Thursday, September 25

Apple picking -- for pleasure -- in the Dordogne!


A different idea for an activity holiday! Come pick apples -- fresh and juicy and warmed by the late September sun -- but not as a summer job -- simply for the pure enjoyment of it and for your own consumption and pleasure!

This apple grower in Gaec de Lamouth invites anyone, any day (except Sundays) to come to his farm and pick as many apples as you wish, for a mere €0,70 per kilogram. Bring your own baskets and help yourself -- Pick 'n Pay 'n Enjoy!

The farm is at:
56, Route de Lamouthe - Le Monteil
24680 Lamonzie-Saint-Martin

The commune of Lamonzie-St-Martin stretches over 2 069 hectares and its population of 2212 inhabitants, is the second largest in the Purple of Red Perigord -- second after Bergerac. Historically, the commune is made of 4 parishes: le Monteil, la Bourgatie, Saint-Martin et le Rieu-de-laysse and one of its peculiarities is that three of the four parishes joined to form one -- Lamonzie. (Lamonzie, Le Monteil, et St Martin de Gardonne)

Contact for more info: Tel:
0964453453
067220750
0686913002






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  • Tuesday, September 23

    Seen at Chateau Lalinde recently......




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  • A concert not to be missed!


    Another unforgettable night at Chateau Pécany.

    Albert Croce from Aquitaines Langues is presenting an excellent evening of music in this most beautiful venue.




    Concert de Jazz

    Harpiswing au Château de Pécany le dimanche 28 septembre à 17h.

    Pour avoir plus d’informations et réserver il vous suffit de cliquer ici Aquitaine Langues ou téléphoner 05 53 74 17 85

    For further info and to reserve please click here : Aquitaine Langues

    Le concert est parrainé par La Banque Populaire de Bergerac et le Vin d’honneur offert par le Château de Bélingard

    Concert sponsored Banque Populaire of Bergerac and Wine Offered by Châreau de Bélingard



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  • How did it all go so wrong? South Africa's President Mbeki steps down.


    Many of this blog's readers are asking me the question: What is happening in South Africa?
    The answer is much more complex than one expects, and rather than go into a huge debate about the future of my South Africa in a blog which is primarily about life in France, I offer this excellent article by Chris McGreal from the Guardian as an interim reply -- as a glimpse view from the window of a chateau in France:



    President Thabo Mbeki offered a grand vision of South Africa's renaissance. He promised to fix the economy and alleviate poverty. But nine years on, he has been forced from office in utter humiliation. Chris McGreal on the story behind his fall.

    It all began well enough. South Africans, black and white, loved Nelson Mandela. They virtually swooned at his feet, marvelling at his inspiration and example and wondering if the country could have been saved without him. But in 1999, at the end of the great man's five years as president, there was a consensus that his job of unifying the reborn nation was done and what was required was someone who knew how to run a government.

    It was the moment that Thabo Mbeki had spent four decades of his life working toward, and South Africa was ready for him. He had been Mandela's deputy president during the previous five years of African National Congress (ANC) rule in the immediate post-apartheid years.

    "Mbeki pretty much ran the show from 1994," says Mark Gevisser, author of the most authoritative biography to date of Mbeki. "He was Mandela's de facto prime minister. His approach was very technocratic, about establishing systems of government, and he worked very hard to do that and was effective in many ways. It's what people expected and hoped for from his presidency."

    But Mbeki offered more than that. He had laid out his grand vision of his continent's renaissance with his inspiring "I am an African" speech in 1996 as South Africa adopted its post-apartheid constitution. Two years later a conference on the African renaissance followed, and a book. By the time Mbeki took power, it was clear that he intended Africa's revival to be the central thrust of his years in power. He spoke of a new golden era for the continent and predicted this would be the African century.
    Andrew Feinstein was a junior ANC member of parliament at the time. "I was never a great Mbeki admirer but I remember sitting on the backbenches of parliament in the first few months of his administration and thinking to myself he's actually the right guy for this time. This is the man we need. And I think it's gone horrifically wrong," he says.

    Nine years later, as Mbeki prepares to leave office prematurely, humiliated and rejected by the party he dedicated half a century of his life to, there are few who do not believe he was the architect of his own downfall. The vision of a new Africa has long since been buried under the years of vilification for fiddling with intellectual debate over the origins of Aids while hundreds of thousands of the people died of the disease. The promise of good administration has given way to accusations that he purged state institutions of critics, interfered with the justice system and protected corrupt officials from investigation, most notably the country's police chief, who was accused of links to organised crime and covering up a murder.

    Even Mbeki's much vaunted economic policies, which have seen growth and financial stability, are vilified by the people now taking over the country as enriching a new black elite but leaving the mass of poor behind.

    And where there was goodwill and support, Mbeki now leaves behind a host of enemies. But it is perhaps fitting that in the end the man most notorious for denying a lifeline to people with Aids should have seen his political career consumed by a virus he planted in South Africa's body politic before he even became president, and which lay unnoticed for years until it came to infect almost everything about Mbeki's administration.

    Thabo Mbeki had returned from exile in 1990, when Mandela was released from prison, after transforming the international perception of the ANC from an African liberation movement of dubious ability to a party that was fit to govern. "He was an immensely good salesman for the ANC," says Gevisser. "He seduced the world into loving the ANC and seduced white South Africans in to believing they could have a black president. He did that incredibly well because he was in the service of a greater cause. But once power was his, he wielded it quite uncomfortably. He was susceptible to the kind of politics of plotting and conspiracy that characterised life in exile. And he never really overcame that and I think that was one of his biggest failures."

    Feinstein agrees. "There's no doubt that he centralised virtually all control. It was almost Leninist. It was based on the pretext that all power should be vested in the leader and there should be no gainsaying of the leader. The most obvious manifestation of that was on HIV and Aids, where he wouldn't allow any discussion within the ANC caucus on it," he says.

    Mbeki saw the disease, like much else, through a racial prism. It was used, he said, to reinforce stereotypes of Africans as primitive and unable to control their lust. The president was a natural target for the dissident scientists who questioned the link between HIV and Aids, punting instead that the disease was the result of poverty. The anti-Aids antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were poisoning people, they said.
    Mbeki was only too willing to be convinced. He began publicly to question the causes of Aids and, under the guise of ensuring the safety of drugs in wide use in the rest of the world, blocked the distribution of ARVs in government hospitals. Tens of thousands of babies who might have been saved were denied the single dose of a cheap drug at birth. Hundreds of thousands of adults were left to die while Mbeki held an intellectual debate, largely with himself, on the merits of drug therapy. Asked in a television interview if he would recommend the use of a condom to prevent catching HIV, Mbeki said that to agree would be to prove a particular paradigm. Most of the country had no idea what he was talking about.

