French Women live longer why?

French women like to feel 'bien dans sa peau' (feel good in her body). I have lived in France now for 5 years and I have observed that the French eat a lot more vegetables and fruit as a starter, and consider wine to be part of their meal, no need to drink a whole bottle or binge.  They stick to three meals per day and rarely snack between meals.  The life style of the French reminds me so much of what it was like when I was growing up, in the 1950's (well except for the wine). I remember we had simple meals with lots of vegetables, we never had things like crisps and chocolate for snacking on.  Some of the longest living French women live in southwest's midi-pyrenees region famous for its fatty fois gras and rustic red wines. So what is the key to indulging in these fatty foods, it's all a matter of Moderation and variety.  In France life expectancy currently is increasing at an average of three months per year. French officials project, the average life span for women will be 95 and 91 for men.  I have also noticed a lot of elderly French cycle and walk a lot more. The French also tend to prepare their meals from scratch they shop every day for fresh vegetables and fruit, they have structured meal times and eating is an important time of the day. If you go out into a village or town between 12pm and 2pm the streets will be empty, everyone is sitting down to the main meal of the day, and it is defiantly not rushed. Yogurt seems to be another food eaten daily mainly for breakfast, and a lot of French buy natural yogurt and add fresh fruit.

In France 76 % of French people eat their meals, they have prepared, at home, with 75% eating at the family table. They spend typically two hours over lunch eating slowly,  never eat in front of the television and eat three times per day at regular intervals. In other words eating in France is a social activity, with several small courses, wine and there's alway water on the table.

The French women's guide to eating
French women never eat while walking or standing.
French women never snack, especially on fast food.
In France, every neighborhood has its own market.
French women do not belong to a gym, they swim, walk or cycle to keep fit.
French women drink very moderately.
So that is why French women rate second in the world for longevity. Japan coming first.

Madame Jeanne Calment the oldest person who ever lived. This photo was taken when she was 112 years old. She lived another decade and died at the age of 122 years old.

1875-1997

Social Benefits in France

Unemployment Benefits and Job Seeking in France


The Pôle-Emploi (Employment Centre) operates the employment centre, assisting job seekers to find placement and ensures benefits are paid. It also works with employers, assisting companies in their recruitment and collects contributions for unemployment insurance.

The conditions for received unemployment benefits are very complex, and depend on an individual's circumstances. However one criteria is that an employee must have worked 4 months out of the previous 28 months and not have left their employment of their own free will. The job seeker must pre-register either by email, or telephone, then they received a notice of appointment.

During the interview an advisor will write up a plan of action (called projet Personnalisé d'Accès à l'Emploi) to find a job. Job seekers eligible for benefit payments will immediately be registered as an employment seeker. Once the file (dossier)  is complete, and the form allowing unemployment benefit is signed, the dossier will be examined and the unemployed person will be notified of their rights.

The duration of the benefit is then directly proportional to the period of employment. So a minimum of 4 months employment grants you 4 months unemployment benefit, although if you had at least 2 months employment in the last 28 months you are eligible to a one-off payment of €500.00.

The duration of the benefit then rises on a scale directly related to your period of coverage, to a maximum of 2 years unemployment benefit for those less than 50 years of age.

For those 50+ years of age, the maximum duration of cover is 36 months, provided you have been in employment for at least 3 years. So if your salary was €20,000. in the previous 12 months, you would be entitled to €20,000/365 days = €55, per day.

Housing Benefit and Income support


Revenue Minimum d'Insertion (RMI) is the French equivalent of the British Income Support.

If a family has fewer than 3 children it will usually receive financial aid in the form of APL personalised accommodation help, which is calculated according to the global revenue of the household  and can account for a third or even half of the rent amount. If the family has three or more children, it is not eligible for APL, but receives family allowance, the amount depends on both the revenue of the household and the number of children. The money is paid to the household and not individually.  The housing projects are not rent free, but are relatively inexpensive.

If the unemployment benefit runs out before you get a job, and have worked 5 years out of the previous 10 years, then you may be paid income support. If you qualify then it is paid automatically. The amount of payment depends on your work history, average salary etc. This is called specific solidarity allowance, (ASS) and is set at €15.37 / day according to the resources of the beneficiary, it is paid at full or reduced rate. It is paid monthly for six months, after six months it is reviewed and may be paid for another six months.

A strong offer

It was 29th December 2011, we had a viewing from a French couple, living in Crepy-En-Valois, in the Department of Oise, it is about 35 Km north of Paris.  This couple contacted me through Le boncoin, which is a French property website.  I immediately passed the information to Century 21 the estate agent acting on our behalf, and they arranged a viewing date for 29th December. The couple were so keen on buying the house they asked if it was possible to arrange a date for the signing of 'The Compromis de Ventre'. (this translates to: (Promise to sell agreement).

