Simply Living France Issue 1 Feb 2022

FOR THE LOVE OF FRANCE WORLD WIDE

SIMPLY LIVING

Simple & delicious Sensational valentines meals and wine choices

decorating inspiration

Cozy homes to french country escapes

50

Pages of lifestyle home & garden

beauty delights

Rose spritzers Rose & honey face mask

Toulouse “the pink city” Once we were hooked on the sunny skies and sunflower fields of the Charente, our appetite to discover the rest of France was whetted

ISSUE 1 BI-MONTHLY

FEB 2022 FREE

VALENTINES

FRANCE

Magazine section EDITORS WELCOME

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SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE

Valentine Smile On Valentine’s Day we think of those Who make our lives worthwhile, Those gracious, friendly people who We think of with a smile.

I am fortunate to know you, That’s why I want to say, To a rare and special person: Happy Valentine’s Day!

O

h February, what a lovely month, full of romance and hints of spring just around the corner. As I walked my son to school this morning, I enjoyed the early daffodils and a little much-appreciated sun on my face. My thoughts turned to how hard the last two years have been for many of us, and how resilient we can be in the face of adversity. Well done everyone.

Officially, this is our 6th issue, but we have re-started the Brand. Re-named the Brand and are happy to announce that our experimental magazine showed such promise, that we decided to put it on a firmer footing. We did say that we would try six issues, and see how it was received before committing to a full year. So, here we go again but because its February, and not the New Year, this is issue 1! How exciting!

By Joanna Fuchs

Donna Jones Holland Simply Editor

2022 is a year full of hope and new beginnings for us all and so it’s with mixed feelings, that we wave goodbye to Maria.

Maria has decided to move on to new adventures and we wish her well in her future. We will also miss Maria in the Simply kitchen and I’m sure the community will join us all in wishing Maria and her family well.

Enjoy your read!

Tia Malcolm Simply Editor

Tia Xx

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CONTENTS

SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE

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Contributors

SIMPLY LIFESTYLE 04 SPOTLIGHT ON TOULOUSE 08 BON REPOS 10 HEART FILLED HOME 12 YOUR FRENCH COUNTRY HOUSE 14 LOUIS VITTON 16 CHINESE NEW YEAR 18 DATE NIGHT 20 SKI SEASON - BELLE PLAGE RESORT 22 POSTER ART

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Pam Gagiano

Diane Phillips

Clare Hill

Reg Crowder

Leanne Broadhead

Emma Penrose

Ingrid Burling

Stuart Malcolm

Rebecca Claridge

Philippa Gratton

Jules Smith

Mary Collins

Kirsty-Anne Bissell

Doe Evans

Michelle Fullbrook

Kerry Delphine

SIMPLY REAL LIFE 24 TOO MUCH TO BUSY BRIGADE 26 THE JOYS OF BEING A GRANDPARENT 29 KEEPING THE FRENCH DREAM 30 PARENTING DIARY’S

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SIMPLY HOME & GARDEN 32 DE-CLUTTER YOUR LIFE 34 THE MARKET GARDENER 36 PARLEZ FRANCAISE 38 MADAME BUCKET 40 CLARES FRENCH COUNTRY DIARY 42 NEEDLE FELTING 44 FEBRUARY FLORALS

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SIMPLY HEALTH, BEAUTY & FASHION 45 THE PETITE BÉRET 46 MOVING TO FRANCE FOR THE LONG RUN 48 THE FLAT CAP AND NEWSBOY CAP 50 SAY IT WITH ROSES 52 THE FABULOUS AUNTY M 53 THE BIG M

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SIMPLY KITCHEN

54 SIMPLY WINE 60 NEW YEAR IN FRANCE 64 HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST 68 FEBRUARY WINE AND FOOD PAIRINGS 71 A WINTERS THREE COURSE DINNER ON A BUDGET

52 SIMPLY BUSINESS

80 FRENCH SAVINGS 82SIMPLY EDITORS PROPERTY PICK 84 FRENCH REAL ESTATE 85 Q&A WITH TIA

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MAGICAL TOULOUSE - THE PINK CITY

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“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone” – Katie Thurmes

ften, when planning a trip to France from the UK, we tended to stick around the golden coastline of Normandy with ‘wishes’ in the near future to travel all of La Belle France, after all there’s a lot to discover. Since the pandemic, we have of course stayed close to home, albeit a temporary home in the south west but spent many an evening talking about travel and where we would love to visit when the world finally opens up again. Toulouse came up in our planning conversations several times as a possibility as we were intrigued by the ‘Pink City’ title.

Once we were hooked on the sunny skies and sunflower fields of the Charente, our appetite to discover the rest of France was whetted, no matter how long the road to travel would be!

“Of course one should not drink much, but often.”

— Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Our post pandemic bucket list also grew substantially when we started house hunting again in the summer of 2021. By then, we were prepared to look at anything, anywhere that took our fancy. No limits. We had finally put to bed the need to stay close to the ferries in order to get home to Blighty, and by doing so, we felt free. Every French city, town and village became our possible future home!

Toulouse seems a lifetime away from the UK or Normandy and it’s easy to feel it would be difficult to get there and back in good time. Toulouse is nearly 840 miles from Caen and takes around 8 hours by road! By train, just four hours from Paris, by TGV. France is indeed vast, so there’s no getting away from the fact that nipping back to the UK, for ‘a taste of home’ wouldn’t be easy, but I think Brexit has made that super tough anyway!

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T

oulouse is an exciting city, the capital of France’s southern Occitanie region, bisected by the Garonne riverand sitting near the Spanish border. It is known as La Ville Rose (‘The Pink City’) due to the terracotta bricks used in many of its buildings. Its 17th-century Canal du Midi links the Garonne to the Mediterranean Sea, and can be travelled by boat, bike or on foot.

The city of Toulouse, located on the Garonne plain in the heart of southwest France, halfway between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, is more important now than it has been for many centuries. Since 2016, the fourth-largest city in France has become the capital of the second largest region of France, the new region of “Occitanie”, which stretches from the Rhone in the east to within 60 miles of the Atlantic coast in the west. Modern Occitania is similar in extent to the great County of Toulouse, which, from the 9th century until the end of the 13th was an independent territory of southwest France. Governed first by the Counts of Toulouse from the 12th century onwards, the city was later run by a council of administrators, known as the ‘Capitulaires’: the council or parliament building was the Capitole, a building that stood close by what is now recognised as the centre point of modern Toulouse, the great Place du Capitole, one of the finest urban piazzas anywhere in the world.

From the 14th to the 16th century, Toulouse became a very wealthy city, based on an industry that later on vanished entirely, the production of ‘pastel’, or in English, ‘woad’. Known since prehistoric times, pastel was a highly prized and expensive pigment, capable of producing brilliant blues; and until it was replaced by imported indigo, which was cheaper and easier to produce, the cultivation and transformation of pastel was a boom industry of international importance in and around the city of Toulouse. With the decline of the pastel industry, Toulouse’s fortunes slumped. However, it still remained very much a regional capital, being the largest city for at least 200 miles in any direction, with the exception of its eternal rival in southwest France, Bordeaux.

Since the middle of the 20th century, Toulouse has once again established itself as a major industrial player, this time as capital of the French and European aerospace industry. The Toulouse-Blagnac airport complex was the birthplace of the Anglo-French supersonic jetliner Concorde, and today Blagnac is the headquarters and main manufacturing plant of the European consortium, Airbus. It is here, for instance, that the giant Airbus A380 super jumbos are assembled, using parts produced in facilities in several different countries of Europe.

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WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN TOULOUSE? 1. Cite de l’Espace – A fantastic space museum on the city’s eastern outskirts.

2. Basilique St-Sernin – A well-preserved Romanesque edifice built from golden and rose stone.

3. Couvent des Jacobins – An elegant, ecclesiastical structure of the Dominican order.

4. Place du Capitole – Toulouse’s magnificent main square is the city’s literal and metaphorical heart.

Cite de l’Espace

5. Musee des Augustins – Located within a former Augustinian monastery, this fine-arts museum spans the Roman era through to the early 20th century.

6. Capitole – On the eastern side of Place du Capitole is the 128m-long facade of the Capitole, Toulouse’s city hall.

7. Fondation Bemberg – A luxurious museum of fine arts and historic design.

À vaillant coeur rien d’impossible.

-Jacques Cœur

Musee des Augustins

8. Musee St- Raymond – Toulouse in 4th century nudes,Venuses and Corinthian columns.

9. Hotel d’Assezat – Toulouse boasts more than 50 ‘hotels particuliers’ – private mansions built for the city’snobility in the 16th and 17th century.

10. Musee Paul Dupuy – Browse a treasure trove of religious art, pharmaceutical items and impressive clocks.

Hotel d’Assezat

11. Aeroscopia – The aviation museum built on the very spot the A380 Airbus was first completed.

12. Eglise Notre-Dame de la Dalbade – This Catholic church is a worthy stop on any walking tour of Toulouse.

13. Jardin des Plantes – These 200-year-old sculpted gardens are a refreshing place to take a stroll and escape the city air.

Jardin des Plantes

14. Chateau d’Eau – The 19th century brick tower once pumped fresh water around Toulouse and is an attraction for contemporary photography displays.

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Oh, and don’t forget the food of Toulouse, it is France after all; the patisseries and chocolatiers here are typically full of delicious treats. Specialities of Toulouse include crisp, caramelised, biscuits called ‘croquants’, ‘caraque’ a vibrant green chocolate tart and ‘fénétra’ a decadent cake made with marzipan, meringue and candied lemon.

THE LOCAL DISHES YOU HAVE TO TRY WHEN YOU’RE IN TOULOUSE: Cassoulet.

Made with the Toulouse sausage! A famous export from the south of France, the Toulouse sausage or Saucisse de Toulouse, as it is known in its native language – is a fresh sausage with a high pork content and generous seasoning.

• It would be sacrilege to be in Toulouse and not try the cassoulet. But also try: • Foie gras d’oie.

• Canard confit.

• Tarte aux noix.

• Garbure.

• La bougnette.

• Cachou.

• The violet.

Tarte aux Noix

Office de Tourisme de Toulouse Donjon du Capitole Square Charles de Gaulle

Garbure

https://www.toulouse-tourisme.com/

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Bon Repos The abbey that draws fans like a rock concert

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here I am, walking down a hillside on a chilly afternoon, under a grey foreboding sky in a sparsely-populated corner of central Brittany, headed in the direction of the ancient Abbey of Bon Repos [L’Abbaye de Bon Repos]. It was after Christmas and prior to New Year’s Day, a period when I figured I’d practically have the place to myself.

But it felt like I was going to a rock concert. I was following a crowd down the hillside to the abbey. Behind me, the parking lot was filling up.

But why?

I think it is because the story of the Abbey of Bon Repos has everything: A vision in which instructions are given by the Virgin Mary, the founding of an abbey which achieved astonishing prosperity, decline and abandonment over more than a century (almost to the point of ruin), then a miraculous redemption and rediscovery with a return to economic and political glory, followed by restoration and reopening by a group of tireless volunteers, the Association des Compagnons de l’Abbaye de Bon Repos [Loosely translated, ‘Friends of the Abbey of Bon Repos’].

Legend tells us that while sleeping near the edge of Quénécan forest, Viscount Alan III de Rohan took a nap, during which he had a dream in which the Virgin told him to construct, at that precise location, the final resting place for the Rohan family. Thus, the name, ‘Bon Repos’ [‘Good Rest’]. I wouldn’t reject out-of-hand the possibility that the viscount had a vision.

Quénécan forest is very popular with wild mushroom collectors.

On June 23rd 1124, the Viscount Rohan and his wife Constance, the Duchess of Brittany, issued the ‘deed of foundation’ of the abbey. An abbot of the Cistercian monastic order and twelve monks were given possession of the property and went to work creating a successful abbey.

The Cistercians were selected because of their success in turning forests into highly-productive fields and it was a wise selection indeed. The abbey was remarkably prosperous. In fact, there was so much profitable work to be done, that the order ran out of monks and laymen were invited to work at the abbey. But this was all undone after Duchess Anne of Brittany married the King of France, Charles VIII, making the abbey royal property and bringing with it mismanagement and decline.

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This is some of what remains of the southern transept of the ancient

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The tree tops were higher than the rooftops that were there before.

In 1986, a group was formed to restore the lost glory of the abbey, the Association des Compagnons de l’Abbaye de Bon Repos. With the aid of many grants and contributions, the association restored much of the abbey and prepared it for visitors.

The group now sponsors a wide variety of cultural events within the walls of the abbey, including exhibitions by visiting artists, musical performances and special events for school children. When I visited in December, there was an exhibition of art inspired by the characters in ‘Alice in Wonderland’. The presentation, ‘In the Footsteps of Alice’, was created by the architect and illustrator Dominique Richard.

church that was once part of the Abbey of Bon Repos.

However, the fate of the Abbey of Bon Repos, took another turn, a happier one, in 1683 when a new abbot, Philippe Alexandre Montault Navaille de Saint-Geniès, arrived. He was determined to turn it into his own, incredibly luxurious palace, which he did. It is said that the monks were not permitted to enter the ‘palace’ of the abbot, lest they be corrupted by its splendour. But the roller-coaster history of the Abbey of Bon Repos was not over.

The Abbey of Bon Repos has a highly informative website, with both English and French versions, that includes a detailed map showing how to get there: WWW.BON-REPOS.COM

Reg Crowder

The French Revolution in 1791 put an end to the abbey. The government took ownership of all religious property and the abbey was sold. It was used by a few private owners after that but was then abandoned for more than 150 years. A forest grew within the walls.

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Creating That Loving Feeling

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nother approach might be to look at your existing home to see how you can change its energy, to attract more love into your life. According to the ancient art of Feng Shui, if you want love in your life, you must create space for it in your home. For example, if you are looking for a partner, a welcoming and uncluttered front door invites in good energy and good relationships, but, if it is piled up with shoes, you block and push away new people who will likely sense the ‘running away’ energy represented in the shoes. Clearing wardrobes, freeing up empty hangers, making space on the coat rack, and leaving room at the table, are all said to create new space and intention for new love. Even hanging pictures and paintings that represent love and organising objects into pairs can raise and attract love energy into your home and life.

Heart Filled Home

W

ith love definitely in the air this month, I’ve been looking at what makes a love-filled home.

After all, a house is just a building, but a home conjures up something so much more personal. So, what does it take to go from a house to a heart-filled home?

Well, one starting point might be the building itself with many people ‘sensing’ that houses have ‘souls’. Indeed, we’ve probably all been in a house that feels ‘soulless’ and it feels pretty uncomfortable. Somehow though, our houses do seem to absorb our energy. The walls soak up our spirit, and, for good or bad, we leave an impression on the spaces we inhabit. Choosing a home with the ‘right feel’ from the start is an important first step in creating a home that not only suits us, but also reflects something personal about us.

However, for lots of us, decisions made about our homes and interiors are based on whether they work practically, aesthetically, are within budget, or are limited to what’s available. The whims of fashion can sway us and we end up with a mish-mash of disparate objects that have no plan or meaning.

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Signature Ambiance

J

ust like Feng Shui, humble domestic chores are acts of mindfulness. They are simple ways to stay true to, and conscious of, our well-being, needs, and values, all of which are vital for a heart-filled home. Through these small homemaking rituals, we can impart a little of our own signature ambiance, and when our hearts alone guide our choices, we fill our homes with meaningful objects that reflect our true nature, desires, experiences, and soul. A perfect jigsaw of what makes us, us.

It’s easy to feel the answer lies in investing more money into our homes, but consider this, if a home feels a little unloved, just cleaning, reorganising, and tending to it can be seen as a form of self-love and self-care that extends to our families and visitors. A good spring clean can completely elevate the spirits. And, let’s not forget the simple joys of nice clean sheets on the bed, a freshly mopped floor, a flower from the garden on the mantel, and the smell of fresh coffee or baking bread.

All that said, a heart-filled home, wherever you live, whatever your style, or means, is never really made with the things that fill it, but with the people that inhabit it. A heart-filled home is created with intention, time invested, and the love of the people that dwell there. It’s the simple gestures, the cups of tea, the chats at the table, the laughter and the tears, the friendship shared and memories created. So, along with your front door, open your heart, and let your intention be love.

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H

ello again! It’s me, Jules, continuing on with my new French home renovation!

Having re-configured the downstairs layout so I could have the dining room off the kitchen, I wanted that flow-through effect that allowed me to be in the kitchen and still be part of the conversations in the dining room.

Previously a children’s playroom, it was really a pretty straightforward job, one of the very few in this house.

Floors, although in great condition, needed some attention. The walls were in red, which had to go! The door between the kitchen and the dining room, we moved to close the kitchen off from the hallway.

