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Landing in Normandy: April 2013: spring may or may not be here

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April 2013: spring may or may not be here. The winter of 2012-3 was of course pretty dreadful: continuously colder than usual, and very much wetter than average for Normandy. The snow in March was so bad that the Ouest France regional newspaper published a special supplement of facts and photos, with the cover an aerial picture of the closed A84 motorway with the roofs of abandoned cars poking through the snow. Primroses, violets and dandelions together. The leaves, close to the ground. 169;Paul Netherco...

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Landing in Normandy: Cycling in France

http://landinginnormandy.blogspot.com/2012/11/cycling-in-france.html

You will have read that Bradley Wiggins,. Winner of the 2012 Tour de France, and Olympic gold medal, was knocked off his bike and injured. On it Some of the comments that this article attracted continued this irrational and disgusting hatred. What is wrong with so many British people? It is clear that cycling is very important in France, and seen as such. There are over 2,500 cycling clubs, most of which have their own club uniforms, and local sponsors. Over 2.3 million bikes were sold last y...The origi...

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Landing in Normandy: Abbaye Blanche, Mortain 900 years old

http://landinginnormandy.blogspot.com/2012/12/abbaye-blanche-mortain-900-years-old.html

Abbaye Blanche, Mortain 900 years old. This year is the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Abbaye Blanche in Le Neufbourg, Mortain. Unlike the Abbey at Lucerne d'Outremer, which I wrote about in this blog. Post, or the Abbey at Hambye, this is a relatively little known historic place. I only found it because I had a meeting at the nearby bar restaurant, and saw a sign pointing to it down a little road. L'Abbaye Blanche, Le Neufbourg, Mortain. The church at l'Abbaye Blanche, Mortain. The interior of...

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Landing in Normandy: Remembrance Day ceremony in a small village

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Remembrance Day ceremony in a small village. Today, Sunday 1. November 2013, I went to the wreath laying ceremony in the commune in which I live. The actual ceremonies start with a mass in the church in the nearest small town, organised for all the small villages around. Although every village has a church, there are no longer priests. Even thirty years ago most of them would have had their own, powerful, cu. Marriage ceremonies, wherever and whenever they can. I did not attend the church ceremony. Died ...

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Landing in Normandy: Back again

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Which we did. However, we soon found that our house was great for holidays, but not really big enough for full time living, especially as we both had various little continuing obligations that really required a bit of desk and filing space. We started to look for a bigger house, and found the ideal one about 10 miles away. Needed completion of renovations, and other work. So why have I decided to start again? Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). WWII memoirs of Joe Nethercott. Photos by Paul Nethercott.

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Landing in Normandy: Swallowtail butterflies and a fennel bush

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Swallowtail butterflies and a fennel bush. A few years ago, I bought a bronze fennel bush at a garden centre specialising in herbs, near Chesterfield in Derbyshire. We kept it in a pot on our roof terrace in London, where it quietly survived. We then then took it to Normandy when we moved here, put in in a proper garden, and it has thrived: this year it reached nearly two metres. This year This year (2013) there has been a second brood, with four more caterpillars on the bush in August.

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Landing in Normandy: Another Fete

http://landinginnormandy.blogspot.com/2010/07/another-fete.html

We are well into the season of village fêtes, vide greniers and celebrations. See previous post. For more information. Bastille Day, 14 July, sees festivals and events everywhere. We went to one, and as always, encountered a few pretty unexpected incidents which we would never see in the UK. The fête we went to was called a ' mechoui. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). The issue of the bees. WWII memoirs of Joe Nethercott. Photos by Paul Nethercott. Type French accents easily: Avisoft (free).

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Landing in Normandy: Fetes, foires and food

http://landinginnormandy.blogspot.com/2009/06/fetes-foires-and-food.html

Fetes, foires and food. Are starting. The. In most communes arrange some sort of annual summer event, ranging from small fairs and a few stalls, to quite significant undertakings. Most of them this being. Include either lunch or dinner in the open or under marquees (. Many also finish with free firework (. Displays in the evening, and free dances (. In the village hall (. With live music. Many events also include specialist entertainments, and many have the same type of entertainer each year. Typically, ...

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Landing in Normandy: Lac de la Dathée revisited

http://landinginnormandy.blogspot.com/2013/02/lac-de-la-dathee-revisited.html

Lac de la Dathée revisited. My post in January 2010 about the Lac de la Dathée. Has had a lot of visitors, so I thought I might add a bit to supplement it. There is a golf course on one side of the lake. About which I can say nothing because I do not play golf, but I am told it has a good cafe so I might one day call in. There have been a lot of floods in this part of Normandy this winter. I live effectively in the valley of the River Sèe. Which descends through the hills from Sourdeval,. Lac de la Dathee.

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Landing in Normandy: La Rentrée – Back to School

http://landinginnormandy.blogspot.com/2013/09/la-rentree-back-to-school.html

La Rentrée – Back to School. In the second half of August, all the French supermarkets suddenly have vastly expanded stationery ranges, and are full of mothers and children clutching lists and walking up and down the aisles with anxious expressions. This is La Rentrée, the start of back to school in a couple of weeks. This year the typical minimum cost of everything each child needs is about 135€, well over £100; there are grants for people on low incomes, but it is still a burden. Labels: back to school.