The Compromis de Ventre must be drawn up by a Notaire, which is equivalent to a solicitor in the UK, although an estate agent can draw this up, but must satisfy the Notaire.   The Compromis de Ventre is essentially adapted for the seller, who wants the purchaser to be committed to buy. Once a Compromis de Ventre is signed by both parties, there is a cooling off period of 7 days, were the purchaser can rescind the transaction for any reason. But once the contract is signed the seller does not have the right to rescind.

After the couple came to view the house, along with 6 members of his family, they agreed on the asking price for the house. Now, as we are not fluent in French we were very dependent on our estate agent, who can speak fluent English. So the couple told our estate agent he had approval for a bank loan, (something like a bridging load), until he sold his house. So a date was arranged to sign the Compromis de Ventre around 12th January 2012, which the estate agent would arrange with a Notaire.  Meantime it is necessary to have Termite and natural & environmental hazard inspections done to the house before this signing. This was arranged and completed on 6th January and is valid for 6 months. So all was going along well, and then the bomb shell dropped............ Century 21 telephoned a week before the signing to say the couple had been refused a bank loan.  Although they were still very keen on buying the house, they would have to wait to sell their own house So the appointment to sign The Compromis de Ventre was cancelled and we went back to square one.

One good think about all this is, the couple let us know they hadn't the finance before The Compromis de Ventre was signed. But it is also a lesson for us, have the proof of finance before signing. If The Compromis de Ventre had been signed, and we didn't know the finance was not available, we would not have the right to rescind. Therefore our house would have been taken off the market, and we would have been waiting for the prospective couple to sell their house, before completion.

Todays quote"
'Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier'  

Celebraties living in France

David & Victoria Beckham

The Domaine Saint-Vincent a €2m chateau just outside the village of Bargemon in the Var region of Provence France is the holiday home of David & Victoria Beckham.  Its a 19th century Chateau with 15 bedrooms, a swimming pool, chapel, farm and 250 acres of woodland.  It's situated about 20 mile inland from the Cote d'Azur.

The holiday home of David & Victoria Beckham

The village of Bargemon

The village of Bargemon is about 75 mins drive from Nice and Toulon. The village's spectacular position nestling in the hills among olive groves and woodlands, means that the roads from either direction is relentlessly windings. Research has shown that any child, or adult sitting in the back seat of a car will throw up at least 50% of the time you either leave or arrive in the village by car. Poor kids, but then, they probably get a flight or helicopter.



Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

Not far from the Beckham's mansion is the home of Brad and Angelina. A $60 million Chateaux with 35 rooms. It has a vineyard, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, and is surrounded by a 1,000 acre forest.  It also has a lake, moat and 20 fountains.  The driveway alone is 3 miles long, and has his and her gym. The building is considered an historical monument.

The Chateaux is located in a tiny village called Brignoles, which is surrounded by forests and Vineyards. It has a large market known for its peaches, olives and honey. Some of the castles still standing date back to the 13th century.

Chateaux Miraval 

A short distance from the village is a medieval town which was the residence of the Counts of Provence.

Medieval Town

Tina Turner

Tina Turner has a holiday home in Villafranche-sur-Mer which adjoins the city of Nice overlooking the Mediterranean, which she visits monthly. Villafranche is located on the south east coast of France and is part of the community of Nice, the second largest city on the mediterranean coast. She calls her house Villa Anna Fleur and is set high above Vilafranche.
The view from this high vantage point is very impressive, as you can imagine, and includes a view of Elton Johns villa overlooking Nice.

The villa is unapproachable and invisible from the public highway and the property boundary is screened by a thirty foot high wall.

Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster

A secluded luxury villa in the south of France worth £3.3 million, this is the holiday home of Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster. 



The villa is set in about an acre of land, in the hills, overlooking Nice. It has four bedrooms, a nursery, swimming pool, spa, indoor gym and theater.

It is in a small village called Saint Paul-de-Vence, just outside Nice. I just had a look to see what the holiday prices are to rent a villa there, £5,000. to £7,500. per week. Saint Paul-de-Vence is a medieval hilltop walled village, located 25 miles from Nice. Since the 1900's Saint Paul-de-Vence has attracted famous painters such as, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso. It was in 1950's that the rich and famous discovered this jewel.

So this is how the rich and famous live, but would you live in a fortress, cut off from the world and worried for your safety and that of your children?

Quote for today:
"Money, if it doesn't bring you happiness, will at least help you to be miserable in comfort"

A Christmas Truce

A cross left in a town near Belgium to
 commemorate the site of the Christmas truce. 

