​ The French Aren't Litigious They Just Take Responsibility

​On Sunday Charlotte, the children and myself visited Salon International de l'Agriculture in Paris. Yes in Paris not in the countryside.

​It was HUGE. Live sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and anything else edible all inside and accessible to all and amazingly it was all spotless. Fresh hay replaced any soiled hay in seconds. I have no idea how they do it but it bloody works.

​I have never seen so many different breeds of animals in my life. Most were massive. In fact it was more like a Mr Universe competition.

​The food halls were separated into French Regions and the fresh foods on sale and the ready to eat versions were to die for. We had a Normandy Duck Sausage Sandwich each which we could have fed an army with. A glass of regional wine was €2.

​The children are only 6 and 18 months but they had a ball. Tiana did a blindfold tasting test and was rewarded with a kid's cookery book and some goodies. Josh was just happy to run around and look at the animals. 

​The children were allowed to touch the animals but it was left up to the adults to keep them safe. After all isn't that what adults are supposed to do? To be honest the children seemed to instinctively respect the animals which I suppose comes from being allowed to be free around them.

​We British are too quick to blame the EU for our Nanny State, this proved to me that it's not the EU it's the crazy litigious society we have created. Too quick to sue someone instead of taking responsibility. We have stolen our children's childhoods from them for money and for that I feel very ashamed.

Emma The Kettle

Meet my kettle, she's called Emma. I have long been admiring this stunning design and it even matches my kitchen decor.

Due to the fact that I have an open plan ground floor in my cottage the kettle is always on show. For my last birthday my son and his wife, who incidentally is called Emma, surprised me with this. I had admittedly been banging on about it.

The deign is by Stelton and it's not the only beautiful design they sell.

​ Retour a la Maison

​Firstly don't be fooled by my French title I used Google Translator.

I left the UK on 11th September, with my little French family, in blazing sunshine and returned on 17th October to falling leaves and a chill in the air.

My mission was to see as much as was possible whilst I was in France. We together and me on my own discovered some stunning places, far too many to show all in one go here on my blog. So over the next few weeks I shall share them with you in bite size pieces.

I have to start with the most amazing Chateau I visited whilst staying in the Loire Valley. There was so much to see that I even have to show you this in bite size pieces so let's start with:

​Chenonceau Chateau The Gardens

The most stunning and interesting historic building I have ever visited!

I usually spend little time in such places as it all becomes much of a muchness after a while. This place however has style in buckets and the guide brochure was brilliantly presented showing everything in order of viewing with interesting info at each step.

The minute you set foot in the gardens you are taken to another era. The streams that ran alongside the entrance road had duckweed on the surfaces which made them look like carpets in the most vivid green. 

I loved that my favourite garden was called Diane's Garden. Named after Diane de Poitiers who was donated the Chateau by Henry I because she was his favourite lady being beautiful, intelligent and having a great sense of business. Nice we have the same name.

Le Weekend - Celebrating a Bean

The French have a habit of celebrating anything. In Soissons at the weekend it was the Haricot Vert Fete. 3 days of celebrating a bean. See I told you so. 

I took Tiana, my granddaughter, who enjoyed every minute. And as is the case at every fete in France

food was there in abundance. Tiana chose Crepe Chocolat and I chose frites with red wine. The bean casserole looked amazing but when I saw the size of the portions I thought I would never make the walk home.

The walk home was beautful as it had been a hot day and we walked along the river in the shade of the trees. Perfect!

Back To Blogging. Why? Because I Miss It

Well after 6 months I'm back. My last post was March 2016. I foolishly thought I had had enough of blogging but all the time I was away I kept finding stuff but had no one to share it with. After all isn't that what blogging is all about? 

As I'm typing this I am in France, one of the most inspiring countries in the world and my intention is to get this show on the road French style so here goes. Tune in for more as I get back in the swing.

 An amazing find at a Depot Vente in Jeaux, Picardie. These sell at home for around £300 here this was had for 35 Euros. No competition then?

