etcetera magazine May 2021

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YOUR COMPANION FOR LIFE IN THE FRENCH COMMUNITY

MAY 2021

Feathers Up Close The Early Evolution 100s of Local Advertisers Inside

PLUS

May Holidays A Little Bit of History

FRENCH INCOME TAX ADVICE ASTRONOMY FISHING And much more…

PARLEZ FRANÇAIS • HEALTH • RECIPES • CRAFT

Your Local Solution for Insulating Your Home To take advantage of the current government-funded insulation and air-to-water heat pump grants, make an appointment with one of our English advisers Contact Kate 05 55 14 62 77 or Luke 07 78 22 63 25 If you prefer to visit us in person we’d be delighted to welcome you at 9 rue de la gare in Rochechouart

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aannddt S ho e uStohu tohf oEfnEgnlgalnad n df rfor ommLLi im moogg e es s !!

May June 15th 26th to to September September 25th, 25th, with with British British airways Airways

More information on www.britishairways.com

hello & welcome

Contents 3

A note from the editors

4

What’s on

7

Craft

9

Latest news

10

History

12

Opinion

13

Food

16

Language

19

Business & assistance

24

Health

29

Garden

36

Farm life

38

Animal

39

Angling

40

Free time

42

Nature

46

Astronomy

48

Home & Specialist

50

Getting connected

53

Artisans

60

Motoring & removals

62

Property

64

Classified

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Welcome to the May edition of etcetera magazine.

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With any luck, we are entering this month with a much-needed easing of restrictions (particularly for the commerce that has been unable to open).

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A Note from the Editors

Code APE 5814Z Edition de Revues et Periodique Siret 80903463000016. La Présidente G. Feasey Registered. Le Bourg, 87360 Verneuil Moustiers. Impression: Rotimpres. Pol. Ind Casa Nova. Carrer Pla de l’Estany s/n. 17181 Aiguaviva (Girona) Espagne. etcetera est gratuit.

While we always do our best to ensure the content in this magazine is given in good faith and businesses are reputable, we accept no liability for any errors or omissions and do not endorse any companies, products or services. Articles written are the personal opinions of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of etcetera magazine.

SAMU (Medical) Gendarmes (Police) Pompiers (Fire and also trained in medical emergency) 114 Text-message emergency number for deaf/hard of hearing 119 Child abuse 115 Homeless 113 Drugs and alcohol 112 European emergency not always English 1616 Emergency- Sea & Lake 3131 Last incoming call, key ‘5’ to connect Orange English speaking helpline 0033 (0)9 69 36 39 00 Website in English: www.orange.com/en/home Technical assistance for landlines (French): 3900 (+33 9 69 39 39 00 from abroad) SFR 1023 or 00336 1000 1023 (Not English) EDF 0810 333087 EDF breakdown 24 hours +33 (0)9 69 36 63 83 EDF Helpline in English 0033 562164908 (From UK) 05 62 16 49 32 Fax E-mail: simpleenergywithedf@edf.fr CPAM - 09 74 75 36 46 Veolia Water Emergency No: 24h/24 et 7j/7 05 61 80 09 02 (press 1 for urgent problems or 2 for a technician) S.E.P Du Confolens (Water) 05 87 23 10 08 Emergency 24/7 Aéroport Int’l Limoges 05 55 43 30 30 SNCF (train times, buying tickets etc) 36 35 Alcoholics Anonymous For contact details of meetings in your area including those conducted in English, visit www.aafrance.net

Please download the pdf from this link now: www.paysruffecois.fr/sante/guide.pdf

HOSPITALS 05 55 05 55 55 Limoges (CHU) 05 55 43 50 00 St Junien 05 55 47 20 20 Bellac 05 49 44 44 44 Poitiers 05 45 24 40 40 Angoulême 05 49 32 79 79 Niort 05 45 84 40 00 Confolens Counselling In France Counsellors, psychotherapists, NLP, CBT etc offering therapy in English to expatriates all over France on www.counsellinginfrance.com SSAFA France 05 53 24 92 38 email france@ssafa.org.uk French Health Insurance Advice line.

CPAM English speaking Advice line: 09 74 75 36 46 (from France) 0033 974 75 36 46 (from other countries).

The line is open from Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

NHS website : www.nhs.uk/using-thenhs/healthcare-abroad www.ameli.fr No Panic France Helpline: No Panic UK helpline: 0044 1 952 590 545 11h - 23h (French time) 7/7 www.nopanic.org.uk /nopanicfrance@orange.fr English-speaking Crisis Line SOS- HELP 01 46 21 46 46 3pm-11pm 7/7 British Consulate in Paris 01 44 51 31 00 British Consulate in Bordeaux 05 57 22 21 10 www.ukinfrance.fco.gov.uk/en/ Credit Agricole English Speaking Helpline Charente (residents only) 05 45 20 49 60 Anglofile - Radio for British in Charente www.rcf.fr Tues 20h (repeated Sun 11h30). leme 96.8, Chalais 96.9, Confolens 95.4, Ruffec 95.4, Char. Limousine 104.1, Cognac 89.9

Print 2 copies - one for your home and one for your car - it could save a life.

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listing

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listing

"File:Napoleonic (Fabergé egg).jpg" by Chuck Redden from Petersburg, VA, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0

6 etcetera

craft

Peppermint Foot Scrub THIS SIMPLE RECIPE TICKS EVERY BOX. IT IS SUPER QUICK, SUPER EASY AND SUPER CHEAP TO MAKE. IN FACT, YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED AT HOME

P

eppermint foot scrub is both cooling and invigorating making it a real treat that will be appreciated and used. After all, everyone’s feet benefit from a little

Materials -2 Cups Epsom Salt -1 Cup Coconut Oil -10 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil -1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Rosemary

tender loving care, and if you do know someone with perfect feet, you can be sure they are spending plenty of time (and money) keeping them in that condition!

When making home-made cosmetics, always ensure you list all the ingredients with your gift, as not all essential oils, or indeed other products are suitable for all recipients

Sarah is the author of craftinvaders.co.uk where she blogs about her original craft tutorials, recipes, foraging, and developing wellbeing through being creative, spending time outdoors

By Sar ah Wh and connecting iting with nature

MIX IT UP! You can use Epsom salts, sea salt, sugar or a mix.

You can use any number of oils and fragrances, and you can add in dried herbs or fresh.

Steps 1. In a bowl, mix your chosen carrier oil (if you’re using coconut oil and it’s solid, gently melt it over heat then allow to cool slightly) with your essential oil drops. (You could use olive or almond oil, perhaps even add a little shea or cocoa butter.)

2. Throw in the rest of the ingredients.

How dry or oily you make your scrub is a matter of your own personal preference.

With a peppermint foot scrub, I think it’s nice to have it quite wet with oil to

really encourage the user to massage it in thoroughly.

3. Give everything a thorough mix, and spoon into pretty little jars. If it’s a gift, decorate the jar with a pretty gift tag and ribbon.

etcetera 7

craft

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news

VACCINATIONS IN FRANCE - UPDATE It appears the vaccine rollout is ramping up as promised and people are now finding it easier to book an appointment. For online bookings (and to check if your priority group has been called up yet), you can visit: https://about.doctolib.fr/covid-vaccination. This gives you details of which ages and groups (for example, certain illnesses, particular professions) are eligible, which dates and which vaccine. As the information is constantly changing and updating, if you would like to be vaccinated against covid-19 it’s a good idea to keep checking either Doctolib.fr, Sante.fr or directly with your doctor.

