No better area in France for wine tasting holidays than the Aquitaine

According to the Aquitaine site, it is clear that one cannot do better than this area for the best wine tasting holidays and Wine Tourism than this province of France.

In each of the fourteen winegrowing areas in Aquitaine,,wine,region,aquitaine,france.html tourism and wine professionals have undertaken a quality procedure. Each service provider who is a member of ‘Destination Vignobles’ acts as a tourism ambassador with the aim of showing holidaymakers the winegrowing territories of Aquitaine.

The list of members and practical information are available from the information relay points presented below.

Take advantage of the commitment of our tourism and wine professionals to enjoy a truly prodigious stay in Aquitaine.



• To come and share the passion of the growers and taste their wines. « Destination Vignobles » has listed over 1,000 wineries and encompasses top quality brands present in the various areas.

• To benefit from accommodation with the hallmark of charm.

• To tour Aquitaine from village to vines, on foot, on a bicycle, on horseback.…

• To enjoy the friendliness of the population and to take part in the very colourful local festivities.

Their commitments:

The members of « Destination Vignobles » have signed a charter of commitments. You will always be welcomed as a very special guest and each and every member will be your special ambassador to guide you in your exploration of the wine-growing areas of Aquitaine.

Each and every member has chosen to meet a certain number of criteria which form the basis of the quality of service and reception:
• Observance of opening hours and periods,
• Information on the languages spoken,
• Outstanding conditions for visits, wine-tasting, accommodation and food,
• Availability of tourist information, whereby each member is your key to exploring the area concerned, and also,
• Easy access, and parking facilities,
• Spotless condition of all the premises,
• Price display,
• Respect for the environment,
• Inspection by an independent agency,
• All the commitments already included in their respective professional charters.

For you, « Destination Vignobles » is a guarantee of quality and confidence. You will easily recognise a listed place by its logo.

Our networks partners : Vignobles et Chais en Bordelais, the Bergerac Wines Route, the Jurançon Wines Route, Gîtes de France, Clévacances, Logis de France.


The fourteen areas:

The numbers mentionned before the territories are there to help you locate them on the map below...



BORDEAUX
The gateway to the prestigious wine region, Bordeaux is a city included on the UNESCO World Heritage list since june 2007, to be "tasted" on foot, along its 18th-century quaysides or in the pedestrian streets of the centre. Museums, opera house, welcoming café terraces... and the starting point for a wide variety of excursions to the famous Bordeaux châteaux.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de Bordeaux
12 Cours du XXX juillet
33000 Bordeaux
Tel.: +33 (0)5 56 00 66 00
otb@bordeaux-tourisme.com
www.bordeaux-tourisme.com
Guided tours around the vineyards all year long.

1. BERGERAC The Récollets cloister, set amidst the magnificent half-timbered houses and home to the Bergerac House of Wines, is a superb example of 17th century architecture.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de Bergerac Pourpre
97 rue Neuve d’Argenson
24100 Bergerac
Tel.: +33 (0)5 53 57 03 11
tourisme-bergerac@aquinet.tm.fr
www.bergerac-tourisme.com

2. BUZET EN ALBRET This region of châteaux on the border between the Landes and the Gers, much appreciated by the French King Henry IV, is best discovered from the unspoilt and navigable Baïse river.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme du Pays d’Albret
7 avenue de Mondenard
47600 Nérac
Tel.: +33 (0)5 53 65 27 75
accueil@albret-tourisme.com
www.albret-tourisme.com

3. CHALOSSE TURSAN This historical region of Gascony, nestled between the Adour river and the mountain streams, is home to many picturesque walled towns and the 1st « slim-line » village of Eugénie-les-Bains!
>> contact: Office de Tourisme d’Aire-sur-l’Adour
Place du Général de Gaulle - BP 155
40800 Aire-sur-l’Adour
Tel.: +33 (0)5 58 71 64 70
otsi.aire@wanadoo.fr
www.aire-sur-adour.org

4. DURAS A region of gently rolling hills and charming villages, dominated by the fortress town of Duras and its magnificent castle.
>> contact: Maison du Vin de Duras
BP 13 – Fonratière
47120 Duras
Tel.: +33 (0)5 53 94 13 48
contact@cotesdeduras.com
www.cotesdeduras.com

