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AROUND ten o’clock on a summer evening the nightjars take flight to feast on the passing insects.

DETAILS on the opening times for a number of public bodies and services around Villefranche-du-Périgord, as well as Loubejac, Saint-Cernin-de-l’Herm, Besse, Lavaur and Mazeyrolles.

Mairie contact information:

Please check in advance the opening times of the mairie that you want to visit, the times below are a guide but can easily change and I don’t want you to waste your time to only find it closed.

Mairie de Villefranche-du-Périgord
Open Monday to Friday from 09h to 12h and 13h30 to 17h.
Tel – 05 53 29 91 44

Mairie de Loubejac
Open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 14h to 16h30.
Tel – 05 53 29 90 48

Mairie de Saint-Cernin-de-l’Herm
Open Monday and Friday from 16h30 to 18h.
Tel – 05 53 29 94 18

Mairie de Lavaur
Open Monday and Wednesday from 09h to 11h.
Tel – 05 53 29 99 24

Mairie de Besse
Open Wednesday and Friday from 14h to 17h.
(From May 2018 new opening hours Tuesday and Thursday from 9h to 11h.)
Tel – 05 53 29 93 42

Mairie de Prats-du-Périgord
Open Monday and Friday from 09h to 12h30 and 13h30 to 15h30.
Open Wednesday from 09h to 12h.
Tel – 05 53 29 95 80

Mairie de Mazeyrolles (in Le Got)
Open Monday and Friday from 13h to 17h.
Open Tuesday from 9h to 12h and 13h30 to 17h30.
Open Wednesday and Thursday from 13h30 à 17h30.
Tel – 05 53 29 93 75

La déchetterie, or rubbish tip, at Saint-Cernin-de-l’Herm
Open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 13h30 to 17h.

Again the opening hours can change. especially over the summer months, so please check in advance.

And find out more about recycling your rubbish and the requirements for using the déchetterie.

Tourist Office
Rue Notre Dame
24550 Villefranche-du-Périgord
Tel – 0033 (0)5 53 29 98 37

April, May and from September 21 to 30 : from Tuesday to Friday [10 am – 12.30 pm / 2 pm – 5.30 pm] and Saturday [10 am – 1 pm / 2 pm – 5.30 pm]

From June 1 to 13 : from Tuesday to Friday [10 am – 12.30 pm / 2 pm – 6 pm] and Saturday [10 am – 1 pm]

From June 14 to July 11 and from August 22 to September 18 : from Sunday to Friday [10 am – 12.30 pm / 2 pm – 6 pm] and Saturday [10 am – 1 pm / 2 pm – 6 pm]

From July 12 to August 21 : from Sunday to Friday [10 am – 12.30 pm / 2 pm – 6.30 pm] and Saturday [10 am-1 pm / 2 pm – 6.30 pm]

For more on living in the region, check out a piece I often update looking at the cost of living in the Dordogne.

The government will today (8 February) restate its commitment to ending the current 15 year time limit on British expats registering as overseas electors.

As well as removing a time limit on the right to vote for UK citizens living abroad, the government intends to enfranchise any British expats who was previously resident or registered to vote in the UK. This is part of the government’s wider ambition to strengthen the foundation of democracy and continually increase voter registration by ensuring every voter’s voice is heard.

Combined, these changes will mean millions of UK citizens overseas will be eligible to register to vote. British expats – under existing laws – have the lowest level of voter registration of any group.

A SHORT walk in the early evening air is always a pleasure after a heavy, thunder storm threatening sort of day and when you spot a badger just ahead it is even better.

I had already spotted a few signs of grubs and bugs being dug up at the side of the path, and even heard the crunching sound of snails being eaten in the early morning, and there on a pathway in the woods was the reason.

The bracken quivering was the first sign of something beside the path, and as I slowed a flash of silver grey gave away the position of the badger as it scrabbled around searching for a bite to eat.

