Today is yet another day when I woke up way before the birds. I wondered whether to wish for continuing Scotch mist, rain that gently clean washes leaves, grass, people’s faces, – rain-spit incapable of settling dust but adding just that little body and curl to...
Well, this past week has gone on much like its predecessor – except that the weather has been abnormally warm for the time of year. Last Thursday it was over 20 C in Perigueux which is absurd. And I was absolutely wrong about the cranes, many more flights came...
There was a small skein of cranes flying over the fields as I went for a late afternoon walk this Sunday. They were seemingly heading north. Obviously they had not seen the same weather forecast for northern Europe that I had on Saturday night. Perhaps they had...
A brief respite in the cold, just the afternoon sun projecting deceptive warmth. Then we saw the full extent of damage to the road surfaces: the French for pothole is nid-de-poule or chicken nest. What we saw were turkey nests. Overnight, of course, the...
So, my friend Jean-Paul’s gut feeling was right. The precocious spring was blanketed in snow and ice before we had even had time to stock up on candles and cold remedies. Fortunately every serious country household has its reserves of firewood, confit de...
It is a truth, universally believed, that French bureaucracy is the worst of all European administrative systems, created and run by overly clever, under employed people. Some early examples: some thirty years ago an official wanted to know how many books we had...
As I opened the curtains to let in the early morning light, peripheral vision registered the re-occurrence of Great-Grandfather Edward’s spider web. Attached to the right hand side of his portrait frame, it stretches towards the window. Every few days I remove...
So I met Jean-Paul in the hardware store, looking his usual cheerful, chubby self so, like a fool, I ventured to ask if he was pleased with the gentle rain that has fallen since the frost. Never, ever ask a country man if he is happy with the present weather. The...
As promised, the full moon of January 9th introduced a change in the weather. Out went the wet, damp and stormy, in came the bright, clear cold which, despite the random early morning or late evening patch of fog, is still with us. We are all deeply grateful, not... 