'The Christmas truce' was a series of ceasefires that took place along the western front around Christmas 1914, during the 1st world war.  I was fascinated when I read this story, and I thought I should share it with you.

During the week leading up to Christmas of 1914, German and British soldiers who had been killing each other, began to exchange seasonal greetings and songs between the trenches. In fact the the tension was reduced so much that individuals would walk across to their opposite numbers bearing gifts. Amidst one of the most violent events of modern history. This was a spontaneous effort by lower ranks to create peace that could have blossomed, were it not for the interference of generals and politicians.

The Belgium and French also received goods although not in the same organised fashion as the British or Germans. For these nations the Christmas of 1914 was tinged with sadness, their countries were occupied. I find it so hard to believe that a soldier would give a gift to another enemy soldier and then maybe kill him the next day. In France there were 7,500,000 mobilized, 1,385,000 killed, 4,266,000 wounded 75% casualties.

This was actually all planned 9 years before the beginning of WW1, when a German field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen  presented a plan known as the Schlieffen plan. It was a scheme to prevent Germany to having to fight a two-front war by first defeating France quickly and then throwing its full weight on Russia. He died in 1913 just nineteen months before the start of WW1.

On 3rd August 1914 Germany declared war on France,  and in early September the battle of Marne, which was near Paris, was fought.  In one day the French lost 27,000.

Here is a letter written by a soldier on that Christmas of 1914:

"I daresay you will be surprised at me writing a letter on such paper as this, but you will be more surprised when I tell you that it contained cake given to one of our men by a German officer on Christmas Day, and that I was given some of it. No doubt you will think this very very strange proceedings, but we had not been in the trenches very long on Christmas Eve before we were shouting and wishing one another a Merry Christmas. Then we invited them to come over; they did not like the idea, neither did we, of course. Some of the Germans spoke English very well, so they shouted "no shoot" and we said the same. Then one of our sergeants went out half way to meet them, and an officer and a private came out from the German trenches. They exchanged cigarettes, and after that they sang a song and so did we. Then on Christmas morning we all went out of the trenches and met the Germans half way. We were able to bury our dead, some of whom had been laying there for six weeks or more. We are still on speaking terms with them, so that we have not fired a shot at them up till now (December 29), neither have they, so that the snipers on each side have had a rest." This is typical of many other letters which have been published in the daily papers concerning what has been described as an "amazing truce".

How amazing is that!!!

Quote for today"
'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Give Our Day'.

Extra-marital affairs in France

In a new book a French psychologist and writer, Maryse Vaillant claims that French men should stop being castigated for being serial womanisers and that keeping a mistress can actually improve a marriage.  In her book she says her aim is to 're-habilitate' infidelity'. It is said that French women just don't tolerate their husband affairs, they expect them and casual adultery is commonplace.

The one thing I have noticed in France is that people don't have a problem with age when it comes to sex, There is one word that defines French women 'confidence'. They are confident with their age, in themselves, their body, with their power. They say that French women have three mates, one for adolescent urges, one for child bearing, and one for companionship and thats the way it has been in France for a long time.

In French history there were king' mistresses, women who were older than men and still fascinated men. French lovers enjoy communicating their love by means of letters, messages and poems.  This French tradition comes from troubadours' love songs in the middle ages, when courtly love ennobled love in the 11Th. century in France.

French people consider Johnny Halliday's 'Que je t'aime' as the most representative love song. You can read about him here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Hallyday, he was consider the French Elvis Presley.

Prostitutes and clients conversing at the Royal Palace in Paris

I suppose it all come from the history of France, on the left this a picture taken in 1800 of prostitutes and clients at the Royal Palace in Paris.  Prostitution is not illegal in France but several surrounding activities are, these include soliciting, running a brothel, and paying for sex with someone under the age of 18.


In France there is a very relaxed attitude to sex, the scandal of Strauss-Kahn wasn't a big deal to the French. The French believe its nobody's business if politicians commit adultery, pay for sex, or engage in orgies, as long as they do their jobs. When I mentioned the Strauss-Kahn scandal to my neighbours, they just said, ('c'est normal' ( it's normal ) although they can see the difference in a violent sex crime and extramarital dalliance. One French minister admitted to having paid for sex with boys on Asian holidays, he keep his job, after explaining the 'boys' were of legal age.

I think it all depends on your upbringing, and the attitudes you receive from your parents.

quote for the day:
'Why fool around with hamburger, when you can have steak at home'

French TV

William Lememyrgie

What is on French TV?

Every morning we watch the daily breakfast show just as you would in the UK. The equivalent to Day Break is Telematin which is broadcast from Paris. The programme presenter is called William Lememyrgie and the show has been presented since 1985. The news casts are presented at 7:00am, 7:30am and 8:00am. They discuss topics such as Culture, Lifestyle, Health and employment, amongst other things.