    The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, described the government's Aids policies as "as serious a crime against humanity as apartheid". One of the country's leading Aids researchers - Malegapuru Makgoba, formerly one of Mbeki's confidants - said the government's inaction was tantamount to genocide. Schoolchildren called Mbeki "Comrade Undertaker".

    The largest and most effective civil campaign of the post-apartheid era was launched to get Mbeki to reverse his policies. The president said he was merely seeking an open debate, but those who disagreed with him were publicly vilified. Mbeki accused those who supported the conventional view that the virus could be spread through sexual contact of denigrating black people, and black people who agreed with them as "negroes of enslaved minds".

    The ANC distributed a fat document claiming that ARVs were an attempt to commit genocide against black people. The president misrepresented statistics to parliament in an attempt to cut his own government's Aids budget. Amid growing anger at home, and derision abroad that damaged Mbeki's image as a safe pair of hands, the president eventually allowed the life-saving drugs into the hospitals. But he didn't change his mind on Aids, and still hasn't.

    "After publicly announcing he was withdrawing from the debate he came back to the ANC caucus and restated that he didn't believe HIV caused Aids and that this was a conspiracy of the pharmaceutical companies and the CIA against him," says Feinstein.
    The Aids debacle damaged Mbeki's standing enormously, and was a serious blow to his attempts to change international perceptions of Africa. The statesman was now seen as deeply unstable. It also alienated many former supporters and exposed his style of government. Mbeki surrounded himself with a clique, some of whom demonstrated a political ruthlessness and thuggery not seen in the Mandela era. The fight over Aids made clear that dissent would not be tolerated.

    No one, apparently, was above vilification. In 2002, Mbeki's allies attempted to link three prominent ANC officials - Cyril Ramaphosa, the party's former general secretary and chief negotiator with the apartheid government, and former provincial premiers Tokyo Sexwale and Mathews Phosa - to a coup plot against the president. "The whole plot thing around Ramaphosa, Phosa and Sexwale was probably the most extreme manifestation of Mbeki's paranoia and vindictiveness, says Feinstein. "You had a minister of police going on television and announcing there's a plot against the president whereas all that was happening was that people were campaigning in upcoming regional ANC conferences on anti-Mbeki platforms. This kind of thing took its toll over the years. The other thing is, he was never personally open to anybody and therefore I think people feel very little affection for him, which makes it a lot easier for people to act against him in this sort of way but also for the real visceral hatred to build up in the way that it has."

    Mbeki didn't know it but that hatred eventually manifested itself around a contagion he introduced into South African politics years earlier. Corruption was little noticed at first but in time spread through the system, infecting the government and its party, and ultimately bringing down the president. In the mid-90s South Africa was negotiating its biggest weapons buying deal ever with a clutch of arms manufacturers. There were those in the ANC and outside who asked why a relatively poor society embarking on the enormous challenge of trying to right apartheid's wrongs was spending billions of pounds on fighter jets, submarines and ships when there was no perceivable military threat. But such considerations were brushed aside as the government offered the - subsequently disproved - claim that the weapons contracts would generate large numbers of jobs.

    Mbeki was deputy president at the time and headed the parliamentary subcommittee awarding the contracts. Feinstein was the highest ranking ANC member of parliament's public accounts committee that later investigated those deals. He says he came to realise that not only was the arms deal as a whole unnecessary but that it had been infected with corruption as senior officials, including the defence minister, Joe Modise, lined their pockets and the ruling party filled its coffers with what amounted to bribe money.

    "I do think that it marked a profound change in South African politics in that it was the point at which the interests of Mbeki, his ruling clique and the party became more important than the national interest to the extent that they were prepared to award these contracts where there was absolutely no logic or reason to award the contracts outside of the bribes that were received," he says.

    Among the examples of otherwise illogical contracts was a decision to pay £1.5bn to buy planes from BAe Systems and Saab. "Despite the fact that the air force did not want the planes, and they were two and a half times the cost of the planes the air force did want, an informal meeting involving Mbeki, Modise and others took the decision to go with them," says Feinstein.

    Modise then changed the requirements of the tender, removing cost as a factor, to ensure BAe/Saab was awarded the contract. The defence secretary, Pierre Steyn, resigned. Feinstein said investigators working with his committee uncovered evidence that Modise, who has since died, received millions of rands in illegal payments from BAe and a German weapons firm.

    The deals were a millstone around Mbeki's neck, and so began the cover-up. ANC members of the investigating parliamentary committee were called before party leaders including Essop Pahad, a minister and long-standing friend of Mbeki, who "launched into a ferocious diatribe".

    "Who the fuck do you think you are, questioning the integrity of the government, the ministers and the president?" he said. Feinstein refused to get in line, was sacked and eventually left the party. The government got its way and a neutered report appeared that took out the auditor general's criticisms and much else.

    "Mbeki was chairperson of the subcommittee that made all the decisions on the arms deal," says Feinstein. "I think that at a time when he was building up a reputation for competence, if it had been known that they took these sorts of decisions, I think it would have quite profoundly undermined his standing. It has continued to dog his presidency and raised a whole lot of questions about whether he has any interest in stamping out corruption. It seems to many people that he simply uses issues like corruption against his opponents rather than as governing principles," he says. "It was the point at which Mbeki decided he was prepared to meddle with the institutions of state or undermine certain of the institutions of democracy in order to protect himself and others in the party. A few years later, he was happy to use the deal to undermine his political opponents again, misusing the institutions of state to do that."

    Mbeki initially covered for his deputy president, Jacob Zuma, when he was accused of corruption. But in 2005, Zuma's financial advisor was sentenced to 15 years in prison for procuring bribes on behalf of the deputy president from a French arms company. Mbeki sacked him. The president said he was acting in the national interest. Zuma suspected that the president had taken the opportunity to force out a growing political threat. From that followed what a high court judge recently described as a "titanic political struggle" for control of the ANC. The various interests that had come to loathe Mbeki over his policies, his style of government or his human failings coalesced around Zuma as he sought to stay out of jail by challenging the president for control of the ANC at the party's four-yearly conference in Polokwane last December.

    Mbeki offered a stout if long-winded defence of his policies laying out all that he had done for the country. He was too out of touch to realise it, but the emotional tide was with Zuma. Mbeki had alienated too many people. He was swept out as ANC leader as Zuma and his allies were elected to most of the senior posts.
    Mbeki was humiliated and disbelieving. But worse was to come. When prosecutors revived the corruption case against Zuma, his allies saw Mbeki's hand. Justice Chris Nicholson agreed, throwing it out earlier this month with a judgment that essentially accused the president and his cabinet of misusing the judicial system to get at Mbeki's political enemies. With that, Zuma and his allies at the top of the ANC moved and toppled Mbeki. The president had few friends and allies to defend him. They had all been driven away long ago. "What he was known for was being able to play the political game and ultimately he was defeated in his own gutter politics really," says Feinstein.

