For people like me, general elections are the most important and the most gripping of events in the political calendar. It is not just that the ballot box serves as the hub of democracy, it is also because the process focuses each nation’s minds and ultimately plays on our emotions. Democracy is a wonderful mechanism…

Large parts of our garden in France have been turned upside-down. A path divides our main lawn into two halves and while nothing has been touched on the right, the left has become unrecognisable. It is on that left that our extension is being built and so where there was once a lawn there is…

As long as I can remember I have loved fish - eating them that is!  As a young child they were specially prized as during the Second World War and for several years after fish was one of the few tasty and nutritious foods that were not rationed. Dover sole was amongst my favourites, as…

This blog stems largely from something I have puzzled over for years and which arises when I am out walking in the French countryside. It is all about the way people behave when they meet ‘strangers’.  A favourite path of mine starts just near our house in Brittany. It is usually empty but sometimes when…

Our home in London is in a suburb bordered by three large parks. In keeping, in any week during the spring and summer, it would be unusual if we did not see urban foxes either sauntering down one of our roads or walking along the top of the wall at the back of our garden.…

Over the years I have had two serious altercations with potholes. The first took place on a rainy day just before I retired, when I mistook a deep pothole for a puddle. I flew over the handlebars, hit my head on the tarmac and momentarily lost consciousness. A cyclist behind me stopped and called for…

Almost a year ago Rohan and I went to the local Mairie (the Town Hall of our tiny village) to ask whether we could build an extension. The plans for enlarging our Tréguennec outhouse were outlined, questions were asked about its purpose and various official documents were reviewed. Not long after, the secretary who runs…

Several years ago I launched a project to save one of my ‘treasures’ from damage. I recruited a team of helpers - guardians - and in this blog I describe what happened. Importantly, the project fits with what I have been doing for years.  I am always on the look out for interesting or unusual…

While these days we occasionally go to the cinema, visits to theatres or concerts are rare, and trips to see opera or ballet even more so. Outings have not been helped by the Covid pandemic and only now have visits started to come back, such that in the last few weeks I have been reminded…

Each day after my gym sessions I have a cuppa with friends. Our cafe is at the quiet end of a large room that looks out over a swimming pool. By tradition, the other end serves as a meeting place both for children as they wait the few minutes before getting ready to swim, and…