One of the questions often asked when people look to buy a property in France is whether it has a pool?
There is not only the appeal of taking a dip during the hot summer months, but properties are more attractive to holidaymakers if they have a pool.
ONE of the problems of taking your computer to France is that if your keyboard is of a UK or US type then entering accents on letters can be a real challenge.
Trying to hold down three keys, in the right order and hoping you enter à or ê can soon tie your fingers up in knots.
THE BBC has an ever expanding section on their website for people keen to improve their French language skills.
A recent addition is the Ma France series of interactive videos that feature situations filmed in and around Lyon, the Alps and Provence.
CLOSE your eyes and imagine spending a balmy summer’s afternoon listening to the thwack of leather against willow on the village green, the scent of newly mown grass, the cricketers in their whites and the interval for tea, writes Coral Luke.
WALK down any street in France and it won’t be long before you hear music and song from the rich tradition of times past.
You may hear the rhythmic lyrics of the Occitan language, the ancient pipes and drums of Breton or the mystical strains of North African berbère music.
WITH summer temperatures heading upwards government plans to ensure vulnerable people are safe should a heat wave occur have been put in place.
During the canicule of 2003, when temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), it was estimated that around 15,000 people died.
AS the summer holiday season approaches many people will be heading over to France with their cars.
But a few simple checks before departure will ensure your trip runs smoothly and doesn’t get stuck in a pothole or two.
I WAS browsing around a few internet music sites recently and crossed a French musician whose work is so different to that you normally hear.
Fabien Marsaud is described as a slam poet and works under the name Grand Corps Malade, a reference to an accident that means he now has difficulty walking.
THE appeal of solar power in France saw a 134 per cent increase in sales last year, in comparison to 2004 a study has revealed.
Tecsol, a French company that studies the solar energy market, says that across Europe there was a surge in sales of 18 per cent.
I AM often asked about safe computing when in France and a recent story on the BBC highlights the dangers out there.
Hackers were able to hijack the computer of a woman in Rochdale and put her personal files behind a password that could only be unlocked if she paid a ransom.