    "There is the old saying that all political careers end in failure but this is a political career ending in ultimate humiliation because the ANC has been Thabo Mbeki's life. The ANC has publicly and humiliatingly cast him out."

    Mbeki would like to be remembered for a growing economy, spending more per capita on poverty alleviation than any government and engineering a political deal in Zimbabwe. But millions of South Africans, such as Zackie Achmat, who was instrumental in pressuring the government to change its policies, cannot get past the huge blot of his Aids policies. "Personally, I would have liked to see him impeached for causing the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV; for the corruption of the arms deal; for the undermining of every independent state institution," he says.

    Gevisser says all of that will remain Mbeki's legacy. "Aids is going to remain a mark on Mbeki. The arms deal will remain a mark on him as well, and more so rather than less so. I don't think it's going to go away," he says. "Everything that's happened to Mbeki is a consequence of the arms deal. If the arms deal is the poison well of South African politics, then it's Mbeki who contaminated the water".

    o The Guardian,
    o Tuesday September 23 2008

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  • Monday, September 22

    Sunday, September 21

    Not for fainthearted : Tony Crosbie, Artist





    The ruined remains of the tower of Chateau de Clerans stands large and strong and invincible. An oxymoron perhaps? But true nevertheless.

    Thanks to Joris van Grinsven, Dutch interior architect and artist, the tower has once again fallen in good hands -- of someone who knows how to appreciate a thing of beauty, no matter its age or condition -- and if Joris has to be admired -- and congratulated for one thing only, it is his amazing vision and imagination: here are the 12th century ruins of a once strong fortress, only the walls remaining, only a low remains of an arched opening through which to enter the heart of the open-roofed tall tower, and there -- inside, on the breathtakingly beautiful stone walls, with the natural light of a late September afternoon streaming through the open roof above, he has hung the exceptional work of the Irish artist -- painter, sculptor and photographer -- Tony Crosbie.


    Love it or hate it, you cannot avert your gaze from these imposing works. Crosbie is living and working in the Dordogne for three years -- and it has taken a man from the inner city of Glasgow to come to this gentle, achingly sweet countryside of the Dordogne to make us sit up and see what is there, under the surface, not far from our front door.


    His photographs exhibited in this unique -- and uniquely fitting 'venue' -- on the rough stone walls of a 12thC tower ruin, stones that change colour with the changing light -- are of the subjects that he has chosen to work with: the inmates of prisons, the homeless, the outcasts of our world -- most of them in bondage, albeit the bondage of their circumstances: A child with an adult soul wearing a crown of thorns; a painfully thin naked woman sitting on her haunches, hugging herself, in an empty room of a derelict building; a pieta - but of a frail Christ-like man with the body of a woman with bandaged wrists on his lap - a body that seems to have been thrown there like you would discard a rag doll on a rubbish heap.

    These are not works for someone who looks for the water-coloured prettinesses of the Dordogne. These are reflections of a seamier, sadder side of this beautiful region of ours. And hats off to Joris and to Tony for daring to show us this other side - and for doing it in such a bold, edgy and innovative way!


    Artist Statement
    Tony Crosbie was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1956. Crosbie, a self-taught artist, was brought up in the inner city in a working class family. Crosbie’s work deals with modern society, and is confrontational, expressive, passionate and extremely personal. His life informs his work. Crosbie uses a multi-media palette, which includes, painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, video, writing, and anything else he can get his hands on to express himself creatively.
    His first solo show in 1996 in Dublin, called New Beginning, was an autobiographical journey which dealt with the extremities of addiction and recovery. Crosbie uses his art to reveal the vulnerability and sometimes disturbing journey through his own life.
    His work, often described as confrontational and provocative, questions the definition of what art is.



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  • JOURNÉES DU PATRIMOINE: Joris van Grinsven opens Chateau de Clerans


    Every year in September (21) France celebrates its heritage. The erstwhile Minister of Cultural Affairs, Jack Lang made several wonderful contributions to the cultural preservation of France -- and one of them was to declare the 'Journee du Patrimoine'.

    On this day every city, town, village an smallest of hamlets, celebrates the rich heritage of France -- by giving access to its beautiful and historically precious buildings, gardens and homes. The public is invited into private homes, chateaux, water mills, art collections, -- anything that forms part of the rich French culture, and on this one day, everyone can, free of charge, enjoy and appreciate their history and beauty.

    This year, once again, Joris van Grinsven, opened his home, the 12th Century Chateau de Clerans, to the public and in his inimitable "If you are going to do something, don't do it unless you do it well"-kind-of-way with champagne and delicious nibbles on the lawns of the 'courtyard' of the ruined/restored castle.

    Joris is an interior architect from the Netherlands and is best known here in the Dordogne for his passion for this beautiful corner of France and for his bold and edgy interors of Chateau les Merles.

    In the magazine Leven in Frankrijk', Maartje Laterveer, tells the story of the van Grinsven's:

    Wereldreiziger in de Dordogne
    De hele wereld heeft hij rondgezeild. Het werd uiteindelijk de Dordogne waar Jan van Grinsven zijn laatste droom gaat waarmaken. Even onder Bergerac kocht hij Château les Merles om er met de hele familie een heerlijk oord van te maken.

    Het is al laat in de avond als we de oprijlaan van Château les Merles oprijden. Kaarslicht verlicht de cour en en werpt een flikkerend schijnsel op de zandkleurige stenen van de drie gebouwen die de binnenplaats in een u-vorm omringen. Als we uitstappen dringt de geur van versverbrand hout onze neuzen binnen en worden we verrast door een weldadige stilte. We worden er zelf even stil van.
    Even later zitten we voor een knapperend haardvuur met een goed glas, een uitgebreide kaasplank en dochter Karlijn, die alles van het kasteel en zijn historie weet. Het is maar moeilijk voor te stellen dat deze perfect ingerichte ruimte een jaar geleden nog een en al puin onder een ingevallen dak was.

