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The new kid on the energy block, shale gas, may be worse in climate change terms than coal, a study concludes.

via www.bbc.co.uk

The official Google Translate for iPhone app is available for download from the App Store. The new app has all of the features of the web app, plus some significant new additions designed to improve your overall translation experience.

via googleblog.blogspot.com

TAKE a browse over these books about France which I have reviewed, or in some cases read an author interview and learn more about living life with a French twist.

Plus if you decide to purchase any products through the site it receives a small commission to help keep it up and running – and that does not cost you a penny extra.

Review of Je t’aime à La Folie, by Michael Wright
Welcome back to the French life of Daily Telegraph columnist Michael Wright in his latest book, Je t’aime à La Folie.

After his first book, C’est La Folie, which told us of Michael’s move to France, this time we are taken further into his local village community and how he looks to put down some roots.

All the regular characters are in the book, his always helpful neighbours, the foraging chickens and rastafarian sheep…

Review of The Camargue, Portrait of a Wilderness
For centuries man has attempted to control and master the Camargue, from the creation of vast salt pans to the promotion of modern day tourism.

And it is many of these attempts that Edwin Mullins chronicles in his book The Camargue, Portrait of a Wilderness, as well as the rich stories and often violent history of a region that still excites and intrigues.

Starting with the river Rhone that sets out from the Alps you are introduced to the Romans and the important role they played in establishing trade links and creating an infrastructure, evidence of which can still be seen today…

Interview with Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth and Sepulchre
The bloody history of medieval Carcassone was brought to life in the international best-selling book Labyrinth.

And now its author Kate Mosse takes us back to the south west with her latest book Sepulchre, a tale from the dark woods of the Corbières involving ghosts, murder and tarot cards.

Here I chat with Kate about the mystery of the region and her writing life – also find out how to win a copy of Sepulchre – and so my first question was what frights can people expect from the new book?

Interview with Vicki Archer author of My French Life
When an email landed in my inbox asking if I was interested in finding out more about a book called My French Life, I thought with a title like that how could I resist?

So I quickly arranged an interview with the book’s author Vicki Archer, and asked for a copy so that I could offer it up as a prize for readers of the site.

The Q&A style interview is below and you will find details of how to enter the competition to win a copy of the book at the end of the piece, but first a little about Vicki Archer and her book…

Review of C’est La Folie
Few people leave the UK to buy a home in France on their own.

But Daily Telegraph columnist Michael Wright did just that when he left the easy life of London behind to ‘toughen-up’ in Limousin.

And in his book C’est La Folie, Michael charts his progress from theatre critic to rugged paysan, as he shepherds his sheep, chats with his chickens and tackles the renovation of his dilapidated home…

More books about France.

JUST a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Plus a big thank you to everyone who keeps dropping in on This French Life and for all the great feedback I get from the site’s visitors.

So take care and I’ll soon be back to living life the French way…

– Craig

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is reminding anyone posting gifts by airmail, or travelling with presents on board an aircraft this Christmas, that certain items are prohibited for carriage by air.

The CAA’s advice comes after incidents in the UK where people have posted potentially dangerous items either as gifts or as sale items from online auction sites, such as ebay. Recent cases include several attempts to post cigarette lighters, which have been responsible for numerous fires when carried improperly by air.

via www.caa.co.uk

HERE is your chance to win a copy of Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves, by Kimberley Lovato, which takes you through some of the hidden gems of the Dordogne.

Kimberley has kindly offered two copies of the book as prizes so readers of This French Life have an opportunity of winning one in an ever so easy to enter competition.

Here is an extract from the first chapter:

The house where Danièle’s father was born, where her four children were raised, and where she welcomes her six grandchildren each summer, could be a movie set.

Straw hats hang from one of the wooden beams and an old-fashioned lamp provides light to a small workspace where Danièle has laid out a crisply ironed white cloth on which she is slicing smoked sanglier (wild boar).

“I live almost like my grandmother did,” she says, pointing her knife in my direction, then gets back to the business of slicing.

The house indeed appears untouched by time and as I survey the room, Danièle seems to survey her memories then confirms that not much has changed, except for refrigeration and plumbing.

The main room is chock-a-block with mementos and photos, paintings and flowers, and consists of a kitchen and a dining-living room area with a glass door that leads to an overgrown garden.

But the pièce de résistance and my biggest source of curiosity is the enormous fireplace that separates the two rooms.

It is open on both sides with a slew of ancient cooking utensils at the ready, and slow burning embers cast their orange glow on a platter of duck legs that await their fate.

Danièle pokes at the fire and tells me she designed the fireplace herself with entertaining in mind.