Some of the topics this morning were the on iphone. On culture they discussed a new trend in the construction of houses.  What they were saying was, creating spaces for healthy children separated from parents is now the current trend.  There is a house constructed in the Paris region were each family member lives in a small tower to protect her privacy, sounds good to me.

There always seems to a lot of art discussed with lots of photos of naked men and women.

Carinne Teyssandier

Then we have Gourmet, or cooking, and they have the same woman on giving a new recipe. Today is was Duct Breast in salt crust and fig bread, yum yum. Let me tell you, this woman has such a lovely big smile she just brightens up your morning to watch her.

One other thing to note is, when a columnist comes on to discuss his or her topic, they always play an appropriate song to go with the topic being discussed.


So I have to tell you the songs played this morning.

Banana boat song - Harry Belafonte
Three little birds - Bob Marley
Turn on turn in cop out - Freak Power
Ring my bell - Saian Supa Crew
Diamonds and Pearls - Prince
Goldfinger - John barry
My Girl Josephine - Super Cat

So all in all its not a bad start to the day, of not everything is understood, and its a shame because it would give a lot more insight the the French lifestyle.

Quote for today:
'Be willing to be a beginner every single morning'

Madame or Mademoiselle?

I just read an article about a group of women's rights activists here in France, who are campaigning to get the word 'Mademoiselle' taken off administration forms.  Their argument is that men are 'Monsieur' all their lives, but women are either Madame or Mademoiselle. They argue, that the terminology, is linked solely to the marital status.  Mind you I can see there point, but I think it would be a shame to drop the word 'Mademoiselle' from the French language. Although its not the word they are against, (its actually considered a compliment to older women, to be called Mademoiselle), I should be so lucky,  what these feminists are saying is, on administration forms, tax forms, ballot forms, it should not be obligatory to divulge ones marital status for one gender, and not another.  It seems that in French-speaking Canada 'Mademoiselle' has long been confined to addressing schoolgirls only.

But surly in Britain and America, you would be asked 'is that Miss or Mrs' or is that still the case?  Mind you, I don't think a man is asked 'are you married' but I suppose it depends on the circumstances.  I don't think that when a man fills in administration forms, tax forms or ballot forms they are asked if they are married, or are they?  Although in France, men are not asked to divulge their marital status.  Maybe they should just have a box to tick for men and women 'are you married? a yes or no box, and that would solve it.  Or maybe they should have forms for 'single' and 'married' people.

Mind you I hate being called Madame, it conjures up an old maid image for me. In France they don't have an equivalent for Ms, so maybe they should have that in French, I wonder what they would call it?

If you look up the dictionary the word 'Madame' means 'My Lady' the feminine form of 'Lord' but 'Madame' can also refer to a woman who runs a brothel, maybe thats why I don't like being called it.

Also when I was young older people would refer to young ones as being 'a wee Madame', which meant you were too grown-up for your age.









Quote for today:
'When you call me Madame, smile'

Cheddar Cheese found in the Tarn France

What a beautiful day it has been, our weather at the moment is unbelievable. We went down to the market today as usual. First of all we had to go the vets for some worming tables for the dogs. Then we walked around to the market and had a browse. All the winter pansies are out now, so I bought some to put into my basket. Will have to look out for violas as well.

Anyway we went round to see our friend Michael and as usual we sat outside in the sunshine and had our usual beer.  We discussed the weather, as you do, and a few topics in the news. As we were talking Michael asked if we had been round to the new British shop in the town square. 'Oh he said you will have to go they have Cheddar cheese and christmas puddings'. Well I'll tell you it didn't take me long to get my purse and I was off.

It's a little shop in the square called 'Cox & Co' and as I went in all I could see were union jacks and everything British.

Of course as soon as I went in the woman said 'Bonjour' and I said 'Hello', 'oh, she said well Hello',  and right away I was transferred back home. How comfortable is this, I thought. 'I believe you have cheddar cheese' I said, 'yes she said it's over here, we have a selection, there's chilli cheese, whisky cheese and mature, all cheddar. So I took the mature cheddar, and also on the shelf was a Christmas pudding, so I snapped that up as well.

The Cheddar cheese is from Snowdonia Cheese Co. and is called the little black bomber. Apparently it is very popular, so I can't wait to try it. The Christmas pudding is hand made in Devon, so that has been put away for Christmas day.

As I was standing at the till waiting to pay, my eye was drawn to something which looked very familiar, and there on the shelf was, wait for it, 'Jelly Babies' 'Oh I love these' I said to the woman, of course she laughed, 'let me out of here quick, before I buy the anything else'.  Of course I got a shock when she said that will be €16.00, but sure it won't be that often I'll be buying Christmas pudding, Cheddar cheese, or Jelly Babies. But isn't lovely to come home with a little bit of Britain in you're bag when living in rural France.