    Brabantse gezelligheid
    Met een sobere inrichting van Starck-stoelen en houten tafels oogt het restaurant ruim en licht. Twee statige kandelaren staan voor de open haard. Via een authentiek behouden stenen muur loopt het stijlvolle eetgedeelte over in de wat meer informelere brasserie die uitkijkt op een enorme open keuken met blinkend roestvrijstalen apparatuur. De zaak is verlaten nu, maar gedurende de dag was het volle bak. ‘We hebben al veel vaste gasten die regelmatig een hapje komen eten’, vertelt de 28-jarige Karlijn die haar baan in de Amsterdamse evenementenwereld opzegde om het hotel en het restaurant van haar vader in de Dordogne te runnen. ‘Er wonen veel Engelsen en Nederlanders in de buurt die al bijna kind aan huis zijn, maar ook de lokale bevolking laat steeds meer haar gezicht zien.’ Uitzonderlijk, want de Fransen eten toch het liefst bij Fransen. ‘Met kerst en oudjaar hebben we grote diners georganiseerd met live muziek en een speenvarken aan het spit. Onder de gasten waren veel mensen uit de buurt, die onze manier van feesten heel leuk vonden. Aan het eind van de avond stond iedereen op tafel te dansen.’ Brabantse gezelligheid in de Dordogne. Het moet wel een heel bijzondere man zijn die dit kasteel heeft omgetoverd tot een plek waar de Franse boerenbevolking met de voeten op tafel uit haar dak gaat.

    De hele familie op het erf
    Terwijl we door de nachtelijke stilte naar het hotel lopen in het hoofdgebouw van het 17e-eeuwse kasteel, wijst Karlijn waar zij woont. In het uiterste puntje van de lange schuur waar het restaurant en golfclubhuis zijn gebouwd, heeft ze een appartementje onder het hoge dak. Onder haar woont Judith, haar zus met wie ze de managementtaken van hotel en restaurant verdeelt, met haar man Roeland, die verantwoordelijk is voor de golfclub. De hele familie woont op het erf, met uitzondering van Joris, de broer van Jan die de inrichting heeft ontworpen. Hij woont een paar kilometer verderop.
    Oom Joris heeft goed werk geleverd, zie ik in mijn kamer. Zijn Rietveld-achtergrond is zichtbaar in de moderne aanpak met respect voor de oudheid van het gebouw. Zwart-wit is de toonzetting. Strak wit, met een enkel limoenkleurig accent in de lampjes en de antieke Louis XIV-stoel. Zwart zijn de vloeren en de luiken voor de ramen. Luxe en comfort in de badkamer met een Villeroy & Boch-bad en twee separate wastafels op wederom zwartgelakte houten planken die opmerkelijk veel opbergruimte bieden. Een knipoog naar het verleden zit in speelse elementen als spiegeltjes boven het toilet en bidet die ze op een soort troontjes laten lijken.

    De perfecte oude dag
    ’s Ochtends is het leven op het chateau al in volle gang. Golfers druppelen de zonovergoten binnenplaats op. Pater familias Jan loopt met houtblokken te zeulen. ‘Het vuur op het kasteel is mijn afdeling’, verklaart hij zijn gesjouw met een twinkeling in zijn ogen. Even later zit ik met hem aan de stamtafel in de brasserie bij een fors ontbijt. Het was geen grapje: de algemeen directeur van deze reeds goedlopende onderneming is daadwerkelijk verantwoordelijk voor de open haarden en zelfs de kaarsen. En dat is de enige verantwoordelijkheid die hij zich toe-eigent. ‘Mijn kinderen runnen de boel,’ verduidelijkt hij, ‘zij zijn de baas. Niet ik. Zij zijn degenen die de beslissingen nemen. En zo wilde ik het ook. Ik heb hier de perfecte oudedagvoorziening gebouwd’, grapt hij. ‘Straks hoeven mijn vrouw José en ik alleen nog maar te genieten van onze kinderen en kleinkinderen, die om ons heen op deze idyllische plek wonen.’

    Tien jaar geleden verkocht Van Grinsven zijn sportkledingfabriek en schafte zich een luxe zeiljacht van 35 meter lengte aan. Daarmee bevoer hij alle wereldzeeën. Goed betalende gasten zorgden voor inkomsten. ‘Maar het ging me niet om het geld. Op de boot merkte ik hoe leuk het is om mensen te verwennen. Elke week was het weer feest en mijn gasten wilden liefst de week erop opnieuw boeken’, zegt hij een beetje weemoedig. ‘Maar ik had José beloofd dat ik het maar tien jaar zou doen. Na die tijd zouden we op zoek gaan naar een chateau in het buitenland. En dat hebben we gedaan. Wel 16.000 kilometer hebben we afgelegd op zoek naar de perfecte locatie. Uiteindelijk vonden we Les Merles hier in de Périgord. Langgeleden al heb ik mijn hart verpand aan deze streek. Veel streken in Frankrijk ken ik op mijn duimpje, maar nergens vind ik het zo prettig als hier. De natuur is prachtig, het is hier rustig, er is vrijwel geen criminaliteit en de mensen zijn enorm lief. Het kasteel was de perfecte locatie om te doen wat we in ons hoofd hadden: een kleinschalig bedrijf opzetten met kwaliteit en gastvrijheid als belangrijkste criteria.’ Dat ze in alle opzichten in beide zijn geslaagd, wordt mij die avond nog duidelijker als we met de familie aan tafel schuiven voor een achtgangendiner in restaurant La Bruyère Blanche. ‘De Witte Heide’, zo heette het schip van Jan.


    Uit de moestuin
    Niet alleen de familie, maar ook de man die de culinaire ideeën levert, voegt zich bij ons aan de lange tafel bij de open haard. Albert Kooy is een meesterkok die zijn sporen in sterrenrestaurants over de hele wereld heeft verdiend. Zijn filosofie is boeiend: een goede kok kookt niet. ‘Althans nauwelijks’, nuanceert de vriend van de familie. ‘Als de producten goed zijn, hoef je het alleen nog maar af te maken. De pure smaak doet al het werk.’ Voorwaarde voor een goed product is versheid. Voor Château les Merles haalt Albert de ingrediënten uit de biologische moestuin achter het kasteel. Groenten spelen een hoofdrol in zijn kookwijze; een lastige voorliefde in de Périgord, waar de keuken is gebaseerd op wild en ganzenlever. ‘Uiteraard doen we concessies aan de regio’, vertelt Albert. ‘We zouden de lokale keuken geen eer aandoen zonder streekproducten op de kaart. De uitdaging zit voor mij in het verwerken van die producten tot pure gerechten met een minimaal vetgehalte, waarin je de ingrediënten nog proeft. Dat schijnt te lukken, want onze Franse gasten zijn aangenaam verrast.’ Het lichte restaurant oogt aangenaam. Met de harmonieuze combinatie van oud en modern is het een unicum in de omgeving. Een welgeslaagd unicum, waarvoor de credits liggen bij Joris van Grinsven. ‘De geschiedenis van het pand gaat terug tot 1677. Ik wilde deze oudheid behouden in de inrichting. Maar de gasten moeten wel lekker kunnen zitten. Er waren in die tijd nog geen ergonomisch verantwoorde stoelen, dus kom je uit bij een modern design. De balken zijn opgeknapt en de vloer heb ik zo sober mogelijk gehouden, als de aangestampte vloer in oude stallen. Een enkeling vraagt of de vloer nog afgemaakt moet worden, maar er zijn er ook die zo verrukt zijn van het resultaat dat ik hier in de buurt al een paar opdrachten heb om iets soortgelijks bij particulieren thuis te doen.’
    Respect voor het oude met concessies aan comfort en kwaliteit; het resultaat mag er zijn en alles klopt. De golfbaan ligt er prachtig bij alsof het landschap nooit anders is geweest, de moestuin lijkt zo uit de Middeleeuwen gestapt en je zou bijna vergeten dat een zwembad niet altijd tot de vaste outillage van een kasteel heeft behoord. Een verrijking van de streek. Een geliefd logeeradres waar iedereen, waar dan ook vandaan, thuiskomt.