UK DRIVING LICENCES A spokesperson from the British Embassy in Paris has recently confirmed that the UK and France are in the final stages of negotiations concerning a reciprocal agreement between the two countries. Without this agreement, British driving licence holders have found themselves unable to exchange their UK licences to French ones. When asked when the UK and EU would reach an agreement on driving licences, Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Conservative, House of Lords and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Transport) replied: “All EU/EEA Member States, except for Italy, have confirmed reciprocal arrangements for exchanging licences, confirming that a retest will not be required for resident UK nationals. Most of our agreements are permanent arrangements and a small number require formal agreements which will be concluded before the end of this year. Where these agreements are needed, the UK has secured interim arrangements with the relevant Member States. All EU/EEA countries have confirmed that International Driving Permits will not be required by UK visitors.” The British Embassy has said published guidance should be issued very soon.

ATCHOUM !

If you suffer from allergies and would like to know the forecast, check out these apps: Météo Pollen gives a 3-day forecast for your nearest town or city, the Alertes Pollens app can be personalised with up to 5 allergens and 5 departments, Ma Vie d'Allergie includes reminders and tips, and finally, the Pollen app, which covers forecasts specific to your area.

UNMARKED SPEED CAMERA CARS At the end of April, la Sécurité routière announced they are set to triple the amount of private unmarked speed detection cars.

At the moment there are 83 cars in France (these operate in Brittany, Normandy, Centre-Val de Loire and Pays-de-la-Loire) but this will increase to 223 and will include Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Grand-Est, Hauts-de-France and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (these regions are due to begin around now). La Sécurité routière stated: “The number of

[speeding] tickets issued as a result of a violation detected by a speed detection car (whether private or not) represents 9.2% of all tickets issued as a result of speeding detected by a camera.”

They also said that authorities are preferring to outsource speed camera monitoring to private companies, to “free up and better use the skills and qualifications of law enforcement” in other areas, such as testing drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

etcetera 9

history

Happy Holidays

By Mik

e Geo r ge

Mike George is our regular contributor on wildlife and the countryside in France. He is a geologist and naturalist, living in the Jurassic area of the Charente

WE ALL VALUE OUR HOLIDAYS, BUT WHEN DID THEY START? WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE? WHAT DETERMINES THE DATE?

M

y guess is that it all started with the Winter Solstice. You, as an exhunter-gatherer, have recently discovered agriculture, and have noticed that this relies on the sun. You have also noticed that the sun has a peculiar habit of descending towards the horizon as the days go by, and then going back up again, thereby having a serious effect upon the climate, the length of the day and your ability to feed yourself and your family.

You have this lurking fear that the sun may forget to go back up again. A festival to remind him to do so is a good plan.

Now you have the Winter Solstice festival.

It happens when the weather is not suitable for planting and growing and harvesting, so there is nothing much for you to do except party. Of course, this wasn’t a holiday (you can bet there wasn’t much holy about it!) but it was a break from normal life and a chance to let your hair down.

As the centuries passed, things got a bit more organised. The life of man was one of toil and hardship, and the more times this could be relieved, the better. The Sabbath, the one day in seven when man could rest, was soon established. Attempts to change that have always resulted in disaster. It seems to fit with Man’s circadian rhythms. From it springs the seven-day week.

The Church gets involved The Church, when it finally gained a foothold in Society, brought wonderful new opportunities for rest. Christmas replaced the Winter Solstice Festival, Easter came along in spring to swallow up any unseemly welcoming of the season of fertility, and Saints’ Days gave numerous excuses for a day of contemplation instead of toil. We also got the word “holiday”, of course!

Of all the bank holidays in England only Good Friday and Christmas Day are enshrined in Common Law, having been

10 etcetera

celebrated since “Time Immemorial" (for reference, that in law means, "since before Richard 1st came to the throne in 1189”).

All other holidays are either announced by Royal Decree annually, or fixed by statute.

third) Sunday in April, but it was left to the church to make the final arrangements, and nothing happened. The Act is still on the statute books, and I understand that there are moves afoot in the major Churches to resurrect the idea (no pun intended).

Thus, two festivals were set – or were they? Christmas happened on 25th December (or was it 12 January? That As far as the other potential holidays went, gave rise to some fierce arguments in the to a great extent you could decide for 17th century.) and Easter happened on the yourself when to have a festival. Choose a first Sunday after the first full moon after saint to venerate, or to be the patron of the spring equinox. This itself sounds your Church, and there you were. fairly complicated and is the result of the The Needs of Industry only certain thing we know about the timing of the crucifixion of Jesus, namely This didn’t much matter when everything that it all happened around the Feast of was decentralised and holidays were not Passover, which, since the Jews used a so disruptive of the workforce. However, lunar calendar, was fixed by lunar when the Industrial Revolution came calculation. along, and the various Indeed, there sections of industry When the Industrial Revolution became interdependent, were problems even with that. came along, and the various trouble loomed.

You may have sections of industry became At the beginning of the 19th noticed that this interdependent, trouble loomed century, the Bank of England year, the Jewish (since we are talking about Passover bank holidays) recognised happened a about 40 saints’ days as holidays during week before Easter. That was because the the year. Again, these may for the most full moon actually fell on the Sunday part have been celebrated locally, not which coincided with the equinox, and the nationally. In 1834 this was slashed to 4, two religions had slightly different criteria namely May Day, All Saints’ Day, Good for fixing the day of the festival.

Friday and Christmas Day. This moveability of Easter has always been This didn’t last long. Although it is a problem, in that Easter could happen difficult to determine how widespread any time within a five-week period, which such a curtailment must have been, the made it difficult to decide when the Bank of England was back up to between 6 holiday industry should kick into action. and 18 holidays by 1845.

Also, different Christian sects were prone to using slightly different criteria, and But the general populace was getting a raw again Easter could be celebrated on two deal. Some factories, where annual dates in the same year, even by Christians. maintenance had to be done, would This is what the Synod of Whitby in 664 declare a “Wakes Week" when the factory was largely about. would be shut down, the maintenance It is a little-known fact that the UK Parliament passed an act, the Easter Act 1928, which would allow the date of Easter Day to be set as the second (or possible

men would go in and the workers could join an excursion or make their own arrangements. No picking the date for your holiday!

history

Mind you, there weren’t the facilities of organisation for extended holidays.

Seaside holidays were mainly for the rich, and travel abroad was for the very rich. No aeroplanes, no organised cruises (except to Australia if you were convicted).

Monday in May, and Good Friday and Christmas Day were specified, as Scotland didn’t have Common Law!

Over the years, other days have been added. England got New Year’s Day in about 1970 and May 1st in 1978. The dates Where do the banks come in all this? of Whit Monday and August Bank Holiday were changed in the mid-20th century in Mind you, at this time banks did have a bit an attempt to avoid overloading the of a problem. When a delayed bill became holiday destinations (those of us old due for payment, the date of payment was enough to remember the Mods and stated, and if the bank happened to be Rockers at Brighton in the 1960s will closed for holidays on that day, the bank know why). As usual, the change to August could be sued for not discharging its duty.

