Bonjour and welcome to this week’s newsletter
The weather has been very changeable this week in France. In the south there has been very heavy rain and a bit of sunshine, while in the north it’s been the other way round. Here where I am in the Seven Valleys, Pas de Calais, we’ve had our first frost this week.
My six cats see this as their cue for re-engaging with the house. Most of the time they like to be out and about, the three older boys especially. Winston, Ginger Roger and ‘Enry Cooper don’t come in at night except to feed, then they’re off hunting. The two girls, Loulou and Shadow and Hank Marvin the kitten prefer to come in at night. Now though all of them want to avoid the rain, wind and cold of winter and they’ve been staking their claim to their favourite spots. An armchair for Ginger, sofa for Loulou, kitchen chair for Shadow, dog’s bed for Enry. Winston will only sleep where he can see me (he is very neurotic) and Marvin isn’t quite sure yet but is quite keen to wrap himself round my neck.
Another sign that winter is definitely coming are the hedgehogs. Every night we get visits from a mum and her baby, followed soon after by dad (he’s massive). Then two juveniles arrive separately to scoff the food I leave out.
In the poultry pen where I keep ducks, chicken and geese for fun, Lucky the abandoned duckling has at last grown feathers. I was beginning to despair about her. On the day she and her four siblings hatched, her mum led them all into a pond which they couldn’t get out of. I found one little duckling padding frantically and for a while she lived in a trolley down the side of my desk. Ducklings are very cute when they’re babies but get smellier with age so I put her in the garden in an enclosure and it has taken ages for her to grow and get feathered up which she needs to do before she can join the rest of the group.
Well that’s it for my animal update this week, next week I am hoping to share some very exciting news with you about our new, free magazine…
Where ever you are, I wish you a happy and very bon weekend
Best wishes and Bisous from France
Janine
Editor
This Week’s Features
Christmas Markets in Paris: We’ve got all the dates, details and times for the best of the Christmas markets in Paris. All next week we’ll be updating our Christmas markets news on the website…
Romancing the bone: If you thought that animal weddings are a modern oddity, think again, newspapers in 1896 claimed the first dog wedding took place in the south of France at the very chic villa Ephrussi. The two poodles of one of the richest families were said to tie the knot watched by several hundred guests…
Living and learning in Limousin: Debbie Coxon, expat in Creuse, tells us why she loves her French life…
Paris City travel guide: Want to know where to get a free city map or how to flag a taxi in Paris, the low down on travel in the city…
… and if you’re visiting Paris, read our safety tips, practice your French with these 5 unconventional tips and check out the advice lovely Rachel Khoo of my little Paris kitchen shared with us to help you look good while travelling…
Mini tour of Provence: Canadian author Patricia Sands led a tour to Provence this year and talks about her favourite places to visit.
Finally, here’s a winter warmer for you from the Master Chef himself, Michel Roux Jr and his Chestnut and apple soup…
An enormous thank you so much to everyone for sharing our articles, it is truly and hugely appreciated.