    Tekst: Maartje Laterveer
    Fotografie: Maarten Noordijk

    Château les Merles
    Tuilières
    24520 Mouleydier
    Tel. +33 553631342
    www.lesmerles.com


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  • Saturday, September 20

    Entre les murs de Laurent Cantet, Palme d'Or 2008



    Last night I had the pleasure of attending a private viewing of "Entre les Murs", the film of Laurent Cantet that won the Palem d'Or at the Cannes film festival recently and had the world buzzing.


    After the screening last night, there was a debate on the film. I am loathe to criticize the dabate -- although that is exactly what I want to do -- as I did not participate. I was getting so emotional about what the various speakers had to say that I knew my French would let me down miserably if I had participated in the discussion -- shame on me!

    The two hour film plays off within the confines of a class room -- with a few scenes in the courtyard of the school, the staff room and the head's office. The high school is in the sub-economic suburbs of Paris where the population is as mixed as the display of a spice stall in a French country market. The cinematogophy was quite remarkable -- extremely overpoweringly forceful, the camera seldom further than one metre from any person, their features, bodies and movement filling the entire screen but showing only a part of it. This technique forces the viewer to be part of the action on the screen -- you are in the class room with the pupils and the teacher, you are sitting at a desk next to the others, your arms touching theirs, their breath on you neck, their warmth in your space. It is very strong and leaves the viewer reeling at the end of the two hours.
    The singular feature of the film is that all the actors were not actors at all, but the pupils - and teachers of a real class in a real school. They had no acting experience whatsoever and Cantet simply spent months with them, apparently every Wednesday afternoon for several months talking to them about the characters they were to portray. The dialogue was therefore also extemporized.
    A tour de force -- but not for the weak hearted.
    It is interesting that several of the jury at the Cannes Festival commented that, although this festival had more violent films than any other in the past and that the voilence shown was more explicit than ever before, this film -- which is basically discussions and conversations and talking in a class room of fourteen-year-olds and their teacher, was actually the most violent film at the festival.
    The emotions and the sentiments of these youngsters are heart wrenching. There were times when I was laughing one moment and crying the next. Watching the angst and the pain of these youngsters in their attempt to understand the world around them, each other, authority, the school system, their teachers, the older generation -- in fact, trying to understand anything, was a very painful and touching experience.
    In one scene there is a discussion about the meaning of the word 'honte' -- 'shame'. Each child had a different understanding of the word, depending on his or her background, religion, customs, frame of reference. The teacher -- their language teacher, tried to explain the meaning of the word and soon discovers that the real meaning does not feature in these children's lives -- their individual interpretations have completely changed the word.
    This use of words and language and grammar to demonstrate and illustrate one sociological aspect after the other was brilliant. The lack of communication between generations, social strata, backgrounds is illustrated in the subtext, but it illustrates so much more -- not just the lack or difficulty of communication -- also the struggle of a fourteen year old to establish self esteem and self worth and the struggle of a caring teacher to help that process but being confined by a system of norms and mores and customs. The adults who are all well educated teachers do not understand each other but talk past each other -- how would they ever understand the uneducated youngsters who are all from a background completely alien to theirs.

    One could go on -- there is so much to find in this film -- I have but scratched the surface -- but I strongly recommend that everyone goes to see it -- and do come back here and t ell us what you thought!

    (and why was I frustrated with the discussion last night? Because it seemed that all the speakers were teachers of some kind and all they saw was a class room with difficult children and the fact that teachers were shown to be human after all with weaknesses -- 'and we resent that'.....gggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)

    From Zero de conduite.com : Voilà qui dans cette ambiance morose devrait au moins réjouir les enseignants : une chronique de deux heures sur la vie d’une classe de collège est capable de mettre à genoux la planète cinéphile (gros succès au Marché du film, deux standing ovations lors des projections et une Palme d’Or, la première attribuée à un français depuis Pialat en 1987).
    Sean Penn avait certes annoncé la couleur en proclamant dès l’entame qu’il privilégierait les films engagés dans le monde d’aujourd’hui. La surprise est venue de ce que le jury préfère la petite musique du quotidien aux grandes orgues de l’histoire, la modestie de la chronique à la "grande forme", qu’elle soit narrative ou esthétique.

    Il faudra déterminer ce qui dans ce couronnement ressort du malentendu (certains membres du jury et journalistes parlant dimanche soir d’un film sur la "banlieue" alors qu'il se déroule dans un collège parisien) et d’un certain politiquement correct (ah, la "France de la diversité" —on n’ose plus dire black-blanc-beur — que certains se sont empressés de saluer). En attendant, c’est avant tout une grande réussite cinématographique qu’a distingué le jury, un film qui a plus qu’aucun autre enchanté le public cannois. "L’auteur" Laurent Cantet réussit là où ont échoué tant de comédies dîtes "populaires" (les affreux Plus beau métier du monde de Claude Zidi ou L’Ecole pour tous d’Eric Rochant) : à capter sur la pellicule le charme et la verve de la jeunesse d’aujourd’hui, à rendre l’énergie particulière qui électrise parfois (pour le meilleur ou pour le pire) une salle de classe. On peut avancer trois éléments d’explication pour analyser cette réussite :
    — Entre les murs le film s’appuie sur le solide matériau constitué par Entre les murs le livre, son sens de l’observation et du raccourci.
    — Un long et patient travail d’atelier, a permis de dégager des individualités mais également de construire une dynamique de groupe, on a envie de dire de troupe (voir ce reportage de Télérama sur le tournage), palpable à l’écran.
    — On sent enfin la patte discrète mais primordiale d’un metteur en scène au sommet de son art, qui réussit le tour de force de rendre cinégénique un huis-clos quasi-intégral, et prenant un récit de deux heures qui s’étale sur une année scolaire.