Bank Holiday (under Edward Heath in They needed statutory protection.

1965) was at first In 1871, Sir John Lubbock, done tentatively, a Liberal politician, “to see if it Those of us old enough to introduced the Bank works”, and as a remember the Mods and Rockers result the actual Holidays Act to Parliament, and it was dates tended to be at Brighton in the 1960s will passed. This created the announced so late know why bank holiday as we know that calendarit, when a worker could not makers could not be compelled to work on certain days incorporate them, and the holiday (except by agreement or extra pay). This sometimes ended up in September. It was bill also stated that, if a bill fell due on a finally settled by the 1971 Holidays Act. bank holiday, payment could be made on In addition, Ireland was given St Patrick’s the next trading day without the banks Day and Battle of the Boyne Day. Scotland incurring a penalty, which solved that was given St Andrew’s Day. Whatever little problem. happened to St George’s Day? Or St In England, Wales and Ireland the new David’s Day? holidays were Easter Monday, Whit What happens elsewhere?

Monday, the first Monday in August and Boxing Day (remember Good Friday and Europe, of course, has made its own Christmas Day were a legal right). arrangements for holidays. A lot of them Scotland also got New Year’s Day, the first (despite the avowed secularisation of most

of the republican rhetoric) are religious holidays, but of course VE Day and 11th November are important (perhaps less so in some countries), as are national events such as the various Republic Days. Of all the European Union countries, Austria seems at first sight to have the most declared holidays, but a careful inspection reveals that many of these are named Sundays.

In many European countries, if the holiday falls on Sunday, tough, you don’t get an alternative. Britain has always tried to find an alternative, though, and this is often written into the Statute.

The United States has a plethora of statutory holidays. Most of them commemorate great events or great men, some of whom are now forgotten. These have a tendency to move about the calendar, too, which adds to the confusion.

In Latin American countries, religious holidays tend to dominate. The dates of national holidays tend to vary as El Presidente changes.

African countries are a study on their own.

In the Far East, an entirely new calendar comes into play, and totally different rules apply. Try living through Chinese New Year and trying to understand what’s going on.

I wish you all a very happy Maytime of assorted holidays.

etcetera 11

opinion I remember back in the UK taking my mother for her first appointment at a brand-new surgery. It was all very cuttingedge with smoked glass, an arboretum and magazines only four years old. By the entrance was a touch-screen device inviting patients to confirm their details and tap on a button marked “ARRIVE ME”. I exploded at this linguistic barbarism and stormed out of the building. I was halfway home when I remembered my mother.

It never used to be like this. In childhood we clutched our drool-soaked copy of “My First Alphabet”, (“A is for Apple”); we mimicked animal sounds, (“What does the dog say?”); we soaked up bedtime stories and children’s television, learning, always learning. Words would be our companions on the road of life. Hurrah!

Brian White lives in south Indre with his wife, too many moles and not enough guitars

Word Search Y

ou might recall last year a senior member of the UK government was asked if they would apologise for the shortage of Personal Protection Equipment which had left nurses wearing bin bags in the face of a lethal virus. They responded, “I’m sorry if people feel that there have been failings”, before adding, “I will be very, very clear about that.”

Cleverly done! The issue instantly became one merely of perception while the subtle use of “if” questioned whether a problem had actually occurred at all. I feel Bob Marley was too confessional, he should have called his song, “I’m Sorry If Some People Feel the Sheriff Has Been Shot”.

This kind of vacuous double-speak sucks the oxygen out of a centuries-old language rich in texture and nuance. I never think of English as the language of Chaucer, since few people understood what he was on

12 etcetera

about even as he was on about it. But Shakespeare, I’ll give you. Without doubt, The Bard, (plus whoever else contributed to that implausibly large output; but let’s not go there), significantly expanded his native tongue with many lustrous new words, (including ‘lustrous’). Indeed, it was via the great sonnet-wrangler that I first encountered ‘excruciating’, when my grammar school English teacher marked my essay on “The Merchant of Venice”.

Decades later, my job involved conveying company directors’ ideas to thousands of employees. With a hostility to businessspeak bordering on the psychotic, I would remove from their messages jargon like ‘product agnostic’ and ‘sub-prime paradigm setting’, arguing that, with all due respect, it’s meaningless gibberish.

Some executives would reinstate these pet phrases in their approved draft; I would remove them again before publishing.

How we would laugh.

But the debasing of language continues relentlessly. George Orwell (who else?) was already on the case. Way back in 1946 he warned of politicians “giving the appearance of solidity to pure wind”. He saw it coming: Words without meaning, buzz phrases as policy. Decisions of brainwarping complexity with immense consequences reduced to a slogan that fits on a fridge magnet.

Where are the great orators whose power Able to articulate the most abstract human with language burned into our thoughts, English is replete with consciousness and set light to our sumptuous words like ‘vicissitude’ and imagination? Giants like Bertrand Russell, ‘usurping’, (I sometimes feel I never did philosopher and avowed pacificist, who enough usurping). Accommodating both wrote, “It is the academic and preoccupation with the poet is by no possessions, more than means unique Where are the great orators anything else, which to English; whose power with language prevents us from living however, I am freely and nobly.” burned into our consciousness qualified only to and set light to our imagination? Or Emmeline discuss my native Pankhurst, political tongue, a fluency activist leading the fight in which gives me for equal rights, blazing some eleventyin defiance, “We have to free half of the thousand words what with to writing here human race, the women, so that they can and speaking also. help to free the other half.”

These days, English is under constant But perhaps more than anyone, we look to assault, particularly from American Captain Edward Smith, alone on the culture, (insert your own joke). We find bridge of RMS Titanic. As the leviathan ourselves routinely using nouns like slid beneath the freezing Atlantic waves in ‘access’ and ‘party’ as verbs. Worse, an apocalyptic howl of exploding boilers athletes who win medals are said to have and shattering glass, Captain Smith ‘podiumed’, (yes, really). In fact, in summoned all his authority, reached for American English there is no noun which the bullhorn and called out to his terrified cannot be verbed. Which is, like, passengers, “I’m sorry if people feel there have been failings”. soooo annoying.

Babka is a sweet Polish yeast bread, similar to Italian panettone

Delicious Desserts

Belinda, the ‘Accidental Chatelaine’ loves to cook at any opportunity and is delighted to be able to share that love with you

By Beli n

da Prin ce

www.chateaumareuil.com

Subscribe to the Chateau Mareuil channel on YouTube

Strawberry & Lemon Curd

Tart with a Lemon Drizzle Ingredients (Serves 8) 1 pack sweet shortcrust pastry (pâte sucrée) 500g mascarpone 3tbsp lemon curd (Citrons de Corse) ½ tsp vanilla extract 1tbsp icing sugar 300g strawberries, halved – pile on more if you like!

3tbsp caster sugar ½ lemon, zest only

Method 1. Heat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan/gas 5.

2. Line a 28cm flan tin with the pastry, chill in the fridge for 30 mins before baking blind until crisp and browned.

Leave to one side to cool while preparing the filling.

3. Mix together the mascarpone, lemon curd, vanilla extract and icing sugar until smooth.

4. Pile into the cooled pastry case and top with the halved strawberries.

5. Meanwhile, make a lemon syrup.

Place the caster sugar and 2 tbsp of water into a small saucepan over a low heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve, then increase the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; add the lemon zest and leave to cool completely.

