
But in Sarkozy’s words with France ready “to turn a new page” in its history and Ségolène Royal believing that “something has risen up that will not stop” there is hope that new thoughts and ideas will bring change.
UNLESS you have experience in property and construction there is a good chance you are going to have to call upon the services of a builder or artisan.
Of course making sure you have chosen someone who can do the work in the first place is important, but equally so is making sure they are properly registered.
I KNEW I would be able to rely on readers of the site when I asked for the experience of people who receive diabetic treatment in France.
A question had been left on the forum from a couple who were looking to move to the Dordogne, it was the husband who had type 2 diabetes and the question asked if he would receive regular check ups and be covered by the health system.
AN important thing to remember when buying a property in France is that it could be on the market with more than one estate agent.
So finding out once you’ve signed for your new home that it was up for sale for a few thousand euros less with another agent would test the resolve of anyone.
STARTING this evening on BBC4 is what looks to be an interesting series featuring photographs taken around the Edwardian period by French philanthropist Albert Kahn.
He bankrolled a project that sent photographers across the world using fledgling colour photography techniques to record the lives of people as far away as Japan but also on the battlefields of Verdun.
A HOUSE with a difference is set to be built in Normandy, making use of old tyres, bottles, cans and piles of rubbish.
The Earthship is to be modelled on similar properties in the US and be completely eco-friendly, using solar panels to generate its energy needs and recycling water.
The European Union celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and throughout the EU people are celebrating from capitol cities to small villages all with the logo of ‘Together since 1957’.
One canton in the Cote d’Or department of Burgundy celebrated with stalls, photoshoots and friendship.
FARMING in France still holds an important position in the psyche of many people, both from a cultural perspective and an economic one.
French agricultural life still plays a role in many corners of the country, but despite this many farms are still left to drift into a state of disrepair if no one can be found to take over their running following the owner’s retirement.