    Rendons toutefois justice au jury de Sean Penn : Entre les murs n’est évidemment et heureusement pas qu’une sympathique comédie sur les rapports entre profs et élèves dans un collège parisien. C’est aussi un film étonnamment juste et empathique sur la jeunesse (une jeunesse) d’aujourd’hui, ses richesses et ses difficultés ; et un regard, sans fard mais sans tendresse sur l’institution scolaire, comme champ d’affrontement entre des forces contradictoires, comme un lieu de différenciation sociale et d’exclusion.
    C’est enfin, comme d’autres films français en sélection, un grand film sur le langage : le langage à la fois comme marqueur, voire stigmate social (la tirade de l’enseignant sur l’intuition de la langue) ; le langage comme arme au service des uns (l’enseignant, l’institution) ou des autres (les élèves) ; le langage source de plaisir enfin, en l’occurence celui de la "tchatche" plutôt que celui du texte (ce qui le différencie de L’Esquive d’Abdellatif Kechiche qui travaillait la langue d’aujourd’hui avec celle de Marivaux).

    Il reste maintenant à savoir, puisque le film a déjà débordé de loin la simple sphère cinématographique (cf les réactions empressées des politiques), comment le film s’insérera dans le débat passionné sur l’école, et comment il sera reçu à sa sortie (prévue pour le 15 octobre prochain) par la communauté enseignante et le grand public. En montrant de manière réaliste et parfois cruelle (il sera difficile pour certains d'y voir un "hommage à tous les enseignants de France" comme le voudrait Xavier Darcos) les difficultés de l'institution et des enseignants, Entre les murs pose les questions sans (et heureusement) chercher à y apporter de réponses. Ce film et cette Palme d'or ont en tout cas l'immense mérite de replacer l'école au centre du débat, et de permettre d'en parler autrement, pour une fois, que sous l'angle chiffré des statistiques internationales ou des équations budgétaires…

    Entre les murs de Laurent Cantet, 122 mn, France
    Sélection Officielle, en compétition
    Palmarès : Palme d'Or
    Sortie prévue pour le 24 septembre 2008

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  • Wednesday, September 17

    JOURNÉES DU PATRIMOINE: This weekend!


    JOURNÉES DU PATRIMOINE. --De nombreuses animations sont prévues ce week-end : joutes nautiques, randonnées, visites des trois musées locaux, repas, etc.


    Cette année encore, les Journées du patrimoine se conjugueront avec celles de la rivière. Ainsi samedi matin, la Ville a présenté les différentes animations mises en place pour le week-end prochain.

    1Le patrimoine est sur la table
    Comment parler de patrimoine en Dordogne en général, et à Bergerac en particulier, sans parler de vins et de cuisine ? C'est impossible. La Ville a donc noué des partenariats avec les interprofessions des vins de Bergerac mais aussi du canard et de l'oie. Et samedi 20 septembre, au soir, sur le port, sera dressée la Table des gabarriers pour mettre en valeur la gastronomie locale. Le public trouvera des plats cuisinés à partir des produits régionaux : foie gras, magrets, haricots couenne, jambon braisé, poisson de rivière, fromage de chèvre, merveilles, et bien entendu les vins de Bergerac. « Nous avons voulu que les prix soient très abordables, explique Françoise Rény, adjointe PRG au tourisme et à la viticulture. Le tarif des assiettes évoluera entre 5 € et 7 €, et celui des menus de 8 € à 9 €. » Le tout sera animé par Smoking Tropical.

    Dimanche 21 septembre, rebelote sur le vieux pont à 19 heures avec le traditionnel repas organisé par l'association de la Madeleine (il faudra apporter son pique-nique). À partir de 16 h 30, les traditionnelles vendanges au Faubourg auront lieu.

    2 La rivière Dordogne est aussi un patrimoine

    Cette fête tournera beaucoup autour de la rivière. Des promenades gratuites en gabarre d'une rive à l'autre seront possibles. D'autre part, des randonnées sont prévues. L'une sera sportive avec le Spiridon Périgord Pourpre (15 km sur les rives de la Dordogne, départ samedi à 9 heures à Piquecailloux ; renseignements au 06 72 73 28 98). Une autre sera plus familiale avec un guide naturaliste pour découvrir les espèces animales et végétales le long de la Dordogne (départs prévus à 9 h 30 au square Marcel-Guichard, et à 11 heures du Quai Garrigat. Rens. au 05 53 74 66 60).
    D'autre part, des joutes nautiques seront organisées vers 15 h 30 sur la Dordogne. Trois gabarrots ont été remis en état et aménagés pour porter un jouteur. Huit représentants de chaque quartier de Bergerac s'affronteront. La remise des prix est prévue à 17 h 30.

    3 Le patrimoine se déniche à chaque coin de rue
    Les trois musées de Bergerac (Tabac, Costi et Musée du vin et de la batellerie) seront ouverts et gratuits pendant ces trois journées. Une chasse au trésor sera ouverte pour tous les curieux : les bulletins d'inscription seront à retirer dès 15 heures samedi sur les Quais et permettront un circuit dans la ville.
    Samedi, à 18 heures, Jean-Philippe Brial-Fontelive dédicacera dans les salons de la Maison du vin son livre « Histoires mémorables, chronique d'un demi-siècle de vie bergeracoise ».

    Vendredi 19 septembre, dès 21 heures, dans le Cloître des récollets, un spectacle intitulé « La tempête paysanne qui fit trembler Bergerac et le Périgord tout entier en 1637 » sera proposé. Pendant la première partie, accompagné par un violon et un violoncelle, Dominique Pauvert racontera l'histoire de la révolte des Croquants au début du XVIIe siècle. Puis le conteur Dominique Corraza jouera son texte « Grellety, le Croquant », qui incarna la résistance paysanne de 1638 à 1641.


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  • Monday, September 15

    260 km of footpaths around Périgueux


    We already know that this area around Lalinde in the Dordogne is a paradise for walkers and hikers.
    Chateau Lalinde hosted a group of 15 from Iceland this past week, who go to a different place every year to cycle or walk and hike. This being the tenth anniversary of the group's annual outing, they decided to come to Lalinde and stay at Chateau Lalinde.
    We organised bikes for them with Jean Paul at Apolo, and they spent each day either walking and/or hiking in the area -- doing anything from 20 to 80 kilometres in a day.
    The unanimous verdict is that 'this is the best place to cycle and hike of anywhere they had been -- the variety and choice of routes and diversity of sites to see and things to do on the way, including finding delightful little restaurants for lunch or a refreshment on the way, was incomparable!'