The walls were painted in a pale grey with white ceiling and door. The window frame was dreadful yellowing wood so it was simply a case of a repaint in graphite grey. As with all the oak floors, they were cleaned with bicarb and water then three coats of satin yacht varnish to seal.

The wallpaper, whilst black and not to everyone’s taste, really works. The two armoires were junk shop finds and simply repainted to store glasses and my lovely white Limoges porcelain dinner service.

Our dining room table was purchased on a used furniture site. It’s a one off, made in Portugal and very dark wood.

To bring some light into the space, I simply limed the table to bring out the beautiful wood grain and carvings.

My chairs, purchased at auction, went off to my trusted upholsterer and here is where I had some fun. Three jewel colours and two chairs in each colour. As the chair seats are quite deep, I decided to add some cushions for comfort and again, these were eclectic.

My stunning light is art deco in feel and a terrific find, I just love it! I have added a French mirror, and a stunning drawing by a very talented young Australian artist.

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During this renovation process, I haven’t followed any of the normal design rules. I wanted an interesting house that would be a very liveable and comfortable home, one that was about us.Next month will be our kitchen, then in the coming months, profiles on textiles and staircases.

Abiento Jules.

Paint used - Frenchic Moon Whispers, Whiter than White wall paint, Dazzle Me and Smudge from the Al fresco range Upholstery - Charlotte Van Rooyen - Creative Upholstery Artwork - Ashley Harry Haine - artist Australia

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Louis Vuitton

L

ouis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton, is a French, high-end luxury fashion house and company, founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton.

The label’s LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear shoes, watches, jewellery, accessories, sunglasses and books.

The Louis Vuitton label was founded by Vuitton in 1854 on Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris, France. Louis Vuitton started at $10,567 as a sales price! Louis Vuitton had observed that the HJ Cave osilite trunk could

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be easily stacked.

In 1858, Vuitton introduced his flat-topped trunks with Trianon canvas, making them lightweight and airtight. Before the introduction of Vuitton’s trunks, rounded-top trunks were used, generally to promote water runoff, and thus could not be stacked. It was Vuitton’s grey Trianon canvas flat trunk, that allowed the ability to stack them on top of another with ease for voyages. Many other luggage makers later imitated Vuitton’s style and design.

The company participated in the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1871, Ōyama Iwao became the first recorded Japanese customer, ordering a set of luggage while in Paris as a military observer during the Franco-Prussian War. To protect against the duplication of his look, Vuitton changed the Trianon design to a beige and brown stripes design in 1876. By 1885, the company opened its first store in London, on Oxford Street. Soon thereafter, due to the continuing imitation of his look, in 1888, Vuitton created the Damier canvas pattern, bearing a logo that reads “marque L. Vuitton déposée”, which translates into “L. Vuitton registered trademark”.

In 1892, Louis Vuitton died, and the company’s management passed to his son.

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DEEP EARTH CONNECTION M

an years ago, those intrepid ‘off gridders’ were often viewed as a bit kooky. It was all a bit ‘earth mother’ and too hipster for some. I mean, why? Why make life harder not easier?

Whilst some (not many, granted) were trying to become deeply connected to the earth we inhabit, most of us were all about more, more and more, hell bent on destroying everything. I do wonder, if post-pandemic and knowing just how fragile our planet is, are we finally getting it?

Have you lost or even ever found a deep earth connection?

I was watching a British TV series recently ‘A New Life in the Wild’ and I have to say, ‘him indoors’ and I ended up in tears. One particular programme featured a couple from Germany, now in their 80’s. They had thrown off the trappings of a commercial life, the rat race and embraced ‘less is more’ in their early

30’s. They escaped failed marriages and child abuse and began to build a sustainable life in the wilderness of County Mayo in Ireland.

In search of healing and a life they could live with, in time they found a life they could love.

They toiled hard and made it work, living off the land and building their own isolated paradise, an amazingly fertile idyll which calmed their minds, with no hint of the stressful lives they left behind. Eventually, their children grew up and fled the nest. Then suddenly, they realised they were in their dotage, tired and struggling to manage their land.

I sat there watching this inspiring couple worry about their future and the future of the unusual retreat they had created. I felt sad for them, until I realised, they were only really bothered that the gift of peace would be passed on to another family, and soon. They felt privileged and had experienced that hard-to-find earth connection, it wasn’t about them anymore.

They absolutely understood it was time to hand the baton on and had no regrets, only hope that someone else could experience really living, really connecting, living with nature not working against it. Their choice of lifestyle seemed to me like it was really hard physically, full of daily toil, but worth it to clear their minds.

They explained that they wanted to put back, not take away from the planet and most of all, they wanted to feel at peace with the land and themselves. He cried a lot, the old man, his love for the land and concern for the planet was all consuming. I could feel the pain. Isn’t this what life is really all about? Stepping away from the commercial, the forced wants and needs and into the wild to really live a life we can subscribe to? Isn’t this why many people from all over the world migrate to France?

Okay, so France is not an isolated island but it is vast enough to find your own piece of paradise, a bit more space and a life which isn’t as commercial as many other countries. A life where not all of your salary is swallowed up in order to own a house.

My husband and I looked at each other and nodded. We could do it.

We could absolutely get on board with escaping the hustle and bustle.

We too need time back in the bank, healing and peace. I think getting off grid is definitely in our future even if it is only for 6 weeks a year.

I went to bed that night dreaming of a kinder life, kinder to the planet and us.

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Chinese New Year 2022

C

hinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, is an annual festival in China (and Chinese communities) that begins with the new moon, and occurs sometime between January 21st and February 20th. Celebrations will last until the following full moon.

The last event during the festival is called the Lantern festival, during which people will hang glowing lanterns in the temples, or carry them during a night-time parade. As the dragon is a symbol of good fortune, the dragon will be the highlight of the festival celebrations.

There are many legends that lead to the origins of the New Year. My favourite legend says; there once was a monster named Nian ( Year) who would attack villagers at the beginning of each New Year. The monster was said to be afraid of bright lights, loud noises and even the colour red, so these things were used to scare him away.

The celebrations held are to usher out the old year and bring forth luck and prosperity for the coming year, therefore they will include firecrackers, fireworks and red decorations. Young people are gifted ‘lucky’ money in red envelopes by their elders. It is also a time to visit family members, feast, and honour relatives that have died.

This year, Chinese New Year will begin on February 1st and is the year of the tiger. The tiger is said to be a symbol of strength and braveness. You will find many Chinese items, such as clothing, displaying an image of the tiger for good luck.

There are 12 Chinese zodiac signs, each a different animal, and this changes every New Year.

Another Chinese New Year tradition is to clean your home thoroughly, to rid the house of any lingering bad luck. Some people will prepare and enjoy special foods on certain days during the celebrations. The special foods all have their own symbolism. These are just a few; Fish – an increase in prosperity Dumplings and spring rolls – wealth Longevity noodles – happiness and longevity Good fortune fruit – fullness and wealth Tang Yuan (sweet rice balls) – family togetherness Niangao (glutinous rice cake) – a higher income or a higher position.

Wishing you all happiness and prosperity.

All over the world, celebrations for the lunar New Year will take place, from New York, Manchester, Kuala Lumpur, Paris and so many more. Why not take a look and see if there are any festivities happening near you? The dragon dances are well worth a watch.

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Date Night

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he TV stars do it, Instagram influencers do it, so why don’t you do it, or me for that matter? Dating is ‘de rigueur’! Okay okay, I hear you! Childcare is expensive, you are just too busy and therefore it’s easier not to, isn’t it? Going out or away together can also be just too expensive but here’s the thing, it’s really important to spend quality time with your partner, especially when you have children at home to take care of and/or demanding careers. You both need to remember why you came together in the first place.

One year or 40 years together, to keep going, you have to keep building on that relationship. You get out what you put in and that’s the truth.

Dating may take some planning, saving, a few favours owed by friends and a little sacrifice, but ‘DATING’ your other half allows you both the time to focus on your special connection together. It allows that early relationship erotic spark to be re-explored by the intentional pursuit of romance. Dating gives you time away from the humdrum of life to communicate, without the interruptions of your collective home and/or work life.

you can lose each other, just a bit more every day, simply because the role you each play barely includes either of you. Exhausted ships that pass each other in the night, you’ll recognise the symptoms, apathy, arguments, zero libido, shabby underwear and very hairy legs!

It’s not intentional, of course not, but it happens because you are busy being Mum and Dad and you just don’t put yourself or your relationship first, and that’s never a good thing. You are tired and the thought of dressing up and playing the love game is the last thing on your mind, but schedule those dates in anyway. I promise you wont regret or forget it. Be creative! Don’t just go to your favourite pizza place and be back in bed by 9pm, we’ve all done that! Try couple massages, cooking courses, wine tasting and attempt to think outside the box. Give each other the chance to book a date night their way, get to know each other again. We change and grow as individuals, within a partnership and just like anything in life, the more we don’t do together, the further away from each other we can get.

“Get busy watering your own grass so as not to notice whether it’s greener elsewhere.”

- Unknown

Date nights are officially recommended both for a healthy sex life and for developing a long-lasting, strong relationship beyond those first, hormone-filled years. When you have a house full of tiny kids or even worse, teenage monsters, Simply Living France, Company Reg:- 13738420

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I’ve heard so many couples complain about their other halves, he doesn’t do that or this and that old chestnut, we don’t date, swap presents or cards and we don’t need it. Really? Okay, I agree those special days don’t have to be Hallmark days but doing nothing, ever? I’m not sure that is a healthy relationship; perhaps a lazy one?

‘Can’t be bothered to romance’ really will hurt a relationship down the line. Also let’s face it, you’ll get bored somewhere in the muddle of bringing up kids and working. Then the grass may indeed start to look greener on the other side. Water and feed your grass at home and it will grow well enough. Invest in your partner.

Money is often tight when raising a family but you can make it work by cutting down on how much you spend on the children or on family holidays. At the end of the day, a picnic, a bottle of wine and a walk don’t cost that much. Where there is a will, there is a way.

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What about the single folks in our community?

Single by choice or not, Valentines Day can feel like a pointless celebration of love, not so! Celebrate yourself with your friends. It’s really important to love your life no matter what your relationship status. Dating yourself is also really important.

Learning to love being alone is the key to having healthy future relationships. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to be alone, living life your own way and there’s equally nothing bad about wanting a relationship. Whatever relationship situation you find yourself in, treat yourself, look after yourself and don’t waste one minute worrying about the ‘loved up’ noise, be wonderfully you! Buy the shoes, eat the cake and drink the wine! Cheers to you and your beautiful smile!

Getting dressed up is so good for mental health once you get going again. Have a look in the mirror now, what do you see? Let’s face it, we all need to make an effort occasionally. Look at dating like ‘couples therapy’ but without the huge bill. Dating will improve your future together and how you feel about each other. It may feel forced initially, but soon you’ll be watching the calendar, ready to play-date with the love of your life.

Mums and Dads also need time away from little ears. There are many things that should not be discussed in front of children and often it’s much easier to discuss difficult subjects on neutral ground. Whilst you don’t want date night turning in to a war zone, once you get the hang of it you can get the business bits done and out of the way quickly. It’s important to feel supported and heard within a relationship. It’s important to feel valued.

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Ski Season Belle Plagne Resort

T

’is the season to don boots bigger and heavier than your greedy cat, and head to the best of the French ski resorts!

It is situated just above Plagne Bellecote. The resort, as the name might suggest, is one of the prettier Plagne centres and consists of chalet style architecture.

Where?

Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France Fact!

The La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is located in La Plagne, France. The track was the venue for the bobsleigh and luge competitions for the 1992 Winter Olympics, whose host city was neighbouring Albertville .

Belle Plagne, at 2,050 metres, is one of the higher La Plagne resorts.

Belle Plagne has chalets, hotels and residences in a small village. The upper and lower areas are linked by the commercial zones. There is a network of lifts and covered stairways for easy access on foot so there is no need to take your car to go shopping. The many shops, restaurants and bars give the centre of Belle Plagne an authentic village feel. In just a few minutes, the gondola takes you to Plagne Bellecôte, free of charge for pedestrians.

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Belle Plagne was created in 1981 and is marked by a return to a traditional Savoyard architecture. Designed by architect Michel Bezançon, it is what we call a 4th generation resort, giving pride of place to traditional materials: stone, wood and lauze tiles on the typical chalet-style gable roofs. Built like a Savoyard village, it is spread over more than 50 floors, facing south. Thanks to the underground car parks, the village centre is entirely devoted to pedestrians and skiers.

Belle Plagne gets lots of sunshine and unobstructed views of the mountain peaks. It is a setting that is conducive to going walking and the village offers access to over 27 km of

walking trails so you can really make the most of the natural surroundings. You only have to decide whether you go on foot or on snowshoes! If you want to climb higher, get on the Roche de Mio gondola for a glacial adventure.

The view from La Chiaupe glacier, some 3,200 m above sea level, is spectacular.

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In Belle Plagne, you have to look hard to find accommodation that is not ski-in/ski-out.

Families will love how easy it is to get to the kids’ ski garden and the ski lesson meeting points. For skiers, this resort is THE Spot for heading off to the rest of the ski area.

Belle Plagne has direct access to the Roche de Mio gondola which takes you up to Bellecote glacier. You can ski straight down to Plagne Bellecôte, where there are lifts to Plagne

Centre, Champagny-en-Vanoise and Montchavin-les-Coches, the departure point of the Vanoise Express, the flagship lift of the Paradiski area and its 425 km of runs. As regards fun zones, the snow park is in the perfect place in Belle Plagne with two freestyle zones.

Belle Plagne is the starting point for your hikes (on foot or on a mountain bike).

Families can head towards the Dou du Praz on the “Balcony” route (accessible for 4x4type strollers). Sportier visitors can climb to the top of the Roche de Mio, 2700 metres above sea level with breathtaking views! Belle Plagne is also the starting point for the Via Ferrata at Les Bourtes (level moderately difficult to difficult).

Pics, Nick Roberts

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Poster Art

“Art is not what you see.

But what you make others see”

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In fact the solution presented itself one day, quite out of the blue! We had asked for someone to help us with storage locally and a lady had answered. Then we discovered she was selling up, leaving France and selling much of her home contents, including some wonderful French poster art.

These weren’t expensive, five euros each as I recall and I have just continued adding to them, such is the pleasure they gift. Also, they are oddly so versatile and of course reminded me of France when I moved back to the UK again.

M

oving home is so expensive. I know this only too well! I really have found it tough over the years, trying to place the same, muchloved art in many a new home. Some homes suit older style art and some more modern, it’s a problem. I could of course solve this issue by constantly buying new art or redecorating to fit but that really isn’t doable, financially or otherwise.

After our move in 2020 from Canada to France, we left our eclectic art collection (bought, gifted, begged, borrowed and only one stolen, by mistake, I promise) in storage but even in a tiny Normandy rental cottage, bare walls did not a home make. What to do?

I realised that I could just change the frames and they would fit perfectly! In the end, I love a bit of Matisse or Van Gogh and could never afford the real thing, so poster art is just the ticket! Lately, I’ve started adding new poster art (not French) in order to build my collection. Like I fake it with flowers, I’m now totally hooked on fake art! Buy what you can afford and love now!

I’ve got a few posters that need reframing, as they were damaged in the move, so that’s a nice winter project for me. Also, once you get the reframing bug, there will be no stopping you and lets face it, you are only limited by your imagination!

Donna

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Cosy Ambience

Changing your décor by changing your lampshade is so easy, look out for the sales and buy yourself a lovely DuPont silk shade, something you wouldn’t normally splash out for.

A

long time ago, as a young army wife, moving every year or two, I learnt to make the best of what I had and it was so important to make a home as quickly as possible, settling the children in. Back then, it was all about battling with army functional furniture and hideous décor. No matter, I’d add my own accessories and scour the markets for bits and pieces, adding a personal yet familiar look to our temporary homes.

When I move into a new house these days, my first thought is how do I make it a home? I don’t begin with the obvious decorating or buying new furniture. Instead, I work with what I have and usually buy a new lamp or two to light up otherwise dull rooms or just to pull a look together. Of course there is a whole new world of home accessories out there to choose from, which I really could have done with back in 1990!

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Lamps don’t really go out of fashion but if strapped for cash, buy older lamp bases and upgrade them by giving them a make-over, nothing is impossible, even on the tightest of budgets!

You can of course spray or paint an old lampstand or try some decoupage if you are really crafty!

There are many videos available online that teach you to upgrade a boring old lampshade and markets often sell inexpensive ends of fabric rolls. Get creative, have a little fun and light up your life!

