This French Life

Author: Craig McGinty

  • Keith Charge – our rugby man in Brive

    Keith-charge
    ANY rugby fan in France is sure to cast an envious eye at Keith Charge who has volunteered his time in a unique way down at his local club.

    Keith is the officier de liaison avec la communauté britannique for CA Brive Rugby club, who compete in the Pro D2 league, and has recognised the value of working with the local community.

    From strongly established connections with Brive and the surrounding Corrèze department, the club has turned to Keith to help establish links with English fans of the sport in the area.

    But as the club has become more established within European competitions Keith’s work has seen him help teams in the UK and Ireland, and their fans, enjoy their time in Brive, although hopefully leaving with just fond memories and not a victory.

    Hear Keith chat about how he got the liaison officer role at Brive and his experiences of French rugby:

    Keith Charge can be contacted via email: keith.charge@cabrive-rugby.com

  • Swallows & Robins tells of tales from the gîte frontline

    Swallowsivy400webcovFOR many people a move to France involves the setting up of a small gîte to offer up to holiday makers and as a way to earn a few euros.

    But for author Susie Kelly it meant repairing old buildings, handling entertaining guests and as you will read below corralling the chickens into the barn away from a sensitive visitor.

    These are just some of the tales featured in Susie’s latest book, Swallows & Robins – The Guests In My Garden, and here is an extract for you to enjoy.

    The Lamenting Hens, by Susie Kelly

    Lavande’s first guests this year are a gentle elderly couple staying, fortunately as it will turn out for the hens, for only one week. They have come, they say, just to enjoy the quiet country life. With frogs, crickets, bats, nightingale, owls, and many other varieties of birds in our garden, I’m sure they will.

    However, the morning after their arrival the old gentleman is shouting over the fence, “Miss, Miss, please come quickly.”

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  • Keeping the lights on, and spirits up, in winter

    France-electricityWITH winter on our French doorsteps it only seems like yesterday that many parts of the country were experiencing severe cold spells, writes Paul Wilkins.

    The winter has a huge impact on many residents, particularly those in rural areas where life can be quite ‘cut off’ even during the high season, so cold spells can be somewhat demoralizing.

    Your home is pretty much your safety and comfort zone during the winter months and it needs to be kept warm and safe. There is very little you can do to ward off external influences, but there is plenty that you can do to prepare for them.

    Before those shutters are closed and the wood is chopped here are a few things to add to the checklist in your preparation for winter.

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  • British people moving to France falls more than 50%

    British-emigration
    THE number of British people moving to France long-term has more than halved from the heady days of 2004 to 2005.

    Research published by the Home Office shows that at the peak the number emigrating to France from the UK was around 45,000 a year.

    However, for 2010 the figures show there to be less than 20,000, putting the numbers leaving the UK to cross the Channel at a level last seen around the year 2000.

    When British people do head to France they intend to stay, in the majority of cases, for more than four years, similar to the time scale of those heading to Spain.

    The report goes on to say that a quarter of a million British citizens left the UK to live in France and Spain for an extended period, if not permanently, over the last decade.

    Interestingly the report looks at the impact of exchange rates on the number of people leaving the UK, although it does warn that the findings in this case are based on a small sample size.

    But from 2000 to 2010 the figures suggest that sustained falls in British emigration have occured since 2007, which have been mirrored by the depreciation of the pound against the Australian dollar, the Euro and the US dollar.

  • Capturing the sea, sands and light of Brittany’s beaches

    On-golden-shores-Locquirec-Brittany-SMTHE Celtic connection between Cornwall and Brittany is strong, and artist Melanie McDonald has taken this further in capturing coastal scenes from both sides of the Channel.

    Here, in a short Q&A via email, Melanie writes on how Brittany compares to Cornwall, her artistic techniques and how some of the characters of the coast are transferred to canvas.

    Click thumbnail images to enlarge.

    Craig McGinty: How have you ended up in Brittany?

    Melanie McDonald: Good question. I’ve lived mostly in Cornwall and first travelled over to Brittany in 2000 to visit friends, I fell in love with it instantly.

    Many people say that Brittany is like Cornwall was years ago. It’s always felt somehow familiar and yet invitingly different. The dream was to buy an old farm with land on the north coast near Locquirec, which is what we’ve done.

    The old farmhouse kitchen is my make-shift studio, it’s great. The five year plan is to build my dream studio where the old hanger is.

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  • Property sales in the Lot and Dordogne

    Puy-leveque

    With many years experience in the estate agency business in south west France, Jane Bloggs is bilingual and able to help you find a property in the region.

    Her experience will be invaluable if you are looking for property in the Lot Valley, la Bouriane, Lot et Garonne or Dordorgne areas.

    Below is just a selection of properties Jane currently has available, and if you want more information please complete the form below to arrange an initial, no obligation chat.

    ***

    Former railway house, three bedrooms on around 700 m² of land

    Price : €159,000 (I.A.F. inclusive of agency fees)

    Station-houseThrough the entrance door into a large lounge (about 17m²) with large windows, overlooking the terrace and the garden, and has a wooden floor.

    There is a bathroom with bath, wash hand basin, tiled floor and separate WC. Also bedroom 1 (15.75 m²), with wooden floor, built-in cupboards and a window.

    Kitchen/dining room (15m²) fully fitted with units, two windows and a fireplace with a wood burning stove, tiled floors.

    On the first floor there is bedroom 2: (15m²) with carpet floor and a window. Bedroom 3: (10.44m²) with carpet floor and a window. Also a shower room with cabin shower, wash hand basin and WC.

