etcetera magazine February 2024 by etcetera-France

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ISSUE 210

YOUR COMPANION FOR LIFE IN THE FRENCH COMMUNITY

FEBRUARY 2024

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Leaping into February

DOG BEHAVIOUR WHAT’S ON EXPERT ADVICE ASTRONOMY

The Science of Leap Years Amazing Amphibians

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RECIPES • PUZZLES •

CRAFT •

OPINION •

HEALTH etcetera 1

hello & welcome

Contents 3

A note from the editors

What’s on

email: editors.etcetera@gmail.com website: www.etceteraonline.org 17 rue des Chaumettes 86290 St Léomer

Craft

Latest news

History

Language

Opinion

Food

Welcome to the February edition of etcetera magazine.

Business

Health

Now we find ourselves in February, spring is finally starting to feel a little bit closer! Just a few more weeks of hibernation…

Garden

Free time

Nature

Animal

Astronomy

Home & specialist

Getting connected

Artisans

Motoring & removals

Property

Classified

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A Note from the Editors

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This edition is packed full of articles from our wonderful team of writers. We say goodbye to Belinda, our resident foodie for nearly 5 years, and hello to Rafaël, who has some great tips on procrastination in his first feature in our Health section. Wishing you all a fantastic month ahead.

Gayle and Sam

Useful numbers SAMU (Medical) Gendarmes (Police) Pompiers (Fire and also trained in medical emergency) 114 Text-message emergency number for deaf/hard of hearing 119 Child abuse 115 Homeless 113 Drugs and alcohol 112 European emergency not always English 1616 Emergency- Sea & Lake 3131 Last incoming call, key ‘5’ to connect Orange English speaking helpline 0033 (0)9 69 36 39 00 Website in English: www.orange.com/en/home Technical assistance for landlines (French): 3900 (+33 9 69 39 39 00 from abroad) SFR 1023 or 00336 1000 1023 (Not English) EDF 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. +33 (0)9 69 36 63 83 EDF Helpline in English 0033 562164908 (From UK) E-mail: simpleenergywithedf@edf.fr CPAM - 09 74 75 36 46 Veolia Water Emergency No: 24h/24 et 7j/7 05 61 80 09 02 (press 1 for urgent problems or 2 for a technician) S.E.P Du Confolens (Water) 05 87 23 10 08 Emergency 24/7 Aéroport Int’l Limoges 05 55 43 30 30 SNCF (train times, buying tickets etc) 36 35 Credit Agricole English Speaking Helpline Charente (residents only) 05 45 20 49 60 Alcoholics Anonymous For contact details of meetings in your area including those conducted in English, visit www.aafrance.net SSAFA France 05 53 24 92 38 email france@ssafa.org.uk

HOSPITALS 05 55 05 55 55 Limoges (CHU) 05 55 43 50 00 St Junien 05 55 47 20 20 Bellac 05 49 44 44 44 Poitiers 05 45 24 40 40 Angoulême 05 49 32 79 79 Niort 05 45 84 40 00 Confolens Bereavement Support Network English speaking support group for guidance on coping with bereavement in France. Personal and practical advice. www.bsnvar.org Women for Women in France offering support to foreign-born (non-French speaking) women dealing with domestic abuse www.womenforwomenfrance.org Counselling In France Counsellors, psychotherapists, NLP, CBT etc offering therapy in English to expatriates all over France on www.counsellinginfrance.com French Health Insurance Advice line. CPAM English speaking Advice line: 09 74 75 36 46 (from France) 0033 974 75 36 46 (from other countries). The line is open from Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. NHS website : www.nhs.uk/using-thenhs/healthcare-abroad www.ameli.fr No Panic France Helpline: No Panic UK helpline: 0044 1 952 590 545 11h - 23h (French time) 7/7 www.nopanic.org.uk /nopanicfrance@orange.fr English-speaking Crisis Line SOS- HELP 01 46 21 46 46 3pm-11pm 7/7 British Consulate in Paris 01 44 51 31 00 British Consulate in Bordeaux 05 57 22 21 10 www.ukinfrance.fco.gov.uk/en/

Please download the pdf from this link now: www.paysruffecois.fr/sante/guide.pdf

Print 2 copies - one for your home and one for your car - it could save a life. NO international code needed from UK mobiles

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craft

String Art Heart Card By Gayle Feasey

TRY THIS SIMPLE YET EFFECTIVE CRAFT AND SURPRISE YOUR VALENTINE THIS YEAR!

Materials: ▪ Card stock (choose your colour) ▪ Embroidery string, (this tutorial is for just one colour)

Steps: 1. Lightly trace your heart shape onto the front of the card (ensuring you position the heart exactly where you want it). 2. Measure the hole spacing equally on all sides (see tips!). Anything between 5 - 10mm is good, but choose one and then measure and pencil dot all the way round the heart. The photo above is closer to 10mm. The smaller the gaps, the more string there will be on the card and the overall look. 3. Put a piece of (clean) cardboard underneath the card making sure the card is still lying flat and not folded over yet, you don’t want the holes going through the other side of the card. With a needle or pin, start punching little holes where the dots are. Now you can erase all the pencil markings. 4. Next thread an embroidery/wool needle with your string, try and make it as long as possible (if you run out when you’re sewing

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▪ Large embroidery or wool needle ▪ Smaller needle or pin to punch holes ▪ Heart cookie cutter (or make your own heart template)

don’t worry you can add more). Start at the bottom of the heart in the centre point, pulling the string through from the back. Hold about an inch of string on the back of the card with your finger (you use this to tie a knot after the next step). 5. Sew the needle through the hole of the heart on the opposing side (opposing and above) from the one you just started with. Then, pull the needle from the back to the hole right next to the hole you just sewed (at the top of the heart still). Now sew into the hole on the diagonal side (bottom), and tie 2 knots at the back of the card with the inch of string you are holding, this secures the string in place. 6. Continue sewing diagonally around the heart, opposing side to opposing side. You will see the string is starting to cross over itself. Continue doing this all the way around the heart until you’ve completed all the

▪ Pencil and eraser ▪ An old piece of cardboard to work on ▪ Scissors and ruler ▪ Glue, and patterned card or fabric

dotted marks, drawing the needle through the last hole (back). 7. Tie a knot at the back of the card, and snip off any ends of thread to neaten it up. You can cover the back of the card by glueing a piece of patterned card or fabric, so the back threading isn’t visible when you open the card up. If at any point you run out of thread, simply leave an inch at the back again, tie it with new string and continue the diagonal threading around.

▪ TIPS! Add a new colour/s by tying at the back, as if you’ve run out of thread. ▪ Make sure there are an equal amount of holes on both sides of the heart! However, if you end up with unequal sides you can even out the numbers yourself by changing the spacing. Don’t worry if it’s a bit off, it will turn out fine, and you’ll still get the desired look.

craft Christie’s

Open Tue-Sat EI

BEAUTIFUL GIFTS & CARDS for Family, for Friends or for the

One You Love on Valentine’s Day! And think of choosing a lovely

DENISE EYRE (EI) AT THE LEMON TREE CAFÉ 71 Grand Rue 79190 Sauzé Vaussais 05 49 07 78 22

Browse our selection of unique gifts, enjoy a meal from our new menu indoor & terrace seating available. BESPOKE by Denise can also be contacted directly on 06 75 89 95 55 To view our collection, please visit our FB page:

Mother’s Day is 10th March!

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and we’ll be Closed from Tues 27th Feb

DELICIOUS HOME-MADE CAKES

3 hour workshops 25€ per person Contact Andrea: 06 17 45 65 60 ateliernumero18@gmail.com 18 Rue de la Republique 86290 La Trimouille

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Come and learn hand building pottery techniques and create your own ceramic treasures at my pottery studio.

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BESPOKE JEWELLERY, REMODELLING, REPAIRS, PEARL STRINGING

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news

ADAPTING YOUR HOME If you are over 70 years old (or in some cases, over 60) you may be entitled to help with renovating, allowing you to maintain your autonomy in your own home. The French government is aiming to reduce the number of fatal or disabling falls by elderly people. While there are several schemes by the French government to provide assistance for renovating homes in order to make them more accessible for elderly people (reducing the need to move into a care home), "MaPrimeAdapt" seeks to streamline the process. The amount of assistance offered will be means-tested, so this is especially helpful to those on a low income. Examples of work that might qualify for assistance are adapting a bathroom, replacing the bath with a shower, installing a stair lift, adding access ramps to the home. For full information on application criteria, visit https://france-renov.gouv.fr/aides/maprimeadapt

REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE UK Thanks to many years of campaigning, Britons who have been living abroad for more than 15 years are now able to rejoin the electoral register in the UK. There are around 3.5 million British living abroad who now have regained their vote to right. (More than 15,000 Brits registered to vote with the first 24 hours of the change of the law). This means you should be able to vote in the upcoming UK General Election (expected to be over the next 12 months), as well as any future referendums. Any British person aged 18 or over who has at some point in their lives resided in the UK now has a lifetime right to be registered to vote. Overseas voter registration will now last three years before renewal is required (increased from one year). Registering to vote is a quick and simple online procedure. You need your National Insurance number (although you can proceed the application without it), your passport number, date and country of issue and the address where you were last registered to vote in the UK. The rest is just filling in your current contact details. The process takes about 5 minutes, and you will then be contacted by the Electoral Services Office in the council you last registered. Visit www.registertovote.service.gov.uk to register. 10 etcetera

THE WORLD’S MOST INFREQUENT NEWSPAPER The French newspaper, La Bougie du Sapeur, has been publishing for the last 44 years. It is the world’s most infrequent newspaper, as it’s only published on the 29th of February - Leap Day! It is said to have started as a joke in 1980 between two friends. The 20-page satirical newspaper is filled with puns, jokes, wordplay, and interviews, both true and false, with comments on the news of the last four years. Answers to 2016’s crossword puzzle will be printed in the next copy! The 2020 publication sold over 200,000 copies in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. You can order it online or buy in newsagents.

GREEN ‘VIGNETTE’ As of spring this year insurers are to stop issuing the green ‘vignette’ labels that we place on our windscreens. Gendarmes can now consult online databases to see if vehicles are insured.

history

Louis XVI

Louis Phillippe

Napoleon III

Who Was the Last King of France? IN A HISTORY QUESTION IN THE NEW YEAR QUIZ (LAST MONTH’S PARLEZ FRANÇAIS), A READER POINTED OUT THAT LOUIS XVI WAS NOT THE LAST KING OF FRANCE. SO I (GAYLE) DID WHAT I OFTEN DO IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES AND ASKED MIKE. HERE IS HIS REPLY…

ost people think that the last French King was Louis XVI, he who suffered the ultimate rejection by his execution in 1792. After that, wasn’t it all a republic with elected presidents from then on?

to the throne, but with his wings severely clipped. This was Louis XVIII, styled 18th out of respect for the son of Louis XVI, who had died in prison during the Terror.

Napoleon came back (briefly) in 1815, but Well, no it wasn’t, because the French Waterloo saw his end. Louis XVIII was couldn’t make up their minds. They knew brought back from his exile and they didn’t want an reinstated. On his absolute monarchy, death in 1824, his which is what the First, however, they had to brother Charles was Bourbon kings had been installed as Charles go through an empire right up to Louis XVI, but X. He lasted eight phase, with Napoleon I what about a years, and his essentially declaring constitutional monarchy, absolute monarchist himself Emperor of France pretentions resulted on the English pattern? Also, they had rather lost in his being deposed faith in the Republic after not once but twice, the bloodbath of the Terror. the second time permanently. So ended the Bourbon restoration. First, however, they had to go through an empire phase, with Napoleon I essentially Next came Louis Phillippe, of the Orleans declaring himself Emperor of France. dynasty. He started well, but lost When Napoleon was deposed in 1814, the popularity, and abdicated in favour of his brother of the executed King was brought grandson. However, the French

By Mike George

parliament decided they’d had enough of kings, and initiated a new republic. The second president was Louis Napoleon, a descendant of Napoleon I, who had much greater pretentions than president. He eventually declared himself Emperor as Napoleon III, staged a successful coup d’état in 1851, and became the last ruler of France. He reigned for about 20 years, and was rather imbued with his Napoleonic ancestry, but is only really remembered for his involvement in the FrancoPrussian War of 1870, when he and his army were severely defeated, and he was forced to flee to England. His son died in the Zulu wars, fighting for England, and that was the end of the French monarchy. So it could be said that Louis Phillippe was the last king of France and Napoleon III, since he styled himself emperor and usurped the throne, was the last ruler of France.

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nature

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history

Such a Beastly Month JANUARY IS ENDED, AND WE NOW FIND OURSELVES IN THE ODDEST MONTH OF THE YEAR

t is February, and a leap year. Why is February so short? Consider the following verse: For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal, Some person in authority, I don’t know who, very likely the Astronomer Royal, Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February, twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty, One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine-and-twenty…

existed from about 1000 BC, but the legendary founding of Rome reputedly happened on 21 April 753 BC, under the ruthless first King, Romulus. For some years the Romans were busy fighting, building, raping Sabine women, and the thousand-and-one other things associated with founding “No mean city”. However, Romulus, even though the Romans considered him a god, eventually left the throne to the Second King of Rome, Numa Pompilius (reigned 715 to 672 BC).

Numa seems to have been a peaceful, wise, and pious ruler, in contrast to Romulus, and he evidently found the calendar below par for his purposes, so he gave his astronomers the task of producing a better one, that ran closer to the solar year. He instituted two new months, named Januarius (after Janus the god of thresholds and openings) and Februarius Unquestionably, most civilisations would after the word Februa, which meant have got a calendar fairly early. The cleansing, as this was when the obvious marker for the Romans undertook purification divisions of the year (let’s rituals in preparation for the Most civilisations call them ‘months’ since working year. The rest of the would have got a that’s what we call them stayed the same, which now) would be the full calendar fairly early months is why our ninth to twelfth moon. So that is what months are named after the civilisations used. Latin words for seventh to tenth! However, the lunar year is only 354.367 This recitative by the Pirate King in WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” triggers the amusing sub-plot in the second act. But, of course, the fact is true. How did this curious arrangement of our months come about? It had nothing to do with the Astronomer Royal!

days, not the 365.242 days of the Solar year. Thus, a lunar calendar drifts quite seriously with respect to the solstices and the seasons. This doesn’t matter if you are only using your calendar to fix your point in time, and are using natural markers for your agriculture. If you want your calendar to match with the seasons, you have to have some way of synchronising them. In fact, the Romans used a calendar of just 10 months. In the winter, as a good Roman, you did very little of major importance. You didn’t go campaigning (don’t forget your average Roman soldier wore sandals, a short kilt and leather jerkin or a bronze breastplate) so you huddled down in your winter quarters. If you were an agricultural producer you didn’t plant or harvest anything, and if you were a livestock farmer you had killed all but a handful of stock and were living off salted meat. So why did you need a calendar? When things got going again, you had ten months named, imaginatively, First to Tenth, each with 29 or 31 days alternating.