Quote for today:
'The essence of life is finding something you really love, and then making the experience worthwhile'.

Time for A Trip Home

Isn't it funny, here I am living in S.W. France for 4 years now, which is basically my current home, and I still refer to Northern Ireland as my home. But it was the same when I lived in Canada, and South Africa, I always referred to home as being N.I.

So our flights are booked and now the count-down begins. It's only 5 weeks away and already I am excited. Lucky enough we know someone who will mind our dogs, Bailey (caviler king charles) and Buttons (Cocker spaniel), she has been looking after them whenever we go on holiday, and she stays in our house which is an added bonus.

This time of year we have to get two flights unfortunately, Jet2 travel from Toulouse to Belfast direct, but only from May to Sept. So we have to get a flight from Toulouse to Gatwick with Easyjet, and then from Gatwick to Belfast.  But we consider it a holiday and take advantage of drinks on the plane and shopping in the airports and of course when we hit Belfast oh! la! la!

All the things I look forward to are seeing family and friends. When we are descending in the plane into Belfast the first thing I always notice is how green everything is, of course with lots of rain its bound to  be greener.

The next thing I notice is how easy it is to communicate with everybody, you don't have to think what you are going to say when going into a shop or asking questions it just seems so natural. Then there is the shopping, it is so nice to see all the familiar things like my favourite sweets and chocolate. Clothes are so much easier to buy and shoes. Of course with it being November all the shops will be getting ready for christmas also, can't wait.






Quote for today:
'Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.'

Going to the Hairdressers in France

When I first came to France in 2007, it took me a while before I could force myself to go to the hairdressers. Even in my native tongue describing how you want your hair done can be a challenge.  There are several hairdressers in our town of Realmont, but there is one in the square called Blondy's and for some reason that's were I made my first appointment.

Now when you don't have a good command of the language, it can be quite difficult to go to a French hairdresser, and explain exactly what you want. Besides the usual, Bonjour and Je voudrais un rendez-vous, (hello I would like an appointment) I hadn't a clue how to say what I wanted.

So the first time, and I must say every-time now, I always take a photograph with me. I learnt to say a cut and blow dry, which is un coupe and brushing. When explaining how much to cut off my hair I was very careful. In France they don't work in inches like the UK, its centimeters, so for a trim I would say 3 centimeter, which sounds much the same French only with a French accent.

If you want to have your hair layered its 'en dégradés' and to have it straightened its 'raide'. So after a couple of years I decided to have highlights. I must admit I was very nervous about this, I could imagine coming out like the jolly green giant.  So I looked up the French word for highlights and found 'les mèches', I also found a good photo of blonde highlights and printed that off. Well I have to admit they did a very good job. But like every language you need to be very careful on your  pronunciation, and not say something like 'I would like my horse cut' as the French word for horse is Chevaux and the word for hair is cheveux.

But I manage alright, and they know me at the hairdressers now and they know I can't speak French very well.
Unfortunately there isn't a lot of small talk going on, but so long as I get what I want I'm happy enough.



Quote for today:
'Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in a few words'

Gardening in France

When we first came to France, we were not experienced gardeners, but we were enthusiastic. The previous owners told us that the soil was very good and that they had grown vegetables very successfully. We noticed that the soil was quite red and looked very rich. There was a vegetable patch already established, so the first year we decided to buy the seeds and have a go.

Veg. plot

We started with tomatoes, courgettes, potatoes, onions, and a few herbs such as basil, thyme, mint, sage, rosemary and oregano.  I can honesty say we had such a glutton of all these vegetables, we were well stocked for the whole winter. The tomatoes were made into tomato sauce, tomato soup, and tomato tarts and put into the freezer. The courgettes were also frozen for winter use. I blanched the potatoes and part sautéed them, then froze them for later use as well as mash. The onions I just used as I needed them.

As well as vegetables we have strawberries, rasberries, figs, peaches, cherries, pears, plums and apples. Because the apple tree is very young we didn't have a lot. I think there is nothing like going outside into your garden and picking own your vegetables and herbs for your dinner, especially when you have grown them yourself and you know they are organic. There is also a big walnut tree in the garden, and I love walnuts. As I make my own muesli with oats, bran, fruit and nuts, walnuts are great and full of nutrient.

Basket of fruit

At the front of the house there is a small patch for roses, which I love, there are also irises, lilies and geraniums. Around the sides there is four large bushes of lavender.

