Blog in France

A recent geocaching trip Chris and I took was to Hérisson in Allier. Hérisson is French for hedgehog, so that’s a rather nice name, and, as it turns out, it’s a rather nice place. And lots of people think it’s nice: it’s been awarded the label of ‘Petite cité de...

I started processing our hazelnuts several days ago, beginning, very appropriately, on what turned out to be Hazelnut Day in the French Republican Calendar (jour de noisette, 22 Fructidor) otherwise known as 7th September. Hazelnuts, also called cobnuts or filberts, are very healthy being packed with minerals and vitamins. They...

A glut is defined as an excessively abundant supply of something, and the somethings here this year have been chard, tomatoes, grapes and chicks. In fact, a glut of gluts! Daughter Caiti, who’s currently working in Ireland and has access to a small patch of garden, requested some chard seeds...

It’s time to crank poor, neglected Blog in France back into gear. What with the anxiety and awfulness of Coronavirus, and Brexit becoming worse in every way by the second, I’ve been rather weighed down by worry lately to the extent that my creativity has been completely flattened. Normally one...

Last week we had our first proper outing in Precious, the camper van. Leaving the farm in the capable hands of son Ruadhri, Chris and I headed away for a two-day break to the Auvergne. Our plans to have similar little overnighters like this in the spring were thwarted by...