The previous calendar had 6 months of 30 days and 4 months of 31 days, amounting to 304 days. Numa wanted to avoid having even numbers in the calendar, as the Romans of his time were superstitious and even numbers were unlucky. He subtracted a day from each of the 30-day months to make them 29 and since the lunar year has 355 days (or 354.367 to be exact) this meant that he had 57 days left to share into 2 months. January got 29 days, but that left only 28 for February.

By Mike George

Since February was a new month, and since, as well as the month of purification, it was the time when the dead were celebrated, I suppose it was felt that a bit of bad luck didn’t matter! This new system, of course, was far better, but still had the flaws which all lunar calendars have. Eventually, Julius Caesar and his astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria found a way to bring the old Roman calendar and the solar calendar into synchrony by adding a day or two to some of the 29-day months and initiating a leap year to account for the extra quarter day each year. For this purpose, he left February at 29 days and added a day every four years. To celebrate this, he renamed the month of Quintilus, ‘July’, after himself, since it had 31 days and was therefore an important month. Later his successor, the first Roman Emperor Augustus, took Sextilus and renamed it “August” after himself, and gave it 31 days too, to put himself on a par with Julius. One poor month had to lose a day. Guess which one! Eventually, even the tiny error that this left in the synchronisation of the calendar with the solar year was corrected by Pope Gregory XIII in 1583, by making three out of every four century years non-leap years. This made the correspondence almost perfect, such that now it can be adjusted by adding an occasional ‘leap-second’ to the astoundingly-accurate atomic clocks by which our time is now governed. The fact of the matter is that, by a series of accidents, poor old February has been given the short straw on a permanent basis. But as we said at the beginning, “For such a beastly month … 28 days as a rule are plenty”.

Thus the Romans (or their forebears) lived for several hundred years. Rome probably

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language/assistance

Parlez Français French conversation, vocabulary & traditions

Le mois de février Le mois de février est un mois différent, il ne comporte ni 30 ni 31 jours. Il est aussi intéressant aux niveaux historique et culturel. February is a different month, it has neither 30 nor 31 days. It is also interesting on a historical and cultural levels. Notez au passage qu’en français, il n’y a pas de majuscule aux mois (sauf si c’est le premier mot d’une phrase, bien sûr !), pas comme dans la langue anglaise. Donc « février » ne s’écrit pas avec une majuscule.

February is the second month of the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its name comes from the Latin "februarius" in honor of "Februa" (coming from Etruscan mythology, representing the goddess of purification and death). In ancient times, it was the last month of the year in the Roman calendar (at the time, the calendar began with the month of March). Pourquoi est-ce que le mois de février ne compte que 28 ou 29 jours ? Why are there only 28 or 29 days in February?

Note that in French, there is no En effet, le mois de capital letter on the février est le mois le months (unless it's the plus court de l’année. C’était avant que Jules first word of a C’est le seul à compter César ne complique les sentence, of course!), moins de 30 jours. La choses avec les not like in the English raison est historique language. So "février" années bissextiles et vient du calendrier is not written with a julien. Pour rendre capital letter hommage à Jules César et à in French. l’Empereur Auguste, un jour Pourquoi le mois de février supplémentaire a été ajouté de s’appelle février ? façon permanente aux mois qui Why is February called February? sont nommés après eux. C’est pour cela qu’il y a 31 jours au Le mois de février est le mois de juillet, pour Jules César, deuxième mois du calendrier et 31 jours au mois d’août, pour grégorien et julien. Son nom l’Empereur Auguste. Pour se vient du latin « februarius » en faire, on a dû retirer deux jours l’honneur de « Februa » (venant au mois de février, le portant à de la mythologie étrusque, 28 jours. représentant la déesse de la purification et de la mort). À Indeed, February is the shortest l’époque antique, il était le month of the year. It is the only one dernier mois de l’année dans le that has less than 30 days. The calendrier romain (à l’époque, le reason is historical and comes from calendrier débutait au mois the Julian calendar. To pay homage de mars). to Julius Caesar and Emperor 14 etcetera

Augustus, an extra day was permanently added to the months that are named after them. That's why there are 31 days in July for Julius Caesar and 31 days in August for Emperor Augustus. To do so, we had to remove two days in February, bringing it to 28 days. Pour les Romains, l’impair plaît aux Dieux. Tout ce qui était impair était favorable et ce qui était pair était défavorable. Le mois de février était considéré comme un mois dangereux, le mois des fièvres, des impuretés. Dans le calendrier romain de l’époque, février était le mois fatal, le seul avec un nombre pair de jours. For the Romans, an odd number was pleasing to the gods. Any odd number was favourable and any even number was unfavourable. The month of February was considered a dangerous month, the month of fevers, of impurities. In the Roman calendar of the time, February was the fatal month, the only one with an even number of days. C’était avant que Jules César ne complique les choses avec les années bissextiles. Jules César aurait pris l’initiative d’ajouter un jour au mois de février, tous les 4 ans, en l’an 46 avant JésusChrist, sur les recommandations d’un astronome grec. À l’époque, ce jour était intercalé entre le 24 et le 25 « februarus ». That was before Julius Caesar complicated things with leap years. Julius Caesar is said to have taken the initiative to add a day to the

language & assistance

month of February, every 4 years, in the year 46 BC, on the recommendation of a Greek astronomer. At the time, this day was interspersed between the 24th and 25th "februarus". La France respecte depuis 1582, depuis le calendrier grégorien, cette harmonie rare avec des mois d’une durée inégale. France has respected since 1582, since the Gregorian calendar, this rare harmony with months of unequal length. Pourquoi y a-t-il des années bissextiles ? Why are there leap years? Le mois de février 2024 est dans une année bissextile. C’est-à-dire qu’il y a 29 jours en février cette année. Il commence par un jeudi et finit par un jeudi. Il comporte 4 week-ends. Tous les 4 ans, il y a un 29 février. February 2024 is in a leap year. That is, there are 29 days in February this year. It starts on a Thursday and ends on a Thursday. It has 4 weekends. Every 4 years, there is a 29th of February. La Terre met 365,2422 jours à faire une révolution complète

autour du soleil. Une année calendaire standard comporte 365 jours. En ajoutant une journée tous les 4 ans au mois de février, le portant à 29 jours, on obtient une année moyenne de 365,25 jours. Donc, tous les 4 ans, nous avons une journée de plus dans notre calendrier, pour rattraper le décalage qui se produit progressivement entre le calendrier et le phénomène astronomique. The Earth takes 365.2422 days to make a complete revolution around the sun. A standard calendar year has 365 days. Adding one day every 4 years to the month of February,

bringing it to 29 days, gives an average year of 365.25 days. So, every 4 years, we have an extra day in our calendar, to catch up on the discrepancy that gradually occurs between the calendar and the astronomical phenomenon. Petites exceptions… Il y a un 29 février lorsque les années séculaires sont divisibles par 4, sauf si elles sont également divisibles par 100, sauf si elles sont également divisibles par 400, et cela existe depuis l’introduction du calendrier grégorien en 1582, pour éviter une autre dérive du temps.

If you want to know more about France and the French language, do not hesitate to contact me!

Isabelle Élargissez vos horizons avec CONTINENTAL HORIZONS ! Broaden your horizons with CONTINENTAL HORIZONS! Isabelle works for CONTINENTAL HORIZONS Language Centre in L’Isle Jourdain 86. She is a specialist Teacher of French as a Foreign Language with more than 26 years’ experience. Do not hesitate to contact her on 06 20 10 34 49 or 05 49 84 17 73 Learn French with Continental Horizons! Contact us by email : continentalhorizons@free.fr

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Pour ceux nés le 29 février, quand fêtent-ils leur anniversaire ? Cette année, ils seront heureux de souffler leurs bougies « le bon jour » ! Les autres années, non bissextiles, certaines personnes célèbrent leur anniversaire le dernier jour du mois de février, soit le 28. À l’inverse, d’autres sont plus superstitieux et préfèrent ne pas célébrer leur anniversaire en avance, alors ils le fêtent le 1er mars. You can also celebrate your birthday in February or your Saint day (fête)!

Le 10 février 2024, aux quatre coins du globe, les communautés asiatiques célèbrent le nouvel an chinois. Cette année est l’avènement du Dragon de bois.

For those born on 29th February, when do they celebrate their birthday? This year, they will be happy to blow out their candles "on the right day". In other non-leap En février, il y a le years, some people jour de la SaintÀ l’inverse, d’autres sont celebrate their Valentin, le 14 février. birthday on the last plus superstitieux et Ce jour est considéré préfèrent ne pas célébrer day of February, the dans de nombreux 28th. On the other leur anniversaire pays comme la fête hand, others are en avance des amoureux. more superstitious and prefer not to In February, there is Valentine's Day, celebrate their birthday early, so they on 14th February. This day is celebrate it on March 1st. considered in many countries to be the day of lovers. Je vous souhaite un bon mois de février ! On peut aussi fêter son

On 10th February 2024, Asian communities around the world

anniversaire en février ou sa fête !

Small exceptions…. There is a February 29 when secular years are divisible by 4, except when they are also divisible by 100, and except they are also divisible by 400, and this has been around since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, to avoid another drift of time. Que fête-t-on en février ? What do we celebrate in February?

Lauren Dodds Siret 917 833 089 00019

Admin Help, Translation, Interpretation Lauren has a deep understanding of the French system and its complexities

www.anglofrenchhelp.com contact@anglofrenchhelp.com

FRENCH LESSONS ONE-TO-ONE / GROUPS At Dino’s in Champagnac la Rivière (87150)

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or ONLINE CLASSES

Translations & Administrative Assistance

Sandrine Durand Siret : 488 296 450 00015 05 55 78 16 21 / 06 83 07 66 98 r.sandrine.durand@orange.fr 16 etcetera

I wish you a good month of February!

Marjorie Barboza Certified Translator Registered with the Court of Appeal in Limoges Based in Magnac-Laval (87)

Siret 897 855 193 00016

06 70 81 00 54

celebrate the Chinese New Year. This year is the advent of the Wood Dragon.

Certified translations of birth or other certificates, driving licenses, wills, deeds, court orders, proof of income, etc

marjorie.m.barboza@gmail.com

FRENCH LESSONS FOR FREE (if eligible)

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opinion

Brian White lives in south Indre with his wife, too many moles and not enough guitars

Cameron awarded knighthoods to Tory supporters and threw in an MBE for his barber for ‘services to hairdressing’. (Mr Cameron himself, of course, bagged a peerage last year to facilitate his return to government as Foreign Secretary). Boris Johnson’s 2022 resignation honours list was described as ‘shameful’ after he ennobled attendees at the Downing Street lockdown parties, attempted to elevate his own father to the House of Lords, (he’d already put his brother there), and turned the son of a former KGB agent into Baron Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia. Liz Truss’s resignation list after just seven weeks in office was surely a new low in cronyism.

HONOUR BOUND W

reserved for the clergy, which puts the UK hen Edward III assumed the in an exclusive club of two (with Iran). English throne in 1327 he was just 14 years old. Although his fifty year reign Similarly, the honours system is a world brought the usual mayhem of wars, away from simply recognising a genuine rebellions, and children of indeterminate contribution to society. With its welter of origin, Edward strengthened both the rule classes and sub-divisions, the British of law and the role of parliament while scheme is also extraordinarily complex. leading important military victories over From the obscure (Most Ancient and Most Scotland and France. Okay, he put his Noble Order of the Thistle) to the more mother under house familiar MBEs and arrest for thirty years OBEs, each one and executed her lover carries a social before losing around Titles can be bestowed on signifier indicating half of the country’s where the bearer political cronies, zillionaire population to the Black entertainers or simply those stands in the Death, but you can architecture of classalways find fault if you born on the right side of luck based snootiness. look for it. Edward is Titles can be also responsible for the bestowed on political Order of the Garter, the cronies, zillionaire entertainers or simply system of granting titles to those who those born on the right side of luck. But supported him. It was the origin of the true nobility lies more with the heroic present day House of Lords and the birth individuals from among lifeboat crew, of the British honours system. So, how foster parents, medics, teachers, scientists, have Ted 3’s big ideas held up? charity workers, and every other field Well, a second chamber in any legislature where effort is directed at benefiting is vital in curbing the government’s wilder others. What is an honours system for if excesses (they all have them). Despite its not this? absurdly archaic traditions, the UK’s Inevitably, the bestowing of titles has led upper house includes many peers whose to several modern day Prime Ministers work on equal rights and the protection of facing a ‘cash for honours’ scandal. In the vulnerable children, for example, I greatly 1920s David Lloyd George’s government admire. But it’s the others, the dim and openly sold titles with a price list. Later the dubious whose entitlement to a seat PMs Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, and a vote – is either an inheritance from and Tony Blair were all embroiled in Baron Daddy or simply from shovelling controversies over awards to party donors. cash to the right party. I’m also not wild In his 2016 resignation list, David about the 26 permanent seats in the Lords

The roll call of those who have shunned such awards is intriguing, their reasons as varied as the individuals themselves. Among them, the late poet Benjamin Zephaniah once refused an OBE citing (not unreasonably) the ’British Empire’ aspect as insulting to anyone whose ancestors, like his own, were enslaved. Others, like cookery writer Nigella Lawson, simply felt their work was not important enough for such acclaim. Children’s author Roald Dahl rejected an MBE but reportedly only because he wanted a knighthood. Numerous famous names like writers Rudyard Kipling and Alan Bennett, the renowned artist L.S. Lowry (who rejected more honours than anyone else), and musicians Humphrey Lyttelton and David Bowie all declined becoming a “Sir”. Another lengthy list features those whose awards were rescinded after they were found to have been entirely unsuitable after all. Among its alumni are tyrants, spies, tax fraudsters, and sex pests galore. In fact, the entire structure of bestowing titles can often look downright dodgy. Yes, the most deserving are still recognised but their hard-earned acclaim is too often drowned out by the uproar and scandal arising from the ‘headline’ awards in virtually every new list. One popular solution is a ‘People’s Assembly’, an upper chamber voted in by the public. However, know that in a recent poll for the Ladbrokes betting company, when asked who in public life deserves to be knighted, 10% of respondents came up with Robbie Williams. A more equitable way of rewarding genuine civic service must be found; one which the UK deserves and to which it is unarguably – how can I put this? - Entitled.

