Hello and welcome to my newsletter and thank you all for signing up to receive it. I will try my level best to entertain you and bring you useful information through the newsletter today and going forward. Please feel free to pass it on to friends and anyone you think might be interested – right that’s my spiel over!
April in the Pas-de-Calais where I live was a really wet month and as I write this in the second week of May there seems to be no let-up in sight. As a matter of fact lots of places all over France had rain when they usually have sun in April – let’s hope that it’s an indication that there will be a lovely sunny summer all over.
It’s been a busy few weeks here – we’ve seen Nicolas Sarkozy voted out of power and Francois Hollande voted in as President. I have to say, judging from the debates that go on in Chez Annie my local bar, the only reason Mr Normal/Hollande got in is because he wasn’t Sarko. People seemed to have just about had enough of him and wife Carla and the dislike had become increasingly personal for many. No doubt Hollande – Flanby as he’s also known (named after a sort of crème caramel) will also become equally unpopular in time – the French don’t seem to like politicians much. In fact any sign of authority seems to drive them potty including driving regulations!
For me too it’s been busy. Thanks to the prolonged cold of early spring we ran out of fire wood and had to try to find more. As always I turned to my ever helpful neighbour Remy to find a firewood supplier and I just happened to mention that I liked geese. Before you could say “Zut alors” – he’d rustled a couple of geese up from his garden and into mine. They now live chez the chickens whom they boss about all day with the result that I have another pen to create at some point so that the poor girls get some peace.
I became an empty nester when my baby chicks left home. When I bought them mid-March and the man in the shop said they should stay in the house until 8 weeks old, I didn’t think it through really. Of course, now I know just how smelly they are I realise he probably meant the hen house not my house. I won’t be making that mistake again and I can’t tell you how relieved I was to get them out finally.
I’ve been writing about what goes on in my local area and was fascinated to find out just how much there is in St Omer. If you’re visiting this lovely region please check out my section on Pas-de-Calais – you may be surprised to find out just how much is going on and how lovely it is. We also keep our events list ongoing and showcase the best and the oddest of events in our monthly what’s going on all over France.
Well, I’m intending to be a bit more regular in my newsletter updates from now on – and I really hope that pleases you!
It’s been lovely catching up with you… your comments are welcomed – just click on our Contact Us page.
A bientôt Janine