>> Office de Tourisme du Pays de Duras
Tel.: +33 (0)5 53 93 71 18
contact@paysdeduras.com
www.paysdeduras.com

5. ENTRE-DEUX-MERS The Entre-Deux-Mers, famous for its wines, is also well known for its very rich architectural heritage, with abbeys, walled towns, mediaeval cities, not forgetting the « bicycle resort » of Créon!
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de l’Entre-deux-Mers
4 rue Issartier 33580 Monségur
Tel.: +33 (0)5 56 61 82 73
info@entredeuxmers.com
www.entredeuxmers.com

6. GRAVES SAUTERNES This area immediately brings to mind wines now famous throughout the world and must-see historic châteaux such as the Château of La Brède where Montesquieu was born.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme du Sauternais, Graves et Pays de Langon
11 allées Jean Jaurès
33210 Langon
Tel.: +33 (0)5 56 63 68 00
langon@sauternais-graves-langon.com
www.sauternais-graves-langon.com
Tourist Map of the Sauternes, Graves and Pays de Langon areas.

>> Office de Tourisme de Montesquieu
3 place Marcel Veyssière
33650 Martillac
Tel.: +33 (0)5 56 78 47 72
info@otmontesquieu.com
www.otmontesquieu.com

7. HAUTE GIRONDE This area, stretching along the Gironde estuary, is overlooked by two remarkable citadels at Blaye and Bourg-sur-Gironde.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de Bourg-sur-Gironde
Tel.: +33 (0)5 57 68 31 76
tourismebourg@wanadoo.fr
www.pays-hautegironde.fr

>> Office de Tourisme du canton de Blaye
Tel.: +33 (0)5 57 42 12 09
officedetourisme.blaye@wanadoo.fr
www.tourisme-blaye.com

>> Syndicat Mixte du pays de la Haute Gironde
32 rue des Maçons - BP 14
33391 Blaye Cedex
Tel.: +33 (0)5 57 42 68 90
tourisme-payshautegironde@wanadoo.fr

>> Office de Tourisme de Saint-André-de-Cubzac
Tel.: +33 (0)5 57 43 64 80
ot.cubzaguais@wanadoo.fr
www.saint-andre-de-cubzac.com

8. IROULEGUY The region of Irouléguy, between Saint-Etiennede Baïgorry and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port along the route to Santiago de Compostela, is home to a variety of typical Basque villages.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
14 place du Général De Gaulle
64220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 37 03 57
saint.jean.pied.de.port@wanadoo.fr
www.terre-basque.com

9. JURANÇON The Jurançon area, with its steep, sun-kissed hillsides, is the ideal place for hiking, riding and cycling … or even for a leisurely drive along the Jurançon wines route.
>> contact: Route des Vins de Jurançon
La Commanderie du Jurançon
64360 Lacommande
Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 82 70 30
contact@vins-jurancon.fr
www.vins-jurancon.fr
Guidebook: "La route des vins du Jurançon"

>> Office de Tourisme du Pays de Lacq – Cœur de Béarn
58 rue du Commerce
64360 Monein
Tél. : +33 (0)5 59 12 30 40
contact@coeurdebearn.com
www.coeurdebearn.com

10. MADIRAN This history of this region bears the hallmark of the many mediaeval châteaux and fortresses. Do not forget to visit the castle of Montaner, defended by the famous Gaston Fébus.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de Vic-Bilh Montanérès
38, place du Marché
64350 Lembeye
Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 68 28 78
infovicbilh@free.fr
www.tourisme-vicbilh.fr
Guidebook: " Route des chais et Châteaux du Madiran et du Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh"

11. MARMANDAIS The area around Marmande, made up of hillsides and market gardens, is a paradise en earth for strawberries, asparagus and tomatoes.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme du Val de Garonne
Maison du Développement
Place du Marché BP 305
47200 Marmande
Tel.: +33 (0)5 53 64 24 21
marmande@valdegaronne.com
www.valdegaronne.com

12. MÉDOC A drive along its famous châteaux route will enable you to discover the mythical great growths and famous châteaux of this flagship of Aquitaine’s wine-growing regions.
>> contact: Maison du Tourisme et du Vin de Pauillac
La Verrerie
33250 Pauillac
Tel.: +33 (0)5 56 59 03 08
mtvp@wanadoo.fr
www.pauillac-medoc.com
See also their blog: http://destination-vignobles-en-medoc.blogspot.com
Guidebook: "Pauillac, l’Escale au Pays des Grands crus" (F/GB/D) et "Destination Vignobles en Médoc" (FR/GB).

