Travels with a Brompton
At about the time I was engaged on a series of long bike rides through France I met a man at a drinks party who had some involvement in the Brompton business. He asked me if I had ever considered … Continue reading
Category Archives: France
Golf and covid: the new abnormal
At least the lockdown spared us the torture of golf. Tasting an unfamiliar hint of serenity in the mixed salad of my mood, I can only attribute it to an absence of missed tiddlers and sliced drives onto the railway … Continue reading
On the George Sand trail
This morning’s Radio 4 Lord Bragg show about George Sand took me back to my first university year, when someone on my staircase had a sophisticated American girlfriend with a drawl that might have been Charleston, Boston or Vivien Leigh … Continue reading
Play it again George
‘Me te se nous vous …. le la les ….. lui leur … y en!’ I found myself chanting along with Hugh Schofield yesterday morning during From Our Own Correspondent. His dispatch was a nostalgic item in memory of … Continue reading
Save La Grave – join the crowd
The future of the off-piste resort of La Grave is once again in doubt, as it has been for much of its forty year existence. The operating contract for its lifts – there are two of them: a slow two-stage … Continue reading
Tour de Bretagne
Sorry, I’ve moved this post to another page: see Brittany Tour … Continue reading
’ere ouigo – skiing the Disney way
A new route to the French Alps – via le Petit Prince and the Magic Kingdom. I’m sure it’s not new, but it’s new to me and I’m quite excited about it. Rather late in the day, via facebook, … Continue reading
Brittany at half term: le golf de Morbihan
Two weeks for half term in late October is a long haul for parents, especially those abandoned by their wives and daughters (in Venice for a weekend of bellinis and vaporetti). My godson’s father suggested a ‘get into golf’ … Continue reading
Gemma Bovery – low expectation exceeded
I was provoked to go and see the film of Gemma Bovery – a long running Guardian strip cartoon from the 1990s that made fun of English expats in France in the framework of a Madame Bovary storyline – by … Continue reading
On the trail of Madame Bovary
Pig is on the 13 euro lunch menu at Le Bovary in the small village of Ry, near Rouen. Nothing fancy – museau vinaigrette (cheek), plat du jour (more pork), plateau de fromages. This last offering fulfils expectation: a chalky … Continue reading