6. Drizzle the lemon syrup over the tart (and try not to eat it all by yourself!).

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food

Rhubard Almost Tarte Tatin

!

Ingredients 175g plain flour (farine de blé) 50g ground almonds 100g unsalted butter 25g caster sugar 2 egg yolks* beaten with a little cold water 8 sticks of rhubarb 1 orange, zested & juiced 3tbsp brown sugar (cassonade) 50g butter Method 1. Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the diced butter and using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the ground almonds and sugar. Make a “well” in the centre and pour in the egg yolks and water mixture. Draw the flour mix into the egg with a knife and form into a rough dough. Knead

lightly and wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 mins.

2. Meanwhile, using a rectangular or round oven dish or tray, lay the washed rhubarb stems alongside each other, trimming as necessary.

3. Sprinkle on the sugar, dot with butter, add the zest and orange juice, cover with foil and bake in the oven at 200ºC/180ºC fan for 20 mins.

4. Roll out the dough on a cold floured surface and lay it over the rhubarb, like a “blanket”. Return to the oven and cook for a further 25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully turning it out on to a serving dish or plate. Serve with cream, crème fraîche or ice cream. * Make meringues with the spare egg whites

Cherry

Almond Tart

Ingredients (Serves 8) 1 pack shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) 85g softened butter 175g caster sugar 175g ground almonds 2 eggs, beaten Few drops almond extract 250g fresh cherries, stoned and halved

Château Mareuil

History, Beauty, Tradition…

Luxury Holidays with Private Pool Come and visit our Chambres d’Hôtes - Parties, Celebrations & medieval château Weddings - Wine Tasting & Private Dining Château Brocante Shop NEW opening in Spring 2021 (if possible!)

Belinda and Lee Prince - www.chateaumareuil.com Château Mareuil, Mareuil, 86290 Brigueil-le-Chantre 14 etcetera

Siret: 840796015 00013

Icing sugar for dusting

food Rhubard & Strawberry Galette

Ingredients 165g plain flour (farine de blé) ¼tsp salt 1 ½tsp sugar (sucre en poudre) 115g cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 60g plain yogurt 3-4tbsp cold water 750g rhubarb & strawberries, chopped Pinch of salt Juice of half a lemon or lime (optional) 50g sugar (sucre en poudre) 1tbsp cornflour To finish 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water (optional) Cassonade sugar for sprinkling Method 1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle in the butter and using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work it into the flour until the mixture resembles small peas.

Sprinkle the yoghurt and 3 tablespoons water over the mixture and stir it together to combine; it should form large clumps; add the last tablespoon water if it does not.

Method (Cherry Almond Tart) 1. Line a 28cm flan tin with the pastry, chill in the fridge for 30 mins before baking blind until lightly browned (not fully cooked). Leave to one side to cool while preparing the filling.

2. Heat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan/gas 5.

Use your hands to bring it together into a single mass of dough. Transfer the dough to a large square of parchment paper, patting it into a flatter packet, and wrap it tightly.

Chill it in the fridge until firm, 1 to 2 hours or up to 4 days.

the pan. Spoon the fruit filling and any juices that have collected into the middle, leaving a 5-7cm border uncovered. Fold this border over the fruit, pleating the edge to make it fit.

The centre will be left open.

3. Heat the oven to 200°C/180ºC fan.

5. For a darker, glossier crust, beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water and brush it over the pastry crust.

Sprinkle it all over with some Demerara or cassonade sugar.

4. Flatten the parchment paper that you wrapped your dough in on a large baking sheet. On a floured worktop, roll the dough out into a large roundish shape, about 35cm across. Gently transfer it to the parchment paper in

6. Bake the galette for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden all over and the fruit is bubbling and juicy. Cool for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with cream, crème fraîche or ice cream.

3. Beat together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy (about 1 min), stir in the almonds, egg and almond extract.

5. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden and the filling is golden and firm to the touch.

2. Combine the fruit, salt, citrus juice (if using), sugar, and cornflour in a medium bowl and set aside.

4. Stir in half the cherries and spoon into the cooled pastry case. Smooth the top and scatter over the remaining cherries, pressing them lightly into the mixture.

6. Cool the tart in the tin, remove carefully and lift on to a serving plate.

Dust lightly with sifted icing sugar, serve warm or at room temperature with cream, crème fraîche or ice cream.

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language & advice

Parlez Français French conversation, vocabulary & traditions with Isabelle

apprenons ensemble

Mai : un mois plein de fêtes !

Nous sommes déjà au mois de mai. Mai est un mois plein de fêtes populaires, historiques, religieuses et familiales. Nous sommes dans une période très différente cette année, tout comme l’an dernier, à cause de cette épidémie mondiale... Notre calendrier regorge de fêtes alors profitons-en pour célébrer ces dates quand même, peut-être seul ou en famille restreinte, à la maison.

En effet, le mois de mai est le mois de l’année qui comporte le plus grand nombre de jours fériés ou de fêtes.

En voici les plus importantes :

Le 1er mai : samedi 1er mai 2021 Le mois de mai commence ses fêtes par le 1er mai. Ce premier jour du mois de mai n’était pas le travail que l’on fêtait, pendant plusieurs siècles, c’était la fête du muguet porte-bonheur et les amoureux.

Dans de nombreuses régions de France, le 1er mai était l’occasion pour les jeunes garçons de déclarer leur amour aux jeunes filles. Ils déposaient des fleurs, des branches d’arbustes ou d’arbres dans la nuit, devant la maison de leur amoureuse.

Chaque feuillage avait un sens bien précis.

D’après certains, la fête du muguet remonterait au 1er mai 1560 quand le jeune roi Charles IX aurait reçu du muguet et en aurait ensuite offert aux dames de la cour. L’origine de cette fête est discutée. Cependant, le muguet est depuis longtemps dit porte-bonheur car ses fleurs sont des clochettes. Or, les cloches sonnent pour les jours de joie et les fêtes, pour éloigner les orages ou la grêle, donc le mauvais sort. Les brins de treize clochettes porteraient doublement porte-bonheur. Certaines personnes donnent aussi un baiser par clochette !

La fête du travail, telle que nous la connaissons de nos jours, tient son

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origine de grèves et de manifestations américaines du 1er mai 1886, qui se sont finies dans la violence. Elles ont eu des répercussions internationales. Le 1er mai est ensuite considérée dans de très nombreux pays comme la journée de manifestation pour les travailleurs pour la défense de leur droit au travail, la durée du travail par exemple. En France, ce n’est qu’en 1941, que le gouvernement de Vichy proclame le 1er mai Fête du Travail et jour chômé, c’est-à-dire non travaillé et férié. C’est pour cela qu’en France, ainsi que dans d’autres pays, les travailleurs et les syndicats manifestent ce jour-là.

Le 8 mai : samedi 8 mai 2021 Le 8 mai est le jour d’anniversaire de la délivrance d’Orléans en 1429 par Jeanne d’Arc. Cependant, il existe des fêtes de Jeanne d’Arc à des dates différentes dans certaines villes. À Reims, elles ont lieu en juin pour commémorer le sacre de Charles VII dans la cathédrale avec Jeanne d’Arc à ses côtés. À Rouen, elles se déroulent depuis 1878 le dernier dimanche de mai, en souvenir de son supplice le 30 mai 1431 sur la place du marché, où Jeanne d’Arc est dite brûlée vive sur le bûcher. Cette

Broaden your horizons with CONTINENTAL HORIZONS! Bon courage ! Et à bientôt !