13. PAYS DU LIBOURNAIS It is impossible to visit the Libourne area with visiting the wine-growing landscapes of the jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion, a site now listed as part of UNESCO’s world heritage for humanity.
>> contact: Office de Tourisme de Saint-Emilion
Place des Créneaux, Le Doyenné
33330 Saint-Emilion
Tél. : +33 (0)5 57 55 28 28
st-emilion.tourisme@wanadoo.fr
www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com
Saint Emilion practical guide : list of wine cellars open to the public (FR/GB/D/SP/I/Jap).
Organization of guided tour in the wine estate

>> Office de Tourisme de Libourne
Tel.: +33 (0)5 57 51 15 04
officedetourismelibourne@wanadoo.fr
www.libourne-tourisme.com


Looking for accommodation in the Aquitaine? Look no further:

An idyllic stay in a French chateau on the banks of the Dordogne River

A beautiful apartment in an historic stone building centrally located in Bordeaux

Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Looking for sunshine? Then the Aquitaine - and the Dordogne should be your destination!

Bordered along the whole of its west coast by the Atlantic Ocean, Aquitaine is bathed in a mild oceanic climate with the influence of the Gulf Stream.

As you can see in the table below showing average temperatures, the whole year is mild in Aquitaine…

The 2,200 sunshine hours per year make the Bordeaux region similar to the Mediterranean. Along with rainfall that is well distributed over the year, this sunshine is one of the elements which favour vine-growing in Aquitaine.

January 10 °
February 12 °
March 13,6 °
April 15,8 °
May 19 °
June 22,4 °
July 24,7 °
August 25,2 °
September 22,7 °
October 18,5 °
November 13 °
December 10,5 °

With temperatures like those, could there be a better tourist destination in Europe? I don't think so!

Looking for accommodation in the Aquitaine? Look no further:

An idyllic stay in a French chateau on the banks of the Dordogne River

A beautiful apartment in an historic stone building centrally located in Bordeaux

Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Protected nature : Eco Tourism in the Aquitaine : A hundred reasons why this is the best place in Europe to come spend your Summer Holiday in 2008!

On a wonderful site, Aquitaine - The South at its best which is about this region, there is an excellent article on Eco-Tourism in France. France has always been at the forefront of eco-tourism and managing the fine balance between being one of the most visited and popular tourist destinations of Europe, and preserving the exquisite nature and unique sites that make it so. Aquitaine, France’s third-biggest region, has a multitude of protected natural zones and offers a great variety of sites dedicated to green tourism.

Starting with… the ocean blue! The Atlantic runs for 250 km along the western side of Aquitaine, with endless beaches of fine sand.

Surfers, cyclists, enthusiasts of thalassotherapy and ornithology can all enjoy the sea air in all seasons. The MIACA (an inter-ministerial commission for the development of the Atlantic coastline) has protected this area since 1967.

Heading east from the ocean, you cross the immense pine forest running from the Medoc down to the Landes and the Basque Country, covering a triangle of land 150 km wide and 200 km long.

It is in this area that lies the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park, and in it, the Maison de la Nature of the Bay of Arcachon (including Le Teich Ornithological Park), the three sites of the Ecomuseum in Marquèze, Moustey and Luxey, and a large number of nature reserves.

Educational workshops, rides along the cycling tracks or sailing on the natural lakes are all good ways of discovering this area’s many riches.

Another big “green” area is the Dordogne forestland. In the north of this département, Green Périgord is home to the Aquitaine section of the Périgord-Limousin Regional Nature Park.
Here you will find a multitude of tree species, including oak, the preferred home of the famous Périgord truffles. Prehistoric Man probably enjoyed this delicacy 400,000 years ago…

Much further south, don your snowshoes and climb the peaks of the Pyrenees. This is the realm of hiking, fishing and winter sports. Certain plant and animal species often find their last refuge in the Pyrenees National Park.

