FINALLY that spring feeling is in the air, with snowdrops beneath the cherry tree and the smallest of green shoots on the bushes.
There is an air of change, of cleansing and moving forward that only the spring can bring as ideas and thoughts take shape, waiting to be grasped.
YIKES! The price of petrol is heading to record levels again in France, and I’m sure some are still recovering from paying for extra heating fuel after cold snap.
Unfortunately petrol prices are flirting with the €1.60 a litre barrier, and domestic fuel is around the €1 a litre level.
With demand around the world for oil appearing relentless, it seems many will have to change driving habits as well as look at alternative methods of heating.
But if you want to keep an eye on petrol prices don’t forget the official Prix des Carburants en France website.
The site is run by the French government and collects data from thousands of filling stations across the country.
You can start your search via département, commune or postcode, with the results displaying the name of petrol stations and supermarkets closest to your chosen location and the individual prices per litre.
If you register an account with the site you can track prices over time at different stations local to you.
And if you want to make sure you are not paying over the odds for heating fuel then the rather bare bones, prix de vente moyens des carburants, du fioul domestique et des fiouls lourds en France website will help out.
AT this time of year a frosty morning often means a clear blue sky later in the day, this brings out the occasional butterfly and in the distance I’ve heard the cranes heading north, a sign that spring is just around the corner.
IT has struggled to get above freezing across most of France this past week, here in the south of the Dordogne morning temperatures of -9C have almost become the norm.
But with the snow and ice meaning little traffic on the road, the school bus has not run for the past two days, there is a chill stillness to the countryside.
With wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and a small herd of cows huddled around a bale of straw, you feel a long way from the busy world of the 21st century.
SUPPLIERS of electric blankets and duvets will be breathing a sigh of relief as le grand froid arrives in France.
With Météo France predicting temperatures of -15C in the east of the country by the end of the week, I’m sure many have been stocking up the wood pile and making sure there is plenty of food in the cupboard.
Here in Loubejac, in the south of the Dordogne, the weather forecast is talking of temperatures of -10C, but when the cold northerly wind is taken in to account we are looking at -18C being predicted for the morning of Friday.
So it looks like my weekend football match will be called off, and instead the soup will be on, the candles ready in case of power cuts and an eye kept on the sky for signs of snow.
2011 was the year of increased austerity measures including exceptional tax increases across the board. Regrettably, there may be more to come in 2012 and beyond. Whilst investment opportunities will still be available tax mitigation has rarely been more important.
The fight is on for expat representation in Parliament (Images: Alan Cleaver)
A RETORT often given to such an idea is ‘I can’t be bothered – what use is a vote to me? I don’t live in the UK and if anything I want to vote where I live’, writes Brian Cave.
May be so, but the spectrum of expatriate Brits is enormous. At one end you can have the single person aged 30 who intends to live the rest of their life in France.
And at the other end the retired chap of 80 whose whole income via pensions and savings comes from the UK, whose social security support and health care is paid for by the UK under EU regulations and who has family in the UK.
The lack of concern by one should not preclude the interests of the other. After all, no one is obliged to exercise a right to vote.
Within Europe a British citizen can move freely. So the young 30-year-old may earn a living in France for five years, then move to Spain for five years and finally marry an Italian and go to live in Germany.
All the time his ageing mother is living in Leeds, his brother is serving in Afghanistan in the army, his niece is having difficulties at a school in Rochester and he remains British.
It happens that every British citizen is affected by British laws, simply by being British. Every international treaty is signed on our behalf. If Britain pulled out of the EU then it would impinge on every British citizen. Such an action could spell problems for the 54,000 retired Brits living in France and the 450,000 in Europe.
The vote, you should understand, is a mere mechanical process. What is needed is representation in the British Parliament of the needs and concerns of every British expatriate – little or great as it may be.
Over the past decade the right for expatriates to vote has been limited to an arbitrary set of years from leaving the UK shores. It has ranged from zero to five to 20 and back to 15 years, where it is now.
Only one country in Europe, Ireland, totally avoids the representation of their citizens within the EU. Denmark is limited. France and Italy have MPs who have constituencies abroad. French people can vote in London for the French Assembly.
Two citizens have challenged the situation in the courts. Harry Shindler, who is aged 90 but as vibrant as a 60-year-old, in Italy who has a case before the European Court of Justice, and James Prestonm, much younger and who runs a business in Spain. His case is before the High Court in London and running under appeal.
Recently the matter was debated as a corollary to another issue in the House of Lords. One Peer, Lord Lexden, spoke up magnificently on behalf of the British expatriate.
A whole group of activists across the world is pressing the case hard. To find out more, and join in with your support go to www.votes-for-expat-brits.com
HERE is a very simple online dictionary designed for school children in France, but which may prove useful if you are getting up to speed with the language.
Le dictionnaire des écoliers offers up a quick and simple way of finding the definition of around 17,000 French words.
It is actually aimed at school children in nursery and primary schools, but the easy on the eye way it is designed, providing a simple search as well as alphabetical listings may well appeal.
IT’S just after eight in the morning in Loubejac and the overnight frost lies heavy on the fields.
Behind me the moon hangs low in the west and a wren hops from branch to branch, the sun has yet to rise but the day begins to stir (click image to enlarge).
IF you have decided to bring a little more order to your life for the new year, then maybe the delights of the Filofax can help.
From his home in Deux-Sèvres, Steve Morton has helped turn the Philofaxy website into a leading resource for all things Filofax.
The site features buying guides and tips on how Steve and guest authors set up their individual Filofax, as well as advice on creating your own pages for specific records, with hole punch at the ready.
And whilst Steve hosts Skype chats for people around the world, he recently dropped in on Poitiers for a meet-up and is looking to set up another get-together for Filofax users towards spring or summer.
Considering the world seems to be getting ever faster, and ever more complex meaning more bits and bytes go wrong, I’m sure the appeal of returning to pen and paper will only grow.