5 Bottles of perfectly good wine for 8.29 Euros that included the fizzy water and a carrier bag.

 Seeing my gorgeous French grandchildren on a daily basis, priceless.

And you don't just get an ice cream you get a rose ice cream. What more could I ask?
Today Tiana (above)  and I are are off to the local fete. Believe it or not it's in celebration of the haricot bean. The French will celebrate anything, however the fete is a huge 3 day celebration. Flags are everywhere, tents erected and a parade organised for tomrrow afternoon. Who knew a bean could be that important

You Only Live Once - I Think

Last year I couldn't make a decision that would stick in my head for longer than a day. I would decide to do something with my life, plan it and then promptly change my mind. When 2015 showed it's little head I thought it would all come into focus but NO!

It took until the end of August this year for me to suddenly, one day in France when talking to my daughter who lives there, say 'I need to buy a house here'. I shocked myself when I said it. When I woke the next morning my mind didn't do that usual leap into doubt. Charlotte and I got the kids ready and drove to Laon a beautiful medieval hilltop town in Picardie which I fell in love with when we visited for the first time last Christmas. We called into a couple of Estate Agents and told them my requirements or rather Charlotte did because I don't speak French.

The following week we were taken to see 3 properties. I fell in love with the 3rd one and for the first time in my life I didn't rush in headlong. I just thought I shall go home and get my cottage ready to sell and hopefully this house will still be on the market when I am ready, if not then so be it I shall look for another one.

 At this moment in time I am enjoying preparing the cottage, every minute of it. There's nothing major to do just little repairs and adjustments to show it in it's best possible light. It's a beautiful place to live but it was mine and Harvey's my house in France will just be mine.

So it's time to start that new chapter in my life that was proving elusive until that day in August when my mind stopped changing. If you ever find yourself in that state of flux then just go with the flow.

The Dictionary entry for State of Flux is:
state of flux - a state of uncertainty about what should be done (usually following some important event) preceding the establishment of a new direction of action; "the flux following the death of the emperor"

Well my Emperor died and I was thrown headlong into a State of Flux but it didn't last thank goodness.

The Brocante and the Park

Yesterday morning we left early to go to a big Brocante being held in Charlotte's home town. This is just a fraction of what I bought. I never cease to be amazed by the stuff the French don't want but we lust after.

My car is filling up fast with new pieces for Ghost Furniture. We went through Picardie to a Gastronomique Brocante in the afternoon. That's a brocante with tons of food for the uninitiated.

It's hard to believe that under this stunningly beautiful Picardie landscape there still lay the bones of young men from the two world wars. Graveyards full of identical crosses are numerous. So so sad.

Today we took Tiana to the park after school. It's not hard to find delicious picnic fayre here.

The French do a good park.

Tiana got so excited with this flower that it fell off its stem just after I took this picture. Well that's her story and she's sticking to it.

Some wonderful colour inspirations from nature.

I told Tiana to stand in front of the fountain so the water would come out of her head,

each time I said it she put her hand on her head to check.

Wall flowers through a stone arch.

Here's something I didn't know until today. You can't make daisy chains from French daisies as their stems are too thin to split. Wimps!
Link to image of Picardie landscape

2 Days In Paris With My Intrepid Daughter

My lovely daughter booked us a stay in Paris so on Wednesday morning Charlotte and I set off in the car.. She, unlike me, will drive in Paris with no fear and the fact that she is 7 months pregnant and the size of a small country does not faze her. We checked into the hotel (above) with it's amazing facade and

 then set off to explore. We stayed in the Oberkampf district which is full of unusual shops with the usual jaw dropping window displays.

This taxidermist stopped us in our tracks.

We wandered into the Marais for a delicious lunch and spotted this chandlier made from paper coffee cups - inspirational. It lit up as well.

Next morning we took the car to Bastille where there was a huge market and we stocked up on fresh fruit, vegetables and

meat. The French could teach us Brits a thing or two about markets.

After our drive back home we had this to look forward to. Viva la France!
This weekend we are hitting the brocantes.