    ***

    Attractive fully restored stone property set on 1,478 square metres of land

    Price : €250,000 (I.A.F. inclusive of agency fees)

    House-saleMain house accommodation is on two levels with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, 2 WCs, a lounge, a utility room and a stone small barn.

    Access with stone steps to a covered front entrance doorway. Entrance hallway landing. A corridor leads to the bedrooms and bathroom.

    At the garden level there is a fitted kitchen (of about 19m²) with double sink, tiled floors, exposed wooden beams, with a door leading to the garden and terrace. Utility room with sink, plumbing for washing machine and oil fired boiler.

    A large lounge (of about 27m²) with open stone fireplace in stone, three windows and a door leading to the garden, tiled floor, and exposed oak wooden beams.

    A lovely enclosed private terrace area with a BBQ. Also a small stone barn for complete renovation. A covered workshop/storage area.

    ***

    Renovated country stone house and barn, stunning views

    Price : €315,000 (I.A.F. inclusive of agency fees)

    Conversion-stone-barn-lotAccess to the property is via a long private gravelled driveway to the parking area.

    On the ground floor you enter through the front room onto the reception room (6.5m x 4m), double height ceilings, with a lovely open stone fireplace, exposed wooden beams, tiled floor.

    The living room (4.9 x 4.3) has chestnut flooring and with woodburner. And the kitchen/dining (7.5 x 3.8) area has a small utility room. Two windows and a door leads to the garden. Tiled floor.

    On the first floor there is a wooden staircase that leads to the two bedrooms. Bedroom 1: (4.3 x 4.9) with en-suite bathroom and WC, two windows, exposed beams and wooden parquet floor. Bedroom 2: (3.8 x 4) with wooden exposed beams, wooden parquet floor and one window.

    There is a bathroom with wash hand basin and WC. Also a study / bedroom (2.8 x 4.1) currently used as a bedroom, with one window, wooden parquet flooring.

    ***

    Other properties Jane is able to provide more details on include:

    An old house in need of complete renovation in Blanquefort sur Briolance, priced €27,300. A large house in St Cyprien over two floors with new fosse septique and electricity in place, priced €98,000.

    ***

  • UK residents with property in France. What are your tax obligations?

    Many British readers own property here in France but remain resident in the UK. For many of them it is a holiday home, which they may also rent out from time to time. For others it is an investment property. Either way, you need to understand what all your tax liabilities are on the property, bearing in mind that it is your responsibility to declare the property and any income and gains correctly.

    With the UK Treasury issuing another warning against hiding assets offshore – including property – it is worth reminding UK residents what their tax obligations are on their French property, here in France as well as in the UK, particularly since there have been some changes in France this year.

    via www.blevinsfranks.com

  • Alcoholics Anonymous in France there for ‘dangerous’ Christmas period

    Alcoholics-anonymousWITH the festive period quickly approaching the Alcoholics Anonymous France South West Intergroup offer some support and details on how you can attend meetings conducted in English in France.

    Promise me you won’t drink so much this Christmas. You always spoil it for everyone, especially the kids. You made a complete idiot of yourself last night – you embarrassed everyone.

    Have you ever heard those words said to you, or perhaps you’ve used them yourself to a friend or family member?

    Christmas is a wonderful time for anyone who might be drinking too much already. Why? Because they don’t have to try to hide the amount that they are drinking.

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  • Taking a 4,000 mile walk around France

    Terry CudbirdUPON retirement Terry Cudbird decided to take a 4,000 mile walk around France, asking his 60-year-old hips and knees to circle a country he had a long-held, deep affection for.

    His book, titled Walking the Hexagon, An Escape Around France on Foot, tells of travels through the Pyrenees, Provence, the Jura, Brittany and everywhere in between.

    Terry writes about the many characters he met, including a few drop-outs from the heady days of Paris in ’68, but it was also a journey that gave him time to think about his own responsibilities and future now the world of work was behind him.

    His love for reading maps, and for browsing the web for interesting places to visit, gave Terry a rough plan of a start point in the Pyrenees and then an anti-clockwise route around France.

    Having already undertaken other long-distance walks, Terry still had a few doubts about just how he would handle the time alone, but he found it relaxing and being a walker saw him bump into some interesting characters, as well as be taken in by people he now considers good friends.

    Walking the HexagonOn his walk Terry wore out two pairs of boots, and suffered from particularly painful blisters at one point, but every morning after a cup of coffee and a bite of a baguette he took to the road, despite sometimes not being able to see the surrounding countryside through the rain.

    One of his favourite places on the walk was the Cévennes, in southern France, with its deep history, remains of old villages and beautiful views from the mountain tops.

    And although Terry has occasionally had a bout of itchy feet, he has been able to reflect on the 4,000 miles he has travelled to write up the story of the walk as well as consider how he has changed as a person.

    Listen to Terry Cudbird:

    “It has broadened my mind meeting so many different people, and I am much happier speaking French,” Terry said.

    “One of the best things about the walk was the many people I met have now become good friends and invited me back to walk with them.”

    Website: www.walkingaroundfrance.com

  • Père Noël opens his office in La Poste

    Pere-noel-franceTHE digital doors have been opened on Père Noël’s electronic office in La Poste to process the more than one million letters he is set to receive.

    Marking its 50th anniversary, the secretarial team in Père Noël’s office based in the Gironde number around 60 and will be looking to process 1.4 million letters, quite an increase on the 5,000 letters received in 1962.

    Père Noël has had an online presence since 1996, and website visitors can complete a short form by entering postal details and send a message to the big man, in return children receive a card in the post.