Mountains are of course the place where water starts to flow… Torrents - ideal for fishing and white-water sports – which then become rivers and canals. A whole network of inland waterways provide an invitation for barge trips.

In both the Pyrenees and the Périgord area, natural caves display the underground riches of Aquitaine.

Lastly, we should not forget the presence all over Aquitaine of parks and gardens, both contemporary and traditional.

So many sites to discover; so many ways of visiting the beautiful region of Aquitaine.



Looking for accommodation in the Aquitaine? Look no further:

An idyllic stay in a French chateau on the banks of the Dordogne River

A beautiful apartment in an historic stone building centrally located in Bordeaux

Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

A glimpse of what to expect?

I spent my usual two hours today studying more websites and books written about the Camino and specifically planning the day to day stages that I will do. This way I can get a better idea of how long I will be away and also get a better picture of the refuges available to me on the way.

There is so much written about the refuges -- and yet almost all the information is about lice in the beds, the lack of heating -- and the snoring of other pilgrims!

And then -- I came across an excellent detailed account of a pilgrim who had made the pilgrimage in winter..........

All of a sudden I am starting to shiver in my boots!
Instead of these idyllic pictures of pathways and refuges, dusty roads and warm sunshine..........





I realised that I am much more likely to see these scenes!




Stories of walkers getting lost in the mist, literally getting blown off course on the highest peaks, being warned against walking alone, freezing to death (the last case as recent as April 2007!) or slipping on the snow and breaking ankles and having to be rescued by search parties, had me feeling a little nervous..............



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Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Finally: In full preparation to walk the Camino!

"This is the way of peace:
Overcome evil with good,
and falsehood with truth,
and hatred with love."[/i][/b]
....Peace Pilgrim




Why make this pilgrimage?

I have always had a yearning to do things that challenge me -- to take the road less travelled, to explore the unknown territory. Deciding to walk the Camino de Santiago-- making the pilgrimage to Santiago Compostela, is not taking a road less travelled -- on the contrary -- thousands walk this road every year! Nor is it unknown territory -- it is probably the best known pilgrimage of all time. But for me it will be -- finally taking on this challenge that I had set myself several years ago will be the road less travelled and an unknown territory in my personal life in every sense.`

Father Frank de Gouveia said:

“Every major religion has a tradition and practice of pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage is a ritual journey, either alone or in a group, with the aim of achieving purification, perfection or salvation; a religious experience in which a series of bonds are established between a place of this world and a higher sphere, between an individual traveller and a community, between a flesh-and-blood pilgrim and he who is reborn, purified by the consummation of his goal. These bonds are what distinguish pilgrimage from other types of journey or travel.

Pilgrimage requires a sacred journey, a sacred place and a sacred goal. The sacred place may take many forms – a tree, a spring, a mountain, or a place where holy relics are revered. On the journey – a metaphor of earthly life – a personal transformation is initiated and effected through a series of rites that culminate in the moment of arrival. Here, his goal attained, the pilgrim is reborn, a new man.”

All the above refers to pilgrims in the traditional sense. Of course, many people do the camino for other reasons – they may be keen walkers who want to do a truly long walk, they may want to walk on Roman roads or see famous places, they may want to find themselves or ponder the meaning of life and their place in it. They may be religiously motivated or simply look for a spiritual experience. They may hope to find the reason for their need to make the pilgrimage along the way....

Pilgrims have been travelling to Santiago de Compostela on foot or horseback for over a thousand years. (The Bishop of Le Puy, who went there in AD 950, was one of the first). Some say the cult of the spiritual traveller along the path existed even earlier as the way led to Cape Finisterre the end of the known world.

The route to Santiago was a Roman trade-route. It was nicknamed by travellers la voje ladee, the Milky Way. It was the road under the stars. The pale arm of the Milky Way that stretched out and pointed the way to the edge of the known world : to Cape Finisterre, and Santiago --- far away under the mists and Atlantic skies of Galicia, woods and water in a Celtic landscape of menhirs and lost gods that exert an appeal that is infinitely pre Christian.

Its 800 kilometers from the Saint Jean Pied de Port in the foothills of the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in the western reaches of Galicia have changed little in that time. For although sections of it have now become modern tarred roads and many of the refuges and other accommodation set up by religious orders along the way to minister to the needs of pilgrims have long since disappeared, the Camino still passes through the same villages, crosses the same rivers, visits the same chapels, churches, cathedrals and other monuments as did the path taken by our predecessors in centuries gone by.

