WITH the festive period just around the corner, you may be thinking of giving a little back and volunteering for a charitable group.
Be it helping raise funds for the homeless, supporting a children’s home or organising a musical evening for an animal charity, there is usually something you can do.
THERE is a small, little-known corner of the north western end of the huge Rhone-Alpes region in France which is waiting, somewhat patiently, for discovery and greater attention, writes Brian Franklin.
This area is called Le Roannais in the département of the Loire.
Yes, of course, many tourists and business travellers from the UK and other parts of Europe visit, or drive through the region down the famous route N7 every year.
This is exactly what they often do – drive straight through or around it without stopping and taking a ‘breath’ but they are missing a lot.
It is not, however, an isolated part of France, like many areas can be in this huge country.
DISCOVER the work of the French artist who inspired LS Lowry to draw his ‘matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs’.
An exhibition of the work of Adolphe Valette, the French impressionist, is being held at the Lowry Gallery in Salford and he was amongst the first to bring Impressionism to Manchester.
Valette’s canvases are dynamic and powerful, with fog and pollution shrouding buildings, squares, and waterways, with hardly discernible figures hurrying across them, and with light sparkling through the gloom.
Less well known are his light-filled, beautifully coloured landscapes and domestic scenes painted in France, many on show for the first time.
EXPLORATION into the extraction of shale gas will continue in France, despite the government cancelling three licences in the south of France.
Speaking on the iTele news channel, finance minister Valérie Pécresse said research into the potential of shale gas deposits in France had to continue.
This comes as ecology minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said that three permits, Nant and Villeneuve-de-Berg operated by US-owned Schuepbach and the Montélimar permit overseen by Total have been cancelled.
BRIAN Franklin continues his story of how he and his wife, Lucy, slowly and sympathetically returned a collection of outbuildings found in the grounds of the Chateau des Cresses, in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France.
Here he looks back on the work involved, and some of the lessons learnt, as well as the advantages of moving to France.
At last. The work is over, the spending has slowed down, and the results of all our efforts can be clearly seen and appreciated.
FRENCH oil company Total has said it will continue to explore the potential of gaz de schiste, or shale gas, fields in the south of France.
Its Montélimar permit runs from the north of Montélimar, past Nimes towards Montpellier, and whilst legislation was passed earlier this year banning the ‘fracking’ technique of extraction, companies can still carry out research in the permitted areas.
The death of a man stung by an Asian hornet has exacerbated fears over the invasive species that has taken France by storm and could reach Britain within three years.
Patrice Verry, 38, was stung by one of the predators on Saturday after trying to wave it away with a kitchen towel at a barbecue in Lherm, in the Haute-Garonne region of southwestern France.
IF you go down to the woods today, make sure you are not surprised and use a smartphone app to help you improve your tree-spotting skills.
The Clés de Forêt is available on the iPhone and Android based systems, and it enables you to discover more than 30 of the principle trees found in the forests of France.
An update has also provided information on spotting some of the birds and animals you might spot when in the woods, or at least some of the tell-tale signs of them having passed by.
You are helped in your search by going through a check-list of observations, such as the shape and position on the branches of the leaves, and then details of the tree the app believes you are stood in front of.
The Asian hornet arrived in France in 2004 and has become the scourge of all amateur beekeepers. From the beginning of August, Frédéric Wielezynski, a beekeeper in the Médoc region of France, spends every weekend tirelessly repeating the same futile gestures. He positions himself in front of his hives armed with a fly swat and tries to crush the enormous bee-eating hornets.
These are not just any hornets, but the Asian Vespa velutina. "I know it's useless, because a dozen more will arrive as soon as my back is turned, but I have to do something," said Wielezynski, president of the Gironde and Aquitaine beekeepers' association. "I love my bees and I can't just stand by and see them being eaten up without doing anything about it."
ARE you looking to earn a few euros, or maybe just keen to experience a different side of French life, well how about a job on a vineyard or at an orchard?
A special section on the Pôle Emploi website, the national employment service, titled, Vendanges et cueillettes 2011, has been created which provides details of the current openings available across France.
You can narrow down your search based on location, find out a few more details and then begin tracking down employment opportunities that appeal.
Contact details for the local offices of Pôle Emploi who are handling the placement of staff are available, and payment is usually le SMIC, the minimum wage of €9 an hour.