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food

By Belin da Princ e

Belinda, the ‘Accidental Chatelaine’ loves to cook at any opportunity and is delighted to be able to share that love with you

Winter Warmers Roasted Tomato Soup with Oregano

www.chateaumareuil.com HERE’S THE SECOND PART OF MY FAVOURITE WINTER DISHES, THEY ARE ALL EASY TO MAKE, AND ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS TO EAT!

his is my final month contributing recipes in every edition. I want to thank you for following my column over the years and for your kind feedback about the recipes – a quick count up and I think I’ve shared over 200 with you! I hope you have enjoyed reading (and making!) them as much as I have and that I have introduced you to some new recipes, including some from my Polish

I want to thank you for following my column over the years and for your kind feedback about the recipes heritage (I have included two of them in this month’s feature). So I hope you’ll indulge me this month as I once again, for the last time, share with you my very favourite recipes – enjoy!

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Ingredients (Serves 8) 1.5kg fresh tomatoes 2 onions, roughly chopped 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled 2 tsp dried oregano 4 tbsp olive oil 1 ltr vegetable stock (bouillon) Salt & pepper Preheat the oven to 180º/200º fan Method 1. Halve the tomatoes through the stalk end (makes them easier to peel!) and place cut side up in a large roasting tin, add the chopped onion and whole garlic cloves to the tin, drizzle with the olive oil add salt & pepper to taste. 2. Place the tin in the oven and roast the tomatoes for about 45 mins (adding the oregano for the last 10 minutes or so), until just beginning to brown around the edges. Leave to cool. 3. When cool enough to handle, remove the tomato skins with your fingers and

a small spoon, squeeze the skins out over the tin to extract all the remaining juice and flavour. Squeeze out the garlic from it’s skin and add back to the pan. 4. Then, either pop everything into the food processor and blitz until you achieve the texture you like or use a stick blender in a saucepan. 5. Pour the blitzed tomato mixture into a large saucepan, add the stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Re-heat together gently. Serve garnished with some fresh soft herbs of your choice.

food

Mushroom Pierogi Originating from old Slavic folk cuisine, Pierogi (stuffed dumplings) are a quintessential Polish comfort food and can be stuffed with meat, potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut, mushrooms, or fruit as well as many other fillings. Mushrooms are my favourite filling and dried mushrooms add the required depth of flavour. This dish is perfect served as a side or main. Some people choose to shallow fry the dumplings, giving them a golden, crispy texture, but I like the traditional Polish method. Ingredients (Serves approximately 6) Dough: 500g plain flour (farine de ble) ½ tsp salt 2 eggs, beaten 3 tbsp vegetable oil 250ml warm water Filling: 200g chestnut mushrooms, shiitake or wild mushrooms 50g dried porcini mushrooms 1-2 onions 2 garlic cloves 1 tbsp chopped parsley 25g butter olive oil salt and pepper

Chicken in Red Wine

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

9. Method 1. Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well and add egg, salt, oil and some water. Stir together gradually, incorporating the flour into the well until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding only as much additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth

and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes. Cover the dried porcini mushrooms with boiling water and allow to stand until cool. Chop the onion and gently fry in a mixture of butter and olive oil until soft. Slice fresh mushrooms and add to the onion with chopped garlic and fry until starting to brown. Allow to cool. Place the mushroom mixture in a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Transfer to a pan to dry off the mixture, adding parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Roll out some of the dough thinly and cut out circles approximately 6cm in diameter or use a pierogi/empanada maker. Wrap any remaining dough in cling film to prevent it drying out. To form dumplings, place a teaspoon of the filling toward the front of a circle of pierogi dough. Moisten the edges of the dough with water, and fold in half around the filling to form a semicircle, firmly pinching the edges closed. Set aside on a lightly floured baking sheet. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add half the pierogi. Boil gently until they float to the surface, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and repeat with remaining pierogi.

Serve immediately with finely chopped crispy fried bacon or golden sautéed onions and sour cream. Sprinkle with dill (my favourite) or chives if you prefer.

This is a lighter version of the deeply traditional French “Coq au Vin” with just a hint of orange. Ingredients (Serves 6) 12 small chicken thighs 3 tbsp plain flour (farine de blé) 3 tbsp olive oil 3 onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges 200g smoked bacon lardons 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 300g mushrooms, sliced thickly 2 bay leaves 2 tbsp redcurrant sauce (or similar jam or jelly) 3 strips orange zest 300ml red wine 300ml chicken stock Conventional oven method Preheat the conventional oven to 200ºC /180ºC fan Method 1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then coat lightly in a little of the flour. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof dish and in batches, brown the chicken on both sides over a high heat. Remove the chicken and set aside. 2. Reduce the heat and add the onions and lardons, then cook for 5-8 minutes until starting to brown. Add the garlic, then sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring to prevent sticking.

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food

4. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half to concentrate the flavour. Then add the stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil again and return the chicken to the dish, making sure it’s well covered with the liquid. Put in the oven and cook for 50 minutes or until the chicken is nice and tender. I typically remove the skin before serving but this is not essential. Slow Cooker/Multi Cooker method Up to the point where the chicken is returned to the dish, cook as above using the slow or multi cooker pan or a large sauté pan on the hob and use a bit less liquid than conventional cooking. Slow cook for about 3 hours until the chicken is nice and tender.

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Fruity Chocolate Mousse Ingredients (multiply for a crowd!) 125ml crème entière (double cream) 125g dark chocolate 1 tbsp crème de cassis/mûre/framboise/fraise etc 2 medium eggs, separated Soft fruit of your choice Method 1. Heat the cream gently in a saucepan until just boiling, then remove from the heat. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water or carefully in the microwave. Pour the cream into the melted chocolate and stir until well combined. Add the Crème de “whatever you choose,” whisk in the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the chocolate mixture with a spoon. 2. Either use a pretty dessert dish or individual ramekins; place the fruit at the bottom of the dish, chopped if necessary and gently pour/spoon over the mousse mixture. 3. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for several hours until set, decorate with more berries, serve with chilled pouring cream, if liked, and maybe some langues de chat or brandy snap biscuits.

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3. Add the mushrooms, bay leaves, redcurrant sauce/jam/jelly and orange zest strips.

Red Fruit Almond Torte Ingredients (Serves 6-8) 150g plain flour 150g ground almonds 150g caster sugar 150g butter 1 egg 1 tsp ground cinnamon 300g frozen red fruit mix or other fruit of your choice Method 1. Lightly grease a 23cm loose bottom flan tin and line with baking parchment.

Polish Cheesecake (Sernik) A lighter version of the traditional cheesecake - made without a pastry or sponge base. Ingredients (Serves 6-8) 500g good quality cream cheese 100g butter, softened ½ tsp vanilla extract 6 eggs, separated 150g caster sugar 2 tsp grated lemon rind 1 tbsp cornflour (maïzena) 1 tbsp semolina (semoule) 50g raisins Icing sugar to dust Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan

Method 1. Cream together the cheese, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until well combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites with 1 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. In a third bowl, whisk the egg yolks with all the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add this to the cheese mixture, add the lemon rind and stir to combine. Now, gently fold in the egg whites, then the cornflour, semolina and raisins, taking care not to knock the air out of the mixture. 2. Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until set and golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin, dust with icing sugar and serve in slices.

3. Simply place all the ingredients, except the fruit, into a food processor and process until well combined. 4. Taking about half of the mixture, gently spread it into the bottom of the tin and push to the edges with your finger tips. 5. Scatter over the frozen fruit right up to the edges. 6. Sprinkle over the remaining mixture in small pieces until the fruit is almost all covered, then spread gently with a wet fork to cover as completely as possible. 7. Bake for about 45 - 50 minutes until the top is lightly golden and firm to the touch. Delicious dusted with icing sugar and served with some crème fraîche!

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food

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business

Optimising Your Investments through Discretionary Fund Management Experience the Benefits of Discretionary Fund Management: Optimal Portfolio Performance and Swift Decision-Making

HELEN BOOTH INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISER deVere France

irst of all, what exactly is Discretionary Fund Management?

Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) offers a host of advantages for investors seeking to optimise their portfolio’s performance while benefiting from the expertise of professional fund managers. By entrusting your portfolio to a DFM service, you gain access to a wealth of experience and knowledge that can help you navigate the complex world of investing. Let’s explore the key benefits of discretionary fund management: Portfolio Balancing and Rebalancing One of the primary advantages of DFM is the ability to balance and rebalance your portfolio in response to changing market conditions and your evolving financial goals. Professional fund managers continuously monitor your investments

and adjust the asset allocation to ensure your portfolio remains diversified and aligned with your risk tolerance, investment objectives, and time horizon. This proactive approach helps to mitigate risks and maximise returns over the long term.

portfolio remains agile and adaptive in an ever-changing financial landscape. Access to Expertise and Exclusive Opportunities

Discretionary fund managers possess a deep understanding of the financial markets, along In the fast-paced world Swift Decision-Making with access to a wide range of investing, the ability of investment products and and Execution to act quickly and opportunities that may not In the fast-paced world of be available to individual decisively can make all investing, the ability to act investors. By leveraging the difference quickly and decisively can their professional networks make all the difference. and research capabilities, DFMs can With a discretionary fund manager at the identify and seize attractive investment helm, your portfolio can be adjusted opportunities, further enhancing your promptly in response to market portfolio's performance. movements, capitalising on emerging Time and Convenience opportunities and minimising potential losses. The expertise and experience of a Managing a diverse investment portfolio DFM enable them to make informed can be time-consuming and challenging, decisions on your behalf, ensuring your particularly for individuals with limited

Helen Booth works as a financial adviser for deVere France S.a.r.l and has lived as well as owned property in the Deux-Sèvres region. Having worked in the financial services in the UK for over 15 years, Helen prides herself in being fully diploma-qualified for the services that she provides. Helen has lived and worked in France for over 8 years and enjoys being part of deVere France S.a.r.l., a division of one of the world’s leading independent financial consultancies, deVere Group. With over $10 billion of funds under its advice and

Remember that pensions are administration and with more than 80,000 clients around the long-term investments designed world, deVere Group truly offers a myriad of unique products to ride out the ups and downs in and notes that are not available anywhere else in the market. the markets over time deVere France S.a.r.l. are regulated by ANACOFI-CIF and ORIAS which will only recommend French regulated products.

deVere France can advise you on ways to help safeguard and increase your wealth, as well as helping with HMRC-recognised pension transfers to a Qualified Recognised Overseas Pensions scheme (QROPS) to give you potentially more flexibility in your pension plans.

If you would like to know more about how deVere France can help you, contact

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: +33 (0) 77 171 2879 : helen.booth@devere-france.fr

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business managers. With the ability to balance and investment experience or busy schedules. rebalance portfolios, act quickly in By engaging a DFM service, you can response to market changes, and access delegate the day-to-day management of exclusive investment opportunities, a your portfolio to a professional, freeing up DFM service can help you your time to focus on navigate the complexities of other important aspects You can delegate the investing with confidence of your life while enjoying day-to-day management and ease. the peace of mind that of your portfolio to comes with knowing your Please note, the above is for a professional investments are in educational purposes only capable hands. and does not constitute advice. You should always contact your In summary, discretionary fund advisor for a personal consultation. management offers a powerful solution for investors seeking to optimise their portfolio’s performance and benefit from the expertise of professional fund

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Navigating Retirement in France: VISA, TAX, AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-EU PENSIONERS

SUPPORT

LAUREN DODDS ANGLO FRENCH HELP contact@anglofrenchhelp.com

etirement in France is an appealing prospect for non-EU pensioners, offering a blend of rich culture, excellent healthcare, and diverse landscapes. However, the journey to settling down in France involves navigating various visa, tax, and administrative intricacies that are crucial for a successful transition.

advisors specialised in international taxation can help optimise tax strategies for retirees. Healthcare and Insurance

Access to healthcare is a vital consideration for retirees. While France boasts a high-quality healthcare system, non-EU retirees need to ensure adequate Visa and Residency Requirements health insurance coverage. Depending on individual circumstances, retirees might For non-EU pensioners looking to retire in opt for private health insurance or qualify France, obtaining the right visa or carte de for the French public health séjour is essential. The insurance system (PUMA) long-stay visa is required for stays longer than 90 Several tax treaties exist once they’ve lived here for three months. But the good days. This visa can lead between France and news for recipients of UK to a residency permit other countries to state pension benefits is that known as a "Carte de prevent double taxation you may be entitled to state Séjour" once in France. healthcare in France paid for Applicants need to demonstrate proof of by the UK through your S1 form. sufficient financial resources, health Securing comprehensive health coverage insurance coverage (either private health is paramount, as unexpected medical insurance or the S1 form for UK expenses can significantly impact applicants), and accommodation. retirement finances. Researching and Requirements may vary based on comparing insurance options, individual circumstances and visa types. understanding coverage limits, and Tax Implications seeking advice from insurance brokers or healthcare professionals are Understanding the tax system in France is essential steps. vital for retirees, as it can significantly impact financial planning. France imposes taxes on worldwide income for residents. Pension income, including social security benefits and private pensions, is subject to French income tax. However, several tax treaties exist between France and other countries to prevent double taxation. Seeking advice from tax professionals or financial

Driving License and Vehicle Import Regulations For retirees planning to drive in France, understanding the process for exchanging or recognising their foreign driving licence is crucial. If coming from the UK, the driving licence remains valid for as long as it's in force and can be exchanged for a French one when necessary.