At the height of its popularity in the eleventh and twelfth centuries over half a million people a year are said to have made the pilgrimage from different parts of Europe, the majority of them from France.

The high point of the pilgrimage occurred between the years 1000 and l500 but although numbers dwindled after that, due to the Reformation and other, political, factors, the stream of pilgrims making the trudge westwards to the far reaches of Galiciain north-west Spain never completely dried up and in the late twentieth century is making something of a comeback.

Several thousand people walk the Way of St James (Sant' Iago) every year, whether from the Pyrenees, from different parts of France or from even further afield: it is not uncommon, even nowadays, to meet Swiss, German, Belgian or Dutch pilgrims, for example, who have set out from home to make the entire journey on foot. The Cathedral authorities in Santiago maintain a register of pilgrims and in 1991 recorded a total of 7274 travelling on foot, bicycle or horseback (compared with 5760 in 1989, the year of the Pope's August visit there, and 4918 in 1990).


Click on Link:

The Pilgrimage

Home stay in a chateau: On the way of the Camino

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Who flies where in France? Useful airline and flight information

Thanks to an article in The Telegraph, herewith a list of all the airlines that fly from the UK into France. Just about every region and/or airport in both countries is covered -- and you are sure to find a convenient and reasonably close airport from - and to which you can fly to come enjoy a marvellous holiday in France this year!

Aer Arann (0870 876 7676) Cardiff to Nantes.

Air France (0870 142 4343) Paris from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton; Nice and Strasbourg from London City.

British Airways (0870 850 9850) Bordeaux, Geneva, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris and Toulouse from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City.

BMI (0870 607 0555) Heathrow to Lyon and Nice; Manchester to Lyon.

BMIbaby (0871 224 0224) Bordeaux, Marseilles, Nice, Paris and Perpignan from Birmingham, East Midlands and Manchester.

Eastern Airways (0870 366 9100) Southampton to Angers.

EasyJet (0905 821 0905 - premium rate) Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Geneva, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Lyon, Marseilles, Nice, Paris and Toulouse from Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle.

EasyJet is taking over GB Airways, which offers summer-only services (from May) from Gatwick to Montpellier, Nantes and Ajaccio and Bastia in Corsica - the flights are already bookable with EasyJet.

Flybe (0871 522 6100) Avignon, Bergerac, Brest, La Rochelle, Limoges, Nice, Paris, Perpignan and Rennes from Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Southampton.

Flyglobespan (0871 271 0415) Edinburgh to Geneva and Nice.

Jet2.com (0871 226 1737) Avignon, La Rochelle, Nice, Paris and Toulouse from Belfast, Edinburgh, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester.

Lyddair (01797 322207) Lydd to Le Touquet.

Ryanair (0871 246 0000) Angoulême, Bergerac, Béziers, Biarritz, Brest, Carcassonne, Dinard, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Limoges, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nîmes, Paris (Beauvais), Pau, Perpignan, Poitiers, Rodez, Toulon and Tours from Stansted, Luton, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Liverpool, East Midlands, Glasgow and Manchester.

Skysouth (01273 446400) Shoreham to Paris (Pontoise), Deauville, Caen and Le Touquet, in eight-seater planes.

Thomsonfly (0870 190 0737) operates summer-only flights to Corsica from Gatwick, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.

Aéroport de Bergerac Périgord Dordogne
Route d’Agen
24100 BERGERAC

aerobergerac@dordogne.cci.fr

Tél. : 05 53 22 25 25

Fax : 05 53 24 35 43

Sita : EGCAPXH

Telex : 541064 F

Code IATA : EGC

Code OACI : LFBE


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Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Wonderful apartment to rent in Bordeaux

Relocation Orientation in France

Monday 30 January 2006 : An exceptional winter wonderland -- this time two years ago!

The Canal de Lalinde
Looking back in the archives, I came acorss this post -- and although it is cold and wet right now (especially compared with the beautiful sunshine and warm days in South Africa which I sadly bid farewell yesterday!) it is nowhere near as cold as it was laast year or the year before. Truly exceptional this was.....

