France Rant

Au dodo ...

2011-01-10T10:00:00.002+01:00

Which means 'to sleep'. Rather than delete this blog, just a note to say it is no longer active. I hope that what is here might still be of interest to some people ... have a browse!Au revoir

Mine all mine

2010-03-01T09:16:00.002+01:00

Beats the pint down the pub on a wet Friday night

2007-06-26T13:23:00.000+02:00

A little clip of fun.

Sarkozy and the children

2007-06-18T15:07:00.001+02:00

There are many and varied responses to the recent election of Sarko, including many asides during a recent concert by Renaud. But this one made me giggle a bit.I found it while looking through the other acts that will be at the 6th Aperos Musicales in Blesle from 10th to 14th August. It looks like a great long weekend, and one that includes our newly-formed Samba Massif. We will be leading the

Sarkozy's reign has started

2007-06-15T14:22:00.000+02:00

France is a place for strong-minded individuals. Pig-headed, stubborn, selfish and utterly incapable of taking a collective view of the world, even at a very local level. If I've heard the expression 'J'ai le droit', ('I've got the right') once, I've heard it many many hundreds of times. Rights impose themselves upon other rights. And when they overlap, those that shout loudest, or otherwise

Mobile phone masts - and mobile phone service - and politicians

2007-06-07T19:01:00.000+02:00

The whole set came together today when one of the candidates for the legislature in France came round to the Mairie to press the flesh and listen. Some of those who want our new mobile phone mast moved to more than 500m from the nearest house were there to raise that issue. All that on the day that one of the new kids on the block in the mobile phone market, well round here anyway, started

Round 1 to the bullies

2007-06-01T12:22:00.000+02:00

I'm wasn't really surprised to see the crane roll out of the village yesterday having hauled the new telephone mast to vertical while it was bolted into position. The public meeting involved well-prepared bullies shouting down any opposition with a mixture of technical language and flagrant lies. Between the demonstartions stopping the work and the public meeting, the locals in the

Wave good bye

2007-05-18T10:05:00.000+02:00

Consternation reigns. Over the past few weeks there has been much discussion and debate, recriminations and disaccord in the village.A temporary mobile phone mast has appeared about 200m from the houses, and the installation of a permanent one started. And stopped. By the judicious placement of tractors. And a hitherto unkown type of French legal person called a "huissier", which is

Samba Massif - Massive Samba

2007-05-18T09:26:00.001+02:00

With a little help from our friends in Portsmouth - those of the donkey riding fame - we have successfully started Samb Massif, one of the two new Batala kids on the block. Four rehearsals later, we're having a lot of fun and it sounds pretty good to me. We're hoping to confirm our first gig at Blesle when the organisers come and see us rehearse sometime in the next few weeks. that'll be at

Your life is what you do

2007-04-15T11:06:00.000+02:00

I've had a lovely couple of weeks. Friends visiting, new friendships starting through a shared interest in music, and lots of time in my garden. All that with work mixed in too. A pleasant phase in my work-life balancing act.As the land begins to transform the views in response to the lengthening days and rising temepratures, it's been a pleasure to rediscover the simplest of sensations. A

The biggest tree in ...

2007-04-05T11:22:00.000+02:00

OK OK, I did say it was the biggest tree in the world, but I didn't mean it. I corrected myself to the Auvergne, and maybe just the Haute-Loire. Even that was a wild stab in the dark since I'd only seen it twice, and have no idea what else is knocking about the region in the way of big trees. But it looked very big to me. No-one believed me, but everyone seemed to be happy to go and see it