Some of my favourite brands of lamps are: Sophie Conran Pooky Lighting The French Bedroom Co

Lamps add to your décor, giving light obviously, but also making those dark corners, cosy and ambient. Lamps dress your dressers, sideboards and tables and it’s so easy to make a statement with your lamp of choice.

OKA Maison Du Monde The Range

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The ‘much too busy brigade’ How to become ‘unbusy’

A

re you one of those rather annoying people that are always saying ‘I’m too busy’ and are you too busy to pay attention to anything, including friendships?

Are you dashing everywhere? Do you meet yourself coming backwards? Are you tired, frazzled and more than a bit spent physically, emotionally and mentally? Do you feel like you are failing and falling, all at the same time? Are you ready for change? Yes? Cool!

You can absolutely do this.

There has been a toxic culture of ‘busyness’ seeping into every area of our lives, especially pre-pandemic. If you aren’t busy, who even are you? You can’t possibly be successful…can you?

Successful people work out quite quickly, how to slow it all down, to make sure mistakes aren’t made. They do it small and they do it well. They also think a lot before taking affirmative action, ensuring that the amount of work they do is actually needed. They organise and prioritise well and of course they delegate! ‘They’ in terms of the office, aren’t frightened of recognising talent and mentoring it accordingly. Rarely was there ever a successful brand that was about one person only. Isn’t that the truth?

We can take a lot of how we function at work, back to our homes to ensure we grab back a lot of wasted time and energy in being ‘busy’.

Lets face it, being ‘too busy’ actually causes

a lot of anxiety and sucks the life out of you and yours big time. So how do we become ‘unbusy’?

Of course, taking control of your life after making it so busy, means you kinda have to reset the clock, start small. Organisation is the key to becoming ‘unbusy’. Set parameters around your working day. We all know that work can spill into our home life and it’s not good. Set those working hours and stick to them. If it’s not a working emergency, why are you doing extra hours?

• • • • • • • • • • •

Let some things go Switch off work calls and emails Limit social media time Introduce moments of calm Don’t fill every day and every weekend Re-think your to-do list Set parameters around your work day Schedule ‘down time’ Say no Plan your chores Share chores

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• • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Take time to think how saying yes to a request will affect you Get up an hour earlier to rest Don’t take on more than you can cope with Plan your day Take your lunch break Don’t work for free Don’t be a home martyr – don’t do it all Get other members of your family to plan Bulk cook and shop Make the kids, from 3 years old, do ageappropriate chores

Get outdoors Schedule friend time Schedule ‘you’ time Cut your spending Cut things out of your life that are stressful and or pointless, and that includes people Slow everything down Use a home and work planner Cut down time spent in the car Work from home Share car-pool and after-school clubs with other parents Consider part time work Downsize your home Sell things you don’t need or use De-clutter Go to bed early Buy a slow cooker Make it a family affair Don’t join clubs you don’t have time for Get older kids to take their driving test Be aware of people that expect you to make time for them on a whim, but who won’t make time for you, or the chores!

Busy people can end up in a complete mess and they rarely enjoy life. Let’s face it people, life is for living! Live your life well and be kind to yourself. Enjoy becoming wonderfully ‘unbusy’!

Donna

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SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE

the joys of being a grandparent Ooh, totally forgot about the wedding. Anyway, she decided she wanted a church wedding, both of them were divorced (don’t ask) but our local vicar was very helpful, not at all thrown by the fact they were both divorced and pregnant. A date was fixed and then of course a local hotel was booked for a small ‘shot gun wedding’.

I

t’s virtually twelve years since we, and that’s the royal ‘we’ obviously, heard the news all parents secretly long to hear, we were going to be grandparents for the very first time. Cue shock, excitement and a whole raft of emotions we hadn’t even thought of. Our daughter and her partner had been engaged for ages, were living in her flat, but had decided not marry and had thought about moving into a house first. Suddenly everything changed. Would we like to view a house with them tomorrow, and what did we think about a small wedding in April?

At this point, husband dearest nearly exploded and I started thinking how to get a wedding organised whilst everything else happened! The next day, we dutifully viewed said house with them, I was on crutches just to make things a little trickier. The house was perfect, a Victorian terraced house in a lovely Georgian market town and the very next day, the flat was put on the market.

The wheels were put in motion extremely quickly and it was pretty exciting.

Husband dearest has a very dry sense of humour so the invitations had a cartoon of him, with a gun, on the front! Her dress was ordered, with room for expansion and the flowers were also ordered. Her future husband’s son by another mother was going to be a pageboy and her best friend was bridesmaid.

What could possibly go wrong?

By the time April arrived, she was nearly 20 weeks pregnant, the dress

due in September. Those who know me, will be aware I like knitting and now, I had a new little pink someone to knit for, clickerty clack went my needles, one happy granny to be.

Slowly life returned to a form of normality, the like of which we haven’t seen since. I was bursting with excitement when she asked me to go to one of the ante natal appointments with her, and yes, you guessed it, I cried when I saw my future granddaughter on the screen, suddenly this was all very very real.

Their tiny box room was decorated ready for the new arrival, the wedding vouchers had been ‘spent’ on a cot and a pram system costing as much as a small family car (or so it seemed).Baby clothes were purchased and we all tried to wait patiently until September and the magic date. My daughter was lucky throughout this pregnancy, no sickness etc, she certainly bloomed and blossomed.

Due date arrived, and went; daily updates were asked for without putting them under too much pressure! A water birth was planned, preferably in their sitting room, so the birthing pool was inflated, as was a birthing ball.

had been let out and life seemed simpler. The wedding was lovely, the weather perfect and the happy couple went off on the QM2 for their honeymoon, cruising to New York. Both sets of parents were left to finalise the house move after the purchase had gone through, just in the nick of time! Time to relax!

Err no; suddenly we learned the new baby was going to be a girl,

All we needed now was for baby to decide to make an appearance.

Daughter rang late one afternoon, she was experiencing some ‘strange’ feelings but was adamant she was not in labour. I was not convinced at all and tried to persuade her that she could well be in labour. I got my head bitten off, of course she wasn’t, what did I know? True, I didn’t know much only having had one

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child! But I had paid attention at the birthing classes I attended with her, as hubby was busy at work. An hour or two later, the phone rang again; it was my son in law with her squeaking in the background.

“We are in the car heading to the birthing center about 30 minutes away from home. “ Mmmmm, something had changed I thought.

They arrived at the birthing center, were quickly examined and sent by ambulance to our local hospital.

Ambulance? What was happening?

I could hear him shouting into the phone as he drove behind said ambulance, complete with blue flashing lights, explaining what was happening.

She was in the ambulance, trying hard not to give birth until arriving at the hospital. By now it was gone midnight, there was no way I was going back to bed, let alone be able to sleep. Kettle was put on; buckets of tea were made and I sat on the sofa, whilst husband dearest snored loudly in our bed! Another eternity passed, probably about half an hour in reality, the phone rang once more, I leapt off the sofa (we are talking twelve years ago when I could actually leap off a sofa) and grabbed the phone off the hook, to hear the sound of a baby crying. She had arrived, weighing in at 8lb 6oz, our wonderful first

grandchild, Maisie Victoria. Cue even more tears from her daddy, mummy and me, three adults and a baby, all crying on the phone. Our daughter had managed to keep her legs crossed until she arrived at the door to the maternity ward, but Maisie was rather quick to make her appearance thereafter.

Just like that, this was the day our lives changed forever. Being a grandparent is a blessing and occasionally a curse, it’s a steep learning curve and suddenly you find yourselves in the family ‘elders’ club. I have learned when to keep my mouth shut (took a while) and when to offer advice (still learning that one), but all in all, there’s nothing I would change about my experience thus far.

I was fortunate to be asked to help with childcare as I had retired a year before Maisie was born and only worked one day a week, for a local private dermatologist as his admin person. So I was ‘free’ to help out when my daughter returned to work part time. My day would start about 8 am when I arrived at their house ready to take on a few chores, washing, shopping and a bit of housework if needed.

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cramped and joy of joys, the news of another baby was announced. They found a ‘Tardis’ like house, still in the little town but a bit further walk away from amenities. Again, the sale went through smoothly and they soon settled into life once more.

George arrived, again overdue, and we were fortunate enough to be looking after both Maisie and her stepbrother that day. This time, our daughter was induced and just after we had put the two scamps to bed, the phone rang. We could hear George crying in the background and both Maisie and her stepbrother raced to the phone to listen. The joy on their faces was overwhelming. Early the next morning, we took them up to the maternity hospital to be introduced to their new brother. They all stayed with us for that very first night, our daughter was exhausted and our son in law took on baby duties overnight. George was a tiny scrap weighing just 7 lbs., but boy was he long; he will be tall once he’s grown up.

CONTINUED PAGE 28

Living in a small Georgian town everything was within very easy pram pushing distance and I soon was recognised by shopkeepers as ‘Maisie’s granny’! (I still am, which is very comforting.) After two years, it was decided that they would take on the daily care of Maisie’s stepbrother and he came to live with them. Suddenly, we all had two children to think about, getting him to and from school and finding filling snacks for when he arrived home (why do boys need so much food?). Maisie started nursery two mornings a week, so my childcare became mainly school holidays and occasional sick cover.

Their house was becoming a bit

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He’s now 8, and in spite of having a language disorder and being very late to talk, is doing well at school. His stepbrother is now 17 and doing ‘A ‘levels, and his big sister Maisie is at secondary school, doing very well.

Sadly, this isn’t the perfect fairy-tale we had all hoped for, as our son in law departed for greener pastures when George was barely two, so our daughter is now a single mum of two, our step grandson lives with his father. It’s changed the grandparent dynamics yet again, as we have taken on many jobs in our daughter’s house to help make it into a proper home. We have organised help with plasterers, painters and gardeners as needed. We will always be on hand for emergencies as and when they occur. Most recently, her central heating packed up and we were on hand with heaters until it was mended. Home schooling during the pandemic has been challenging for our daughter but she is very fortunate to be able to work from home. She works for a doctor’s surgery and is responsible for the admin for a team of nurses; she goes into the office for meetings but has her own office set up at home.

We take them on holidays to France with us; they love the Dordogne as much as we do. We have been there when teeth have fallen out, we have taught them to ride their bicycles, learn to swim and try to cook! Being a grandparent is a job with no real job description, definitely no salary but so many perks it’s unbelievable. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have children or have grandchildren but for those that do, life is magical and gives a purpose to each day.

Our step grandson was only two when we first met him, and considering all he has been through he is a wonderful young man, very caring and kind. Sadly, his real mum died a year ago, so he could easily have gone off the rails but he hasn’t. Yes, we are sad our daughter’s marriage didn’t last, but without that marriage we wouldn’t have our grandchildren so there is a positive note to end on.

Di xx

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Keeping the French Dream Alive

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PAGE 29

“When you have done all you can do, leave it alone. It’s not in your control.

Trust the process.”

F

irstly, let me tell you, no one needs consent to dream about a different future. I have a lot of friends that dream of living on a farm, keeping horses, starting a new career, having a baby or indeed living in France and why not?

Your dream, may be in the making, just around the corner or many years down the line and that’s also okay. You may have a retirement dream as I do! Many of us do, so how do you keep the dream alive throughout the years?

Write it down – keep a journal Work for it – do whatever it takes Talk about it – join likeminded groups Plan for it – make a timeline of events to get you there Save for it – start making the financial changes needed to achieve it Educate for it – learn the language or new skill Believe in it! Believe in yourself!

Travel there when you can – take holidays exploring where you want to live or work Watch programmes/read books on it Take legal and financial advice Keep experimenting Don’t listen to people who have negative opinions about your dreams Keep fit and healthy for it Understand the visa, working and/or immigration issues Investigate the possibilities Get professional advice where needed Keep your dream fresh and alive! Dream small or big, it really doesn’t matter!

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PARENTING DIARIES Pregnancy In France part 3 “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” ― Benjamin Spock.

Tia Malcolm

O

ur next scan date came around very quickly,suddenly it was time to see the baby in 3D. I was so excited I just couldn’t contain myself. We saw the midwife first for a check-up thenin we went for the scan, bear in mind, each time we saw our midwife, we reminded herthat we didn’t want to know the sex of the baby. So, she popped the jelly on my tummy, and there was Baby in glorious 3D form. I was amazed, it was so clear and I could see a little button nose, eyes, fingers and toes. It was super special.

Stuart and I were busy marvelling at the scan, when she referred to the baby as a healthy boy! I ignored it, thinking she was just generalising, but no, she then said it another five times! Bugger, the cat was firmly out of the bag! Shame, and it was not until the end of the consultation, she remembered we did not want to know.

Oops...never mind, our baby boy was on his way to join his mum and dad soon!

My due date was fast approaching and nerves were setting in. I had an appointment to see the anaesthetist

about the epidural. He was friendly, even if he did look like the mad professor out of ‘Back to the Future’.

He explained the procedure, how it would work and what he would be doing, if I wanted it. I confidently said that, yes, I was definitely going to have it, and that was that, or so I thought!

We got to February and by this stage, all was good, apart from the tummy alien trying to push my ribs up through my shoulders. I remember it being so painful, little bugger. I was due to go to the UK for a conference but I got up that day and felt a bit wet down below. So, I popped to the toilet and to my surprise, I had passed the most enormous bloody clot I had ever seen. I immediately panicked and screamed for Stuart. Sat in the car, all I could think of was the worst possible scenario, that I was losing the baby. I know I shouldn’t have, but I sensed the worst.

We got to the ‘Urgents’ in Chatellerault and explained what was going on. They said that I couldn’t be seen there and we needed to be at maternity ‘urgents’!

‘WOW’ was all I could think! So, we finally got to the right place, I was seen within two minutes of arriving and hooked up to the machines. Five minutes later, the doctor came in and said everything was absolutely fine and there was no need to worry. Apparently, this

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can sometimes happen in early stages of pregnancy, but if it happened again, or if I had any worries, just to come back. Oddly, it happened every week for the next four weeks, each time I went in, and each time everything was okay. Finally, the doctor said it was due to me having a fragile womb and that I was not allowed to drive and had to rest as much as I could.

So, three weeks before my due date of the 24th of March, my bag was packed, the baby’s suitcase was packed and I also had a separate teabag bag, lol. I thought I was ready for the off. The next day, Saturday the 4th of March, passed by quickly, and that evening we were watching Juliet Bravo in bed, as the bedroom was the warmest place in the bungalow. I went to the toilet and kept peeing. I thought nothing of it at the time, just a very long wee. I finished but was wet again by the time I reached the bathroom door. OMG, had my waters broken? It was too early! So, off to the hospital I went again. I was dry when I got into the car, but by the time I got to the maternity wing I was soaked. I was so embarrassed. I know they have seen worse, but hey, this was my first time.

They hooked me up to the contraction device and yes, I was having contractions. I couldn’t feel them, but then, it was very early on. They moved me from my little self-contained room in the hospital to the birthing suite. It was amazing, filled with all sorts of things; there was a fabric swing, loads of different sized Swiss balls and a ballet rail running around the wall. There was also a double bed in there, it was pretty well appointed!

By Sunday evening, my friends were with me and I was stuck at 5 cm dilation! That baby was not budging, I had stopped progressing and had got no sleep! I was completely exhausted. The midwives that were then on duty, gave me a sedative to help me sleep ands aid they would assess me again in the morning.

the opportunity to have an epidural. Sat on the bed, weeping like a child, my friends and the midwifes telling me that everything was going to be okay. I said ‘I cannot do this, there so much pain’. They gave me gas and air, OMG, yuck, yuck, yuck, it was completely horrid. Made my head spin and I felt like I was going to throw up. Apparently, I threw it away like it was a dirty toy, lol.

At this stage, I had to finally compose myself. I was on the bed, remembering all the breathing exercises from YouTube that I had learned, and I spotted a black spot on the ceiling. I am not sure if it was there on purpose, but it focused me enough to give birth to Alfred Louis Malcolm at 13h17,weighing in at 2890 grams!

I had done it; I had finally become a mother! What I didn’t realise then, was that the hard part was about to begin………

Monday morning was soon with us, and my original midwife came in to examine me, saying we needed to start moving the contractions along. They give me oxytocin, from yet another drip at 09h33. I remember this time well because I needed to go to the loo and by the time I came back, I was in full swing labour. I had gone from 6cm to fully dilated in just an hour, 10h33!

‘OMG’ its happening and I had also missed

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I

t’s suddenly February, and time to move on from all that festive fun and the usual post-festive lull. I don’t know about you?

But I always start the year full of great ideas, a weight loss challenge, more exercise, less alcohol, less chocolate and lo and behold, by the end of the first week in January, I have reverted to my old ways. This year, I aim to do better (goodness that reminds me of my old school reports!) so, hang on to your hats.