“Cooking is so much more than just eating,” she says. “It is about talking and being social, and making people as happy as you can with the food you prepare.”

Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves is a culinary travel book that invites readers to pull up a chair and visit the Dordogne the way it should be visited, one bite at a time.

Through interactions with local home cooks and chefs, visits to local farms and historic sites, market tours, and wineries, readers will discover the true jewels in France’s culinary crown as well as discover the country’s most beautiful and less trod-upon provinces.

To enter please leave a message in the comment form below, for example ‘please enter me into the competition’, but make sure your email address is correct, and just one entry per email address.

Two messages will be picked at random each winning a copy of the book. Closing date for the competition is Friday, June 18, 2010 at 11am Paris time.

THE COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED

I WANT to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and hope you have a happy and healthy New Year.

So I’ll say Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!!!

Many thanks for continuing to drop in on This French Life.

THE campaign for the reinstatement of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component, carers and attendance allowance took a further step forward today with questions raised in the House, to the Work and Pensions Ministers, by Oliver Letwin (Con) and Roger Gale (Con), writes Tina Hamilton.

Mr Letwin’s question regarding when DLA was going to be paid to expatriates living in the EU was brushed aside by minister Tony McNulty with little comment, other than ‘I’ll get back to you’.

(more…)

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AT this time of year many people will enjoy eating a galette des rois, but if you buy one from a boulangerie just outside Caen you could be in for a surprise.

Baker Julien Vitrebert will place two tiny ingots of gold, worth €400 (£386) each, in two of his galettes over the coming weeks, quite a change from the usual plastic toy that sees the winner wear a paper crown.

So you can expect quite a queue outside Julien Vitrebert’s shop in Frénouville, and he has said he will be the only person who knows which two tarts will have the ingots, not even his wife will know.

CONTINUING the collection of short pieces from people who have featured on This French Life as they look forward to 2009 and ponder on what it will bring personally but also to France.

Richard Stewart, of Guide2PoitouCharentes
2009 could be the toughest year that many people will have faced, and I hope that the many British small businesses here in France are able to survive the current difficult trading conditions.

As a small business ourselves, we will be doing everything we can to help, by adapting our products and prices, and introducing innovations to our site that will benefit our clients and visitors.

For France, I hope that the country does not sell its soul in search of economic recovery. We all want changes that will help business, but not those that destroy the things that make this a great place to live.

Beryl Brennan, of Galgo News
Personally I’d like to see strict control of breeding, health care and living conditions for all dogs in Spain and Spanish Islands, in particular for my beloved galgos and podencos, the abolition of all forms of cruelty to these dogs and absolute enforcement of the laws which exist to protect them.

For France? Encouragement for small businesses such as is available in the UK, in the form of monetary grants, waiving of payment of taxes and social charges until the business gets some income, greatly reduced paperwork and bureaucracy, and a considerably reduced number of public service employees!

Anna Fill, of The Riviera Woman
It is all about the situation really. It appears the world has got itself into a bit of a mess. I think everyone knew it was coming (the crash) but didn’t know when and how it would affect us. Maybe it isn’t and won’t be all bad.

Perhaps all the one-up-man-ship will stop and people will believe in each other and in communication and working together. I started my website in 2008, The Riviera Woman to bring together mainly women, who wanted to be their own person but not feel isolated and alone and to feel that they could still feel encouraged and motivated even when all around is so hesitant.

I believe we all have a right to be different and unique and by working together, we actually form a unity that can make a difference no matter how small.

The Riviera is a good place to be. It is well positioned and has a beautiful landscape to admire. Contrary to its reputation, it is not excluded from the financial situation that is happening in the rest of the world… but I have discovered so many talented women who are eager to build new careers and voice their experiences.

We are all spread across the Rivieras of France and Italy but one thing unites us all… The Riviera Woman. This is my Constellation. Each one of us is like a little star sitting brightly alone far from the next but together form an luminous spectacle which has an amazing presence.

For 2009, I see The Riviera Woman growing stronger and brighter. We will all learn to network better, consider the needs of others and at the same time by being observant, be able to build new careers which is good for us, good for France and good for The Riviera Woman.

Coral Luke, of This French Life
I am involved in a project to start a French class for non French people around where I live.

We are proposing cultural talks on the way of life in France, nature walks, getting guest speakers to talk on a range of subjects and generally help people to integrate more by opening up possibilities for them.

I cannot see things getting much better regarding the economy in the near future. We have French friends who have been laid off work, those that have had their hours cut and had a month long holiday for Christmas and New Year.

The papers do not make for pleasant reading, but many people are now becoming more self sufficient which will be ecologically friendly.

Looking forward on the coming year – part 1