    So it was with pleasure that I read the following article in the Sud Ouest recently:


    Finally, 260 km of marked footpaths in 13 communes of outer Périgueux, “la Communauté d’agglomération périgourdine” (CAP), have been completed. The footpaths, which are either existing ones or those that have been created, are split into 26 circuits of varying lengths (from 2 - 17 km). They are open to walkers, bicycles and even horses. In each commune the starting point is marked in the centre of town (mairie or church). The footpaths are marked posts with yellow caps. To link from one circuit to another the walker needs to follow the green posts. Guides explaining the whole network will be available later in the year. The footpaths are in addition to those that run along the banks of the river Isle.



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  • Saturday, September 13

    Golfing in the Dordogne


    A guide to clubs open to visitors to the Dordogne Perigord: Spoilt for choice!

    Château des Vigiers, Monestier


    This outstanding and unique course is situated amid rolling vineyards and it even has its own lake. There are 3 x 9-hole courses designed by Donald Steel, all with varying slopes and offering 27 flexible holes in total. There is also a 6-hole initiation course.

    Low season fees (1 Oct - 30 April) : 55 €. High season fees (1 May - 30 Sep) : 75 €. Several special offers are also available. Individual lessons available. Driving range. Buggies for hire.

    Château des Vigiers also boasts a 4 * hotel, bar (also serves bar snacks), 2 restaurants, a beauty centre for massages, sauna, hamman and Jacuzzi. Terrace. Heated, outdoor swimming pool. Fly fishing, tennis and cycling.

    Château des Vigiers
    24240 Monestier
    Tel : 05.53.61.50.33
    www.vigiers.fr
    golf@vigiers.com

    - Situated on the D18 between Sainte-Foy-la-Grande and Eymet, 8 km from Saint-Foy railway station and 20 km from Bergerac airport. 85 km from Bordeaux airport.


    Château les Merles, Mouleydier

    The Château and course are situated on the edge of the magnificent Liorac forest amid the Bergerac vineyards. The property spans 20 hectares and offers a 3000 m, 9-hole course, par 35, which requires technique and skill. Suitable for all levels with water and bunkers. The greens are considered to be some of the best in the region. A driving range and practice area with bunker are also available. Lessons for individuals or groups of all levels available to members and non-members.

    Château les Merles
    is also a very pleasant hotel with stylish restaurant (afternoon tea is very pleasant on the terrace), tennis court and outdoor swimming pool.

    Château les Merles
    Tuilières
    24520 Mouleydier
    Tel : 05.53.63.13.42
    www.lesmerles.com
    info@lesmerles.com

    - Situated 10 mins from bergerac airport, direction Sarlat


    Villeneuve-sur-Lot Golf & Country Club

    Not quite in the Dordogne but worth a mention anyway !

    Situated in rolling countryside just north of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, this course is surrounded by plum orchards and fields of sunflowers with magnificent views in all directions.

    The 18-hole championship course is widely recognised as the region’s most challenging course and higher handicap players will enjoy a satisfying and rewarding round.

    Under new ownership, an exciting plan is in progress to develop the facility into a prestigious and highly regarded Golf and Country Club offering year round activities.

    Already there are a wide range of facilities for members and visitors including a restaurant, driving range, 2 practice putting greens (one with practice bunker and approach area), swimming pool, tennis court and pro-shop as well as a full-time, resident teaching professional. Luxurious apartments overlooking the first fairway are available for rent. VSL G & C Club is in an unrivalled position. Your day spent at the course is guaranteed to be a truly enjoyable and memorable golfing experience.

    - Bring this article with you when you come to play this summer and we will be pleased to offer you a free green fee for every 3 purchased *

    Villeneuve-sur-Lot Golf & Country Club
    La Menuisière
    47290 Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe
    Tel : 05.53.01.60.19
    www.vslgolf.com
    info@vslgolf.com

    - Situated 30 minutes south of Bergerac airport on the N21



    Golf de St. Rémy, St. Méard de Gurçon


    Newly opened driving range (220 metres) for both practiced golfers and complete beginners. Eight well-proportioned covered bays with top quality t-mats. Club house with toilet facilities and small golf boutique. Golf lessons with a professional golfing instructor available, by appointment only (English spoken).

    * NEW THIS SUMMER. Hot snacks and drinks available all day (bottled beer and wine available with meals).

    Bucket of 80 balls - 5.50 €, 40 balls - 3.50 €. Golf clubs available for adults and children (right and left-handed) free of charge.

    Open form April to October 2008, 10 am to 10 pm all day. From November 2008 to March 2009 open on Wednesdays from midday to 5 pm and 10 am to dusk at the weekends.

    Golf de St. Rémy
    24610 St. Méard de Gurçon
    Tel : 05.53.80.09.08 or 06.26.59.92.00 (Gerard)
    www.DordogneBreak.com

    - Situated on the D708, 4.5 km north of St. Méard de Gurçon and south of Montpon.



    Other golf courses...


    1) Domaine de Rochebois (9)
    Route du Château de Montfort
    24200 Vitrac-Sarlat
    Tel : 05.53.31.52.52
    www.rochebois.com
    info@rochebois.com

    2) Domaine de Saltgourde (18)
    24430 Marsac-sur-l’Isle
    Périgueux
    Tel : 05.53.53.02.35
    www.golfdeperigueux.free.fr
    golfpgx@wanadoo.fr

    3) Souillac Golf and Country Club (18)
    Lachapelle-Auzac
    46300 Souillac
    Tel : 05.65.27.56.00
    www.souillaccountryclub.com
    Just over the border !

    4) Manoir de Longeveau (9)
    16390 Pillac
    Aubeterre
    Tel : 05.45.98.55.13
    www.longeveau.com
    info@longeveau.com
    Another one just over the border !