Spring cleaning and de-cluttering fill me with absolute dread, I start off in all good faith but after an hour, my spirit and energy flag, so I have decided that, as I cannot ‘eat the whole elephant in one go ‘, I will do it drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard and wardrobe by wardrobe.

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even if I could get them on, I definitely could not walk in them? No clue! Prince Charming, where are you to help when I need you?

Deep breaths and into the recycling bag they go. I’m on a roll now. Next, it’s the boots that have broken zips which our wonderful cobbler sadly can’t mend, and quickly, into the bag they go too. It’s quite satisfying seeing what I no longer need be moved on, but the space at the bottom of the wardrobe seems no clearer although certainly cleaner, without fluff balls and spiders! A quick spritz with the polish and that’s one bit done.

My next task is to empty the wardrobe of clothes, I read somewhere that it’s a good idea

I have just removed all the shoes from the bottom of my wardrobe, made friends with a spider and found lots of fluff balls, dragged the vacuum cleaner upstairs and just got started. Why do I still have stilettos that I can a) no longer squash my feet into and b)

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to reverse the coat hangers, putting them back normally if you have worn the garment, and after a month or two anything not worn goes in the bag! Brilliant idea, but I can see I will have to be really strong to achieve this! Do I really need that sparkly top I wore a few years

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I quite like the idea of a 28-day de-cluttering challenge, this one I have borrowed from Pinterest. Hopefully it will give you some ideas and reignite your enthusiasm for spring-cleaning! What are your tips for de-cluttering? We all need the extra inspiration. Perhaps if you have a failsafe method you’d like to share, maybe you could email it to me, care of the magazine? contactus@simplylivingfrance.com A house de-cluttering is a bit like painting the Eiffel Tower, never ending but oh so worthwhile!

Di x ago but have kept ‘just in case’? Somewhere, I still have the dress I wore for my daughters wedding and there is no way on this earth I can fit into it, sentimental value only, out it goes methinks? Hats? I have a few that I actually wear and quite a few that I will never wear again. Perhaps a nursery or playgroup would find them useful?

We have drawers full of old cutlery inherited from our parents, some we use but some we don’t, so we recently found a stall at our weekly market who were happy to buy them.

This bonus meant a few extra pounds saved towards the holiday fund! I am not sure if these stalls exist at French markets? I believe I have seen them occasionally.

“Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved. But sooner or later, all the storage units are full, and the room once again overflows with things.” - Marie Kondo

China, glasses and cooking pots all have to earn their place in the kitchen from now on, I have a very tiny kitchen so every inch of space is valuable. Last year, I gave away two electric mixers, coffee grinders and now have just one food processor which does lots of small jobs and takes up less space.

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The Market Gardener

LET THERE BE LIGHT

E

very day we take our pick of carrots, spinach, lettuce, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, cabbages and more. On many evenings, the vegetables freeze but thaw out quickly in the morning sun, and so the kitchen garden acts as our very own extended larder at this time of year.

The great advantage of this month is that the light levels and daylight hours start to increase faster. In January we gained an average of 50 minutes more daylight than in December and it will be close to one hour and 30 minutes more in February.

Gardeners are ever the optimists, and we can sometimes be tempted to jump the gun and sow all the seeds we can get our hands on at this time of year. I am no exception, and of course, this month I will be sowing in earnest. Yet I do suggest some caution, and instead, choose the types of vegetables you sow very carefully.

No such thing as ‘too cool’ In France, especially here in the south, the weather can be very hot in the spring, but also very wet.

In addition to this, there’s also the cold weather to deal with, and the last frost dates range from midApril to the end of May. Initially I found the start of the growing season so much more challenging in this climate, than I ever did in England.

There are such large temperature fluctuations from day to day and from the day to evening. However, I learned to mitigate this challenge by continuing to sow seeds of vegetables that are traditionally cool weather crops in February, yet only those that have a short time until harvest. Vegetables on my list that meet these criteria are ones such as radish, kohl rabi, rocket, spinach, carrots, beetroot, peas, lettuce, turnips, broccoli, onions and more. All these will be ready to harvest from 30 days to four months, they can tolerate the cold temperatures, and will do ok in any unpredictable short lived high temperatures throughout spring too.

Heat loving plants If you can grow under cover, with a guarantee of no frost reaching your seedlings, you can also start to sow the following: tomatoes, basil, marigolds, and nasturtiums (to help deter pests and bring colour to your vegetable garden).

However, I must add, that although they can be

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sown now, it really isn’t worth sowing cucumbers or courgettes just yet, or at least until the end of the month. They are so fast to grow, and so frost tender that it really is better to show caution and wait.

Time for alliums I have already mentioned onions and now really is the time to be thinking about all your vegetable alliums, especially shallots, onions, spring onions and leeks. Leeks need an especially long growing season and it’s for this reason that I don’t waste bed space with them to start with. I sow leeks in deep containers such as empty paint buckets for instance. Leeks have long roots and to give them a good start they will do well like this, in a nursery situation. After about ten weeks, I will then transplant them into their final growing position, as multi-sown clumps – sowing three or four together in one planting hole. Onions are like leeks, yet are quicker to grow and can be sowed initially in seed modules.

Why not try multi-sowing? Sow two to four onions per module, then plant out in a clump just a few weeks after sowing. Onions like to grow together, and growing this way increases the yield for the space used. I’ll also be continuing to plant garlic this month as my final planting.

Tracking your gardening year In today’s world, data is everything and to be a successful gardener, having a plan and recording

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the results of your plan will help you grow and prosper each year. There are dozens of effective ways to do this; from notepads to calendars and white boards to spread sheets. Yet if you’re like us, gardening isn’t the only big project you have going on in your life, so being as efficient as possible is the key to our vegetable garden being a manageable haven, rather than a chaotic mess.

For many gardeners, this is the essential gardening step that is being skipped. In the heat of the gardening moment, you will think you will remember what you have done in just a few weeks, but just like when a plant label goes astray, not having a record of what you have done can leave you lost. If you haven’t kept a record before, just keep it simple to start with. Perhaps use a page-aday diary as a notebook, and then jot down tasks you have done and seeds you have sown. If you do get the time later, you can transfer this onto a spread sheet. The advantage comes later, when you can search through your data and sort into different parameters such as sowing dates and even browse for terms such as ‘tomato’. At the end of the season, doing a search such as this will then bring up all your tomato entries for that year, and for each crop, you can assess from your notes what worked well, what didn’t, and plan to improve or even repeat this for the following season.

Gardening planning apps There are gardening apps out there which will keep everything all in one place for you. I particularly like Vegetable Planner from Vegetable Gardening Online, and Online Kitchen Garden Planner from Gardeners.com. Here at the chateau, we are working towards becoming small commercial growers, so the app we mainly use is called Tend and is specifically for market gardeners.

February is not a garden month to dawdle. Being organised and productive now will set you up for the rest of the growing season, all the time trying to keep one step ahead!

Until we speak again, I wish you great growing success this month.

Leanne YouTube – Lifeatchateaudelacoutere Instagram @lifeatchateaudelacoutere Facebook @thechateauhomestead

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PARLEZ FRANÇAISE Here are some useful phrases to help you get your garden ready for the impending spring.

At the Garden Centre - à la jardinerie Can you help me please?

Yes, how can I help you?

I am looking for some gardening tools.

What gardening tools do you need?

I need a spade/trowel.

They are on aisle 3.

Thank you very much.

Pouvez-vous m'aider s'il vous plaît ?

Oui, comment puis-je vous aider?

Je recherche des outils de jardinage.

De quels outils de jardinage avez-vous besoin?

J'ai besoin d'une pelle / truelle.

Sont-ils sur le rayon 3.

Merci beaucoup.

I would recommend.

Je recommanderais.

I need some conifers.

J'ai besoin de conifères.

What size? They are outside.

Quelle taille? Ils sont dehors.

I would like some annual plants.

Je voudrais des plantes annuelles.

Do you have any spring bulbs?

Avez-vous des bulbes de printemps ?

What type of spring bulbs would you like? Quel type de bulbes de printemps voudriez-vous? .

Do you sell lawnmowers?

Yes, what type do you need?

I would like a sit-on that gathers the grass.

We have different styles, how big is your garden?

Our garden is this size….

Vendez-vous des tondeuses à gazon?

Oui, de quel type avez-vous besoin?

Je voudrais autoportée ramassage.

Nous avons différents styles Quelle est la taille de votre jardin?

Notre jardin est de cette taille…

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Helpful Vocabulary l’allée Path l’arrosage Watering la fontaine Fountain la rocaille Rock Garden la serre Greenhouse le drainage Drainage le jardin à la françaiseFormal Garden le jardin d’eau Water Garden le jardin Garden le jardin paysan Cottage Garden le jardin sur le toit Roof Garden le parterre Flowerbed le patio Patio Garden le pavé Paving le potager Vegetable Garden Sand le sable Compost Heap le tas de compost

l’arroseur sprinkler l’arrosoir watering can la bêche spade la brouette wheelbarrow la dondeuse trimmer la fourche fork la grande cisaille long-handled shears la houe hoe la tondeuse lawnmower le balai à gazon lawn rake le déplantoir trowel le gravier gravel le panier de jardinier trug le pot à fleurs flower pot le râteau rake le sac à l’herbe grass bag les gants de jardinage gardening gloves les outils de jardin garden tools

l’arbre l’arbuste à fleurs l’herbe la fougère la haie la pelouse la plante alpine la plante aquatique la plante d’ombre la plante en pot la plante grasse la plante grimpante la plante rampante la plante vivace la topiare le bambou le bulbe le cactus le confière le palmier les mauvaises herbes les plantes

tree flowering shrub grass fern hedge lawn alpine water plant shade plant potted plant succulent climber creeper perennial topiary bamboo bulb cactus conifer palm weeds plants

arroser bêcher biologique cueillir cultiver désherber dessiner élaguer fertiliser pailler récolter retourner semer tondre

to water to trim organic to pick to cultivate to weed to landscape to prune to fertilise to mulch to harvest aerate to sow to mow (the lawn)

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Valentines Ball t e k c u B e m a d Ma

Oh Romeo, oh Romeo where the blinking hell is that invite?

I

t’s that time of year again, when the higher echelons of our society expect the annual Valentine’s invite to the chateau, for terrible food and wine. I’ve normally RSVP’d by now, but I’m slightly concerned that I may have upset our local chatelaine! I did honestly think I was saving her, offering to lend her my gardener, leaving my catering contact’s details (and a few more business cards besides). Maybe, I went too far, pointing out the obvious layers of dust with my pale pink glove and suggesting a visit to Alcoholics Anon?

I was recently at the chateau for our Annual General Meeting and as usual, Jinny was three sheets to the wind, full of homemade bramble gin and living on spaghetti squash, whilst apparently enjoying the French Good Life! My goodness, she is skin and bone! 44 acres to deal with, evil twin daughters and her husband still away with the army, away more than home and no wonder! The gossip is that her gardening and lifestyle column, in our favourite French country living magazine is more fabricated than fact and that her much younger husband has run off with the nanny! Money doesn’t always buy happiness or the ability to entertain, it would seem.

Don’t get me started on the flea market interiors, they do photograph well though, in certain favourable lights! Never been a fan of too much tatt myself, unless it is of the champagne variety

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Our Lady Jinny could burn a boiled egg frankly, so an invite to one of her ‘do’s’ always means taking several good bottles of half decent plonk and a few plates of heartier canapés! I’ve never got over the horror of ‘not a canapé in sight’ ever! What is the world coming to? These days, we always eat heartily before we visit, having previously been invited for ‘dinner’ and ‘dinner’ never actually materialised! Jinny, bless her, calls an olive drowned in a martini ‘supper’!

I’m hardly surprised he has gone orf! I mean, when Jinny’s long-suffering husband was home, he would devote all his leave to fixing the roof, or the heating, or spend hours in the garden with his list of jobs to do. I know, decent staff are hard to come by here but still!

In the evenings they would ‘entertain’ and Jinny would be completely squiffy by 7.30 pm, lipstick smudged, hair all over the place and stinking of the love of her life, her horse!

Bless him though, he would spend his last days at home bulk cooking her vegan meals, otherwise she wouldn’t eat!

Oddly, February is one of the busiest months in my social calendar. I have so much to do for the year ahead, so many meetings which are so very welcome after the 7000 days of January! I simply can’t understand why France hibernates in January and I can’t get anyone out to play. It’s impossible! Instead, I start my annual post-Christmas ‘clean and decorate challenge’. Of course, I don’t do any of it myself, but I do manage the projects, very well in fact. I find time to re-write my diary, plan my social events, get all the dry cleaning done, oh and organise the larder. A lady needs engaging company and so, come February, even I eagerly await an invitation to the opening of an envelope!

Must dash!

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Clare’s French Country Diary

H

ello dear February readers. This is my first column here, so I’d like to offer you a little history about how we came to live in Vienne, France, and our life here.

Simply, I married a Francophile, Martin. He loves everything French and although I had a short spell as an au pair in Brittany when I was 18, I honestly didn’t have the same love of France.

Gradually, through holidays around various parts of France, we found an area which we felt could be home in the future, and began to talk about buying a holiday home.

Fast forward 12 years, and we moved into it!

The garden was a weedy mess, just two rose bushes for colour and various elder trees needing attention. Gradually, during that first real incumbent springtime, I came back to life, and started to think this could be our forever garden and a place to put down our roots.

Where to start though? I was told to plan very little for the first year, to look which plants pop up and where, and watch where the sun goes around the garden at different

times of day and year. This proved good advice and helped me avoid mistakes.

Next, we seriously needed some fencing to contain the dogs and provide some privacy.

This area is built on limestone, as are the houses, and the garden, well you guessed it, lots of huge stones just below the surface. The fence posts were extremely tricky to put in, we borrowed a garden drill implement to help make the fence post-holes one very hot May! Over the years, we have planted apple trees which have given us amazing crops, and last year two cherry trees. I will be happy to see them blossom and in future years produce some cherries.

I have become something of a rose addict too.

The two inherited old rose bushes, Peace and Queen Elizabeth, have inspired me to learn about them and over the last two years I have planted climbers, ramblers and shrub roses.

An idea formed last summer to start an entire new rose bed.

The best time to plant roses is wintertime so I researched the rose growers and just after Christmas, placed my order for six bare

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roots to go into the new bed. The email said delivery in four to six weeks. ‘Excellent’, I thought, that would allow me time to dig the grass up and create the bed, bearing in mind the limestone.

So last Wednesday, the courier rang the bell and was at the gate with a big brown box of my roses! Not the four to six weeks then! I placed the roses into deep buckets of water until I could plant out.

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Now the new roses are nestled into place and I am looking forward to watching them grow this spring.

There is so much to do outside. The potager area needs a big tidy and re-organize as last year I rather neglected it. The birds

The following day, I began marking out the bed, taking up the grass and a few stones.

I was busy for the next few days and the weather turned colder, foggy and frosty. I thought about getting the garden drill out, to help with the preparation, then Martin reminded me, it’s Sunday afternoon and no noise is allowed in the village. Good point.

Warm hat and boots on, spade at the ready, we made a start together. After five minutes, we realized we hadn’t hit the usual limestone but an enormous chunk of concrete. Between us, with the help of a very heavy-duty spade, we wrestled in the mud and got the beast out!

It was about 35kg of concrete! I went to make a cup of tea and to think about the rest of the

are enjoying the seed heads though, so that is a positive. I must confess, I don’t really enjoy growing vegetables. So far it seems to be a battle against the elements and insects munching seedlings. Perhaps this year will be an easier growing year and I will enjoy it more, or I will plan a cut flower garden.

Meanwhile, I enjoy browsing seed catalogues, and writing ideas in my journal! À bientôt, Clare.

Instagram; frencheclair.

Clare Hill

dig. Fortunately, it was just a bit stony and with a little help from Étoile dog, we had it dug over ready for planting!

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To start to knit the fibers together a lower number or coarser needle is used. This gets things moving quite quickly, especially if you are using an uncarded core wool for your central shape.

If you are using templates, core wool is not normally used and the dyed and carded wool is used from the start. By inserting small amounts of wool into your template and using a medium needle, the wool soon starts to take the form of the template as you add more wool.

Needle Felting

A

little while ago our Facebook social media community ‘chatty prompt’ was ‘crafting’ and I submitted a post about needle felting. I only actually started needle felting last year, I think it was a lockdown and furlough thing, and was soon hooked.

I started with simple template and pretty quickly got the bug for the craft. I’m now moving into making 3D sculptures which is pushing my skill set and my patience somewhat.

Now that the Christmas period is well and truly over, there is that lull between January resolutions (crashing) and the much longed for spring evenings. What can you do to pass the time and keep your fingers out of the biscuit tin? If you are looking for a new hobby to fill the winter evenings, needle felting may just be what you’re looking for. It’s a hobby that doesn’t take a lot of money to get started and can be done pretty much anywhere.