Isabelle Broaden your horizons with CONTINENTAL HORIZONS! Mob. : 06 20 10 34 49 Email : continentalhorizons@free.fr Isabelle works for CONTINENTAL HORIZONS Language Centre in L’Isle Jourdain and teaches French as a Foreign Language every day in their many classrooms. Do not hesitate to contact her on 05 49 84 17 73. www.continental-horizons.com

language & advice

fête de Jeanne d’Arc est parfois fêtée le 9 mai pour mieux distinguer la fête du 8 mai expliquée ci-dessous et celle de Jeanne d’Arc. Le 8 mai est aussi la date pour la commémoration de la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et la signature de l’armistice en 1945. C’est en fait le 7 mai 1945 que le maréchal allemand Jodl signe à Reims la reddition de l’armée allemande. Finalement, une seconde signature d’armistice a lieu à Berlin vers minuit dans la nuit du 8 au 9 mai. Au fil de l’histoire, le 8 mai fut férié puis non puis à nouveau. Depuis 1981, c’est le Président François Mitterrand qui décide de rendre le 8 mai férié, et c’est le cas encore aujourd’hui. On parle plutôt de la fête de la Victoire 1945.

L’Ascension : jeudi 13 mai 2021 De la même façon qu’il y a 40 jours d’attente et de jeûne avant Pâques, l’Ascension clôture les 40 jours festifs qui suivent Pâques. En effet, quarante jours après Pâques, donc toujours un jeudi, l’Ascension qui est une fête religieuse chrétienne majeure, commémore l’élévation du Christ au ciel après sa résurrection. La date de l’Ascension fluctue entre le 30 avril et le 3 juin.

Depuis 1905, dans la renégociation des relations entre l’État français et l’Église Catholique, l’Ascension est fériée et chômée, comme un dimanche, car cette fête fait partie des quatre fêtes d’obligation avec Noël (le 25 décembre), l’Assomption (le 15 août) et la Toussaint (le 1er novembre).

La Pentecôte : dimanche 23 et lundi 24 mai 2021 Pentecôte signifie cinquantième en grec, car c’est 50 jours après Pâques que cette fête religieuse célèbre la venue de l’Esprit Saint sur les apôtres du Christ. La Pentecôte clôt le cycle de Pâques. De nombreux pèlerinages sont souvent organisés à la Pentecôte comme une façon d’évoquer le départ des apôtres vers les nations de la terre entière.

sont les gouvernements qui ont institué la Fête des Mères. Le premier gouvernement à avoir lancé l’idée, c’est l’État américain, pour remonter le moral de ses soldats envoyés en Europe pendant la Première Guerre mondiale. Il crée un Mother’s Day le deuxième dimanche du mois de mai et incite les combattants à envoyer des cartes à leur mère en leur racontant leurs faits d’armes pour le rétablissement de la paix en Europe.

En France, avant 1914 déjà, le La Pentecôte tombe toujours un gouvernement incite à promouvoir la dimanche, mais la fête se poursuit le maternité. Petit à petit, au fil de l’histoire, lendemain par un lundi férié, le lundi de les mères étaient célébrées, félicitées ou Pentecôte. Suite à la grande canicule de honorées de diverses manières, surtout si l’été 2003 où de très nombreuses elles élevaient une famille nombreuse. personnes âgées sont décédées dû à la C’est en 1941 que le Maréchal Pétain chaleur et à un institue une « Journée manque nationale des mères ». d’équipement de Puis après la guerre, Petit à petit, au fil de l’histoire, rafraîchissement c’est le Président de la les mères étaient célébrées, surtout dans les République Vincent félicitées ou honorées de maisons de retraite Auriol qui diverses manières et EHPADs, depuis institutionnalise cette 2004, le lundi de journée des mères le 25 Pentecôte peut mai 1950, pour dans certaines entreprises être travaillé marquer son souhait au développement mais les revenus de cette journée de de la natalité. travail sont offerts pour les fonds pour les Depuis cette date, la fête des mères a lieu personnes âgées, on appelle cela la tous les ans, le dimanche qui suit la Journée de Solidarité. Dans d’autres Pentecôte. Les enfants préparent de entreprises, une autre date peut petits cadeaux, généralement faits main, à être choisie. offrir à leur maman. Dans les années 1960-1970, avec l’essor des appareils ménagers, cette fête est devenue La Fête des Mères : dimanche 30 commerciale. Mais ce que les enfants mai 2021 fabriquent eux-mêmes, dessins, poèmes, petits objets, colliers... restent les plus Avons-nous vraiment besoin d’une fête jolis cadeaux qu’ils puissent offrir à leur pour dire « Je t’aime » à sa maman ? maman car ils viennent du cœur !

Nous devrions lui dire tous les jours ! Ce

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language & advice

FRENCH LESSONS FOR FREE (if eligible)

with experienced French teachers Groups - Private tutoring - E-learning Contact Alain 05 55 32 14 76 / 06 37 76 54 98 alain.rio@hvformations.org Siret: 824417364 00018

http://hvformations.org

Maintenant, vous comprenez pourquoi …

Maintenant, vous comprenez mieux pourquoi une grande partie des administrations et certaines entreprises en France ont autant de jours de fermeture en mai. Aussi, les employés peuvent « faire le pont », c’est-à-dire prendre des jours de congés entre une fête et le weekend, ce qui prolonge le week-end, et fait comme des mini-vacances. Par exemple, le jeudi 13 mai 2021 c’est l’Ascension, les employés qui le peuvent prennent le vendredi 14 mai en congé, donc ils obtiennent un week-end prolongé. Ils arrêtent le travail le mercredi 12 mai au soir et reprennent le travail le lundi 17 mai au matin, cela fait 4 jours de minivacances.

Cette année les 1er mai et 8 mai tombent un samedi, cela n’est pas avantageux pour les employés car ils ne peuvent pas « faire le pont ». En 2022, ces dates tombent un dimanche. Il faudra attendre 2023 pour être avantageux pour les employés !

Language School Secretarial and Administration Services Certified Legal Interpreting & Translating Coaching 15 Place d’Armes 86150 L’Isle Jourdain Tél. 05 49 84 17 73 Email: isabelle@continental-horizons.com www.continental-horizons.com siret 483 146 353 00014

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● Assistance with all admin needs ● Professional efficient & confidential service ● Competitive rates with flexible & friendly support Remy Hickman-Reed 06 37 76 56 51

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Bon mois de mai à tous !

FRENCH COMMUNICATION SERVICES Comprehensive administration, translation and support services for English-speaking people in France…to make life easier.

Call Jenny 06 79 85 58 84 Mail: jenifer@wordsmithcoms.com www.facebook.com/frenchwordsmith Siret 504 587 924 00011

Fête du Travail

Samedi 1er mai

Victoire 1945

Samedi 8 mai

Ascension

Jeudi 13 mai

Lundi de Pentecôte

Lundi 24 mai

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business SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE

LINDSEY QUERIAUD OWNER: CAST T: 05 45 84 14 94 lindseyqueriaud@outlook.com

Reduced Rate of VAT on Renovation Work W

hen you undertake certain renovation work on a lodgement, the client can benefit from a reduced rate of VAT, at 5.5% or 10% instead of 20%.