Monday, January 30, 2006
An exceptional winter wonderland

Apparently, according to the local records, this wintry weather does not happen more than about once in a decade. Twelve inches of snow in 36 hours! And the countryside and villages are transformed into a picture book scene. Although picturesque and exciting for a newcomer to the area, snow in these areas can be very disrupting -- few people have vehicles equipped with snow tyres or chains and as harldy anyone in these usually warmer climes are accustomed to driving on snow covered or icy roads, the world around us came to a virtual halt. ....But I never heard a single soul complain about that and most of us were out there with our cameras and walking boots and enjoying the glacial beauty of a countryside clad in white.


The Canal de Lalinde



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Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Back home at Chateau Lalinde!

What a fabulous site it was when the Flybe plane from Southampton picked up the beacon and glided in straight over Chateau Lalinde on its way in to Bergerac airport!

Not even the lashing rain and gusting wind and 3'C temperature could spoil that good fuzzy warm feeling of returning home!

Home sweet home!


Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Michael Kay : My discovery of a multi-faceted artist in the Dordogne

There is something to be said for nature vs. nurture. Or is it just that living in such a beautiful part of the world brings out the creativity and talent in people. Not that they did not have the talent before, but it seems that when they leave the big crowded cities and rushed rat race and polluted air behind and come to settle here in the Southwest of France, there is something in the air – or the water? – that makes them blossom and surprise even themselves with their latent gifts of creative art. Or is it that when people leave their land of birth behind to go settle in a new country and in a new environment, a side of their creativity is awakened, enhanced by a different perspective, different stimulus, a different language?

I recently enjoyed a delicious meal in L’Imparfait in Bergerac and was immediately struck by the gorgeous water jugs on the tables. Each table was adorned with a small work of art – a ceramic, slightly out of kilter designed jug, decorated with delicately colourful figures of women, reminiscent of the work of Lautrec, but with an individuality that makes you want to go pick up each and every jug to inspect it more closely. Beautifully crafted in sensuous lines, the jugs form a perfect backdrop for the equally sensuous figures and faces of women.

I was not the first to comment to the manager about the jugs! He had a card ready at hand of the artist responsible for them, so it was with great anticipation that I set off over the hills of the Dordogne one misty winter’s afternoon to go look for the man behind the jugs – another fellow-expat who has made France his home – and source of inspiration.

I am not sure what I expected to find, but Michael Kay was a surprise to me --- if I had met him at a dinner party, I would probably have guessed him to be ….. well, anything but a potter. He welcomed me at the door with a wide smile and a warm handshake, drawing me into the lovely large living room of their restored farm house, one of a cluster commune sitting perched on top of a hill not far from Beaumont. In front of a crackling wood fire we sipped coffee and ate delicious banana cake, that Sue, his partner had specially baked, chatting about his fascinating career.

It was only in the early 90’s that Michael, then a successful graphic artist in London, discovered his love for clay. “I have become fascinated by the amazing complexity and unpredictability of the medium and the endless possibilities for the making and decorating of a form. The concept of ‘the illustrated vessel’ – applying playful and narrative images onto a three-dimensional canvas, opens up endless creative possibilities.”

This is very obvious in his work. Some of his pieces are more sculptural than functional – such as his totems – intricate collections of people and animals that demonstrate a strong mythological influence whilst still mesmerizing the viewer in the complexity of its sometimes erotic subtext, frequent touches of humour, intelligent use of glaze and colour and hidden meanings.

“I work on the edge of the potter’s craft”, says Michael. “I consider myself rather a painter or illustrator – engaging the onlooker in a narrative or fantasy, much the same as those masters of story telling, the ancient Greeks.”

However you look at his work, he successfully fuses the various disciplines of painting, sculpture and story-telling into a powerful language of its own – a language that not only crosses the boundaries of time and space – but a language that crosses all boundaries of country, culture and custom.

Michael Kay has exhibited in many locations in France and the UK. He is preparing for yet another large exhibition in Paris, but currently his work may be seen at:

Galerie Anagama
29, RUE DU VIEUL ABREUVOIR
78100 SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE
PARIS, FRANCE
DESSINE-MOI LA TERRE
17630 LA FLOTTE EN RE
ISLE DE RE, FRANCE

www.michaelkayceramics.net
michaelkay@orange.fr




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Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France