    5) Les Mirandes (18)
    Eyrenville
    24560 Plaisance
    Issigeac
    Tel : 05.53.57.42.89
    www.lesmirandesgolf.com
    welcome@lesmirandesgolf.com

    6) L’Oliverie (18)
    24170 Siorac-en-Périgord
    Tel : 05.53.30.22.69
    www.golfdelolivarie.com
    contact@golfdeloliverie.com

    7) Golf de la Forge (9)
    Route de Belvès
    24170 Siorac-en-Périgord
    Tel : 05.53.31.99.76
    www.golfdelaforge.com
    contact@golfdelaforge.com

    8) Domaine de la Marterie (9)
    La Marterie
    24260 St. Felix de Reilhac
    Tel : 05.53.05.61.00
    www.marterie.fr
    marteriegolf@aol.com

    9) Centre de Golf Bergeracois
    Driving range
    ZA La Valade
    Route de la Beylive (D13)
    24100 Bergerac
    Tel : 05.53.58.87.18
    www.guide-du-perigord.com
    centredegolfbergeracois@wanadoo.fr

    10) Swin Golf
    La Borie Blanche
    24240 Pomport
    Tel : 05.53.73.02.45
    www.laborieblanche.com
    ejlojeda@laborieblanche.com

    11) Golf de la Lande (9)
    Domaine de la Lande
    24410 Servanches (off the St.Aulaye-Echourgnac road)
    Tel : 05.53.80.45.32

    12) Swin golf de la Peyrière
    La Peyrière
    24590 St.Genies
    Tel : 05.53.31.57.00
    www.soleil-en-perigord.com
    soleilpg@club-internet.fr



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  • Thursday, September 11

    Learning French : Know who to call! A list of tradesmen


    With thanks to the Dordogne Info site, this handy list when you need a specialist handyman or service (the comments, however, are from personal experience):

    Un artisan (indépendant)
    A (self-employed) craftsman
    (careful of fly-by-nights!)

    Un charpentier
    A carpenter


    Un ébéniste

    A cabinet maker
    (if IKEA soen'e have what you need!)


    Un carreleur

    A tiler
    (make sure you get a sober one or your floor will look like a Gaudi creation)

    Un couvreur de toît de chaume
    A thatcher
    (as if a Brit will put a thatch roof on his newly restored house!)

    Un électricien
    An electrician

    Un menuisier
    A joiner


    Un maçon

    A builder, a bricklayer
    (usually the cousin of the son-in-law of the femme de menage of your neighbour.. Welcome to the family!)


    Un peintre

    A painter
    (the paint is never included in the price -- be aware - and the ceiling will need painting too for you are sure to hit it when you get the quote!)


    Un plombier

    A plumber
    (make friends with this man! The pipes are so old and clogged with calcium, you are going to need him once a week for the rest of your days. He generally also looks after the heating)


    Un ramoneur

    Chimney sweep
    (if you afre lucky enough to have a big fireplace! By law it has to be done once a year -- so look for one that doesn't eat too much or he won't fit next year and you have to start looking for a new one all over again)


    Un serrurier

    A locksmith
    (and he is not attached to a shoe repair shop!)


    Un vitrier

    A glazier

    Un chantier
    A building site
    (where the guys wistle when you walk past -- just as rthey do everywhere else in the world)


    Le début, la fin

    The beginning, the end
    (The two will feel like years apart -- probably because they are -- so put this aside for later for by the time you get to La fin you will have forgotten the word)

    Les délais
    Deadline
    (you don't have to memorize this word -- it will come up so often, you will learn it by osmosis)


    La fourniture

    The supply
    (is always in question. Out of stock.... due to les délais.... so what's new?)


    Un label

    A guarantee of quality
    (Ha!)

    Un litige
    A dispute
    (Ha ha ha! -- i.e. keep you sense of humour)

    Le matériel, les matériaux
    The equipment

    Le personnel
    The staff

    Un service après vente
    After-sales service
    (Wasn't aware there was such a word in French....)


    Un téléphone portable

    A mobile phone
    (make sure it is shock proof and watger proof -- you are sure to throw it a few times)

    Les travaux
    The work
    (that's what it is all about -- but not during lunch hour)

    Assurer
    To insure

    Le bouche à oreille
    Word of mouth
    (still the best reference)


    Choisir

    To choose
    (only after you have listened to Le bouche à oreille)

    Une connaissance
    An acquaintance
    (be careful of those - they usually expect to get a share of the pay cheque)

    Demander
    To ask
    (you can try...)

    Envisager
    To consider, contemplate

    Etre en règle
    To be in order
    (lucky you!)

    Exiger
    To demand
    (you can try this too...)


    Se fier à l’avis de

    To trust the opinion of
    (Le bouche à oreille)

    Joindre quelqu’un
    To reach someone
    (but not after hours or on a weekend)


    Recommander

    To recommend
    (if you are very lucky)

    Une agence immobilière
    Estate agency
    (when all else fails and you want to sell and bail out)


    Les syndicats professionnels

    Professional trade unions
    (they are in Paris -- on another planet)

    La mairie
    The town hall
    (you will get to know it well. Take your coffee flask with you)


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  • WOW! Well done Oscar! What an inspiration to us all!


    (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

    One gold medal down and two to go for the sprinter Oscar Pistorius of South Africa at the Beijing Paralympics.

    Despite a slow start on a wet track Tuesday, Pistorius won the most difficult of his three races, taking gold in the 100 meters in 11.17 seconds. Jerome Singleton (11.20) and Brian Frasure (11.50), both of the United States, finished second and third.

    “I had a tough start and a slow first 30 meters,” Pistorius said. “I really just pulled out all the stops.”

    Pistorius, a double amputee, is a favorite to win the 200 and the 400. Known as the Blade Runner because of his prosthetic legs, he won a legal battle in May for the right to run in the Beijing Olympics against able-bodied athletes. But he failed to meet the qualifying time in the 400.

    Pistorius will try to qualify for the next Olympics. “I’m looking forward to London 2012,” he said.

    His event was among 20 in which medals were awarded for track and field Tuesday, the third day of competition.



    (BLOOMBERG NEWS)


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  • Wednesday, September 10

    Late summer evenings in the Dordogne



    Sitting out in a beautiful garden, watching the sun set, sipping a glass of wine, enjoying the conversation of lovely people......... What more can anyone ask for?


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  • Learning French: A Phrase a Day



    Sometimes have someone really get up your nose?

    Try this next time it happens:

    Vos enfants sont très beaux. Ils sont adoptes?

    (Your children are very attractive. Are they adopted?)



    Nothing personal, Cindy!
    "n'y voir aucune allusion personnelle!"




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  • A good feeling!



    I have had several readers contact me to ask what has happened to me and why there have not been regular posts on the blog. The reason I have been so neglectful of the blog recently, is that I am writing furiously -- spending every day almost the entire day at my computer, working on my book about the Camino, the pilgrimage which I completed in February this year.

    Today I went off to the copy shop to print out what I have done so far in order to read it -- for the first time! -- on paper instead of the screen and --AH! -- what a fabulous feeling to see the manuscript, albeit a draft of a draft form of a work in progress! WOW! It feels good!

    But enough celebration already!

    Let me get on with the work!

    Writing the story of the experience is almost as exhausting, but definitely as exhilirating as walking the Camino itself -- retracing my steps -- and my thoughts --
    It is a good feeling!




    Click on Link:

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