For this reduced rate to be applicable, the client must give the artisan an ‘attestation’, which confirms that the work asked for respects the conditions applying to the reduced rate.

What type of premises?

The reduced rate of VAT is reserved for improvement, transformation, fitting/conversion and maintenance work on domestic lodgings (principal or secondary residence) constructed and finished over two years prior to the new work and applies to the owner, renter or occupant.

What types of work?

Only the work or the equipment billed by the company are concerned by the reduced rate. When the client buys the materials and supplies to be installed directly from another company, the work stays at 20 %.

The reduced rate does not apply where the work results in, by their nature and their importance the production of a new building. This limit covers all work undertaken over a period of two years.

What is the definition of the production of a new building?

It relates to a large quantity of work, which constitutes more than simple improvements and results in the creation of effectively a new building.

▪ results in the raising of a building or an extension ▪ restores to new condition more than half of the structural elements (gros œuvre), taking into account the foundations, other elements that determine the resistance and rigidity of the building (roof frame, supporting walls) or even the consistency of the facades (not including its restoration (ravalement)).

▪ renovations to a new condition - no more than two thirds of each of the

following secondary elements (second œuvre): non-supporting flooring, outside woodwork, partition walls, sanitary installations, heating and electrical installations.

▪ increases the floor living space of existing locales by more than 10%.

What are the obligations?

The client must complete the attestation for the application of the reduced rate on the work done by the artisan’s company.

The artisan can not bill at the reduced rate unless the client has given them the attestation, which confirms that the application conditions are respected over a two year period.

e.g. chapels, as well as those buildings with an agricultural usage such as pigeonniers, stables, barns etc. There are quirks that allow the client to qualify such as an old barn that is being used effectively as a garage and declared within the property for taxe foncière purposes as a garage.

Garages Garages for domestic use are entitled to a reduced rate. When a rented garage or a parking place is included in a rental agreement attached to a principal living residence, it is seen as a normal outbuilding, even if it is not next to the dwelling. A garage can be detached or found at the bottom of the garden.

Buildings used with partial domestic use Where part of the work is carried out on premises that have part personal use and part professional use, the reduced can be applied to the domestic areas.

Distinction between renovation work and construction

The reduced rate does not apply to work which results in the construction of a new building. By new building we mean a Both the artisan and client should keep a newly built construction as well as an copy of the attestation (as well as the existing building, which entirety of the bills has undergone work and notes produced) The client must complete the which results in, by the up to the 31st December of the fifth attestation for the application of nature and their year following the the reduced rate on the work importance, a new The work of the finalisation of the done by the artisan’s company building. renovation of an old work, in case building cannot be of control. submitted to a reduced rate, when they Buildings for Domestic Living Usage result in the creation of a new building, i.e.

The application of the reduced rate of VAT ▪ the creation of a new space/building concerns buildings for living usage having that had a different previous usage been built more than two ▪ important structural modifications years beforehand. to the existing building Buildings with only Living Usage ▪ the realisation of internal When the totality of the rooms in a house modifications, which by their or lodgings in a building are for importance, result in a domestic/living purposes, you can apply real reconstruction the reduced rate on the totality of the work ▪ or an enlargement of volume taking place on the building, whether or surface occupied or vacant and whether a principal or secondary residency.

It is very tempting for the artisan to put a quote all at 10% VAT. However, the rules Only the work relating to the living are detailed and complex. It is just as quarters itself can benefit from the reduces much the client’s responsibility to be rate. Certain exceptions are tolerated for informed as the artisan. This is just the tip normal outbuildings; cellars, attics, of the iceberg. Please remember to do your garages, loggias, patios/terraces, homework before undertaking your courtyards. Those outbuildings that do not renovations. come under normal outbuildings definition are those that are not commonly Sourced from documents provided by the found or exceptional such as in châteaux French Tax Services

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business INSURANCE

ISABELLE WANT BH ASSURANCES

O

h no! It’s that time of the year again when you have to fill in your income tax form. It’s all in French and there are lots of pages and boxes to fill in! Well, worry not, help is at hand. I will try to explain it to you and make it simple. I will only cover the most common revenues so for more technical information, contact me directly.

1) Changes Just one I noticed, on the 2047, it is easier to enter interest, just box 2TR, section 260.

2) Important dates: You have to declare your revenue for the year 2020 (January 1st to 31st of December). However, the tax office accepts that you use the revenue corresponding to the UK tax year.

TAX DEADLINE DATES

Depts 01 to 19 (zone 1) - 26th May Depts 20 to 54 (zone 2) - 1st June Depts 55 onwards (zone 3) - 8th June Paper declarations - 20th May The result (the bill!) is called Avis d’imposition and is sent to you from mid-August.

Note that in September 2021, the French government will then readjust the amount that they take out of your current account monthly according to what you have filled in (so more or less or even reimburse you if you had less income than 2019). Or change the % tax on your salary if you are an employee.

INCOME TAX FORMS (2020) report what you have filled in on other forms. But there are different versions of the 2042:

abroad. It is better if you start with this one and then report the result on the other forms. Here is how to do it:

2047: Enter all your pension revenues (even those from civil service that are taxed in the UK) on page 1, section 1 in the Check or fill in the information on page 1 box called “Pensions, retraites, rentes”. Be (name, address, etc). On page 2, check or careful, you now must tick the box stating fill in the information asked for (marital if the pension is public (ex-civil servant) or status, etc) and make sure it is correct as privé (private and state pension/old age). they can give you allowances or discount So, if you have both, tick both boxes. You (invalidity, number of children living with then have to report pensions to the you, etc). pension section on the 2042, page 3, section 1, line 1AM (or 1BM for declarant 2042RICI: This is the form on which you 2) for pensions report things that taxed in France give you tax credits (state pension and In September 2021, the French such as having kids at college, lycée, etc government will then readjust the private pensions) line 1AL (or 1BL or doing some work amount that they take out of your and for declarant 2) for on your house current account monthly according pensions from UK related to saving to what you have filled in government energy and ecology. employees such as Note that this year, teachers, civil the box for servant, military, NHS, etc). employing a gardener or cleaner, giving to charity is on the normal 2042.

In section 2, on page 2 is where you put 2042: This is the normal blue 2042 form that everyone has to fill in - no exceptions.

2042C: This is the form to have if you are under the French health system via an S1 (you are receiving a state pension). You need to tick box 8SH (declarant 1) and/or 8SI (declarant 2) to avoid paying Social charges on your interest. Box 8TK which was on the last page on the normal 2042 before is now on this form. This is the box that people with government pension or UK rental need to tick. You can also find box 8VL which is the 17.7% tax credit on your dividends. Those boxes are on the last page of form 2042-C. 2042C Pro: If you are self-employed in France, this is where you fill in your professional revenue.

This is also the form used to declare revenues from gîtes or chambre d’hôtes nonprofessional.

3) What forms and how do you fill them in:

2044: This is the form to fill in if your rental income is superior to 15 000 euro per year.