Quite a few companies have beginner packs with some essentials to get you started for a very small outlay.

If you haven’t come across needle felting, I’ll explain what it’s all about: Taking carded and dyed natural fiber wool; you mold and shape the wool fibers by piecing them with a single barbed needle.

Needles vary in strength and the higher the number needle the thinner the needle is.

My advice is buy a few needles *36 *38 *40, decent wool, a set of scales that will weigh small amounts down to 0.01g and a good needle felting surface.

The wool will always go in the direction you push the needle so you can see results quite quickly.

This is great for a beginner because who wants to wait for hours to see how their make is progressing? You don’t need pressure on your needle; just light taps onto your needle-felting surface. If the fibers are poking through the other side of your work, you are pushing too hard and you may break your needle.

Templates are great for things like petals, and felting petals together can create a flower head. My first flower make in 2021 was the snowdrop.

You make a small inner set and a slightly larger outer set of petals then felt them together. To make the stems you pass florist wire through the petals before forming the dome shape. You can then either cover the florist wire with florist tape or wrap wool around the wire in a few layers to make a thicker stem. As a beginner I would suggest using the florist tape. It’s quicker and in the first few tries, it’s important not to be put off by fiddly and time consuming practices. Time enough for that once you’re a little more confident. Leaves can be added by felting from the template then wrapping them around the covered florist wire and then securing them

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in place with a few stabs of a needle and a little florist tape. Add your snowdrop to a small pot filled with oasis

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up and work on your project as much or as little as you want.

You can create individual pieces like animals or wreaths for all four seasons. Again because the components are light you can add more detail, they won’t break and they can be stored for use year after year. I have an orchid project to start as I can easily murder the real thing.

foam and you have your first creation.

As your wool starts to firm you will see that your needle is leaving little holes in the felt, this is a sign that it’s time to move to a finer needle to refine your finish. The longer you felt a piece, the firmer it will become. This is important if you need to pierce your piece for stems or stamen, or bird feet.

Needle felting lends itself very easily to making pieces for home decor, Christmas baubles, garlands, tree decorations, table setting name card holders, even a table centerpiece for a celebration. Pumpkins take shape very quickly and are a fun make, put them along with felted acorns and leaves in your own colour scheme. Last year with some hessian, lace and some felted Holly and mistletoe leaves and berries I decorated pillar candles for a pleasing display. You can use wax or faux candles and they can be used year after year.

Small-decorated needle felted Easter eggs in pastel shades can be hung from tree branches as a table centerpiece. This works well because the items are light and if they do fall off they won’t break, which is a bonus if you have little ones around the table.

You can felt flowers as brooches or as tags for presents.

Needle felted flowers; animals or celebration shapes can be used to create your own cards. How much nicer than shop bought.

I am about to embark on a tree topper poinsettia fairy for Christmas next year, yes already! The tree topper again will be light because she’s made of wool. If she falls off she won’t break. I’m also planning some small felted wooly mittens for holding treats on the Christmas tree, this could also make a personalised advent calendar and if I have time some small poinsettia to thread around the handles of two tall candle lanterns I have. The beauty of needle felting is that you can pick it

There are some absolutely amazing needle felt artists out there who can create the most adorable makes and some breathtaking faces. The possibility for project ideas is only limited by your imagination or your Internet searches. There are quite a lot of companies selling kits and templates.

What I would say is do not buy cheap or synthetic wools from that large online retailer of everything. You will be disappointed and may be put off the art, which would be a shame.

As well as 3D pieces you can create pictures by painting with wool in a similar manner to the description above. Instead of molding your shape with a template you lay your wool across a base of either felt sheet or linen or hessian. You then secure your wool in place with gentle stabs. As you layer your wool and colours your picture takes on a lovely dimension you wouldn’t get with paints. This works really well with landscapes.

My next wool “painting “ is hopefully a polar bear and aurora borealis. You could use a linen cushion cover to create bespoke pieces for your home.

Hopefully you will get to see some of these makes as the year rolls on. I’m around on the Facebook pages quite frequently so if you need any more information about getting started, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Doe X

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February Florals

W

e aren’t quite in spring mode yet, but we are always hopeful and by that, I mean we could really do with some colour in our lives and homes! I literally fake it quite a lot! Stop laughing! You know what I mean, err hem! I’m a rather accomplished flower faker! I have fake flowers all over my home and whilst they aren’t cheap to buy, they last forever and therefore, cost merely cents in the end!

That said, there’s nothing like real flowers, especially as Valentine’s Day approaches. Personally, I’d rather not have cut roses or tulips from Amsterdam, instead I’d prefer a packet of seeds or some bulbs to plant out come spring.

That way, the gift goes beyond one loved-up day, the pleasure is in watching something grow and not chucking things on the compost a week later. Also, don’t forget, if you are choosing wisely to go down the sustainable flower gifting route, you can make seed cards! Another fab idea for your food lover is to pot some herbs or chillies, a gift that will keep on giving for months.

Would you like a challenge?

Yes? You have two weeks to get planting! Choose some pretty pots and plant three of your favourite bulbs in them and then gift these for Valentines!

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le petit béret

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T

he commercial production of Basque-style berets began in the 17th century in the Oloron-SainteMarie area of southern France. Originally a local craft, beret-making became industrialised in the 19th century. The first factory, Beatex-Laulhere, claims production with records dating back to 1810.

Originally worn by nineteenth-century French seamen, it was adopted during World War I for alpine troops. British Field Marshal Montgomery popularized the beret during World War II as a badge of honour for elite military units.

The move to women sporting this hat began as early as the 1800s, but the ultimate credit goes to Coco Chanel in the 1930s.

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Moving to France for the ‘Long Run’!

Emma Penrose did I find it tasted better but I also noticed that I felt great. I was sleeping better and had more energy, my skin looked clearer and although I’d never really been overweight, I noticed my clothes were fitting better too. I truly believe that if I had stayed in UK, I would have carried on living just as I was, but coming to France led to a strong interest in food, cooking and nutrition.

From a junk-food-loving, exercise loathing twenty-something to a nutrition and lifestyle coach, training for the Paris marathon, how moving to France changed my whole mindset.

I

was only 23 when I decided to move to France. At the time, like many of us at that age, I gave little thought to how my lifestyle might be affecting my health. I hadn’t done any formal exercise since leaving school and didn’t have any interest in it. I lived on processed food and take-aways, spending many evenings down the pub, smoking and drinking.

But arriving in the French countryside, I found it was a long way to go if I wanted a take-away (something I’m very pleased about now), and the supermarkets were a far cry from what I was used to in the UK. Where was all the convenience food?

I quickly realised I was going to have to start cooking from scratch. I started checking out the nearby markets which were full of local produce and colourful fresh fruit and vegetables.

It turned out that I actually enjoyed cooking and was soon whipping up homemade soups, curries and all sorts of other culinary delights! Not only

It also led to a new love of fitness. That all started about 6 months after I arrived, when I adopted a puppy called George. I never would have taken on a dog in the UK because of my work/life balance, it wouldn’t have been fair. But here, I was home a lot more. Even now, at 10 years old, George never tires of chasing a ball before I tire of throwing it for him and as a puppy, he had so much energy! I had to walk him at least twice a day. I live in Loubes-Bernac, a small village situated on top of a hill. This means we have beautiful views and it’s a stunning place to live, but it also means that wherever I walk, it’s a steep climb back home and wow, back then I struggled!

It was a bit of a wake-up call!

I decided to start exercising more. I remember the first time I went for a run. It was about 2.5km and I walked at least half of it, it was hard! But once I got home, it felt good to know I had done

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it. That feeling spurred me on to keep doing more.

I loved seeing how much further or faster I could go with each run, and before long, I was able to run up those hills!

This new-found love of health and fitness made me want to learn more, so I started studying with the Institute of Health Sciences and in June 2020, I qualified as a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach.

I have since set up a new business, Love Nutrition, and I love working with my clients, supporting and advising them while they make changes to improve their own health, and work towards their goals.

If someone had told me before I moved to France that one day, I would be signing up to take part in a marathon, I would have thought they were crazy! But that’s exactly what happened. In October last year, a friend of mine approached me at a party. He’s an experienced marathon runner and he wondered if I would like to run the Paris marathon with him. At this point, I had thought now and then that it would be quite cool to run a marathon, but I never thought I would have the confidence to go for it. But here I was and without even thinking about it, I heard myself saying “Yeah ok, why not!” Would this have ever happened if I hadn’t come to live in France?

Maybe, but I think it’s very unlikely!

Next time – find out how I’m getting on with my new training regime. I’ll share with you all the highs and lows of my marathon experience and everything I’ve learnt so far!

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Tips for starting a new exercise routine Check with your GP - Before making any big changes to your exercise routine, it’s important to check in with your doctor, especially if you have any injuries or health conditions.

Start small – If you take on too much too soon, you may quickly feel overwhelmed and are likely to give in before you really get started. Set yourself achievable targets to keep your motivation and morale alive. Maybe a 30-minute walk, three times a week to get started. Once you have managed that for two or three weeks, you can make it four times each week or increase the time you spend exercising. Create new habits first and then build on them.

Keep a record – Tracking your walks, runs or workouts is a great way to see your progress.

It can be really motivating to see how you are getting fitter or stronger. There are lots of apps you can try to help you with this such as Strava or Map My Fitness. Or you could consider a wearable fitness tracker, you can pick up a pretty good one for around €30.

Plan in advance – Your new routine has to fit in with your life if you are going to stick to it. Use a diary to work out when you are going to do your exercise and treat it like an appointment that has to be kept!

Fuel your body – It’s important to eat the right foods to give your body enough energy for all that exercise, as well as nutrition to keep you in tiptop condition. Focus on lean proteins, wholegrains, pulses and legumes and of course plenty of fruit, vegetables and water.

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The Flat Cap and Newsboy Cap

W

ith the new series of Peaky Blinders, season 6, being released soon, I have written a piece about the popular cap that is worn in the series.

The newsboy cap, also called the Newsie, the Cabbie, and even The Gatsby, is a panelled cap, with a front peak and often a button crown. It can be made of any fabric but is most commonly made in tweed wool, as seen on the BBC TV program, Peaky Blinders.

Throughout the series, the main cast are shown wearing predominantly two types of hats that were popular at that time: the Peaky Blinders wearing the newsboy cap and then the Billy Boys wearing the flat cap. People often call newsboy caps a flat cap, but they are in fact a derivative of the flat cap.

History Flat caps are rounded hats with a small stiff brim in front and are considered a culturally historic item of clothing. The origins of the flat cap can be traced back to Britain in 1571, when Parliament ordered all non-noblemen, and boys over the age of six to cover their heads with wool caps on Sundays and holidays.

Those who didn’t would be at risk of a fine of three farthings (close to a penny)!

Immigrants took them over to America, where they were popular among young boys. They then began to take on other names such as driving caps, duffer caps, golf caps, scally caps, cabbie caps, and most commonly, newsboy caps.

The newsboy cap has a similar overall shape and stiff peak (visor) in front like a flat cap, but the body of the cap is rounder, made of eight pieces, fuller, and panelled with a button on top, and often with a button attaching the front to the brim (as the flat cap sometimes has).

This style became popular in the early 20th century among both boys and adult men. As the name suggests, it was at the time associated with newspaper boys. This gives rise to a misunderstanding. It is true that many newspaper boys and other working boys at the time, wore flat caps along with other styles. This style was not, however, worn only by boys.

A great many photographs of the period show these caps worn not only by newsboys, but also by dockworkers, steel Simply Living France, Company Reg:- 13738420 contactus@simplylivingfrance.com

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workers, shipwrights, farmers, beggars, bandits, artisans, and tradesmen of many types. This is also well attested to in novels and films of this period and just after.

The eight-piece style caps are essentially an offshoot of a one piece Scottish tam o’shanter.

While they were worn by boys and men of all social classes, they were also worn by the ‘upper’ classes, primarily for leisure activities, and thus, the style became associated with well-to-do country sportsmen, drivers and wealthy golfers.

Women wearing a Newsboy cap Although traditionally a man’s cap, it has recently seen a resurgence, becoming popular with affluent women and fashion houses in the 2000s. It has also become popular among the hipster subculture.

For summer, many girls and women are choosing soft cotton options as the brim offers sun protection. In winter, wool blend newsboy hats are a popular option for those who want to wear a natural material. In 2011, floral cottons were the trend, following a renewed interest in home sewing.

The photos of the Newsboy caps below are made by www.Kerrydelphine.com

I spent some time creating the eight-panel piece pattern, for a range of children and adult head sizes.

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SAY IT WITH ROSES

Our in house beauty guru, Rebecca Claridge gives us a rosey selection of beauty products, just in time for Valentines.

W

hen we think of Valentine’s Day, our minds immediately turn to chocolates and flowers, roses in particular. I love the smell of roses; it makes me think of summer at my grandparents’ house growing up. Being born on St George’s day, my Granddad used to give me a red rose from his garden every year that always smelt divine. My Nan used to collect rose petals with me and we would put them in a jar with water, to make our own ‘perfume’. Using this idea, I came up with a DIY recipe for a rose water face mist.

Rose Water Face Mist To make a rose water face mist you will need: 2 fresh roses and distilled water.

To make, simply remove the rose petals from the stems and put them in a small pan. Add enough water to submerge the petals, and then boil on a high heat for 10 minutes. This will implant all of the colour and properties into the water. Then strain the rose infused water and dilute it with 3 parts water. Add it to a glass spritz bottle and use within one month. You can spray your face with it as often as you like, for a nourishing, fragrant and refreshing mist. It can also be kept in the fridge for an extra cooling effect, not just in summer, but it’s also ideal if you are suffering from hot flushes caused by menopause.

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The reason I mention hot flushes is because the rose is amazing at supporting women’s health. It can help ease heavy or painful periods, but it is also known to help limit the effects of pre-menstrual tension (although it should be avoided in pregnancy, as it can have a toning effect on the uterus).

Rose also has amazing benefits that can enhance wellbeing. It can help ease stress related conditions, relieve anxiety and grief and even increase feelings of vitality. A few drops of rose essential oil in a diffuser can be very beneficial.

On the skin, rose can help to repair sun-damage and also damage from burns and scalds. It is calming and anti-inflammatory, making it ideal to help soothe dry, hot, itchy skin. This brings me to the 2nd recipe.

Nourishing Rose and Honey Face Mask Rose petals from one rose 3tbsp organic honey Rose water Remove the petals from the rose and wash them thoroughly. Soak them in some rose water for 3-4 hours (about enough water to cover them).

Then grind the petals with the rose water into a fine paste.

Add the organic honey to the paste and mix well. Place in the fridge to cool for 20-30 minutes.

Apply to the face, avoiding your eye area, gently massaging with your fingertips. Wash it off after 15-20 minutes.

The honey in the facemask is packed full of vitamins and minerals, that can provide nourishment to the cells.

Honey is an antioxidant and can also prevent sun damage. By softly massaging with the mask as you apply it, you will be gently exfoliating, not only removing dead skin cells, but also boosting your complexion and helping to keep the skin supple. If you are prone to oily skin, add a few drops of lemon juice to the mask when you add the honey, as this can control excess sebum and clean your skin.

Happy Valentines Day.

Rebecca X

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The Fabulous Agony Aunty ‘M’

T

his month’s Simply French Living Magazine readers question is:

“Can 007 ever find long-lasting, genuine love & companionship?”

Dear Aunty M, I want this from my life: a balance between my inner Mr Machismo 007 and the Walter Mitty in me (my more pastoral, caring, vulnerable side). I always thought the two sides were in conflict. Knowing when to stop and bring in one side to balance the other. Is this a problem in itself or reflective of something more repressed? Is there a cure? What are the first steps?

Yours in curiosity ‘D’. x

Answer: I completely understand the drive to be what the media has portrayed to be masculine, or at least have a debonair sense of style, and unlimited supply of cool gadgets and fantastic cars!

The same media push the ‘fantasist or an inconsequential dreamer’, a Walter Mitty character – ‘dreamers who imagine themselves in dramatic or heroic situations’ - yet are expected to keep their head down and those thoughts to themselves.

Therefore, the best advice is to take only the best qualities you find in your actual self. Appreciate those qualities and find ways to apply them to your life.

What psychology and science have found in ‘The Laws of Attraction’, are that the ones who radiate the most confidence, tend to also be seen as the most attractive and amicable. It is genuinely about having a good vibe. So whether you work for MI5 or at the local library, find pride in those skill sets you have and you’ll have satisfaction in yourself and the laws of attraction will prevail.