However, for retirees from the USA, not all driving licences are exchangeable in France. If the licence is eligible, retirees need to initiate the process within the first year of obtaining normal residency status. This one-year period begins from the day the visa is validated online, emphasising the importance of prompt action upon arrival. Moreover, retirees intending to import their vehicles should do so within the first year of residency to benefit from exemptions on customs duties and VAT. Failing to comply with this timeframe might lead to additional taxes and administrative hurdles. Conclusion Retiring in France as a non-EU pensioner offers an array of benefits, but it requires meticulous planning and adherence to administrative requirements. Navigating visa procedures, understanding tax implications, managing administrative tasks, and securing adequate healthcare coverage are critical aspects of a successful retirement transition. While the administrative procedures might seem daunting, seeking guidance from professionals, leveraging expatriate networks, and investing time in understanding the intricacies of French bureaucracy can significantly ease the process. With careful planning and preparation, retirees can embark on a rewarding and fulfilling retirement journey in the captivating landscapes and cultural tapestry of France.

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business

Allianz Health Top Up

26 etcetera

business

ike any other top-up, the premium is simply based on age, level of cover, and postal address. Yes, for some reason, it is more expensive if you live in Paris or Bordeaux compared to Angoulême!

glasses and teeth treatment if these are complicated and above the new level of cover set by the French government via the 100% santé reform.

There is no health questionnaire. You get a tiers payant card (actually just a piece of paper) that proves you are insured. You can check your reimbursements, send quotes and bills, and reprint your card directly from your Allianz online customer account.

What does it cover: This cover is the best cover for hospital and also up to 125 euros per day for an individual room and 100% for the rest plus some perks.

ECO COVER

SERENITE COVER

What it does not cover: Surcharges made by consultants and specialists (for consultations). Also, it might not be enough cover to fully reimburse your glasses and teeth treatment if these are complicated and above the new level of cover set by the French government via the 100% santé reform.

What does it cover: This cover is the basic cover with pretty much everything at 100% of the CPAM set price. It is the cheapest basic cover as it does not include the Sometimes, the 100% santé reform.

SERENITE 2 COVER: ‘télétransmission’ What it does not cover: does it cover: This glitches and we need this What Well, it does not cover cover is the best cover surcharges, medicines letter to un-glitch it for hospital and also up that are only reimbursed to 125 euros per day for 15% and 30% by CPAM, an individual room and and other perks such as either 125% or 145% cover on mostly individual room, alternative medicine, etc. everything. Also, it might not be enough cover to fully What it does not cover: Surcharges made reimburse your glasses and teeth by consultants and specialists (if above 125 treatment if these are complicated. It also or 145%). Also, it might not be enough does not include the new reform of 100% cover to fully reimburse your glasses and santé so if you want hearing aids, glasses teeth treatment if these are complicated or crowns covered by the new reform, do and above the new level of cover set by the not choose this cover. French government via the 100% CONFORT COVER santé reform. What does it cover: This cover is the basic GOLD COVER cover with pretty much everything at 100% What does it cover: This cover is the best of the CPAM set price and also includes the cover for hospital and everything else. 100% santé reform so covers hearing aids, crowns and glasses. What it does not cover: Not much really! Although you still might have to pay What it does not cover: Well, it does not surcharges on tooth implants. cover surcharges. Also, it might not be enough cover to fully reimburse your glasses and teeth treatment if these are complicated and above the new level of cover set by the French government via the 100% santé reform. It does include the 100% santé reform. LEVEL 2 COVER: What does it cover: This cover is basically either 125% or 145% cover on mostly everything. What it does not cover: Surcharges made by consultants and specialists (if above 125% or 145%). Also, it might not be enough cover to fully reimburse your

FAQ: When does the cover start: Straight away. Although the level of guarantee offered by SERENITE is limited in the first 6 months (200% instead of 400% for transport, medical and surgical, 80 euros instead of 125 for the individual room). What about pre-existing conditions: There is no health questionnaire, so they are covered. Can I upgrade or downgrade the level: Not in the first year but any time after that, yes.

ISABELLE WANT BH ASSURANCES

Does the top-up cover me abroad: Only if CPAM does. It is a top-up not a private health insurance policy. How do I cancel it: On the anniversary date each year or if you leave France, we need proof of your address abroad. Or now with the new law at any time once the first year has passed. If you already have a top-up but not with us, we will do the cancellation for you, so you have nothing to do. How Does It Work: When you have your carte vitale: When you visit your GP or other medical professionals, you first give them your carte Vitale and then you pay. The reimbursement is then automatically done by CPAM and Allianz is linked with CPAM by the ‘télétransmission’ so the top up from Allianz follows within 10 days of CPAM reimbursement. Attestation de droit: This is a letter that shows you are entitled to a carte Vitale. Sometimes, the ‘télétransmission’ glitches and we need this letter to un-glitch it. You can download it from your CPAM personal account (ameli.fr) or simply phone them and they will send it to you by post. Tiers payant card: That is your top-up card. This card does not show your level of cover. It simply proves that you have a topup and gives information to the medical profession in case of a ‘prise en charge’this is when the top-up pays instead of you. You can download it from your Allianz customer account. Please contact me directly for your personalised quote and to talk through all the options available. And don’t hesitate to contact me for information on our other insurances (car, house, professional, inheritance law, funeral cover, see my details below.

Isabelle Want 06 17 30 39 11 Email: isabelle.want @bh-assurances.fr 22 rue Jean Jaures. 16700 Ruffec Tél:+33 (0)5 45 31 01 61

102 Avenue de la République 16260 Chasseneuil sur Bonnieure Tél:+33(0)5 45 39 51 47

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business SUPPORT

DONNA STOKES FREELANCE PA & ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT donnastokespaservices@gmail.com

Running a Small YOUR Business KNOW NETWORK

e’ve talked about this before network. Building and nurturing these relationships not only fosters loyalty running your own business can be but can also bring in referrals. By tough, and often lonely. However this learning about your customers’ doesn’t have to be the case. For small background and experience, you may business owners, the significance of also discover that you have access to establishing and nurturing a robust valuable expertise or advice too. network cannot be underestimated. This isn’t just about swapping business cards or 4. Staff/contractors/associates: following a Facebook page, but about whilst the majority of self-employed cultivating real relationships that can people don’t have direct support business, personal employees, neither do growth, and innovation, Your network should most operate completely and often offer invaluable in isolation. You may focus on quality over support from others quantity, and it's fine if have sub-contractors, who understand. or assistants your tribe wears one or associates who work with you on So who should be in more of the above hats particular aspects of your your network? business (think The strength of your network lies not just accountant, Virtual Assistant, in its size but also in its diversity. A robust suppliers, IT support etc.) and often network should include a number of these people can have invaluable input individuals from different backgrounds into you and your business from a and professions, and with different different perspective – don’t be afraid expertise. Have a think about to ask! the following: 5. Support network: otherwise known 1. Industry peers: connections with as your ‘tribe’. They can be family, fellow business owners or professionals friends, other small business owners – within your industry are invaluable, these people are there for you, they shouldn’t always be viewed as the providing emotional (and sometimes competition/rivals. They can offer practical) support and helping you insight, shared experiences, advice, and maintain balance in your life. support specific to your area of work. Remember, your network should focus on 2. Mentors/advisors: whether a formal quality over quantity, and it's fine if your arrangement or not, guidance from tribe wears one or more of the above hats. those who have navigated similar You know who they are – remember and challenges and understand your recognise that they’re there to support you landscape can be game-changers for in a number of ways, including: you and your business. ● Opening doors and providing 3. Customers/clients: just because they are on the receiving end of your business, don’t rule them out of your

28 etcetera

opportunities: your network may be a treasure trove of opportunities waiting to be discovered! Whether it’s

finding new clients, establishing partnerships, collaborations or joint ventures, your network can lead to opportunities for expansion and business growth. ● Knowledge sharing: in business, information is power and your network can be a goldmine of insights, expertise, and industry knowledge available for you to tap into. Engaging with peers and experts in your field can offer perspectives that spark innovation and help you stay current and up-to-date in order to provide the best possible service/product to your customers. ● Support and guidance: we know that running a business can be a lonely journey and with the highs also come the lows. However, with your network, you’re never truly alone. The relationships you build can offer invaluable support – whether it’s advice during tough times, encouragement when you hit roadblocks, or a sounding board for new ideas. Don’t forget though, it’s not all about the taking; by engaging with others, you also form part of their network too. Be ready to contribute, offer your expertise, and support others too. Nurturing and building your network needn’t be onerous or become a task – it should be seen as an investment in the success and resilience of your business, and ultimately a lifeline for you. Simple courtesies, regular communication, showing appreciation and thanks, and doing your bit will pay back in dividends – you may just find your network is your greatest asset!

health

WINTER PRESSURES on Our Mental Wellbeing IT’S THE HEART OF WINTER AND WE’VE BEEN LIVING AT THE DARKEST TIME OF YEAR NOW FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. CHRISTMAS IS OVER AND WE CERTAINLY KNOW THAT JANUARY CAN DRAG ON… PLUS THERE IS NO REAL SIGHT OF SPRING YET

t's no wonder then that February is the time of year when people tend to experience the lowest mood. Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a condition that affects over 12 million people across Northern Europe (NHS). It is characterised by persistent low mood, overeating, fatigue or lack of motivation, sleeping difficulties, and withdrawal from socialising. Before we tackle SAD it’s important to remember that we do have a tendency to pathologise normal behaviours these days in our society; there seems to be a label for every ‘normal’ reaction to our environment and we do need to look at the context before we label ourselves or others

Amanda is a registered Naturopathic Nutritionist and Nutrigenomics Practitioner. Gut, Digestion and Microbiome Specialist

www.amandakingnd.com Email: nutrition@amandakingnd.com

then it is probably not SAD at all, you may be reacting in a healthy way to winter being cold and dark. Wrapping up warm and staying cosy can be truly preferable to With lower levels of daylight, our circadian braving the freezing temperatures and rhythms are affected and we produce dark evenings to socialise, different levels of all hormones in winter. For We do have a tendency to and we may have a need to raise our core body example, we produce pathologise normal the hormone temperature by snuggling behaviours these days in up in our duvet nest and (neurotransmitter) our society serotonin for feeling good reading our books and out of serotonin we instead. This is all very make melatonin, the sleep hormone. It is normal for this time of year. biologically normal to want to hibernate in When that withdrawal is accompanied by winter. If you are finding yourself happy to depression or consistently feeling low then sleep more in February, if you are feeling this could be SAD. There are many things content to just sit by the fire, drink your you can do to alleviate SAD with nutrition. tea, and get plenty of early nights’ sleep, with SAD. It is normal to feel sad when sad things happen in life, it is healthy to react with appropriate emotions.

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health

The Science Bit! All protein is made of building blocks called amino acids. Humans need 20 of them to function correctly (although in nature around 500 have so far been discovered). One of these amino acids is called tryptophan. It is predominantly found in all animal protein but here is a list of foods which contain tryptophan, in order of content (highest first and in descending order). − Chicken and turkey (always buy organic if you can) with 687 mg of tryptophan per 170g per cooked chicken breast − Beef skirt (636 mg per 170g) − Pork chops (627 mg per 170g) − Firm tofu (212 mg per 170g) − Salmon (570 mg per 170g) Ideally eat high quality animal protein each day as this will give you the complete range of all 20 amino acids needed for healthy function. Plant based proteins are usually mostly carbohydrate based with a lesser amount of protein and never contain all of the 20 amino acids that we need. Tryptophan is converted into something called 5-HTP by the body using vitamin C and vitamin D (we are coming back to these in a moment) and also with B vitamins which are found abundantly in the above good quality animal proteins. Some of you may have seen 5-HTP as a supplement for sleep or mood. It isn’t right for everyone to take so do check with me or another healthcare provider prior to embarking on any new supplement regime as we are all unique. Once the body has made 5-HTP, it then hopefully converts this into the happy hormone serotonin. As long as the right vitamins are present for it to do that. If you don’t have the ingredients, you can’t bake the cake! Your body makes the sleep hormone melatonin from the happy hormone serotonin which can explain why people who are depressed or anxious often have sleep difficulties too. In my practice, these ‘mood disorders’ are often either exacerbated by or simply down to nutritional deficiency and can be corrected by diet and lifestyle. If you are feeling the effects of the winter blues then here are a number of recommendations to follow in order of priority: 1. Make sure you are eating enough protein. Often women fall short on their protein needs due to calorie restriction (and also they tend to not eat enough fat too which is bad for hormone production). Many people above the age of 50 don’t realise that their need for dietary protein increases to compensate for the loss in muscle mass and tissue density as we age. Aim for 0.8g protein per kilogram of weight if you aren’t working out and 1-1.2g per

kilo if you are working out regularly or strength training. Get professional advice to know what is right for your lifestyle and life stage.

presentation of phyto (plant) nutrients, fibre, minerals, and enzymes. You will get magnesium from the leafy green vegetables you eat which helps vitamin D to work properly in the body. Many vitamins and minerals work together and nature has got the ratios of nutrients right in natural foods. You would be eating these veggies for their vitamin C content so that you can help your body to convert tryptophan into serotonin as above. You can also supplement vitamin C. Look for liposomal vitamin C as this is more available to your body. Supplement 1g a day with your other supplements, or take 2 x 500mg 6 hours apart (but not in the evenings as it can lead to wakefulness).