Following it for five minutes or so, at a distance of around 30 metres, I was able to watch the badger move smoothly though the bracken and bushes, before it ambled across in front of me and away into the chestnut trees and oaks.

PETER Quill and his fellow Guardians are hired by a powerful alien race, the Sovereign, to protect their precious batteries from invaders.

When it is discovered that Rocket has stolen the items they were sent to guard, the Sovereign dispatch their armada to search for vengeance. As the Guardians try to escape, the mystery of Peter’s parentage is revealed.

The showing, in French, takes place on Friday 26 May and starts at 20h30 at the foyer rural, Place de la Halle, Villefranche-du-Périgord. Tickets are priced €6 with reduced rates of €4.50.

Les Gardiens de la Galaxie doivent combattre pour rester unis alors qu’ils découvrent les mystères de la filiation de Peter Quill.

Les vieux ennemis vont devenir de nouveaux alliés et des personnages bien connus des fans de comics vont venir aider nos héros et continuer à étendre l’univers Marvel.

IT is never very easy to capture the deer local to Loubejac on camera, but when you spot five just off the road side in the low light of early evening you have to give it a try.

The last of the five had just sprung across the road in front of us as we drove along and quickly caught up with the others in the field.

One or two turned to look at us sat in the car before heading off and disappearing into the forest of chestnut and oak trees.

A PICK of places to visit and things to do close to Villefranche-du-Périgord in the southern Dordogne, with a few further afield that you might enjoy as well.

This first selection is for things you can do within around 30 minutes of Villefranche-du-Périgord.

A guide to Église Saint-Martin in Besse
There have been human settlements in Besse dating back possibly as far as the Prehistoric age, and with iron ore in the ground and wood for charcoal from the nearby forests it later became important for the Celts.

A magical walk with the trois évêques, near Lavaur, Dordogne
You are sure to see the steep rock face from the road as you navigate the tight bend, but not many people stop and take a stroll to the Fontaine des trois évêques.

A walk around Prats du Perigord
Stroll around the small Dordogne village of Prats-du-Périgord*, but keep an eye out for the speedy Nordic Walkers as they stride past.

Woolen mill Filature de Belvès
The spinning mill sits beneath the hill on top of which sits the Dordogne town of Belvès, and it produced yarns up until the 1990s.

Pottering around Virebent pottery, Puy l’Eveque
Down through the riverside village of Puy l’Eveque, across the bridge over the Lot, past the fish and chip restaurant and at the small roundabout you’ll see a sign for Virebent pottery.

Abbaye Nouvelle, a place of hidden stories
As you walk around the Abbaye Nouvelle, found between Gourdon and Salviac in the Lot, you begin to wonder what life the monks must have experienced in this corner of south west France.

These are places to visit that are at the most an hour away from this southern tip of the Dordogne.

Canoeing on the river Dordogne
Glide through the water in your canoe as you pass the turrets and towers of Castlenaud on the river Dordogne.

Visit to the Museum of Resistance, in Cahors
Across six rooms you learn how the Resistance in the Lot département took shape to attack armoured columns, bomb railway lines and support Allied troops and operations in the region.

The Tuilières hydroelectric dam and fish lift
The dam and adjoining fish ladder, or more accurately fish lift, are found on the D660 between Lalinde and Bergerac.

EVENTS and What’s On around Villefranche-du-Périgord, as well as Loubejac, Saint-Cernin-de-l’Herm, Besse, Lavaur and Mazeyrolles.

Read and download a free guide to Villefranche-du-Périgord.

Also discover places to visit close to Villefranche-du-Périgord in the southern Dordogne, with a few further afield that you might enjoy as well.

If you have a local event you want to see here contact me/contactez-moi: craig@thisfrenchlife.com

THE light late in the evening around Loubejac at the moment is long and warm, offering you the chance to catch some glowing colours. Here a patch of daisies in a gently sloping field take in the last of the sun as it sets behind the hills on the far side of the valley.