Mary Collins is a multi-media journalist who has lived and travelled around the globe, researching, exploring and creating projects pulled from her cultural encounters and genuine love for people.

She created C.H.A.N.G.E Hypnotherapy (which stands for Creative, Heuristic, Analogue, Neuroplasticity-Generated Energy). She works to strengthen a neuropathic environment, which helps people (and believe it or not, animals) to move forward towards positive change and life value.

For more information check out: Time4Change.info www.lifehakx.com

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The Big ‘M’ Kirsty-Anne Bissell, shares with us her menopause journey.

T

he big M is taking over my life, not in a bad way now but chatting to other women and their partners is just proving how unspoken this still is. Whether it’s sat in the bar, out for dinner or even passing in the supermarket, women and men out there are suffering pretty much in silence still, which is shocking in 2022. One lady I spoke to has been suffering similar symptoms to myself, for 20 years, her UK doctor said that at 43 she could not possibly be menopausal, let’s hope that things are easier for ladies today and that they are not so easily dismissed.

I do wonder if there any official statistics, detailing how many women take their own lives because of menopause, but there certainly are cases, as survivors will tell you. This is something I will touch on later, as I’m just doing a bit more investigation for now and trying to keep my initial columns positive.

So, my journey continues, the gel is doing its stuff and that’s not just my opinion, but hubbys too. I can believe that I’m feeling better, but it’s more important to get the view of someone on the outside looking in, in order to form a well-rounded view of what’s really going on. “Well, I am still alive” says he. “And the hole down the bottom of the garden hasn’t got any bigger.” Not renowned for his comedic talents my dear hubby, need I say?

I went back to my doctor in December, as I was suffering from what felt like anxiety attacks

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(I knew the feeling from when my Mum was terminally ill). My own lady doctor was on holiday, so after being left, forgotten in the waiting room, her locum finally saw me. I was already unimpressed, an hours wait to see him only to feel that he felt I was wasting his time (general look of annoyance). He asked me if there was anything happening that would make me feel anxious, so I went onto explain my menopause issues and confirmation through blood tests but other than that, no not really, I consider my life a good one.

He disregarded this altogether and prescribed me some tablets, I got home and looked up the side-effects only to find that these side-effects were exactly the same as what I was already experiencing. I made a decision there and then to try carrying on without them. It’s nearly a month on and the feeling of panic has subsided.

So maybe I just needed to give the gel a bit more time to do its thing.

I do feel more like the old me and my relationship with Lee is back on an even keel, the old pet names are back, although d#$% head (a favorite of us both) might not seem like a term of endearment, but then we are from Yorkshire, ha, ha.

I’m working on a list of symptoms (already a long one), but if you have a symptom that is not on the list below, I would appreciate it if you would drop me a line so I can collate a definitive list (if that’s possible), so as to help those that follow us.

Contact me on simplyfrancekb@hotmail.com • Irregular periods • vaginal dryness • hot flashes (flushes) • Chills • night sweats • sleep problems • Mood changes • weight gain • slower metabolism

x y t s r i K

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Simply wine Love is in the air

BY PAM GAGIANO

“If music be the food of love, play on”

I

s perhaps the most famous and well known quote from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, when the dreamer, Orsino, the Duke of Illyria is consumed by his passionate love for the Countess Olivia, who has put herself in mourning so he cannot woo her!

However, if you are keen to keep the heart of your true love beating strongly, a well-known clinical nutritionist from Gottlieb Memorial Hospital suggested that, the real food of love is dark chocolate and red wine, not only for Valentine’s Day, but also for any occasion!

No matter what, I was happy, purely in the interest of love mind you, to do a bit of personal research.

One tends to have pre-conceived ideas and it was interesting to get feedback from those whom I asked.

“Starry tropical night, just the two of us, luxury hotel, fabulous food and wine and no kids” were the most often suggested or wished!

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“Cara Giulietta” (Dear Juliet) a prize that is awarded to the writer of the most romantic and touching love letter!

There are really far too many traditions, legends and trivia to list here, so without further ado we’ll move on to the best part.

I’ve planned a menu around the wine with a few options for each course, starting off with oysters. I love oysters, unfortunately, or fortunately, my husband doesn’t.

Valentine’s Day, some say, can be traced as far back as the 6th century BC where it started as a Christian effort to replace a pagan fertility festival. During the festival of Lupercalia, Roman priests would sacrifice goats and use their blood soaked skins to slap women on the street, as a blessing of fertility!

Furthermore, according to the legend, the women would then put their names in a vessel to be chosen and paired with a man for a year!

I’m somewhat relieved this is no longer the case!

A tradition that pleases one more, is surely one where thousands of romantics send a letter to Juliet Capulet in Verona, Italy. A team of volunteers answers these letters from the Juliet Club. Each year there is an award,

My first choice of course, has to be the Spéciales Gillardeau, grown by the family Gillardeau near La Rochelle, western France.

These oysters are truly delicious, meaty, firm and savoury and for this deliciousness, one pays a premium, which in my opinion is worth it, especially for a romantic evening.

With my oysters I have selected a young Chablis Premier Cru. There are four appellations of Chablis, being the Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and the Chablis Grand Cru. The main Chablis AOC was designated January 13, 1938 and the Petit Chablis, being the ‘junior’ but by no means lesser, AOC designated January 5, 1944. The region of Chablis is in north central France with its main waterway being the River Serein. Chablis is a short one and a half hour drive from Paris, in the northernmost

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must is fermented in stainless steel tanks then aged in wooden barrels for 15 to 16 months before bottling.

wine district of the Burgundy region.

Chablis wines are made from one single varietal, which is Chardonnay, drawing its characteristics from a subsoil 150 million years old with around 5,800 hectares under vines. The cool climate of this area produces wines with acidity and less fruity flavours than the Chardonnay grown in warmer climates. Chablis is known for its pure aroma and taste, its crispness and sophistication and is mostly vinified in stainless steel tanks.

However, some Grand Cru and Premier Cru wines get some maturation in oak barrels.

My choice of a young Chablis Premier Cru is from the house of Louis Jadot, the Chablis 1er Cru Les Fourchaumes 2018, a perfect pairing with my very special oysters. At an average price of around €30.00, it has 13.5% alcohol and is best served at 10 degrees C. It’s made on the lees with aromas of white fruits, notes of citrus and slight minerality. A very pleasing wine, lightly acidic and leaving a lingering finish on the palate.

After a manual harvest, the grapes are pressed, the resulting

Since my husband doesn’t eat oysters, he has chosen grilled prawns as his starter, which is an excellent choice too for the Chablis Premier Cru. However, his choice of wine is the Puligny-Montrachet, which is an exceptional medium bodied dry wine with 12.5% alcohol, from the Chardonnay grape which pairs very well with grilled fish, lobsters and prawns, as well as foie gras, cheeses and poultry!

The AOC was introduced in Burgundy in 1935. Wines from this appellation are composed almost entirely of Chardonnay, which is unlike other Burgundy wines where up to 15% of Pinot Blanc can be added. Montrachet is located in the south of the Côté de Beaune.

The Montrachet vineyard is virtually divided equally between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The wine from the Chassagne side is usually known as Le Montrachet whilst the wine from the Puligny side is known as Montrachet.

These are premium wines, considered some of the best white wines in the world, well worth the price for a superb wine! Fortunately, we both enjoy a fabulous juicy piece of meat, which has made it easy for the main course of a delicious rib-eye steak. We both enjoy it ‘à

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point’ and it will be accompanied by potatoes roasted in duck fat, steamed haricots verts and a purée of butternut with a tomato and red onion salad.

The wine we have selected is a Syrah, biodynamic or organic wine from the Vallée du Rhône, Pays d’Oc rouge.

Fruit de Lune 2018, is an award winning wine and made from organically grown grapes, using natural composting techniques and natural sprays whilst following an astronomical calendar.

The grapes are night harvested which preserves the freshness and aromas of the fruit, thereby avoiding the use of sulphur, SO2. Natural yeasts are used for a high temperature fermentation (32 deg C) followed by a long period of maceration under pomace for up to 15 days to extract tannins and anthocyanins. A luscious fruity Syrah wine, bottled early in order to enjoy its superb youthfulness. The perfect wine choice for our rib-eye steak.

Dessert was a scrumptious cheesecake, which begged to be paired with Sauternes. Whilst one can serve a Sauternes with a starter such as a foie gras, a classic match as it goes superbly with savoury dishes, we really do enjoy it with a dessert. Many Sauternes are sold by the half bottle of 375ml and are typically served chilled at around 10 deg C. If the wine is older than 15 years, it can be served slightly warmer.

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the Sauternes region in the Graves area of Bordeaux. The grapes used are semillon, sauvignon blanc and the muscadelle varietals that have been affected by botrytis cinerea or ‘noble rot’, which causes the grape to dry, resulting in the distinct concentrated flavour of the wines. Thanks to the specific climate of the region, this is an area where noble rot happens frequently. In spite of this, production can be a hit or miss affair with harvests varying widely from vintage to vintage, which in turn affects the price.

The region of Sauternes has a maritime climate and the area is roughly 40 km from the city of Bordeaux along the River Garonne. The wines are characterised by a balance of sweetness with a zesty acidity including some flavour notes of apricots, honey, peaches and a nuttiness that can resonate on the palate for several minutes.

The wines start off as a golden yellow that gets progressively darker as they age!

For our dessert, we settled on a half bottle of Château Haut-Mayne, a 2015 vintage, made from Semillon (94%) and (4%) sauvignon, affordable at around €15.00. This producer is superb, is highly regarded and is a few miles north east of the village of Sauternes. Well worth a try and it can be put away for a few years if you so wish.

Hopefully, I have given you some inspiration for your Valentine’s Day and beyond and I will leave you with these words from William Butler Yeats: “Wine enters through the mouth, Love, the eyes, I raise the glass to my mouth, I look at you, I sigh.”

Sauternes are French sweet wines from

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QUINCE FLORAL COCKTAIL SIMPLY SIGNATURE COCKTAIL

Ingredients • • • •

4 measures gin 200 mls peach juice 1/4 measure elderflower cordial 1 Oz quince syrup (or use a mix of apple and pear syrup) • Fill and finish with fever tree aromatic tonic and crushed ice

Perparation Put the 4 measures of gin, 200mls peach juice, 1/4 measure elderflower cordial and 1oz quince syrupe in a cocktail shaker. Add ever tree aromatic tonic and crushed ice and serve.

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FRESH CHERRY MARGARITA Perparation

Put the cherries in a cocktail shaker and

Ingredients • 12 fresh cherries, pitted • 2-1/2 tbs tequila, preferably blanco 100% agave

• 2 tbs fresh lime juice • 1-1/2 tbs agave necter, preferably dark • 1 tbs maraschino liqueur

mash them with a muddler or the end of

a wooden spoon until well crushed, about

1 minute. Add tequila, lime juice, agave necter, maraschino liqueur, and 8 large ice cubes. Immediately straininto a rocks glass filled with frech ice. Garnish with the cherry.

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New Year in France W

e follow our travelling Kitchener Philippa Gratton from her home in Belgium to spend New Year in her 2nd home in France.

T

he first two months of the New Year can be so terribly dreary in Belgium, that’s why, after the festivities (such as they are), we prefer to stay as long as possible in our house in the Hérault in France. I know we are lucky to have the choice. All I can say is, retirement can have its recompenses! The weather and light are better and the scenery is breathtaking in our part of France. We do like to get out and about, sometimes to the coast but often into the hills and national park areas. Just a stones throw

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away is one of the “plus beau villages de France”, Roquebrun. During February it hosts the festival of mimosas, which are beautiful at this time of the year. The village

itself is built into the side of a hill and there is a fantastic Mediterranean garden at its top. It’s quite a climb but there are wonderful views over the river Orb. In the summer, locals and tourists take advantage of kayaking, swimming and generally having a good time.

After dry January and perhaps a diet of lettuce, it’s nice to tickle those taste buds again. As a treat when we return to the house, we tuck into a butter chicken and chickpea curry with all the trimmings. I like Indian cuisine and it’s always a good opportunity to start replenishing the freezers after the festive blowouts. I tend to batch prepare curry, freezing the tandoori marinaded chicken uncooked in its marinade, ready for defrosting and grilling when I need it. The sauce freezes beautifully before

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adding cream so its worth making more. Out come the poppadoms, any excuse. A quick cucumber and mint raita, a tomato and red onion salad and the ensemble is complete, accompanied by rice or flatbreads.

Even though I love French cuisine, I like to mix it up. One of my other favourites is Italian. This can be the quintessential fast food, providing an impressive dinner using ready-made ingredients. Perfect after exploring and trotting around after Baden Gratton in the hills. What could be nicer than a quick and tasty dinner of Italian charcuterie, such as bresaola, with a fresh rocket salad and shavings of Parmesan with a drizzle of truffle oil, followed by stuffed truffle and ricotta pasta with a sauté of mushrooms and garlic or a spaghetti bolognese from the freezer?

Our two grown-up kids never know what to get us for presents. At our age, we’ve usually got most things we want or need so gifts often come in the form of wine, particularly Italian such as Chianti, Amarone or Barolo.

We have plenty of excellent local French wines to choose from,

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but Italian wine is more difficult to source here so it’s always a good excuse to open one from our collection.

Another quick and tasty Italian style meal is homemade pizza. I sometimes make the dough myself but when pressed for time will quite happily use those ready-made, readyto-cook bases. Favourite toppings are spicy tomato sauce, capers, marinated anchovies, grilled peppers and lots of mozzarella, always with a dash of Tabasco, or, leave out the anchovies and serve with a rocket salad and Italian ham on the top.

There are so many beautiful villages in this part of France. Up in the hills there are real finds, almost lost in time. Mauroull is a small village, a hamlet really, close to Mont Caroux.

CONTINUED PAGE 62

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Most of the little houses have been renovated as holiday retreats. Many for French city dwellers to get away for short breaks! It’s interesting that even the smallest village usually has it’s own church and war memorial but this one, at least in pre-covid times, also had an excellent restaurant.

As I’ve said before, after a day gallivanting in the hills, I like to come home to a simple meal, an assembly job if possible, so a quick salad of leaves, tomatoes, avocado, smoked salmon, boiled eggs and prawns fits the bill.

To make it special I have my homemade mayo in the fridge and it’s just possible that there might be a few frites (the Belgian in me) hiding from view. This easy fish dish is also a go to. Use thin, skinless fillets of any white fish such as sole or plaice spread them out in a baking dish with sliced courgettes; I use a mandolin, and then top with basil, cream and Parmesan.

Popped into the bottom of the oven under a hot grill and served with pesto mash and peas. It’s an easy quick dish that can be prepared in advance.

All too soon it’s time to close up the house and cook that last meal, usually something like a bbq and ratatouille from the freezer.

I like to keep the kitchen clean on the last night, ready to make an early start to what is our other life in Belgium. There’s

usually a long list of appointments, house maintenance jobs and service contracts awaiting us.

Back home, the snowdrops are in full bloom and the weather is grey and grizzly, so I’m glad to be able to serve up a taste of the Languedoc with magret (duck), foie gras and duck fat roasted potatoes brought back specially, along with a car full of excellent local wine! We put the fire on and all is well with the world. Raiding the freezer the next day, I find a forgotten ravier of marinated meats and boudin as well as some raclette cheese. It’s a good excuse to get out the pierrade grill and make a fun occasion of using up leftovers from the cold boxes, before heading out to reacquaint myself with my favourite supermarket the next day. It’s a strange life but we enjoy it!!

Philippa X

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Valentine - raspberry no bake cheesecake “Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”

- M.F.K. Fisher

T

he race is on to be the most romantic partner in the universe? Totally your bag, you’ve got this, you grab your pinny and start whipping up a gourmet storm!

Or, you have a partner that isn’t the best cook or baker, but still likes to have a go? Doesn’t matter either way, because it’s the thought that counts, right? My No Bake raspberry cheesecake is super easy even for the ‘I don’t cook or bake brigade’ and can be made the day before the romancing begins. All you will have to do is pour a glass of pink French bubbly and fluff those beautiful feathers out ready for the dating game!

You will need

No Bake Cheesecake mix

How to

Equipment

•

Pop the biscuits in the processor and process to a find crumb. Add the melted butter and vanilla, mix well. Press the mix into the tin and freeze for 1/2 an hour.

• • • • • •

whisk or stand mixer 2 bowls spoons palat knife processor or a large zip lock bag and rolling pin lined loose bottomed cake tin

Ingredients Base • • •

2 packs of crushed biscuits (I use digestives) 50 g of melted butter a dash of vanilla extract

• • • • • • •

a handful of fresh or frozen (defrosted) raspberries rind of a lemon 1 large pack of cream cheese (300 g) 1 medium packet of mascapone (200g) 100 mls of whipped double cream dash of vanilla scoop of icing sugar (taste and add more of less) half a jar of raspberry jam

To decorate • • •

Fresh mint Fresh raspberries Icing sugar

Remove the base from the fridge and spead the raspberry jam over the base.