2. Supplement vitamin D3 (ideally with K2 as this is a cofactor). It is best to get your D3 levels checked with your doctor which is easy to do in France. What is interesting to note is that the ‘healthy range’ varies from country to country. In the UK the range with the NHS is 50nmol/l to around 175nmol/l but in France the range starts at 30nmol/l, which is significantly lower. If your D3 levels are less than 50nmol/l this represents, for some, insufficiency, and for others this is subclinical deficiency - it depends on your genes. Some people have a very weak vitamin D receptor You will get magnesium from 4. Remember that while poor nutrition and which we can see on a the leafy green vegetables you deficiency play a huge part DNA report eat which helps vitamin D to in the trigger and (Methylation DNA work properly in the body progression of SAD, there is report on my website) a psychological aspect too. and if this is very weak Our internal dialogue, our inner voice genetically then certain people may matters. When we look at mental need to remain constantly above illness or psychological issues like low 75nmol or even 100nmol/l just to have mood, anxiety or depression, there are adequate blood serum levels for good both nutritional and psychological health. Once you know that it’s not just aspects, as we are one, a mind-body! A as simple as taking a drop or two of mind cannot be healthy in a diseased vitamin D, or even the recommended body! A body cannot be healthy when 100,000 iu which is given in France for we are traumatised or living in a 3 months, then you realise that could dysfunctional environment and don’t be why so many people have low mood learn how to treat ourselves with or depression in winter. They are just respect. We need all approaches to vitamin D deficient and it’s easy to work together, towards happiness and remedy. As a baseline each person wellbeing. Consider counselling to needs a minimum of 1000iu daily learn how to talk internally in a way which is ideally a drop under the that benefits your body. When we tongue of a good quality supplement. deliberately calm our mind, our body 3. Ensure that you eat a rainbow of responds and there are many powerful colours of vegetables and a small techniques that can be learned with a amount of fruits each day (two max good psychotherapist. and ideally berries). Aim for a If you need good quality minimum of 8 in total and remember supplements then you can email me that your portion size is your cupped at nutrition@amandakingnd.com handful. It doesn’t need to be a huge for a link to buy in Europe. amount of each kind of veg as a little If you mention etcetera you will goes a long way. Each colour and each receive 5% off your purchase. kind gives you a different ratio and

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health

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health

Conquering Procrastination… I WILL DO IT TOMORROW. AFTER LUNCH I WILL MAKE A START. I WAS GOING TO BUT THEN ROB CALLED AND I DIDN’T GET AROUND TO IT. I AM QUICKLY CHECKING MY MESSAGES FIRST AND THEN READING THE NEWS….

e all have found so many ways to distract ourselves from tasks we would - for some reason or another rather postpone or not do at all. The excuses are endless, as are the possible distractions. And we don’t only postpone once or twice, we often do it numerous times. Procrastination is something so familiar to many of us. But why is it so difficult to get started on something, why does that simple job seem so daunting, what is it really that stops us from even making a start, let alone finish a task? Although I should probably not generalise, in most cases it is fear. Fear of not being good enough or fear of failure. If I don’t start something, I can’t fail or I can’t be judged on the result.

to protect us from the possible negative consequences, it sidetracks us. And we allow that to happen. We are often not even aware. The good news is that whatever is conditioned can be reconditioned, even if it takes some time. Neural pathways that have been shaped over many years can be reshaped to become more useful or helpful ones. You can rewrite the program, teach yourself that you are worthy, that you are good enough and capable, and that failure is part of life and it isn’t the end of the world. You can start counselling or therapy to explore those deep-rooted feelings and once you develop the awareness and a better understanding of your feelings and patterns, you can change them if you want to. In the end, of course, it is always your choice.

This is not a rational thought; how could I fail folding the laundry, or filling out that And if you think about it, decisions made form…? It is mostly a bit more deep-rooted out of fear keep you stuck, decisions that and goes back to our childhood or younger take courage almost always move you years. Certain experiences made us believe forward. All you have achieved in your life that we are not worthy or - your driving test, a first not capable of achieving kiss, a job interview, More often than not it something. Sometimes buying a house, moving they are big life-changing stems from subtle countries - they all took events, traumatic events comments or reactions courage. You wouldn’t even, but more often than from our main caregivers have got there if you had not it stems from subtle let fear guide you. Fear is a comments or reactions bad adviser. Sometimes it can be quite from our main caregivers: parents, refreshing to look at all those small and big siblings, close relatives, teachers…. achievements to remind you of what you Growing up we have learned that our are capable of. There are literally hundreds efforts will not be judged kindly, that we of them, and if you could overcome your will be criticised, that we won’t amount to fears then, you surely can do it again. much, that this other person - a sibling or a parent perhaps - will always be better, In the meantime, here is a simple trick you more talented, it will never be good can use to stop this endless negative train enough. Coming home with a report card, of thought in the back of your mind. and all our parents see is the one subject Imagine you are launching a rocket: you where we lack some knowledge, they simply count back from 5. “I am going to ignore all the good marks. Or we get start cleaning out that cupboard in 5, 4, 3, picked last for the football team, or our 2, 1”… and take action. The urge to distract sibling is so much better at drawing… the yourself disappears as you have broken the list goes on. spell, for now anyway. If the task at hand is rather big then you divide it up into We start to believe that we are not as smaller tasks and do them one by one. important or skilled, talented, equipped as others. So why bother? Our brain, that is So, if you would like to stop now conditioned this way, goes into selfprocrastinating, don’t let fear guide you defence mode to avoid disappointment and and take action. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

By Rafaë l

Dupré

Originally from Belgium, Rafaël has run private practices in the UK and France, working with individuals or couples on a huge range of issues

rafael@a-therapy.com t. 07 83 23 77 23 Advert on page 30

About Me Life! There are moments when it feels completely overwhelming, confusing or simply too difficult. Everyone struggles with life’s complexities and from time to time, we all need someone who will listen, who will understand and who will help us to get things back on track. My name is Rafaël Dupré - I am originally from Belgium, although I have lived in India, the UK and France and have divided my time between private practices in London, rural Kent and France. I have over 20 years’ experience working in the broader mental health arena. My early career was spent working specifically with young people, either individually or within their family unit, to overcome issues ranging from social exclusion to relationship difficulties and the effects of addiction or abuse. Today my practice is split between working with individuals and couples from all walks of life and I provide therapy for a hugely diverse range of issues. I also work extensively with young people aged 12 to 18 years. I practice solution-focused therapy as a means of fostering change so that clients not only benefit from greater understanding, but also have the tools to implement those changes on a very practical level. I am a fully registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and work within the BACP Ethical Framework. I have completed additional courses in Contextual Therapy, Family Therapy, Working with victims of (sexual) abuse, addiction, attachment related difficulties and relational issues.

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garden

COMPANION PLANT 1

COMPANION PLANT 2

HOW DOES IT WORK

Mint

Brassicas Tomatoes carrot and Onion

Helps to deter flea beetle. The smell deters aphids and other pests. The smell confuses carrot fly/onion fly who find their host by smell

Nasturtiums as a sacrificial plant

Brassicas French/Runner beans

These attract white cabbage butterflies which lay their eggs on the nasturtium, not your plants. Aphids love them and the nasturtiums will lure them away from the brassicas.

Spring onions and This is a symbiotic relationship - the smell of spring onions and leeks Carrots and leeks deter the carrot fly and the smell of carrots deters the onion fly. Win/win. leeks Chives

Sunflowers and Tomatoes

Another of the onion family, the smell of which deters aphids

Garlic, mint, chives and thyme

Roses

The strong smells of all these deter aphids and blackfly

Summer savory

Broad beans

Helps to deter blackfly

French marigold (Tagetes)

Tomatoes

The pungent smell deters whitefly

Sweet pea

Runner and French These will attract pollinating insects which in turn will pollinate the beans beans

Calendula (English marigold)

Courgette, squashes

These flowers are highly attractive to pollinating insects which will pollinate the courgettes and squashes

Basil

Tomatoes

This reportedly improves the flavour of the tomato, and its strong smell deters aphids

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garden

Companion Planting

By Ronnie Ogier

Ronnie is a passionate gardener and now loves sharing her years of experience of success and failures in her own garden and sharing it with you. Also a keen runner, having been bitten by the ‘Couch to 5K’ bug!

FEBRUARY IS A PECULIAR MONTH. IT CAN BE VERY COLD AND OFTEN QUITE WET, BUT OCCASIONALLY IT’S DRY AND SUNNY. WE’RE PAST JANUARY’S HIGH SPIRITS AND RESOLUTIONS BUT THE GARDEN IS NOT YET BACK INTO ACTIVE LIFE

ulbs are not yet the glorious colours that will start to arrive in a few weeks. But it can be an exciting time of the year when we start to grow flowers and vegetables! It's also a month when there is still a bit of garden ‘downtime’ during which we can plan small changes to our gardening approaches, which will reap benefits in our gardens and the environment. One such change is the use of companion planting.

Companion planting is not a substitute for good feeding and watering, or weeding and pruning correctly. It will rarely enable an entirely unsuitable choice to thrive, though it may help the less suitable to be a little less uncomfortable. Before looking at individual companion plants there are more general tips which may help: ▪

Avoid monoculture. This is where the same type of plant is grown en masse or in rows. Monoculture makes it much easier for pests and diseases to find their favourite plant and then spread rapidly.

Companion planting is about creating plant groupings which can be mutually beneficial. It’s an organic way to protect crops from pests or ▪ Use tall plants such as improve the pollination of Monoculture makes it peas, sweetcorn, and lupins fruit and vegetables. It is much easier for pests to create partially shaded most frequently used in conditions for delicate plants, the vegetable garden but and diseases to find or those prone to bolting such can also add value in the their favourite plant as coriander, lettuce, ornamental garden. and spinach. However, it is a topic which, at the moment, does not appear to ▪ Plant herbs throughout the garden and hold much interest for the scientific vegetable plot, as most have strongly community, so there is no hard proof of its scented leaves which help repel insects. effectiveness. But there is a huge body of ▪ Try intercropping. This is where fastanecdotal evidence for plant growing crops such as lettuce and companionship and many gardeners find radishes are sown between more it extremely beneficial to their plant’s widely spaced rows of slower growing performance. In this article I’ve included crops such as sprouts and parsnips. the best-known partnerships between This way uses the available space and flowers, herbs, fruit, and vegetables, to helps prevent weeds from growing, and help improve our gardens without weeds take nutrients, light, and water, resorting to pesticides and chemicals. and spread disease. Plants behave a bit like us; some get on ▪ Plant lots of insect and bird friendly with others, some don’t, and some are plants either amongst your plants or completely indifferent. It would be very nearby. They attract natural predators strange if every plant were to grow totally such as birds who eat slugs, hoverflies independently as if in its own test tube. who eat aphids, and bees who pollinate But on the other hand, of the many the crops. thousands of plants grown in our gardens, it would be equally strange if not one of ▪ BUT take care with some suggested them had some effect on another or aided companion plants such as mint – these another’s friend or foe. Put simply, are fast-growing, spread quickly, and companion planting is no more than take over. Grow mint in containers to choosing plants to grow with, before or keep it under control. after each other to offer benefits by There are several ways in which enhancing fertility or reducing the impact companion plants may be beneficial of pests or diseases. But it also means not putting known enemies near one another. to others:

▪ As already mentioned, tall plants can give shade to more delicate plants, but also a hedge can act as a windbreak to protect plants from the cooling effect of wind. ▪ The roots of peas and beans are well known for fixing nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient needed for growth, development, and reproduction. ▪ There are plants whose smell deters pests – the pungent smell of French Marigolds is one of these. ▪ It is possible to use plants as ‘sacrificial crops’. As they grow, they attract insects from your plants and then you can just put the sacrificial crop on the compost heap. ▪ Another group of plants attracts insects to pollinate your plants – nasturtiums and sweet peas fall into this category. ▪ But some plants really do not get on with others – dandelions give off ethylene which prevents seeds from germinating and alters their growth and ripening. This can be used to your advantage, as the leaves help ripen reluctant tomatoes at the end of the season.

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garden

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garden

Growing in raised beds

To Dig or Not to Dig

Caroline W right Le jardin cr éatif

Caroline has been a lecturer in horticulture for 20 years and now runs a nursery and ‘garden craft’ courses in the Haute-Vienne at Le jardin créatif

FEBRUARY IS A TIME FOR PREPARING THE GROUND FOR THE COMING GROWING SEASON, READY FOR THOSE FIRST EARLY CROPS THAT CAN BE SOWN OR PLANTED IN MARCH

within the soil that are disturbed when here is a big trend towards permaculture and ‘No Dig’ gardens you start turning the soil over. These and I am often asked questions about this include beneficial fungi, insects, and especially from first time gardeners or worms that help to maintain soil fertility people creating a and to keep the structure of the vegetable plot for the They can also be a good soil in good condition. The other first time. In this solution if you have very obvious benefit is that you avoid article I will look at of the strenuous work poor soil, stoney soil or most the principles, the involved in digging over your very little decent top soil plot each year. Adding organic pros and cons of ‘No Dig’ growing, and matter to the soil is simply a the reasons why I prefer to dig. matter of spreading it over the surface and letting the worms and natural The principles of ‘No Dig’ growing are decomposition take it down into the soil mainly to preserve the natural ecosystems over time.

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Generally ‘No Dig’ systems involve creating narrow growing beds that can be cultivated and harvested without the need to tread on them, or by building a system of raised beds so that they are easy to reach without having to bend down, and they can make gardening more accessible for anyone with a disability or mobility problems. They can also be a good solution if you have very poor soil, stoney soil or very little decent top soil. Any type of raised bed will increase drainage however, and therefore watering will need to be a consideration.

garden

Four bed rotation system with vegetables grown in rows directly in the soil

micro organisms require nutrients themselves – particularly nitrogen, the nutrient that plants require the most – and therefore can actually remove nutrients from the rootzone as they break down the organic matter (only when it is completely decomposed will it be released back into the soil). It is due to these principles that I would not recommend ‘lasagne beds’ which are often used in a permaculture system. They are created by making long mounds of green waste (partially composted or uncomposted plant matter) spread on top of twigs & All of this seems very sensible, branches etc, often including layers of environmentally-friendly, and less backcardboard or newspaper and finished off breaking, but for me, I prefer to dig. There with a thin layer of soil and mulched with are several reasons for this. First of all, straw. The high carbon elements in this when I did my RHS training many years mix are going to take a lot of breaking ago, we were taught the down and therefore there traditional principles of Out of the 17 nutrients will be an initial loss of organic gardening and the nutrients. The use of a benefits of simple, single, essential for healthy plant base layer of woody waste growth, 14 of them are and double digging were will also increase the very much part of the derived from the minerals drainage in the rootzone syllabus, adding wellwithin the soil and therefore the need for rotted organic matter to watering is increased, and the bottom of the trench, where the plant for this reason it is also not the most roots benefit from the nutrients and suitable method for hot dry summers. retained moisture and the roots are also However, I am fortunate that I have good encouraged to grow down to seek this. If quality soil, plenty of space, and I enjoy the organic matter is spread on the the physical exercise I get from digging. I surface, it encourages shallow rooting and use a traditional 4 bed system of rotation, in hot weather the top layers are going to and I grow my vegetables traditionally in dry out quickly. long rows in large open beds. This means I am also a big fan of growing directly in that I have to walk on the beds to carry out soil. Out of the 17 nutrients essential for sowing and planting, weeding, and healthy plant growth, 14 of them are harvesting, so my soil can get compacted. derived from the minerals within the soil, Oxygen is essential for healthy plant roots, and growing in purely organic matter can so an annual dig over the beds allows me lead to nutrient deficiencies, due to the to remove any perennial weeds that have lack of available minerals, and also installed themselves, add organic matter because the process of decomposition of to the root zone, and aerate the soil at the green waste requires large colonies of same time. I usually do this in the autumn bacteria and fungi to break it down, these leaving the surface open and chunky, and I Permaculture also encompasses what is known as a ‘closed system’ where all waste plant matter is composted on site and reused to add organic matter to the soil. Fertilisers are natural, plant based, and grown and created on site too (for example nettle and comfrey ‘tea’), nothing is bought in and nothing goes to waste. Beneficial insects, birds, and small mammals are encouraged to keep pests at bay and natural preparations and preventative growing methods are used to help fight diseases.

let the frost do the work of breaking the large clods down into a friable surface. However, the excessive rain in the autumn last year meant that I was unable to do this, so I am trying to get this all done now (early January) to let the frost do its job. I grow a lot of root crops which do best in a light, open structured soil, and therefore thorough forking or digging is beneficial for deep root growth. And I like to plant early potatoes which need to be buried at least 15 to 20 cm below ground level so that the frosts do not kill them off, and a well prepared soil also allows the roots and young tubers to establish well. So, all in all there are benefits and limitations to each growing method, and it is down to whichever suits your situation best. If you want to find out more about vegetable growing, crop rotation systems, and soil preparation, I have released a series of YouTube videos, originally created during lockdown when we had to cancel our physical courses. You can access these videos at Le Jardin Créatif France YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@carolinewright1498

At Le Jardin Créatif www.lejardincreatif.net Check out our website for information about our courses and workshops for 2024, and for our nursery opening hours. We will be opening again in early March on Saturdays but with reduced opening hours in March until the weather picks up in April.