The 2042 is the blue form that everybody has to fill in and it is on this form that you

2047: This is the purple form (or pink) on which you enter your revenue from

the interest you earned on savings in the UK. And yes, ISAs and Premium bonds are taxable in France as you are French resident! So, you have to fill them in at the bottom of page 2 in the box 260 “intérêts”.

Enter the country of origin, then you write the amount on line 2TR. Then you report the amount in line 2TR, page 3, section 2 of the 2042.

You also need to tick box 2OP on form 2042, page 3 if you want the interest to be taxed according to the rest of your income and not at 12.8% flat tax.

In section 4, you enter the revenues from house rental abroad. Then report on section 6 to get the tax credit (because it is taxed in the UK) and report on lines 4BE and 4BK, section 4 of the 2042. If revenues from rental are less 15000 euro, you have to fill in the 2044 form.

In section 6, you put the revenue from government employees pension (military, police, NHS, civil servant, etc) and rental income from property in the UK (those

Isabelle Want 06 17 30 39 11 Email: isabelle.want @bh-assurances.fr

N° Orias 07021727/16005974

20 etcetera

22 rue Jean Jaures.

16700 Ruffec Tél:+33 (0)5 45 31 01 61

102 Avenue de la République 16260 Chasseneuil sur Bonnieure Tél:+33(0)5 45 39 51 47

10 Bd du 8 mai 1945 16110 La Rochefoucauld Tél:+33 (0)5 45 63 54 31

2 Avenue de la Gare 16270 Roumazieres-Loubert Tél:+33(0)5 45 71 17 79

business

will always be taxed in the UK whether you are French resident or not). Then you report the amount in line 8TK, last page of the 2042C. This is because those revenues/income get a tax credit in France equivalent to what the tax would be on it in France as they are taxed in the UK. You must enter the gross amount (before tax for pensions or expenses for rental).

3916: you have a bank account outside France, then you have to declare it on that form (section1 and 4). One form per account. Or if you have a lot, on a blank A4 paper.

Don’t forget to date and sign the forms! If it is your first, join a RIB and copy of your passport.

The exchange rate for 2020 is 1.13 (that is the average of last year). You can get another rate from your local tax office, use theirs if it is lower than 1.13! Note that when you ask the official Paris tax office they tell you to use the rate from the “banque de France” on the day you got paid! Or use the average of the year.

If your pension has been directly transferred to your French bank account, just add up all the figures of last year as long as it is a gross amount (not taxed at source).

4) Help: A complete guide on how to fill in your tax form online is on our web site:

investments, car, house, professional and top up health insurance, etc…

https://bh-assurances.fr/taxes/ if you can’t find it, email me!!

If you are one of my customers, you are entitled to free help in 2 of our offices (no appointments, just turn up): ▪ Chasseneuil sur Bonnieure on Tuesday the 4th of May (all day apart from 12-2pm (my lunch)) ▪ Ruffec on Thursday the 6th of May (all day apart from 12-2pm (my lunch)) Please make sure you have all the figures ready and the relevant forms (you can get them from your local tax office or online) when you come to see me. Otherwise I get very grumpy!

And remember to check out our web site www.bh-assurances.fr/en for all my previous articles and register to receive our monthly Newsletter. You can also follow us on Facebook: “Allianz Jacques Boulesteix et Romain Lesterpt” And don’t hesitate to contact me for any other information or quote on subject such as funeral cover, inheritance law,

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business FINANCE

HELEN BOOTH

UK Pension Transfers before the new pensions transfer tax will be imposed, which almost certainly will be introduced in the near future.

If you would prefer to simplify keeping INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISER track of pensions in different countries deVere France and have them all together in one pot, or have flexibility with regards to your investment choices, then a pension f you have recently moved to France or transfer could be the ideal solution for have been living here for a while, then you. Many of the older company pensions now is the time to review your pensions have limited investment choices available, and make sure that they are and are set up with tax efficient and in the low interest earning Fortunately, talks of the 25% right place. charge on pension transfers funds that could be Living in a foreign country disadvantageous to does bring with it its own set were not implemented during your potential the recent UK budget speech future income when of problems when it comes to your pensions and how you decide to retire. they are taxed. Firstly, they may be taxed Benefits of a transferring your UK in both countries, and secondly, the pensions include: difficulty of trying to manage pensions

I

from different countries in different currencies would give anyone a headache.

Fortunately, talks of the 25% charge on pension transfers were not implemented during the recent UK budget speech. This creates a window of opportunity for expats in France to move their UK pensions

22 etcetera

▪

Flexibility to invest your pension in a wider range of assets – you have a say how your pension will be invested.

Each person's financial situation is unique, and your retirement planning should be treated as such.

Transferring your UK pensions into

one regulated place allows you to decide how it will be invested.

▪

Flexibility to access your pension whenever you need funds.

▪

Can pay your pension out in Euros – having all your pensions in one place allows for payment in Euros.

▪

Can pass benefits on to beneficiaries of choice – you decide who your beneficiaries are and who you will pass your assets to when you pass.

▪

UK double taxation treaty with France could drastically reduce double taxation on your pension and on the 40% inheritance tax.

▪

Avoid pension transfer taxes – transferring your UK pensions now could avoid the possible 25% transfer tax in the future.

Transferring your UK pensions is advantageous if you are not planning on returning to the UK. It is always recommended that you chat to your financial adviser regarding your pensions, to determine the best course of action for your individual circumstances.

business

IS YOUR MARKETING PUSHING OR PULLING? Y

our business will evolve from start-up to seasoned, and as that evolution takes place, your marketing will also need to develop. And marketing is a bedrock of your business, helping you attract and retain customers. From a small business owners perspective, it's about getting the message out there and getting those enquiries in. But how are you doing that?

Are you pushing your message out there?

Or are you pulling them in? These methods are also known as Outbound and Inbound Marketing. Let's look at these two types of approaches.

Outbound Marketing: Also known as push marketing. This is general advertising. Promotion is scattered as widely as possible, with generic messaging that does not target a particular demographic or customer profile.

Think cold calling, bill boards, TV/Radio, print advertising, directory listings, social media, email marketing.

For example, you have just started your business, and you need people to know you exist. You put an ad in the local

paper/magazine. You might reach out to your email list and let them know your business is launched, set up your Facebook, and google my business profile.

You are pushing a message out there.

MARKETING

MICALA WILKINS ALACIM SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Inbound marketing:

optimisation, and you create messages, Also known as pull marketing. Pull content and visuals for a specific social marketing allows you to create content media campaign. designed to resonate with your targeted Push and pull can work together. You may audience. When potential consumers are have a regular advert in your local looking for something, you will resonate magazine. You may post pictures and with them. Your messaging connects with updates on your FB them. You will page. These regular need to consider pushes let people aspects of your They may not need you know that you are out buyers' journey. there. They may not now, but you are competing Think websites, need you now, but with others who are also blogs, social media you are competing out there when they do campaigns, with others who are landing pages, also out there when SEO. they do. Your business will benefit from pull marketing.

For example, you have a website, and you By understanding your customers and have introduced a new service. Your what they want, you can then create existing clients have provided you with content and marketing messages that plenty of info/data to know who your ideal resonate with your target audience and customer is. You create a landing page about that service with relevant SEO place them where they can be pulled in.