Rose garden at front of house

Our tomatoes this year

In the summer months it can get close to 40 degs, so water is crucial, here you have to pay for it. So we have three big water containers holding 6000 litres of water. So when it does rain, usually April and May it is very important to collect as much as you can.

A New Life in France

Deciding to move to France should not be taken lightly, there are a number of important issues to take into consideration. Whether you consider the cost of living in France to be higher or lower than the UK, depends very much on your circumstance. If for instance you have to renovate your house in France, you run two cars, you arrive with a sparse wardrobe, you may find the cost is excessively high.

Clothes for example, I find really expensive here, you don't have stores like Tesco's and Primark, or many of the high street stores like Topshop. A lot of the places you would buy clothes are boutiques and a plain t-shirt is around €40. I find a lot of the clothes are not as fashionable either, so if you like fashionable clothes they may not suit you. Most expats living here buy there clothes on-line, as I do, or I would wait until I go over to the UK and buy what I need.  You can buy cheaper clothes in supermarkets but the quality isn't very good.

Bills I would say utility bills in France are around about the same as in the UK, although you don't get the same competition. But there seems to be more competition in the more modern services like broadband and mobile phones.

Shopping I  do most of my shopping at the local supermarket, as do most of the French. On average a weekly shop would cost around €130 for my husband and myself and of course that includes the wine. I can buy a bottle of Bordeaux for €3.50. If you buy seasonal and local produce you can cut your costs and your getting quality produce. A lot of DIY products vary considerably, although the price of paint is really expensive compared to the UK.

Eating out It is much cheaper eating out if you live in rural area's in France. The food is simple but good quality. You can get a three course meal in a bistro cafe from 10€ to €15. which would include a carafe of house wine. It would consist of salade, soup, a terrine or pate for starters. Main course would be fish, chicken, or pasta with/or vegetables. A selection of cheese, and dessert, which is not usually listed on the menu. The waiter would usually advise you on the the dessert.

Services Such as health care and schools can be considerably more expensive than the UK, but they are widely considered far superior. Health care is available to all expats with the relative forms.

Recession in France Talking to friends and family, I would say the cost of living in France is definitely not as high. There doen't seem to be the same obsession of home ownership in France as in the UK. As the property market boom in the UK played a hugh role in the banking sector crash, you find the banking sector in France was not as exposed.

Hospital Experience

In June this year I had to go into the Hospital for a small operation, this is my experience leading up-to, and after the operation.

Before I came to France about  7-8 years ago I discovered a small lump between my breasts, well it was more on the right breast. So of course I panicked, as you do, when you find something like that. Anyway off I went to the doctor to have it examined. 'No need to worry, she said, 'its just a small cyst', well what a relief, as you can imagine I had myself dead and buried. So there was nothing more to worry about and it was forgotten about.

Then in May this year, it started to bother me, it was itchy at first and then became painful. It started to grow and was getting redder and redder. So I made an appointment with my French doctor to see what was going on.

Now just a wee word about my doctor, his name is Dr. Catoir and he speaks great english, thank god. He is equivalent to a GP in the UK and he is in the town of Realmont, only 10 mins drive away.  Anyway off I went, and he took one look at it and said it would have to be cut out, but I would need a mammography to diagnose exactly what it was before I saw a specialist in Albi hospital. So he made an appointment for the next day, Friday, to have the mammography done and at the same time he made an appointment to see the specialist for the following Monday.

So I had the examination done, but because a mammography would have been too painful they did a scan instead. They asked me to wait in the waiting room, and after about 10 mins they gave me a full report and the E-rays. On the Monday I went to see the specialist Dr. Denax in Albi hospital. He could speak a little english, but not a lot. Now I must say that my whole anxiety was the language and not understanding what was going on. So after the examination with Dr. Denax he said it was an abscess and I had to have surgery to have it removed. I asked if I would be put to sleep, and he laughed and said they weren't barbaric, of course. So he scheduled the operaton for the Wednesday, and I immediately went to see the anesthetist, who took all my particulars, now that was a bit more difficult as he couldn't speak a word of english.

So I wasn't to eat or drink anything the night before, and when I arrived at the hospital I was greeted with open arms. All the nurses were practicing their english, and I felt more relaxed. Because the cyst was infected, I had to wait in my room until the last surgery was finished. I had my own room with a TV, telephone, en-suite shower room and it was very comfortable. I had to shower and wash my hair with a disinfection shampoo, which was not very pleasant. After about 4 hours they took me down to the operating theatre, and the two young men who wheeled the trolley, tried out their english. The surgery went great and after about 5 hours my husband came for me to take me home.