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free time

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free time

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The tiny Green Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) on a reed leaf. Note the adhesive pads on his toes that enable him to climb An Agile Frog Rana dalmatina, more than adequately camouflaged on a tree-stump

Common Water Frog A Common Frog Rana temporaria

nature

Let’s Hear It for Frogs!

By Mik

e Geo r ge

Mike George is our regular contributor on wildlife and the countryside in France. He is a geologist and naturalist, living in the Jurassic area of the Charente

THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN FROGS START THINKING ABOUT BEING FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLYING, SO LET US HAVE A BRIEF LOOK AT THEM AND SEE WHAT THEY ARE

eople tend to think of frogs as creatures of the summer, but the Common Frog has a relatively early start to its year. Depending upon the way February's temperature pans out, this is the month when your tranquil wildlife pond can suddenly fill with sharp-nosed black faces, resound with a sort of whirring purring noise, and even seem suddenly to boil with activity. This is the great frog mating, and goes back many millions of years. What is an amphibian?

ranavirus is a viral infection. Both are deadly to a frog. So, what is a frog? Like most amphibians, it has a water-living stage and a landliving stage. The creatures develop from shell-less eggs which need to be in a wet environment to survive. The developing creature relies on gill-structures to extract the oxygen it needs from the water in which it lives, and cannot breathe air. It only gains that ability at final metamorphosis, when it loses its gills and transfers to a lung-system, usually backed up with a reduced ability to take in oxygen from water via its skin. Adult frogs can drown if they are called upon to do any serious exertion underwater and cannot breathe air.

During the Carboniferous Period, when all was humid swamps and dense forests of giant ferns, and the coal that is now so derided but which powered the Sadly, these species Industrial Revolution was The tongue of a frog is being laid down, about the seem to be diminishing attached at the front of only vertebrate creatures at an alarming rate its mouth, not at the on land were amphibians, back as is the case with plus a few proto-reptiles. most vertebrates. This is It was the amphibians’ the adaptation that enables a frog to shoot great time. You wouldn’t believe the out its tongue to catch insects, sometimes strange creatures that flourished then. on the wing. Some lizards share this ability. Now what remains of this great class of creatures are frogs and toads (which are Frogs generally move by hopping with closely-enough related to be considered large, muscular hind legs. Toads, which together), salamanders, axolotls (which tend to be more heavily-built, usually are incompletely-developed salamanders adopt a waddling walk. Both are adapted and are on the brink of extinction in the for swimming well. wild), caecilians (tropical worm-like What frogs are we likely to encounter burrowers), and newts. Most of these in Europe? spend their time hiding successfully from humans, so we don’t often think Frogs can be found from the sub-Arctic to about them. the tropics. In Britain we are blessed with three species, the Common Frog Rana In fact, they are still a very diverse group. temporaria (Fr: Grenouille rousse), the The frogs, for example, number something Common Toad Bufo bufo (Fr: Crapaud around 7,000 species worldwide. Sadly, commun), and the Natterjack Toad Bufo these species seem to be diminishing at an calamita (Fr: Crapaud calamite). France is alarming rate. About a third of them are rather better supplied with frog species. It considered endangered, and the evidence shares the three British species, and in suggests that 120 species have become addition has a few rather charming frogs, extinct in the last 40 years. such as the Common Tree-frog Hyla This is due to the usual pressures of arboria (Fr: Rainette verte) and the climate change and habitat loss, but also Stripeless Tree-frog Hyla meridionalis (Fr: some new (or previously unnoticed) Rainette méridionale). These have the diseases that have become rife. unusual ability to climb well, aided by Chytridiomycosis is a fungal disease and suction pads on their toes, and spend a lot

of their time in tall vegetation. There are also the Agile Frog Rana dalmatina (Fr: Grenouille agile), the Parsley Frog Pelodytes punctatus (Fr: Pélodyte ponctue), the Painted Frog Discoglossus pictus (Fr: Pélodyte punctué), the Marsh Frog Rana ridibunda (Fr: Grenouille rieuse), and the Pool Frog Rana lessonae (Fr: Grenouille de Lessona). There are also the charming Common Midwife Toad Alytes obstetricans (Fr: Crapaud accoucheur) and the Yellow-bellied Toad Bombina veriegata (Fr: Sonneur à ventre jaune). Finally, we should acknowledge the American Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana (Fr: Grenouille-taureau), which is described as “scarce, but increasing”. I wonder how that got here? Do the French really eat frogs? Where, I hear you all wondering, is the Edible Frog (Fr: Grenouille verte)? It is there, of course, but it is not a true species. Its Linnaean name is Rana kl. esculenta. The clue is in the “kl.”, which stands for “klepton”, ancient Greek for theft, and indicates that in fact it is a hybrid of two other closely-related frog species, namely the Marsh and the Pool Frogs, which has undergone some esoteric (though natural) genetic rearrangement. If you want to know more, look up Edible Frog on Wikipedia. The female Edible Frog is fertile, but the male is usually not, so any future offspring must result from a union between a female Edible Frog and a male Pool or Marsh Frog. This makes the Edible Frog rather a genetic lucky-dip! The answer to the question is, the French will eat the legs of the Edible Frog, if they can afford it! These days it is usually served as a delicacy in high-end restaurants. I have eaten them, after an afternoon out fishing for them, so I knew exactly what I was eating! They are delicious, but only if you like garlic. Mine were prepared by an excellent cook, who fried them, floured, in garlic butter. The flavour is not dissimilar to chicken wings. I am told one can eat the rest of the frog, but it must be very carefully skinned and

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nature

Common Toad Bufo bufo, looking rather glum cleaned, and is lacking in meat. Only the thighs have any real meat content. The population of the edible frog seems to be declining. Now you are only legally entitled to catch them for your own family consumption. Are any of these creatures poisonous?

Natterjack Toad Bufo calamita, scarce but quite poisonous. Note yellow stripe down the back

As far as I know, no frog or toad delivers a venomous bite. They don’t need to with their direct tongue-contact system of predation. The toads and some frogs have skin secretions which are designed to deter predators. The Natterjack Toad is regarded as the more poisonous of the British toads. It probably derives its name from its poison (“atter” is derived from an old Saxon word for poison, as in attercop poison-head - an old name for a spider). The Yellow-bellied Toad is warning of its skin toxicity when it displays its underside if threatened. As far as I know, the Midwife Toad is harmless, as I have handled live specimens occasionally, but then some people might be more sensitive than I am. In any case, the poisons of these particular toads are not very robust. I knew of a dog owner whose pets used to seek out

Purrs, soft plopping sounds, pings, all sorts of noises may be traced to a frog or toad common toads so they could lick them, thereby gaining a slight “buzz” – a sort of canine glue-sniffing expedition! Of course, there are frogs in the tropics that are extremely poisonous, but they usually advertise the fact by being very colourful. Amazonian arrow-poison frogs have deadly secretions, but that is not a problem for Europe. Where can I see all these frogs?

A Common midwife toad in nature – a male carrying eggs

The chances are you will never see them, unless you go deliberately looking for them. You may come upon a common toad from time to time, especially when it rains heavily. Common frogs you may encounter if you have a wild pond. They will make their presence known by a loud purring, the male frogs’ mating call, which sounds like a distant motorcycle scramble in progress. There will be heads poking above the water, but if you approach these will vanish. Amphibians are very shy. Of the rest, the Natterjack Toad is rare and getting rarer. Many of the frogs are nocturnal. And remember, by no means all frogs croak! Purrs, soft plopping sounds, pings, all sorts of noises may be traced to a frog or toad – or not traced; they are very good ventriloquists! Good hunting! One final thing. If you have any empty flower pots in your garden, or similarly restrictive containers, please lay them on their sides or place them upside down. Frogs can leap into them and then cannot get into position to leap out again.

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animal

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animal

Managing Your Dog’s Reactions with Others Dogs

Jack

By Hazel Johnson

ONE OF THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS DOG-OWNERS FACE IS DOGS WHO GET UPSET WHEN THEY’RE ON LEAD AND THEY SEE ANOTHER DOG

t’s one of the reasons why some owners make the painful decision to rehome their dogs. After all, most people want a dog they can take out for gentle strolls, or to sit with them outside a café. But that’s impossible when their dog is barking and thrashing about as soon as they set eyes on another dog. The good news is that it’s possible to teach your dog to be dogneutral. In other words, that other dogs are none of their business. The first step is to show your dog that there’s value in not greeting every other dog they meet. Some owners mistakenly think socialisation is the solution, but this can actually make matters a whole lot worse. Dogs are born knowing how to interact with other dogs. They have an inbuilt interaction chain. This is a chain of events that occurs whenever your dog encounters another dog, see the table at the bottom of the page. Dogs who have issues with other dogs have a break in their interaction chain. A break can appear at any stage, but the remaining parts of the chain can still be intact!

walks and the local dog park are not your friend! Empty car parks or industrial estates, unused sports fields, and less-frequented walking routes are good places to try. Choose locations that give you a good view of the surrounding area so that you can make a quick getaway if needed.

2. Avoid busy periods Most people walk their dogs first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, and last thing at night. Try walking your dog outside of popular dog-walking times to reduce the chances of meeting other dogs.

3. Create visual barriers If you can't avoid other dogs in your neighbourhood, use parked vehicles to block your dog's view of other dogs as they pass by. If you have a small dog, you can also use your own body to block their view.

4. Change direction If you spot a dog before your dog does, turn and walk in another direction. You can always continue your walk once the other dog has passed. Make this a part of your everyday training plan to avoid alerting your dog when you have to use it for real.

This is good news because it means we can identify where the break is and equip the dog with the skills they need to fix that part of their interaction chain, without even having to put them in the situation where they’re faced with other dogs. This can take considerable time, effort and patience though. So to manage your dog in the meantime, here are some practical tips to get you started, remember, these are short-term tips, not long-term options.

5. Teach distraction tactics Distraction tactics aren’t a long-term solution, but they can be effective if your dog hasn’t already spotted the other dog and there’s plenty of distance between them. Teaching your dog to hunt for food on the ground or to follow food in your hand as you move your hand around can distract them just long enough for the other dog to pass without incident.

1. Prevent rehearsal We want to prevent your dog from rehearsing barking and lunging or even freezing when they encounter other dogs, otherwise they’re going to become experts at it! Avoid walking your dog in places they’re likely to encounter other dogs. Popular dog

SEE/HEAR Your dog notices another dog in the vicinity, either because they can see them, or they can hear them

6. Prepare for the unexpected

APPROACH The two dogs begin to approach one other or one day will approach the other

Off-lead dogs who run up

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unexpectedly can be a real nuisance. But we can only control what we and our dog do, right? We’re not responsible for the actions of other dog-owners or their dogs. One tactic is to be prepared to throw down some kibble to occupy the oncoming dog while you make your escape. It’s always a good idea to have some food with you just in case.

7. Keep moving Although it might be tempting to ask your dog to sit and stay while waiting for another dog to pass, many dogs struggle with stillness during stressful situations and this can make the situation worse. It’s safer to try to keep your dog moving while the other dog passes.

8. Reward good behaviour On occasions when your dog spots another dog but doesn't react badly, praise and reward them generously. This is what you’re aiming for at the end of the day. Your dog should class every other dog they see, not as a playmate or someone to interact with, but someone to ignore unless you give them the all clear.

9. Train for the situation None of these tips are designed to be a long-term solution. The best course of action is to teach your dog the skills they need to cope with interactions with other dogs. Seek the advice of a dog behaviour specialist who will draw up a training plan for your dog based on the principles of positivity and ‘do no harm’ So to recap… There are lots of tactics you can use whilst out on walks, but the best course of action is to get some professional support and a solid training plan in place.

NOSE TO NOSE

NOSE TO REAR

PLAY/MOVE AWAY

The two dogs briefly sniff each other’s noses and faces

The dogs should move around one another two gently sniff each other’s bottoms

They’ll either then engage in appropriate play, or disengage from one another and walk away

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garden

Earth's beautiful atmosphere

The

Night Sky

Claire Wardlaw, originally from Edinburgh, lives in the Charente with her husband. Since their move to France, Claire has become passionate about astronomy By Claire Wardlaw

THIS MONTH OFFERS STARGAZERS A WONDERFUL VARIETY OF TREATS

ith the nights continuing to last longer, February is a really good time of the year to get out under our dark skies again and search for some more winter constellations and prominent objects. This is still a great time of the year to observe the Milky Way as it stretches out across the north and eastern area of the sky. You will firstly see it seemingly passing through the constellation of Cygnus on the northern horizon. You can then trace its path through the beautiful bright constellation of Auriga, where binoculars will reveal a few stunning winter objects - see more below. It will then lead your eye through the 'foot' of Gemini, the raised 'arm' of Orion, and then slide north past the bright star of Sirius (the Dog Star) in Canis Major (The Great Dog). As mentioned in the previous month's article, I'll set out here for you a list of a few of the best objects to search for and observe with a good pair of astronomy binoculars.