Now mix all the cheesecake ingredients together well. Pop the mix on top of the base and fridge until needed.

Decorate before serving.

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The Hostess with the Mostest

A Velvet Valentine’s Feast

Whether your love relationship is brand new or has endured for many years, it deserves to be celebrated, and so, with Valentine’s Day upon us, it’s time to crack open the bubbly and treat yourself and your loved one to something super romantic.

Food writer and recipe developer Ingrid Burling presents a velvet feast for lovebirds everywhere.

White velvet soup with sambals This recipe is deceptively easy, but tastes like you spent an age making it, so it is perfect for impressing a loved one. If you are celebrating with friends, this can form the centrepiece of a quirky soup bar, with a rainbow array of sambals (toppings).

Ingredients 500ml of double cream, 500ml of milk, 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and left whole), 3 bay leaves, the whites of three leeks (finely chopped), 3 giant potatoes (peeled and sliced), 1 broth cube, a dash of white wine, salt, white pepper and oregano. Serves 2.

Method 1-Simmer the garlic and bay leaves in the cream and milk until the mixture amalgamates.

2-Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the vegetables have completely softened. Stir the mixture to stop it from burning and adjust the heat as required.

3-Check for flavour - it should be rich, creamy, mellow and filling - then allow to cool and blend the mixture. The sambals (toppings) will add spice, texture and aromatics.

Sambals The culinary gods have blessed us with endless variations of toppings to serve with this, so you can happily let your creativity reign. The combination of chilli oil, bacon lardons, crushed pistachios and preserved lemons is highly recommended (the lemon is a flavour sensation), but these also make for good eats: chopped devilled eggs, candied orange peel, bread croutons, deep-fried grated ginger, harissa, crispy grilled catfish, pineapple salsa, and crushed pink peppercorns with fennel seeds.

Sweet and sour velvet chicken The secret to serving tender wok chicken is to ‘velvet’ it – which means marinading it in cornflour, water and soy – to lock in the moisture, and this recipe makes use of that.

For the marinade Cut 2 chicken breasts into strips, pat them dry and marinade them in 1 tbsp each of corn flour, dark soya sauce and vegetable oil. Set aside in the fridge.

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For the sauce Blend together 2 tbsp each of light and dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp each of rice wine vinegar and hoisin sauce, 1 tbs sesame oil, 4 tbsp honey, and ground white pepper. Set this aside in the fridge too.

For the rest of the dish 1-Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil until it ripples, and toss the chicken in this until it is just done. Then remove it and set it aside.

2-Add a dash of oil to the pan, and then stir fry 2 cloves of chopped garlic and 2 inches of chopped ginger, until the mixture smokes.

3-Quickly add 2 onions (cut into quarters), 2 finely chopped spring onions, a red bell pepper (cut into quarters), 1 carrot (cut into daisies) and 2 finely chopped ladies finger chillies. See the picture for techniques.

4-Finally add the roasted cashews, chicken and sauce, and fry the mixture, until the ingredients are tender and glistening.

Pile onto steamed rice and serve with chopsticks and a cocktail.

Strawberry and raspberry red velvet cake I used to find eating a red velvet cake terminally disappointing because the sponges were flavourless - but not this one! When I first created this, we had organised a double-date dinner with Robert, who was the best man at our wedding, and his wife, Beth, who is my best friend. With a different, rich fruity flavour in each sponge, the taste intensified as we devoured the cake, and my guests said it was the best they had ever eaten. So here it is, for you all to enjoy:

Hi - I’m Ingrid Burling, a Grand Master Thai Professional Chef and food writer. Passionate about food that has an original and quirky flair.

For the sponges 1-Blend together 300g butter, 600g sugar, 500ml buttermilk or kefir, 200ml cooking oil, 2 tbsp white vinegar, 4 eggs and a dash of vanilla extract until smooth.

2-Then add 2 tsp each of salt and bicarbonate of soda, 6tsp of cocoa powder, 600g of plain flour and whiz again. Add food colouring if needed, and blend again.

3-Split the mixture and stir 1 tsp of strawberry flavour into one sponge and 1 tsp of raspberry into the other. Line and fill two 10inch spring forms and bake the sponges in the centre of a pre-heated oven at 350°F/150°C for 1 hour or until just firm. Allow them to cool.

For the frosting 1-Cream together 400g of cream cheese or butter and 400g of icing sugar, with 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and food colouring (optional). Note: if you wish to pipe extra flourishes on top, double the quantity of frosting.

2-Spread this over one sponge, and place the other on top. Decorate with romantic flourishes. Serve with champagne or coffee.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’ve lived in four countries and now live in France, where my husband and I are creating a retreat centre. I write articles, blog, and post recipes for Simply Living France and on www.theflamingquill.com. See you there!

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A table for two? you spend, it really is the thought that counts. So, live a little, grab your basket and go rummaging for the next two weeks and find that perfect table-setting for two.

Why of course, but wait, we are at home!

Oh but you are in France my dear!

Y

es, we are, she says, dashing out of the house towards the nearest brocante and other delightful French shops!

Is it just me or do you also love setting the scene?

Yes, I know I have china and glass suitable for all occasions, but there’s something really lovely about the setting being different every year.

One of the great things about France is that mismatched china, glassware, cutlery and ancient linens are not frowned upon, quite the opposite really. Old things are celebrated in France and my hubby is delighted, if a little relieved, with that!

Top your table-setting off with a vintage monochrome tablecloth and napkins. All the better if you can find your initials! So scurry around, truffling for old chippy candlesticks and fancy glassware. I mean, is there anything better than loving an already previously loved, warmly worn piece? I don’t think so!

Whilst you are treasure hunting, look out for a faded silver champagne bucket and glass flower frog. Add the laid back, vintage luxury to your table setting and don’t worry too much about the price tag this time! Have fun!

Most of us think opulence, and that costs!

Romance is more about the sticking around, being in love and having patience, not about how much

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Four Fabulous Pocket Loving Wines for Valentines!

I

was having a good snoop around a few wine merchants near us and found a good selection of affordable ‘Pocket Loving’ wines. I’m so not a wine snob and will try a wine no matter the price! I have come across some fabulous wines which fall into the ‘Pocket Loving’ category, indicating it’s not price but quality that we are all after. I do hope you can find these in and around a cave near you.

WHITE - Dessert Château Lafontaine Loupiac 2018 AOP Loupiac, an absolutely delightful dessert wine that can be enjoyed with a starter or along with your dessert.

Its a white Bordeaux blend and bottled ‘au Château’ with 12,5% alcohol. From under €10.00 à bottle its bound to please.

SPARKLING - Cremont d’Alsace Arthur Metz (depuis 1904) is a complex and traditional sparkling, rare white blend. It has an alcohol content of 12,5% and has numerous awards.

It is light bodied, refreshing, fruity with lemon aromas. Great with fish and shellfish and is from €10 à bottle.

ROSÉ - St Louis de Provence Estandon 2019 AOC Coteaux Varois en Provence is a fabulous easy drinking rosé. Light in colour and very easy on the palate, its a slightly fruity, dry blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah grapes.

With a delicious fresh fruit tang and citrus aromas, this is a crowd pleaser and oh so ‘Pocket Loving’ at around €6.00 a bottle. A must have wine for any day or occasion as it pairs exceptionally well with Mediterranean cuisine.

This vineyard is currently ‘in conversion’ to Biologique which is fabulous news.

RED - La Petite Perriere La Perriere 2020 Pinot Noir is a light and perfumed red wine with notes of black cherry, plums red currant, zesty and earthy on the nose.

Light, oaky on the palate with soft tannins. A great wine from the Loire priced from €11.00 à bottle.

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Magazine section FOOD & DRINK

Moules Mariniere

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February Menu & Wine Pairings

C

hablis is an unoaked or lightly oaked French wine with a tart, citrus and green apple minerality that pairs exceptionally well with clean, fresh seafood dishes. Oysters, clams, mussels, grilled fish and sushi all pair extremely well and one cannot go wrong choosing a chablis. It is a fairly fruity, dry, medium to light bodied wine with hints of quince, apple and citrus and an alcohol content between 11.5% and 13.5%.

As there are four different chablis, namely Petit Chablis, Chablis AOP, Chablis Premier Cru AOP and Chablis Grand Cru, there is certain to be one that will pair well with your moules.

As mentioned in our February magazine article, I chose a young chablis from the house of Louis Jadot, 1er Cru Fourchaumes 2018 to go with my oysters and this is also perfect for moules.

Ingredients 1.75kg mussels 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 2 shallots, finely chopped 15g French butter a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and bay leaves 100ml French dry white wine or cider 120ml cream handful of parsley leaves, coarsley chopped crusty baguette, to serve Wash the mussels under plenty of cold, running water. Discard any open ones that won’t close when lightly squeezed.

Pull out the tough, fibrous beards protruding from between the tightly closed shells and then knock off any barnacles with a large knife. Give the mussels another quick rinse to remove any little pieces of shell.

Soften the garlic and shallots in the butter with the bouquet garni, in a large pan big enough to take all the mussels - it should only be half full.

Add the mussels and wine or cider, turn up the heat, then cover and steam them open in their own juices for 3-4 minutes. Give the pan a good shake every now and then.

Remove the bouquet garni, add the cream and chopped parsley and remove from the heat.

Spoon into four large warmed bowls and serve with lots of crusty bread.

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COQ AU VIN

T

his classic, rustic French dish is traditionally served with a red burgundy (Pinot Noir). Any good quality pinot noir or another light to medium-bodied red wine would be perfect for cooking this dish. An earthy burgundy, Côté du Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape or a Pinot Noir are all perfect to serve with your Coq au Vin. A sterling choice is a bold and very agreeable red wine from Chateauneuf-du-Pape which pairs extremely well with game meats, ossobuco, venison and rustic stews. Its fruity flavours of cherries, blackberries and raspberries are enhanced with notes of herbs, black pepper, tar and licorice will pair very well indeed. Being a fairly full-bodied and high alcohol wine from the Rhône Valley, it is primarily from the Grenache grape, blended with other varieties such as Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault and it is generally a premium priced wine. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 2018, Domaine du Pegau, alcohol content of 14.5%, is a wonderful wine and my choice for the Coq au Vin.

Ingredients 1½ tbsp olive oil 3 rashers (100g) dry-cured, smoked back bacon, fat trimmed, chopped 12 small shallots, peeled 2 free-range chicken legs (460g), skin removed 4 free-range chicken thighs with bone and skin (650g), skin removed 2 free-range, skinless, boneless chicken breasts (280g) 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 3 tbsp brandy or Cognac 600ml red wine 150ml good-quality chicken stock 2 tsp tomato purée 3 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs and 2 bay leaves, to make a bouquet garni small handful chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish For the mushrooms 1½ tbsp olive oil 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved if large For the thickener 2 tbsp plain flour 1½ tsp olive oil 1 tsp softened butter STEP 1 Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large, heavybased saucepan or flameproof dish. Tip in 3 trimmed and chopped smoked back bacon rashers and fry until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

STEP 2 Add 12 peeled shallots to the pan and fry, stirring or shaking the pan often, for 5-8 mins until well browned all over. Remove and set aside with the bacon.

STEP 3 Take 2 chicken legs, 4 chicken thighs and 2 boneless chicken breasts, all with skin removed and pat dry with kitchen paper.

STEP 4 Pour ½ tbsp olive oil into the pan, then fry half the chicken pieces, turning regularly, for 5-8 mins until well browned. Remove, then repeat with the remaining chicken.

Remove and set aside.

STEP 5 Scatter in 3 finely chopped garlic cloves and fry briefly, then, with the heat medium-high, pour in 3 tbsp brandy or Cognac, stirring the bottom of the pan to deglaze. The alcohol should sizzle and start to evaporate so there is not much left.

STEP 6 Return the chicken legs and thighs to the pan along with any juices, then pour in a little of 600ml red wine, stirring the bottom of the pan again.

STEP 7 Stir in the rest of the wine, 150ml good-quality chicken stock and 2 tsp tomato purée. Drop in 3 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs and 2 bay leaves to make a bouquet garni, season with pepper and a pinch of salt, then return the bacon and shallots to the pan.

STEP 8 Cover, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, add the chicken breasts and cook for 50 mins - 1hr.

STEP 9 Just before ready to serve, heat 1 ½ tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan.

Add 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved if large, and fry over a high heat for a few mins until golden. Remove and keep warm.

STEP 10 Lift the chicken, shallots and bacon from the pan and transfer to a warmed serving dish. Remove the bouquet garni.

STEP 11 To make the thickener, mix 2 tbsp plain flour, 1 ½ tsp olive oil and 1 tsp softened butter in a small bowl using the back of a teaspoon.

STEP 12 Bring the wine mixture to a gentle boil, then gradually drop in small pieces of the thickener, whisking each piece in using a wire whisk. Simmer for 1-2 mins.

STEP 13 Scatter the mushrooms over the chicken, then pour over the wine sauce. Garnish with a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

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MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT

W

ine and chocolate have a special relationship and a few similarities. Both are packed with flavanols and both are considered aphrodisiacs.

Personally, I would opt for a Banyuls AOC from Languedoc-Roussillon area. This is made from Grenache and Syrah and is a fortified wine which means fermentation is stopped, and the sugar preserved by adding alcohol. Its leans on the sweet side and should be served at room temperature although my personal preference is to have it slightly chilled. I’ve chosen L’Etoile Banyuls Rimage 2017 which pairs well with berry tarts and sweet dishes. It has ripe fruits, plums, cherry and cocoa on the nose and is a wonderful garnet red colour. Perfect for Mousse au Chocolat. This wine is 100% Grenache and a heavy 16% alcohol content.

Bon appetit Ingredients 200g bar best bitter dark chocolate (we used Green and Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate) 2 tbsp brandy 3 large free-range eggs , just the whites 50g golden caster sugar 100ml whipping cream To serve icing sugar , for dusting crisp biscuits STEP 1 Grate 50g/2oz of the chocolate and reserve. Break the rest into small, even-sized pieces and melt in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Take the pan off the heat but keep the bowl over the hot water and stir in the brandy. Don’t worry if the mixture thickens – it will smooth out again later.

STEP 2 Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until they’re standing in stiff peaks. Spoon in half the sugar, whisk again, then add the rest of the sugar and whisk until it looks glossy like meringue. Whip the cream in a separate bowl. Take the melted chocolate off the pan and fold in a heaped metal serving spoon of meringue to loosen the consistency, then tip the chocolate into the meringue and fold in lightly but thoroughly. Now fold in the whipped cream, then two thirds of the grated chocolate.

STEP 3 Spoon the chocolate mixture into six (glasses or you could use espresso cups or small teacups) and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight if this is more convenient. Sprinkle with the remaining grated chocolate, then dust with icing sugar. Serve the cups on saucers with some crisp biscuits tucked alongside.

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Our winter, three-course dinner on a tight budget.

french onion soup

W

hilst it is always rewarding to entertain with the best of everything, sometimes it’s just not possible.

So, cancel? Or perhaps re-think?

It is said that onion soup was a staple for the peasant classes as far back as the Romans, but did not attain ‘respectability’ until it reached the royal tables of Louis the sixteenth. Whatever the history, this is a hearty, warming dish that will have the house smelling wonderful, setting the ambiance for later.

Wine pairing with soup, (and with budgetary constraints) can be challenging. Traditionally a floral Alsace Pinot Gris, Jura or slightly sharper Burgundy white would be suggested. However, with our much smaller budget in mind, just pick a white wine that you enjoy, or why not a cheeky red and hang the consequences!

Ingredients: 750 g red onions (sliced finely) 4 tbsp olive oil 30 g butter Salt 4 large cloves of garlic (chopped or pressed).

Wine to de-glaze (and assist with the cooking!)

1 litre beef stock Grated cheese Baguette Chopped parsley

To this, add the onions and mix well. Sweat for at least 40 minutes, stirring regularly and wetting with wine or stock as needed. Once the onions become translucent, add the garlic. If it sticks a little, don’t panic just add more fluid, the colour just adds to the end appearance.

Once the onions are fully browned, add the stock and simmer for another ten minutes.

Cut the baguette into rounds and toast. Cover with grated cheese and brown under a hot grill.

Put the butter and oil into a heavy-based saucepan. The butter is for the taste, and the oil allows the temperature to be higher without the butter burning.

Serve up the soup, placing one or two croutons on top of each bowl with a sprinkle of parsley

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Beef Bourguignon

O

nce again, we have what was a peasant dish existing in different guises throughout France, though the most common by far is that claimed by the Burgundians. Even this can have as many variations as it has cooks, but ours is a trimmed down one, not using cognac, lardons or any of the host of additions that may be included.

This calls for a robust, medium tannin red such as a Cote d’ Auxerre or a Coteaux de Giennois. However, we are on a budget so why not a Bordeaux, or Bordeaux Superior.

IIngredients: 600 g beef in 3cm cubes. Though I prefer them a good deal smaller, this size is more traditional 750 ml red wine 4 carrots cut into thick (2cm) pieces 4 large onions diced finely Bouquet garni 100g butter 4 tbsp vegetable oil Salt Pepper

Cook the onions in the oil with half of the butter until translucent. Remove onions from the pan (try to leave as much of the oil as you can).

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper and add to the oil. Fry until you achieve an even, golden- brown colouring, and then de-glaze with a little wine.

Add the carrots, bouquet garni, wine, remaining butter and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Open the wine for the dinner if you are using a different one to the cooking. Pour yourself a healthy glassful and sit back.

Cooking will take 2-4 hours depending on the size of dice you chose.

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Profiteroles

T

hese are always popular whether they are sweet or savoury. They keep very well in an airtight container overnight, or if you’re really planning ahead, up to three months in the freezer.

Whilst they are very simple to make, they are a good workout for your stirring arm. Why not make a large batch and set some aside, if they last that long?

A pink fizz is a perfect match for light pastries, and how sweet or dry is really a choice for you. Whilst I would suggest a Vouvray, or perhaps a Crémant de la Loire, every area has their own variation and it might well be fun, hunting out a local producer and indulging in a “petit degustation”.

Ingredients: 50 g butter 85g flour 4 eggs Pinch of salt 200ml water 300ml whipping cream Vanilla essence to taste 175g of dark chocolate 5 tbsp water 15 g butter

This will release steam, cooling them more quickly and preventing them going soggy.

Whip the cream and vanilla until you achieve a consistency to pipe into the puffs once they are cold.

You could, at this stage have a little cheat and get a can of squirty cream, it will be easier and may well be cheaper.

Melt the chocolate with the water and butter over a pan of hot water and pour it over the choux just before serving. Bon Appetit!

Pre-heat your oven to 200c Put the butter, salt and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat and stir until it pulls away from the side of the pan.

Now comes the workout! Remove from the heat and add the eggs one at a time, (you can always add another, but it is a little more tricky to remove). You should have a nice glossy paste that you can either spoon or pipe onto a non-stick tray.

If you are using spoons, take two teaspoons and scoop with one and remove with the other.

Pop these in the oven for around 25-30 minutes, after 15 minutes you can have a look but don’t open the door before or they will sink.

When they are ready, put a hole in each and lay upside down on a cooling wire.

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Magazine section FOOD & DRINK

A

SIMPLYLIVING LIVINGFRANCE FRANCE SIMPLY

Cheesy Hacks February

smart kitchen favourite is always cheese! Even in February I find I still have lots of cheese left over from Christmas and my aim is always to use it up in hearty but easy winter dishes!

My creamy mushroom soup is super easy and serve in scooped out bread bowls makes a real meal out of it!

In your processor, mix sautéed mushrooms, hot veg stock, seasoning, garlic, tarragon, and cream! Yes, that is all! Scoop out a round bread loaf (process the bread for fine breadcrumbs to use later) pour in some soup, pop the soup filled bread bowls, on a tray, add grated cheese and grill until melted and golden, served!

Cheese and Broccoli balls Another super easy recipe! Grate a mixture of cheese, add a beaten egg, chillies, salt, and pepper, and add some lightly steamed broccoli. Make into rough balls and dip in panko or normal breadcrumbs. Deep fry, shallow fry, or bake!

Hasselback Cheesy Potatoes Even the kids could do this one!

Score your potatoes 3/4 of the way through and par bake. Pull back the cooled layers and spray with a little oil. Pack cheese slices into the cavities and sprinkle with herbs. You can also add bacon bits and or onions! Bake until bubbling!

Cheats Mac n Cheese The hardest thing about Mac n Cheese is making the sauce, so don’t! Instead, mix up grated cheese that melts well with a little butter, cream, ricotta, or milk, add seasoning, paprika and a good dollop or two of mustard! Melt in a pan and then pour over the cooked macaroni, top with more cheese and brown off until golden and bubbling!

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Simply cheats, No Time For Valentines

S

aid no one ever! I mean who passes up the chance to eat and drink their weight of favourite foods? Not me, that’s for sure, but I am aware that not everyone loves to spend time creating those special dishes for their loved ones, even if it’s only the dog! So how do we put a spin on shop bought treats and kind of make them our own?

Lets do this in picture form and you’ll get the drift, shop bought pizza dough, cookies, meringues, the list is endless! Have a little fun with the kids in the kitchen just heart shaping, dipping and icing shop bought goodies and don’t worry about the mess!

Breakfast In Bed With You My Love

I

sn’t breakfast in bed just the most romantic surprise on any day of the year? Oui! Of course, it’s good idea to bring your breakfast ‘A GAME’ for Valentines, or any day of the year. Why not use a pretty tray and add a glass of Pam’s highly recommended French Fizz and let’s face it, a quick trip to the French patisserie and it’s kisses for you!

It’s so super easy in France to be romantic and not break a sweat or the bank! However, a little effort is appreciated please, lovers dear. I know you’d rather be waking up beside your special brand of love, in a fancy hotel in Paris, but if he or she cooks you heart shaped pancakes, isn’t that better than the smoggy, morning city skyline of the most romantic city in the world? No, of course not, but it is the thought that counts, right? Personally, I’m all for effortless love, the kind that ebbs and flows. A love that values the simple things in life, simple food, crumpled warm bed sheets, croissant kisses, good morning wine breath and perfectly poised simple gestures to celebrate a love that will last a lifetime.

P.S. I love you

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KIDS CORNER

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Simply Kids Corner Explore and Have Fun Today!

Learning is always made easier when we play together!

It is always fun to learn with your children, so in this edition of kid’s corner, we have print off cards, colouring butterflies and a special eye spy game. Have fun little ones!

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SIMPLY LITTLE KITCHEN French Toast

Ingredients 2 medium eggs 75ml (3floz) milk 25g (1oz) butter 1 tbs cooking oil 4 thick slices of bread a little honey, golden syrup or maple syrup

Method Break the eggs into a shallow dish. Add the milk and beat with a fork.

Heat half the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat.

Dip a slice of bread in the egg mixture, making sure both sides are covered.

Cook for 2 minutes then turn the toast over, cook for 2 minutes more, until both sides are golden brown. Follow the steps above for each of the slices.

Cut each slice into triangles and arrange it on a plate, drizzle over a little honey or syrup. Bon Appetit.

ittle L y l Simp

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en

ch Kit

KIDS CORNER

SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE

NAME VALENTINE'S DAY

i spy

count and color!

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KIDS CORNER

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GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR HANDS AND FEET WITH PAINT. FINGER PAINTING WITH THE LITTLE ONES. Why

not get creative with your hands

and feet!

Lets

make your parents a

Valentine’s card they forever! Mum and Dad

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will remember

can help too!

BUSINESS

PAGE 80

SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE

Business Navigating around business here in France can be extremely daunting even without the added language barrier! However, Simply Business are here to help! Our resident business guru Tia Malcolm has a wealth of experience and knowledge which she shall be sharing with you each month as well as inviting various expert writers in the field of tax, accounting and much more.

Tia Malcolm discusses French savings system. tia@simplylivingfrance.com @simplylivingbusiness @simplylivingfrance

Choosing the right savings account in France.

I

n France, there are quite a few savings account options (comptes d’épargné) you can choose from. If you are a resident in France, it is easy to open a savings account, all you need to do is book an appointment with your current account bank and discuss your needs with them.

Here are the two short-term savings accounts.

Instant savings accounts or ‘comptes sur livret’ these accounts do not come with set terms and you can deposit and withdraw money whenever you like. Unfortunately, these accounts do not have a particularly good interest rate, but they do offer other benefits, especially in regard to tax in France.

A fixed-term account or ‘compte á termé’ often requires a minimum deposit amount, or the savings must be accumulated over a set period.

These accounts tend not to be regulated, have high-interest rates, and do not have a maximum deposit amount. These accounts come with a setup fee and can cost you dearly if you choose to close them before the agreed end term.

When choosing a savings account in France, do not just consider the interest rates or terms; also consider the tax benefits. In France, like in many other countries, you are responsible for paying personal tax and social security contributions on your savings. However, as of January 2018, the tax that the bank deducts from your ‘Prélèvement Fiscal’ is a flat rate of 30% (17.2% social charges and 12.8% income tax). In addition, tax exemption is available on some of the lower-earning incomes. Still, no exemption is available on social charges.

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Plan d’Epargne Logement (PEL) This deposit account is also sometimes called ‘Compte Epargne Logement’ CEL and is generally used as a four-year savings plan for home improvements or mortgage deposits.

Plan d’Epargne en Actions (PEA)

France also offers government regulated savings accounts ‘livrets’ which are exempt from tax, so any interest earned on these accounts is exempt from tax and social charges. There is, however, a cap to the amount you can save in these accounts.

Here are the different savings accounts you can have Livret A, LDD ‘Livret de développement Durable’ and LEP ‘Livret d’epargne Populaire’ Livret accounts are tax-free, governmentregulated accounts. The maximum deposit for these accounts is 22,950€ (Livret A), 12,000€ (LDD), and (7,700€) LEP. These accounts are exempt from social charges and tax, and you do not have to declare them on your income tax.

With the LDD account, you are only allowed two of these per household. The LEP is for the low-income taxpayers and is limited to 7,700€, and you need to prove that you fall into this bracket.

This is a share dealing account with your bank, stockbroker, or other financial institute.

Your finances are important and it can be a struggle to start off with, so I would highly recommend that you discuss your personal needs with a regulated bank or financial advisor.

“Be a yardstick of quality.

Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

—Steve Jobs

New feature on Instagram

I am really loving this new feature that they are testing and if you like it, Instagram are hoping to roll it out in the next six months. If you have it on the scroll feed, you will see a button that says home, follow and favourites. Now, we all know Instagram will fill your feed with suggestions on who it thinks you might want to follow, but with the new feature, you can declutter your feed to only show what you want to see and the people/ accounts you want to interact with.

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Simply Sponsored Page

Simply Editors Property Pick This months editors picks come from Agence Newton and Stafi France

LA MANCHE Renovated Longere 6 Acres Land, €349,800 Réf : SG-3313-AGENCENEWTON

LA MANCHE Character Mill House with Gite € 471,500 Réf : SG-2053-AGENCENEWTON

AGENCE NEWTON 7 Guenevin 56500 MORÉAC

Sheelagh GORHAM Commercial agent LA MANCHE With Numerous Outbuildings 22 Acres Near Coutances, €695,000 : SG-2197-AGENCENEWTON Simply Réf Living France, Company Reg:- 13738420

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To be featured on our Editors Property Pick page Daniela Weiss email Daniela.weiss@safti.fr call +33 (0)6 43 57 83 73

contactus@simplylivingfrance.com

Gorron (53120), Domfront en Poiraie (61700), Fougères (35300) et alentours

When enquiring about the properties, please quote Simply Living France

Maison - 5 pièces - 162m² Larchamp - 53220, €162,000 Réf 647173

Maison - 3 pièces - 70m² Saulge - 86500, €70,000 Réf 654719

Maison - 5 pièces - 130m² Immeuble - 95m² Saint-Brice - 61700, €70,000 Saint-Brice - 61700, €40,000 Réf 653636 Réf 653661 Simply Living France, Company Reg:- 13738420

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The French property market remains highly lucrative for British citizens, especially as we have been seeing record exchange rates for sterling/ GBP! Anyone wishing to invest in property in France is well advised to make use of the strong pound (GBP) and lock in an exchange rate. There are a host of tools available to facilitate these kinds of transactions, with varying levels of flexibility.

Where is the French real estate market heading in 2022?

O

ver the past two years, even amidst ‘Brexit’, covid uncertainty, restrictions, and resulting periods of intermittent slowdowns, the market remained surprisingly strong. We are not back to 2006 price levels but we are still an average of 10% below those levels.

It’s forecast that prices will continue to rise at a robust 3.5% this year. This is fuelled to a degree by low stock levels and a continued healthy demand from within France and internationally!

I think it’s important to have a rough idea of the area you want to buy. Choose an agent who is with a highly reputable agency, who can draw on their network of clients and colleagues to help avoid classic pitfalls and to make your property search a success.

Daniela Weiss works as a Conseillère Immobilier for Safti France. Safti has a network of over 5,500 agents across the country and heavily invests in software tools and technology to facilitate searches across the regions.

Daniela, who caught the property bug in England, speaks 4 languages and can help clients navigate a highly regulated real estate market in France. To contact Daniela, email Daniela. weiss@safti.fr or call +33 (0)6 43 57 83 73

During covid, many businesses have adjusted their point of view when it comes to rigid employment models and used more flexibility in terms of ‘office presence’. This, and possibly fuel prices, could have a noticeable impact on the type of lifestyle people choose and therefore the kind of property they opt for.

I foresee property rental income remaining strong, especially and notoriously in the south of France, making France a great country in which to buy investment properties.

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With Tia This edition of Q&A is with the lovely Daniela Wiess from SAFTI. The questions are based on the 5 main questions Daniela gets asked.

1. What’s going on with the market? Should I sell my home now?

I think it’s always a good time to sell a house once you have decided to move on. Everybody thought that during covid, things would slow down. In fact, it was only a temporary blip until workable logistics were figured out. The fact remains that there is more demand than inventory and if you decide to wait for all the stars to align to sell, it’ll probably not happen any time soon!

There are simply too many possible future influences, politics, covid, travel restrictions, exchange rates, weather, fuel prices etc. The demand is there and we expect the market to continue to grow this year.

2. Why should I work with you?

This is the question I probably get asked most often, although maybe not THAT directly. I actually like this question a lot because when I chose the agency I wanted to work for, I looked for the best agency in terms of value for my clients. I’m a big believer that what’s right for my clients is the right thing to do. So, for example, I do viewings on weekends AND during the week because that is when people, buyers and sellers, have time. The reason why I chose Safti, is because we invest in technology and MASSIVELY in advertising for people who sell their house with us. We list on over 100 sites and relist for eight weeks with exclusive listings.

3. Why does my house not sell?

There are only two reasons why your house does not sell. One is insufficient advertising in the places where your buyers go (Hint: it’s not the high street anymore!) and the other is value for money, i.e., price. A proper market study is an absolute must before going to market!

The problem is, if you list your home in just one to five, or ten sites and maybe even put the specifications into a window display in the high street, you will never know if it’s price, value or not enough advertising power behind your non-sale. You could be wasting your time. If you are serious about selling, get an agent who firstly knows how to value your property based on facts and secondly, has access to massive marketing power.

That way, you will know after four to six weeks, where you stand or what the delay might be about or, in other words, why your home isn’t selling.

4. Why should I not go with multiple agencies?

This is a really good question. It used to be the thing to do, especially in the UK. This has changed a lot! The reason is, the agency you chose based on the selection criteria above, will be much more inclined to put money into advertising your home if they know that they aren’t using their money for another agency who might list the same property at just €200 less, and who does very little for the marketing. It is just not feasible for a great agency to spend their marketing budget, unless you work with them exclusively. I always say this: Choose your agency really well and work together to achieve the best result by making the most of advertising budgets available.

5. How easy is it to be an estate agent?

I’m not sure about easy, but it is a great experience to work with buyers and sellers. Both are happy at the end of the transaction! To do this kind of work, you need to be passionate about it, be extremely flexible and know from the outset that it is certainly not glamorous, nor is it ‘easy’. It’s very regulated and you need a great network to continuously support the entire process, but again, if you have a passion for this work, it’s amazing!

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malcolmandson1@gmail.com @sarlmalcolmandson (Instagram) @malcolmandson (facebook)

Selling or Buying a House is a BIG Step.

DON'T LEAVE IT TO CHANCE! WE VALUE YOUR PROPERTY WITH PROFESSIONAL SOFTWARE TOOLS AND WE ACTIVELY LIST ON OVER 100 SITES. NO GUESS WORK INVOLVED. CALL ME TODAY TO DISCUSS HOW WE PROPOSE TO BEST SELL YOUR PROPERTY.

Daniela Weiss

T: 06 43 57 83 73 https://bit.ly/DanielaisinFrance

We Get It Done!

INDEPENDENT AGENT FOR SAFTI (EST. 2010) TEL: 06 43 57 83 73 852364108 RSAC DE COUTANCES - SIRET 852 364 108 00013

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Next Issue Available April 2022

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