Dr. Denax gave me a prescription for a whole load of stuff, so we went to the pharmacy and picked it all up. They said a nurse from Realmont would call out to the house to do the dressing. Next morning the nurse came, because the wound was left opened, she had to pack the wound, and had to call every second day to repeat the procedure. But after a week, I went down to them to have it done. This took about 6 weeks, after which I went back to see Dr. Denax to make sure everything was healed properly. So to summarize, from when I went to my GP, until I had the surgery, took 5 days, and that included a weekend.

I can honestly say the service and treatment I received was absolutely brilliant and I would say to anyone going in to hospital in France, 'you couldn't be in a better place'.

quote for today:
A nurse will always give us hope,
an angel with a stethoscope

Todays Mail

Bon jour, what a fantastic day it has been temperatures in the high 20's. So out early this morning with the dogs. I must say it is particularly pleasant and relaxing at the moment to lie on the lounger and snooze while listening to some soul music.

This morning we received a couple of community notices through the post. Now I'm not too bad on translating some of the French, but it took me a while with this one. It was 'Le chemin des mȗres' that got me. After reading the rest and translating some words I finally got it.  The village of Roumegoux, where we live, is getting together with the town of Realmont, which is about 10 mins from here, to go on a hiking trail to pick blackberries. So I think 'Le chemin des mȗres' is a hike to pick blackberries. Apparently we have been cordially invited to participate in the event, which will leave at 9am sunday 1st Oct. Before the event, we will be offered coffee in the village.

After the walk which should finish about 2h 30, it say 'we will share the pot of friendship' to close the morning. I think it was probably a small cartoon drawing at the bottom of the page, of a man with a rucksack on his back, standing at a tree that also helped with the translation. Anyway maybe somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.

Also this weekend the fête de Roumegoux is on. Fête in French meaning party, or festival. Now I have been before, and it is something like a car boot sale. Some fêtes are really good, if you like that sort of thing, but because Roumegoux village is very small their fête isn't that good. In the evening there is a meal, I have a photo in 'memories of France', and it usually consists of a small starter such a salad, then you are served Aligot, which is a speciality from the Aveyron department. It is a cheese and potato dish and a country speciality highly appreciated by the local gastronomy. It's served with Toulouse sausage or roast pork. This fondu- like dish is very popular in Auvergne's restaurants.

 When we went to the fête a few years ago, we watched it being made, and there was an enormous pot and a man stood for ages stirring this Aligot with a wooden spoon. It is much lighter than a puree, and apparently the secret is in the local cheese, which is melted and then stirred into the potato along with butter, creme fraiche, and garlic. I must say it takes getting used to texture , but the French people absolutely love it. We had it served with Toulouse sausage. After that you are offered a sweet, which is usually a small fruit tart. Of course there is wine on the table as well.

So it has been a good day all round, I must say the weather at the moment is fantastic, and it is to continue for another 10 days. So jusqu'à la prochaine fois.

Quote for today:

'Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing'

The Internet in France

When we first came to France in 2007 the first thing I wanted was internet access. The internet has made our life possible in France, as in, communicating with family and friend. But when we first came here it was not possible to get broadband internet access. When we enquired from the neighbours they said you could only get dial-up internet access.

Now most of you will remember dial-up from the old days, I certainly do, when I lived in Northern Ireland it was also the only internet connection at first. I had forgotten what dial-up Internet connection was like until I had no alternative but to get it again. What a nightmare, I had forgotten how slow it was and also when you were on the dial-up internet nobody could get through to you on the telephone. It made that dododo sound when dialing and then the long piercing sound and you would keep you fingers crossed that it made the connection. Right in the middle of doing something it would lose the connection and you would have to start all over again. My internet server provider was Orange France, they weren't too bad and I think it cost about €10. per month and was limited for 2 hours. Of course I couldn't download or upload anything, so any software up-dates were impossible. I use to get my son, in Northern Ireland, to put the updates onto a cd which I would collect when I was over on holiday. Then about 3 years later I heard about internet connection via satellite.

The two way satellite connectivity meant you could have a permanent 2-way connection via a satellite dish, and because the system didn't use a telephone line, you didn't have to worry about missed calls or being engaged.  So I found a company called Kiwi who supplied this service and they gave me all the information. They had already erected a huge satellite dish on top of a water tower, not far from our village. This dish pointed to the orbiting satellites way out in space. Then they supplied a smaller dish, which they put on our roof. This dish then pointed to the large dish on the water tower and our village had high speed internet access.

Water tower

Of course there had to be a clear view to the south, between the dish on our roof, and the dish on the tower, we were lucky there weren't any big trees in the way. The basic satellite equipment was supplied free of charge, but you had to pay for the installation which was over €200. The monthly cost includes telephone calls. Our monthly bills for this internet connection is around €45 per month. But the benefits are great. Mind you I only have 2mb speed, but now I can shop on Amazon, eBay, Marks, Next and a lot more sites and I can get my Mac updates. Because of this high speed connection I bought myself a new MacBook Pro and I have wifi.  But the biggest benefit is communicating with my family and friends on Facebook and Skype, and of course now I have my blog.