NGC 884 & NGC 869 - Open Star Clusters, found in the Constellation of Perseus - look for longer to see the bright clusters of stars appear

Look for…

Last Quarter Moon Phase 2nd February, just after midnight

M42 - The Orion Nebula, below the Belt of Orion - you may be able to define some structure in this bright object

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First Quarter Phase 16th, around 16h Full Moon Phase 24th, at around midday

M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy - our nearest neighbouring galaxy in the Constellation of Andromeda

As the Moon approaches its half phase (also known as first quarter), some of the ‘seas’ appear. To the left is Mare Crisium M13 - The Great Globular Cluster - one of (Sea of Crises) and Mare Tranquillitatis the most spectacular (Sea of Tranquillity). clusters, found near the As the Moon approaches More detail becomes northern horizon, its half phase (also known visible in binoculars of all in Hercules sizes and several craters as first quarter), some of will become within range M45 - The Pleiades star the ‘seas’ appear of small binoculars, even cluster - also known as The an 8x25 set. The best Seven Sisters, a beautiful place to find craters is along the sight through binoculars, found Terminator – the line that separates the above Tauris. light side of the Moon from the dark. On You can use your planisphere or a free app the 17th of the month, at around 01h40, it such as Skysafari on a portable telephone will be the ideal time to observe what is to easily locate these and many more known as the Lunar X and V along the objects in the night sky. Terminator of the Moon. Moon Phases for the Month Planets in February

New Moon Phase 9th, just before midnight

Mercury will be only 3.2 degrees north of a very thin crescent Moon on the 8th. It is very difficult to see this planet at present however.

astronomy

The Pillars of Creation

Our Moon was not always where it is now. It was much closer to us when it formed about 4 billion years ago and it continues to slip away from us! Every year it FUN moves a little under 4 cm further away. It is the fifth FACTS largest moon in our Solar System, after the largest of Jupiter's Moons, Ganymede and Callisto, and Saturn's moon Titan.

Mars will be tricky to see early in the morning, 4.2 degrees north of the Moon on the 8th. They may be seen close together at around 07h30, provided the Sun is not in the way!

NASA is inviting people to send their names to the surface of the Moon aboard the agency’s first robotic lunar rover, VIPER – short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. The rover will embark on a mission to the lunar South Pole to unravel the mysteries of the Moon’s water and better understand the environment where NASA plans to land the first woman and first person of colour under its Artemis program. As part of the “Send Your Name with VIPER” campaign, NASA will accept names received before 23h59. EST, on 15th March. Once collected, the agency will take the names and attach them to the rover. To add your name, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-viper

14th to the 16th at around 19h. Look towards the south west.

hoping for the best chance to spot a shooting star.

Meteors this Month

Astro Jargon Buster - Seeing

February does not feature any regular, annual meteor showers unfortunately. Saturn is not well placed for observation While the nights are still long and dark, this month. however, it is still possible to Venus is only a few spot meteors on any given These odd, degrees above the south moon-free night. These odd, eastern horizon so it is a occasional meteors occasional meteors are called tricky planet this are called 'Sporadics' 'Sporadics'. They can be seen month. It will be found at any time or in any part of in line with a crescent the sky and are thought to be caused by Moon and the star Antares in the morning meteoroids which are associated with an twilight on the 5th and 6th. aged comet. Remember to prepare well for a 'star party' by wrapping up warm and Jupiter is still a bright evening planet this allowing your eyes to become adjusted to month. It can be found in the company of the star Hamal and The Pleiades from the the darkness for at least 30 minutes before

'Seeing' is a word used by astronomers to describe the quality of the observing conditions, or atmosphere, during any given night. When we observe with binoculars or a telescope, what we can see is affected by the air turbulence in both the optics of these objects and in the surrounding air. If we use higher magnifications during a period of poor seeing conditions, the quality of the view is limited by the turbulence. In better seeing conditions, with less turbulence in the atmosphere, much higher magnifications can be used to observe more and more details in galaxies, planets or on the Moon for example. Happy Stargazing!

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getting connected SATELLITE TV

Someone on FB who doesn’t know their bottom from the pointy bit half way down their arm.

STUART WALLACE

The client then moaned when the installer asked to be paid for the wasted journey. Serves them right for not reading this column I reckon. If only someone had ever mentioned that Freeview is not the same as Freesat. If you’re not sure, why not ask one of the installers who advertise here first?

THE FRENCH HOUSE

ello there. I don’t mind February. It’s a short month, which in turn means I’m rehashing this, but who has lost BBC1 spring is getting closer. It’s also the month on their satellite box? It finished which contains St Valentine’s day, but as I broadcasting in standard-definition on 8th can’t remember the last time he visited January. So, if you still have it, it means chez nous, I have no interest in that. Much that you have a high-definition receiver. better to spend the money on the everAll good. If though you have lost it, then it rising cost of living than flowers or means you probably don’t! If you have an chocolates, I reckon. That’s my old non-HD Sky box, justification anyway and Freesat box, or generic freeI’m sticking to it. If only someone had to-air receiver, then you ever mentioned that I heard a funny story from have no way to get the BBC a fellow installer recently, Freeview is not the channels back. You’ll need so please indulge me. The same as Freesat to upgrade. said installer drove for an I’m often asked if there is a hour to connect up the legitimate way to see live English Premier client’s new Freesat box. Upon arrival the League, Champions League, and Europa installer noted that the client had in fact League games without a Sky package. purchased a Freeview box. This is useless There is. In the shape of Canal+. It’s for UK TV reception here. Upon basically just like having a Sky package mentioning this important fact, the client without the need to pretend you have a UK asked if the installer was sure, saying that address. It’s available via satellite the bloke he bought it from on Facebook and streaming. said it would work! Well, quelle surprise.

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Please remember that I no longer cover the same areas as I used to. I cover a 90 mins radius of 79240. Google Maps will help you with this. Just put in my postcode and your address to see the distance.

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ELECTRICAL - PLUMBING AND HEATING KITCHEN AND BATHROOM SPECIALIST CARPENTRY … no job too small

WHERE SKILLS MEET SERVICE

Please contact Shawn Stallwood Tel. 07 80 20 43 43 Email: multi-skill@outlook.com

Covering Depts 16, 86, 87

30 Years’ Professional Experience - 12 Years in Europe

Full Liability Insurance Siret 901 794 909 00019

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getting connected Simple jobs Complete renovations New builds Conformity checks Emergency Call outs Fully insured 10yr guarantee

I offer free &

PETER AMOR

ELECTRICIAN Large or Small projects New Builds Total Rewires (Inc Three-phase)

Adding Sockets/Lights Conformity Inspections T. 05 49 91 85 54 peter-amor@orange.fr

Hedley Marsh 86150 Moussac sur Vienne Tel: 05 49 48 35 49 Mobile: 06 45 74 25 36 Email: hedleymarsh@orange.fr

Siret: 51190455900024

I offer free & friendly advice friendly advice pleasedon’t don’t sosoplease hesitatetoto hesitate contact me. contact me

CHARLES HODENCQ Electricité Générale French Electrician - fluent English Speaker Based in Bellac - covering 87 & parts of 86,16 & 23

For all your electrical needs - safety checks, re-wires, new builds, upgrades and complete renovations 05 55 68 62 26 / 06 24 27 01 86 charleselec@gmail.com Siret No: 503121279 00015

PC repair on house calls PC building on demand We sell hardware & peripherals ESET SECURITY BROADBAND INSTALLATION SOFTWARE RETAILER ASSISTANCE ON SITE Year round maintenance • Contracts on request

Tel: 05 55 78 24 86 Email: contact@homecallpc.com www.homecallpc.com 87150 Champagnac La Riviere

OPEN MON TO SAT 9AM / 8PM

54 etcetera

Siret 452 755 390 000 13 - RM 8601

Homecall PC ▪ Domestic - renovation & new build ▪ Commercial ▪ Smart installations (thermostats, cameras etc.) ▪ Data & communications / Wi-Fi solutions ▪ Air conditioning ▪ Data & Communications

Regions: 16, 36, 79, 86 & 87

Contact Paul Ellis: Tel: 09 62 68 09 06 Mob: 06 70 97 59 56 Email: paul.gill@wanadoo.fr

artisan

Annual Subscription FR/EU 55€ / UK £55 www.etceteraonline.org

etcetera 55

CESAR CONSTRUCTIONS BTP Siret: 51760499700018

Stuart Nicholls

BEFORE

06 82 10 45 65 / 05 19 03 61 39 cesarconstructions@gmail.com

Over 23 years’ experience in Building and Construction

www.facebook.com/cesarconstructions.btp.3

AFTER

▪ ▪ ▪

New Builds Approved Fosses Septiques Driveways / Land clearance

▪ ▪ ▪

Renovations Foundations Lake Conformity works

Professional Building and Construction in France, since 2006 56 etcetera

artisans

Steve’s property maintenance

Siret 914 101 027 00011

Sean’s Painting & Decorating Services

RAKEWAY FARM SERVICES

ALL TYPES OF ROOFING, RENOVATIONS, CONVERSIONS, PLASTERING, STUD WALLS, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS

Interior & Exterior

ALL TYPES OF DIGGER WORK 1.5 TO 8 TON

Other work carried out

FULLY INSURED

See our full list of services on Facebook: Rakeway Farm Services

T. 05 55 50 52 02 E: lowe.steven@orange.fr

Based Pressignac 16150 - cover 30km radius

Siret 84223310800013

rakewayfarm@gmail.com / 06 16 62 83 99

Sean Morrison 06 74 56 89 11 morrisonman8@gmail.com

PLANT & TOOL HIRE / MAN & TIPPER

CRADDOCK TERRASSEMENT Gary Craddock (EI) SIRET : 898 280 581 00015 ▪ Owner-operated mini digger

PLANT: Diggers 2.2 and 3 tonne / Dumpers Plant Trailer / Roller. TOOLS: Whacker Plate / Electric Breaker / Grinders / Drills Rotovator plus much more - see website

▪ Iveco 3.5 ton tipper truck ▪ Volvo EC18D excavator ▪ Breaker

www.davesdiggers.com

M: 07 87 20 82 74 / T: 05 55 89 50 85 E: tgcraddock@gmail.com 23290 Fursac - Depts. 23, 36, 87

Email: davesplanthire@gmail.com Tel. 06 75 18 09 13 siret 5250162590026

Based 79120 Covering 79, 86, 16 & 87

AC Kitchens & Bathrooms

HILL TOP TILING siret no 523 998 557 00020

Charente / Haute-Vienne / Vienne Specialist Fitter, over 15 years’ experience PLUMBING - CUSTOM WORKTOP FITTING - CARPENTRY TILING - WOOD & LAMINATE FLOORING - DESIGN SERVICE

Free quotes

Website: ackitchens.fr 05 17 36 17 74

Email: antschapman1971@gmail.com / Mobile: 06 40 08 08 81 Siret 834026437 00022

Interior & exterior tiling Travertine, marble, cement Ceramic, porcelain, mosaics Paul Hill (EI) 05 45 24 01 45 hilltoptiling@hotmail.co.uk hilltoptiling

WASTE REMOVAL Siret 532 981 198 00015

MULTI SERVICES ~ CASH PAID FOR SCRAP ~

House/Barn Clearances - Pre & Post-sale Rubbish Removal / Déchetterie Runs Collections / Deliveries Call Will Whiting 06 74 21 47 71 www.facebook.com/willwhiting87 covering depts 87, 16, 19, 23 & 24

M C SCAFFOLDING Siret: 80025145600011

Full English Scaffolding Service Safe, secure, adaptable. Meets all safety regs. Covered by full public liability insurance. Delivered, erected, and dismantled Over 20 years’ experience. Free Quotes.

Depts 16, 87, part 24, 17, 79 & 86 Day: 07 85 44 26 66 / Eve: 05 45 66 49 87 martin.clare6@gmail.com

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artisans

58 etcetera

Based 87330

DANNY TRENDALL

ARCHITECT

SERVICES

John Hartie (EI) B.Arch. A.R.I.A.S, R.I.B.A ORDRE des ARCHITECTES no. 073326 Established in La Rochefoucauld for 15 years 14 Rue des Bans 16110 La Rochefoucauld T: 05 45 91 73 90 / 06 81 90 18 87 Email: john.hartie@orange.fr Eco-Buildings - New Build Renovations - Barn Conversions

PROPERTY

Plumbing - Plastering Painting - Carpentry - Tiling Home Improvements Renovation and Maintenance Interior/Exterior decoration

All work considered Contact Danny on 07 80 54 64 77 dannytrendall@gmail.com Siret 52206605900018

Odd Jobs - Inside and Out Do you need an extra pair of hands?

CALL

Rich Bridgwater (EI) 0602215767 EMAIL

richb68@sky.com

1, Chez Coindeau 86250 - SURIN Siret 852 818 863 00015

Siret. 500 835 189 000 16

artisans

Architect & Interior Designer ShinYeon Kang : Architect DE (B.Arch, Ma) SIRET : 922 0613 0187 00017

T: 0619213608 E: racine16700@gmail.com Louis Pacault : Architect DPLG & Conservation Ordre des Architectes : N°072543 (over 14 years) SIRET :513 320 770 00059

A: 5 rue du four des pierres 16700 Ruffec House survey, historical building, renovation, interior design, New building, extension covered area 79/86/16

Advertise Your Business For as little as 39€ ttc www.etceteraonline.org

ADRIAN AMOS EI SPECIALIST CARPENTER/JOINER BESPOKE JOINERY & RENOVATIONS DOORS-SHUTTERS-STAIRS-FLOORINGKITCHENS FULLY EQUIPPED WORKSHOP & 40 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE LOTS OF SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR REQUIREMENTS REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

05 45 89 02 60 / 06 63 20 24 93 adrian.luke.amos@gmail.com SIRET : 508 248 747 000 18

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artisans

w it h over 4 0 years’ exp erien c e in ;

w w w.stric tlyroofin g .fr

• T ile & Slate R oofin g

• L isted bu ildin g s

• R oof ren ovation s

• In su ran c e c laim s

• Storm dam ag e

• C h im n ey rem ovals

• Z in c g u tterin g

• E m erg en cy c all-ou t • R ep airs

• B ox g u tters

• Sp ec ial p rojec ts

S A RL

• Velu x w in dow s

06 35 11 27 31

adm in @stric tlyroofin g .fr

Stric tly R o o f i n g - Malcolm C ook e

AABA ROOFING FRANCE Quality Roofing & Building for you

Ecuras 16220

Assurance Décennale

New roofs ~ Slate and tiling Fiberglass flat roofing ~ Repairs Gutters and facias upvc or zinc All leadwork ~ Timberwork References available

aabaroofingfrance@gmail.com 05 45 63 52 88 / 07 80 08 85 76

Siret 53210969100024

60 etcetera

www.aabaroofingfrance.com

artisans TJ’S Specialist Carpentry & Small Works Siret No: 89423269300016

Fully registered and insured Trading in France since 2007

Call Mark for a free quotation: T: 05 55 44 71 44 / M: 06 78 60 96 16 mumford.toiture@gmail.com Siret no. 493 159 412 00037

Siret:530 444 496 00018

05 45 91 26 61 / 06 56 79 25 58

TJ Doran (EI) - tjs.enquiryfr@gmail.com

WE NOW CONSTRUCT

TIMBER FRAME HOUSES FROM YOUR PLANS, DESIGNS OR IDEAS. FROM SUPPLY & ERECTION TO FULL TURN KEY SERVICE

Depart 87 & surrounding areas 06 16 18 15 96

All other aspects of building, joinery, dampproofing & timber treatment still available

Roofing / Renovations Roofing / Renovations ALL ASPECTS OF ROOFING / RENDERING & POINTING - Zinc / PVC guttering - Anti-moss - Insulation & Plaster boarding - Interior / exterior renovations For a free quotation please contact: Howard (fully bilingual, living in France since 1990, 10 yr décennale Insurance)

Tel: 05.55.60.23.70 / 06.85.43.13.58 Email: rcc87@live.fr Depts: 87,86,16 & 23 Siret: 799 894 860 000 11

BUILDING / MULTI SERVICE

Troy Davey

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

05 55 60 47 78 06 10 49 49 57 troy.davey@orange.fr siret: 49895173000015

All aspects of building work undertaken: Renovations Barn Conversions Plasterboarding / Plastering Brick/Blockwork/Stonework/Repointing Tiling

Based 87330 References Available

ROOFING SPECIALISTS Insurance guarantee on all work. 15 years’ experience

Andrew Hadfield 05 55 60 72 98 07 81 53 71 91 dandahadfield@aol.com siret: 53229047500013

CONTACT: PAUL CHARLESWORTH T: 06 77 90 08 60 E: pmcbatiment@yahoo.fr Based Saint-Junien. Covering Depts 87-16-24 Siret : 531 655 231 00 11

etcetera magazine

Supporting Local Artisans Since 2006 etcetera 61

motors & removals Walton Coachworks 87600 Vayres Nick Walton MECHANICAL WORK ON ALL MAKES & MODELS IRRESPECTIVE OF AGE

Typically 40% cheaper than French prices

Tyre fitting, inc balancing : 12€ Tracking/Alignment : 35€ Car/Van servicing : 75€ + parts E: dixontyres@gmail.com T: 0545 306707

siret 53821341400013

Depts 16, 86, 87 & 24 (Car & van servicing, Towbars & LHD lights) Any make of Car or Van Fully mobile service at your address

• Welding • Servicing • Diagnosis • Stereo & CD installation • LHD lights & tow-bars fitted • Wheel alignment • Replacement tyres & balancing • Interior & exterior valeting

NEW

ADVANCED OILS, LUBRICANTS AND TREATMENTS SINCE 1887

• Pre-Controle Technique check • Top quality tyres (within 48 hrs) • Parts available same day or in 24hrs - less common cars 3-day delivery walton.coachworks@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 07 87 65 53 11 / 05 55 78 67 02

A Family Run Storage Firm in the Heart of the Limousin

Secure, dry, insulated storage

PLUS Cherry picker hire Now storing cars, caravans and camping cars Est. 2007

UP TO

6ora0ge FinREcEluded

DAYS

Call Karen for a quote

09 66 03 52 89

REMOVALS & STORAGE FULL CUSTOMS CLEARANCE SERVICES

USE OUR ONLINE ENQUIRY PAGE FOR A NO OBLIGATION QUOTE

WWW.WATSONEUROPEAN.CO.UK

WE OFFER A WEEKLY TRANSPORT SERVICE BETWEEN THE UK, FRANCE & SPAIN. Our specialised vehicles can accommodate full or partial home removals, cars, caravans and more.

CALL TODAY UK +44 (0) 1522 569 099 MOB +44 (0) 7876 504 547 OFFICE +44 (0) 1522 686 764 EMAIL: ENQUIRY@WATSONEUROPEAN.CO.UK

Read the digital version www.etceteraonline.org 62 etcetera

Reasonable Rates

motors & removals Moving In France? Full and Part Loads Relocations in France Packing & Storage Options

Tel: 05 49 07 24 85

Motorhomes Wanted STRAVAIG MOTORHOMES SCOTLAND ▪ Collection from your location in France or Europe

▪ UK registered / European Registered

▪ Right hand drive or left hand drive

▪ Scotland - Luxury Motorhomes for rent

www.gostravaig.com

▪ Cars also considered

Email: admin@gostravaig.com

UK 0044 (0) 7979 816 837 or FR 00 33 68 12 13 557

AGRICULTURAL AND MOTOCULTURE TYRE REPAIRS AND SALES

Siret 948 832 852 00016

Franglais Deliveries

Motorbike Tyres Repaired and Replaced jkengineeringsolutions1@gmail.com T. 06 34 05 77 56

Dept 87

siret: 48252490700011

TRANSITION REMOVALS Family run business based in France which prides itself on a personal professional service. 7 tonne truck to and from the UK and Europe, we also have a box trailer for larger loads. Our highly experienced staff provide a door to door service with packing and dry secure storage We arrange customs clearance for export and import to and from the UK. We are a professional furniture removal company NOT a man and a van.

Phil and Jean Evans (+33) 05 55 34 19 46 Mobile (+33) 06 80 75 87 14 Email p.evans@orange.fr Visit www.transitionremovals.net

Advertise Your Business www.etceteraonline.org

etcetera 63

property ÉTUDE COURIVAUD et LORIOT-CHEYRON 27 av Henri Barbusse, 87200 Saint Junien

Service Immobilier: 05 55 02 11 11 email: immo@courivaud.com site: www.cmvnotaires.com

D RE

ED C U

Contact Cathe Bower - EI Email: bower@immoboulevard.com 0033 (0)6 09 60 60 82 (Mobile) Reduced to

CB13257

243,800€ HAI From 265,000€

Price including 6% agency fees to be paid by the buyer. Price excluding agency fees €230 000

Exceptional house and gardens in Availles Limouzine Information on the risks to which this property is exposed is available on the geohazards website: www.georisques.gouv.fr

EXCLUSIVE

05 56 71 36 59 info@beauxvillages.com beauxvillages.com

64 etcetera

DEUX-SEVRES €289,000 Ref: BVI73366 An elegantly renovated 4-bed, 3-bath country property

VIENNE €530,000 Ref: BVI73393 8-bed, 5-bath property with guest cottage

CHARENTE €249,950 Ref: BVI73302 4-bed property with pool - walking distance to amenities

Fees: paid by the vendor Climate class: D Energy class: D

Fees: paid by the vendor Climate class: C Energy class: C

Fees: paid by the vendor Climate class: C Energy class: A

Information on natural risk, such as flooding, can be obtained on the Geohazards website: www.georisques.gouv.fr Siret : 501 191 720 00199 Carte prof : CPI 3301 2018 000 027 010 Garantie financière : QBE assurance pour 110 000 euros

2024

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST

chalet villa château farmhouse apartment vineyard gîte cottage coast country city

EXCLUSIVE

Doer Upper!

Deux-Sèvres

EXCLUSIVE

Recently Reduced

Manor to Renovate

€267,500 Vienne

€194,400 Vienne

€79,000 Vienne

EXCLUSIVE

Sitting Pretty

€365,700

Ref: A19498 - 3-bedroom property with outbuildings and lovely views.

Ref: A24372 - 3-bedroom riverside property with stunning views.

Ref: A25293 - Exceptional 3 bedroom house with garden and views.

Ref: A15328 - 6-bedroom maison de maître with barn, pool and 6 acres.

10% agency fees included paid by the buyer. DPE: N/A

8% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: E Climate class: B

7% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: D Climate class: B

6% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: F Climate class: B

EXCLUSIVE

€315,650 Charente

€71,600 Charente

Turnkey Business

Deux-Sèvres

€370,000

Central Location

Deux-Sèvres

Lock Up & Leave

Historic Home €551,200

Ref: A24767 - Lovely 5-bedroom townhouse with courtyard and garage.

Ref: A26081 - Pretty 2-bedroom cottage with garden and garage.

Ref: A25426 - Gorgeous 6-bedroom moulin with large rooms and land.

Agency fees to be paid by the seller. DPE: N/A

7% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: D Climate class: B

Agency fees included : €6 600TTC paid by the buyer Energy class: D Climate class: D

6% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: D Climate class: D

EXCLUSIVE

Ref: A25481 - Beautiful 5-acre lake, and 3-acres suitable for camping.

Back to School

Charente-Maritime

To the Manor Born

€161,800 Charente-Maritime

Dream Home

€199,800 Charente-Maritime

Cognac Country

€318,000 Charente

€284,500

Ref: A26176 - 2-bedroom school house with new roof and lovely garden.

Ref: A14007 - Charming 4-bedroom Charentais house with outbuildings.

Ref: A22988 - Beautifully renovated 4-bedroom house with garden and pool.

Ref: A19528 - Character 4-bedroom house with garden and outbuildings.

9% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: F Climate class: C

8% agency fees included paid by the buyer. DPE: N/A

6% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: D Climate class: C

7% agency fees included paid by the buyer. Energy class: E Climate class: B

We have helped 1000s of clients buy and sell property in France and have 8000+ properties listed on our website. If you are looking to sell, contact us for a free market appraisal.

The Leggett family welcomes you ! +33 (0)5 53 60 84 88 ·

leggettfrance.com · info@leggett.fr

Information on the risks to which these properties are exposed is available on the Geohazards website: www.georisques .gouv.fr

listing

CLASSIFIED ÉTUDE COURIVAUD et LORIOT CHEYRON

PET RE-HOMING

● Cash paid for scrap metal Iron, steel, cars, vans, alloy, copper, brass, wire, batteries etc… Large or small amounts. T: 06 99 61 54 63

Service Immobilier: 05 55 02 11 11 Email: website:

www.cmvnotaires.com

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE OUR LIST OF PROPERTIES BUY

● Business opportunity for sale in Voulême (86) 195,000€ It has been run successfully as a B&B between Civray & Ruffec in Small Hamlet. 5 beds, 5 baths, large courtyard and outbuildings. Contact (UK) T: 0044 113 26 10 191 / (FR) 05 49 87 97 58. UK Mobile (0044)74 96 40 58 36.

RENTALS ● Costa Blanca 3-bed house, holiday rental From 300€ pw Sleeps 6. Southern Costa Blanca. T: 05 49 97 15 56 ● Building plot with CU Saint-Martin-L'ars (86) 18,500€ 1,500 m2. T: 07 57 52 00 08

66 etcetera

● Books wanted Are you having a clear out or moving and have any old books you want to dispose of? Please give me a call on 05 45 71 09 21 or email traceyepona17@aol.com

VEHICLES etc.

27, av. Henri Barbusse, 87200 Saint Junien

immo@courivaud.com

WANTED

● Wanted, garden machinery in any condition working or not! Chainsaws, lawnmowers, generators, strimmers, hedgecutters etc. Cash paid. T: 06 99 61 54 63

● English Springer Spaniel puppies from our family of Crufts Winners and Champions looking for their forever homes. Super pedigree (LOF) pups born the 21st November, four available from a litter of 9. They have their microchips, passports, vaccination, and a certificate of health from our vet. Eleveur No. 472078, Portee Reg No 2023043332, Mum’s chip 250268732423036. For more information please call T: 07 87 97 74 73

Lonely boy seeks lonely girl. Englishman, 70s, (looks, thinks and has energy of much younger man) widower since 2022, solvent, conscientious, and sincere, seeks woman of similar circumstance yearning for companionship, or more peut-être un peu de romance? and life-share (not marriage). Full French residency. Email: chastick@hotmail.com

GENERAL

● Gaming chair (Yoleo) 60€ OVNO Ergonomic computer gaming/ office chair. Perfect for teens, adjustable armrests, with lumbar support and headrest cushions. BIFMA certified. T: 06 41 23 23 32

Mini convertible Sidewalk 9,750€ (value for money!) RHD model with only 21,000 miles. Lady owned. This car is full of factory fitted options including electric hood, cruise control, triptronic / auto gearbox making driving more relaxing with added security of run flat tyres. CT with French registration. More photos/info on request. Only reason for sale, returning to UK. Email only please glennrwright@gmail.com

Siret 5229 95323 00014

AVRIL JONES INTERIORS

● Groundworker required Based near Confolens, please contact John for more details T: 06 30 44 64 81.

● Old oak floor boards Any condition. Demolition undertaken where necessary. Good prices paid for good beams. Terry T: 05 45 30 72 04 ● Vintage motorcycle or mopeds wanted Anything considered, even box of bits! T: 06 01 94 57 77 Siret: 5386 89308 00012

& GARY JONES EXTERIORS

Moving home, downsizing or decluttering? We can help!

House - Barn - Garage Clearances We can also help you to sell unwanted furniture etc. - Furniture painting/upholstery & sales

section section

etcetera 67

Let’s Get THIS Cosy WINTER

▪ Up to 14,000€* in Grants for Pellet Boilers and Solar Hot Water Systems *Dependent on revenue ▪ Installation of Pellet Stoves, Wood Burning Stoves and Boilers (Includes Guarantees, Maintenance and Repairs) ▪ French Brands = Products and Parts Are Readily Available ▪ Free Assessment of your Insulation, Double Glazing, Radiators ▪ English-speaking Service ~ All Paperwork Taken Care of ▪ Assurance Décennale (10-year Guarantee)

www.sakkai.fr

Alexander Lawrence Government Approved Installer

6 allée Edmond Malinvaud

87280 LIMOGES

Tel: 07 55 05 35 81 contact@sakkai.fr