Valentina the Horse
Let me tell you about me and horses. Once upon a time, when I was a boy, I used to ride a fair bit. Not that I was a particularly good rider; anything but. And, although I was quite happy to sit on the things when they were moving, I never really found [...]
Continue reading 'Le Bilan des Animaux Domestiques – Part 4 of 5' »
I was planning to regale you all with another hilarious instalment of my animal evaluations, but I was forestalled by the arrival late Saturday of a DHL courier. Inside the package he brought me was an envelope containing another cassette from the Brigadier. The word “URGENT!” in red ink was liberally scattered over everything.
On this [...]
Some mornings I park up on the last bit of metalled road leading out on the marais – the reclaimed marshlands that border our village – and walk the dog for several miles through the countryside.
Usually I see no-one: perhaps the occasional farmer, hunter or woodcutter. There are no houses out there; it is a [...]
Continue reading 'La France Profonde: An Average Thursday' »
The Guinea Pigs
Current score is five – three boys and two girls. For obvious reasons (guinea pigs knock rabbits into cocked hats on the breeding front) the two groups are separated by a fair distance and several layers of wire. Here are three of the most photogenic:
Caramel
Aristotle
“El Jéfé” – Makka Pakka
Cost Effectiveness
Proprietary piggie food is [...]
Continue reading 'Le Bilan des Animaux Domestiques – Part 3 of 5' »
Next up on my assessment (or, perhaps, audit, as Gavin suggested, though that implies to me an activity that is purely objective, whereas I think that what I am doing has a certain subjective element) is Team Poultry.
Team Poultry comprises – at the moment – of eight chickens of assorted breeds and three ducks of [...]
Continue reading 'Le Bilan des Animaux Domestiques – Part 2 of 5' »
I’ll get round to explaining the title in a moment, but let me start by saying how very glad I was that our friends Jo & Evan and their children spent Christmas with us.
My reasons for this are threefold: firstly, and most importantly, because they are charming and interesting company.
Secondly, because they bought me a [...]
Continue reading 'Le Bilan des Animaux Domestiques – Part 1 of 5' »
Some people may recall that Brigadier Frothing-Knightly “guested” on this blog early in 2011. At the time I didn’t expect to hear from him again, though I did entertain the hope that other guest bloggers might offer contributions so that I didn’t have to do all the work around here.
Alas & alack, this did not [...]
I always rather enjoyed history at school. I had an energetic and enthusiastic (if somewhat boggly eyed and possibly slightly mad) history teacher by the name of Peter Leonard who kept things interesting and I was able to pass “O” level with a gratifying grade A.
We studied at that time a syllabus that concentrated on [...]
Continue reading 'Historical Dope' »
Few things can infuriate that group of British expats who believe that France should be run as a theme park for their convenience like la chasse.
Hunting in France, for the most part, does not mean florid, stout, men and hatchet-faced ladies, of a variety that can turn the bath taps on and off by scowling [...]
Continue reading 'Countryside Pursuits' »
In our hallway stands a non-descript chest of drawers.
Frankly, I don’t notice it most of the time, and I doubt anyone else does either, but it is what the French might describe as a “cache-misère,” the misère in this case being any item I find in my hands for which there is no other home.
Of [...]
Continue reading 'Jobs I Really Wish I Hadn’t Started #65' »