Quote for today:

'A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click'

Food price comparaisons

Bonjour everyone, I was thinking about the cost of food today while down at the market. I find the food at the market dearer than the supermarket, so I don't usually buy a lot from the market. Anyway I thought I would do a price comparaison on a few things, so I went to mysupermarket.co.uk just to see what the prices were. Of course I can't price everything but I was interested to see the difference on a few things.

Lean steak mince £6.08 kg (France £3.07 kg) this was a surprise, although it does depend on the quality of the beef, I must say that the mince in france is very lean and delicious.

180g Scottish smoked salmon £5.49 (France) 170g Scottish smoked salmon £5.62.  I know not everyone likes smoked salmon, but I love it. So there isn't really a lot of difference here, the scottish salmon here is lovely.

Fresh salmon £12.50 kg (France £11.33 kg) Not a big difference, the fresh salmon here is from norway, and is really nice.

Tiger prawns £23.53 kg (France £8.69 kg) Well I'm not really surprised about this one, prawns are plentiful here and one of the cheapest seafoods.

Mussels £4.43 kg (France £1.97 kg) Same as the prawns plentiful, but isn't it strange that Ireland is an island and we don't have the same variety on seafood.

Tetley's teabags (80) £2.23 (France) 100 Teabags £3.51 Not a big difference, couldn't find a box of 100 teabags, but there isn't a big price difference.

4 pork chops £6.59 (France) 4 pork chops £3.07. Not too surprised about this, pork here is very reasonable and very tasty. Must be what they're fed.

Chicken breasts £12.78 kg (France) Chicken breasts £7.02. Now this was a surprise, I thought chicken in the UK would have been cheaper. The chickens here are mostly corn fed and are really good.

William pears £1.80 kg (France) William pears £1.04. A bit cheaper here, but I suppose the climate has a lot to do with the fruit to.

Lamb steaks £15.58 kg (France) Lamb steaks £10.50. I was also surprised about the lamb, this price was based on leg of lamb steaks, I thought the lamb here was really expensive.
Haven't got a comparaison on beef, but I do now stewing beef as well as steak is very expensive here.

So what will my shopping trolley look like in N.I. I will miss my prawns, mussels, chicken, and pork, but then again there is definitely a lot more variety in N.I. although I do find the quality great here. On average I would say we spend about €130 per week on food, which is about £114. stirling. 

So here is my quote for today:

'Maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food'

Autumn arrives

Oh yes, Autumn has arrived, up this morning to the mist, but the sun is starting to break through. And break though it did, what a glorious day it has been, the sky could not be bluer.

I took this photo while lying on my lounger

Ok its 20th Sept. and I have been outside on the lounger having a snooze. Pure Utopia, excuse the pun.

This time of year everyone is getting things ready for the winter, and we are no exception. Today I telephoned our wood man, ha! what a laugh. When you don't have a good command of the language it is even more difficult on the telephone.

Wood burning fire

We have a wood burning fire and it takes about 5 steres of wood, which is about 5 cubic meters. A lot of the people here go out into the forest and get there own wood, bring it home and cut it themselves.  But we don't have the transport for that, so we get it from a man who delivers for us, cut into logs big enough for the fire. Anyway I telephoned him and ordered the wood, and he said it would be next week, and he would phone me to confirm which day. So you always manage. Then we decided we needed the chimney cleaned.

When we were up visiting Francois and Michel last week we mentioned about getting the chimney cleaned and told them we had gotten someone the last couple years to do it. It cost us around €65. Well their face said it all, they were astonished and said they did it themselves. So off we went to the DIY store to buy the necessary to do it ourselves.  My husband put the long sticks with a plastic brush on the end up the chimney, but when it was almost up to the top it seem to stick. When looking up the chimney he could see a bend, were the brush wouldn't go, so he had to get up onto the roof. I was laughing as he looked like an old fashion chimney sweep. But it wasn't possible to get the brush down the chimney from the roof. So fingers crossed, when we light the fire, everything will be ok. I must say, there is nothing like a big wood burning fire in the winter.

I love to watch to see what the wild life are up to this time of the year. Autumn is when birds form flocks, there are conkers and chestnuts covering the ground and plenty of sweet chestnuts which are delicious roasted. The French go berry picking, and they also make a lot of jams, which is called confiture and preserves. In Autumn the valley is bright with colour as the leaves change every shade of orange, red and yellow.

The Tarn in Autumn 

My quote for today:

"Tis the last rose of summer,

left blooming alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone"