There are some things that I find quite hard to get used to in France. Actually it might not be all of France but just the rural bit where I live but nevertheless there are some things that happen that surprise me.
For instance, take the other day… a neighbour popped round to see if the OH (other half – the male half) wanted to go hunting at the weekend…
Hunting is a big thing here. Many local people rely on the hunt season to stock their freezers for winter and game is plentiful – pheasant, grouse, deer even wild pig though they are not as common as they used to be.
I can’t say I’m really into the hunting thing but I thought it might be interesting to go along and observe. I’d heard on the grapevine that the hunters spend quite a bit of time allotted to hunting actually playing cards, drinking wine, singing songs and hanging out in a converted bunker in the woods – that bit sounds like fun to me.
So… I said to the neighbour – “can I come too?”.
You should have seen his face – he was completely puzzled and totally horrified.
Then he said of course I was invited … to his house where his wife and the other wives would be preparing a meal for the hunters when they returned from a hard day’s hunting!
When it comes to hunting in this bit of France – it’s all about wine and song but most certainly no women!
A bientôt Janine