TONY FARRELL INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ADVISER The Spectrum IFA Group, with over 20 years’ experience advising expatriates throughout Europe on all aspects of financial planning T: 05 55 89 57 94 E: tony.farrell@spectrum-ifa.com TSG Insurance Services S.A.R.L. Siège Social: 34 Bd des Italiens, 75009 Paris. R.C.S. Paris B 447 609 108 (2003B04384). Société de Courtage d’assurances. Intermédiaire en opération de Banque et Services de Paiement. Numéro d’immatriculation 07 025 332 – www.orias.fr Conseiller en investissements financiers, référencé sous le numéro E002440 par ANACOFI-CIF, association agréée par l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers

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Sue Cook Regional Coordinator Centre Ouest 87600 Rochechouart +33 (0)555 036 669 +33 (0)689 992 889 E: sue.c@currenciesdirect.com www.currenciesdirect.com/france Siret: 444 729 008 00011

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health

Hypnotherapy The practice of hypnosis for therapeutic purposes 24 etcetera

health Louise works with the Fit for Life Association as a Clinical Weight Loss Coach. She is also a Hypnotherapy Practitioner Specialising in Hypnotic Gastric Band Therapy

WHEN YOU MENTION HYPNOSIS THE FIRST IDEA THAT SPRINGS TO MIND ARE THE STAGE SHOWS, WITH WILLING VOLUNTEERS BEING ‘MADE’ TO ACT LIKE A CHICKEN OR TO BARK LIKE A DOG, ALL OF WHICH THEY CANNOT REMEMBER AFTER THE EVENT

O

ver recent years well known stage hypnotists, one of the best-known being Paul McKenna, have made great strides to change the perception and increase the profile of hypnosis. He and others have used hypnotherapy successfully to help people deal with emotional and medical related issues.

What is hypnosis?

The term hypnosis comes from the Greek word ‘hypnos’ which means ‘sleep’.

Hypnotism was coined by Dr James Braid, a Scottish physician in circa 1840 and the word hypnosis was coined in France in 1881.

There are many definitions offered for hypnosis including: -

hypnotherapy can help you achieve the desired outcome.

By Louise Cotton

Once committed and open-minded, hypnotherapy can work on many levels.

Some hypnotherapists will specialise in certain areas, whilst others will offer a broard spectrum. These can be: 1.

Weight loss and hypno-gastric bands

2.

Alcohol control

3.

Stress management

4.

Confidence building

5.

Stopping smoking

6.

Substance abuse

7.

Sports enhancement Pain management

control, coupled with a sensible eating plan. Perhaps attending a weight loss support group. It then progresses to confidence building. Hypnotherapy helps you make and implement changes.

It is important to stress that at no time during hypnotherapy does a person lose control of themselves or the session. They may enter a state of complete relaxation, but at all times they are awake, participating and remembering. It is a safe and confidential environment. You are not ‘tricked’ into disclosing private information and you are not ‘made’ to do anything you do not want to do.

▪

The establishment of acceptable selective thinking

8.

▪

Focused consciousness

▪

An altered state of consciousness

▪

Extreme relaxation

▪

Guided mediation

Hypnotherapy is not a quick fix. There are still ethical and moral boundaries which should be respected when dealing with clients. For example, I would Have you ever driven to a not consider taking a gastric band client destination via your who had a low BMI normal route, say to work just because they or the supermarket, and thought it would get not remembered certain them to their ideal parts of the journey? weight quicker and more easily.

What it is not, is a state of deep sleep, a religion or a dark art!

Hypnosis is all around us. Most of the time we are unaware of it. Have you ever driven to a destination via your normal route, say to work or the supermarket, and not remembered certain parts of the journey?

This is called highway hypnosis. You are doing something very subconsciously, but if something darted out in front of you, you would still be ‘present’ enough to jump on the brakes.

Another form of hypnosis is advertising.

We are surrounded by it. We may not be aware that we have taken in the message, but our subconscious mind has and it will bring a certain advert to the fore at a time in the future when we least expect.

Interestingly, it is said that hypno-gastric bands have an 80% success rate compared with 70% for surgical gastric bands.

For weight loss, hypnotherapy forms part of an overall package and helps people to deal with the physical and sometimes emotional changes that happen as they lose weight. For many, weight loss begins with stress management and alcohol

email: louise@fitforlife.one

If you are unsure if hypnotherapy is right for you, arrange an introductory session with your local hypnotherapist. Many offer a free half hour consultation. In these current times this is usually done by video call. It is important that you feel that you can build a rapport with the therapist.

If you have decided that you want to make some significant changes in your life, it could be the help you are looking for and the first step to a new future.

“Trust your unconscious, it knows more than you do.” – Milton Erickson

Well, that is about as technical as I am going to get! What I am sure you really want to know is what does hypnotherapy achieve and does it work?

Let’s deal with the latter part of that first.

No, it does not work for everyone. Some say that they cannot be hypnotised and this is true as they have convinced themselves that they cannot be. When thinking about taking the first steps to having hypnotherapy the key is to be open-minded and 100% committed. If you do not want to achieve the desired outcome, e.g., to quit smoking, hypnotherapy is not going to alter that state of thinking. It is only when you have made a full commitment that

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26 etcetera

health

Feet First

By Linda Bullivant

ALL YOUR LIFE, YOUR FEET CARRY YOU AROUND. THEY MUST BALANCE AND SUPPORT YOUR ENTIRE BODY, SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AFTER THEM!

O

ur feet can be regarded as the foundations of our bodies, helping us to stand, balance, walk, run, swim, cycle, and play football, to name just a few of their functions.

Pedicures go back thousands of years to the ancient cultures of Babylon, China, and Egypt. Records show that in Babylonia, rich people enjoyed pedicures with tools made from gold. In China and in other cultures, the colour of nails symbolised a person’s status. Writings found in the Ming Dynasty manuscripts show nobility wearing red and black nail paint.

In ancient Rome and Egypt, military commanders often painted their nails to match their lips before going off to fight.

The makeup of our feet is complex with 26 bones, and also joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, veins, lymph nodes and skin. A quarter of all the bones in the body, 18% of joints, and 6% of muscles are actually found in the feet.

If we have a smooth walking gait, energy is transfered through the feet into the ankles, knees, hips, the spine, and right up to the head. However if we do not have the correct arch support by wearing, for example, the wrong footwear, problems such as bunions, corns and calluses can easily occur. Wearing shoes that are not too tight and in good repair and adding a pair of quality inner soles can really help.

As a reflexologist, I consider the feet a map of the body with different parts of the feet corresponding to the organs and structures in the body. By applying specific

pressure on the feet with my thumbs and fingers I can help vital energy to flow through the body enabling the body to rebalance itself.

Linda Bullivant is a highly qualified Reflexologist, Aromatherapist, and Reiki Master with over 20 years’ experience.

She is based in Jouac (87890)

Contact Linda: 05 55 60 64 08 linda.bullivant7@orange.fr Facebook Cabinetcerises, www.cabinetcerises.fr professional tools, I can help to remove the embedded piece of nail. In more severe cases it is important to visit your doctor.

Swollen feet and ankles can be caused by several factors including arthritis, varicose veins, high blood pressure and fluid retention. Try resting for ten minutes with your feet up and soak your feet in a bowl with warm water with a drop of lavender and cypress essential oils. If you have a long Athlete's Foot: A fungal Taking good care of our journey, dampen a infection between the small cotton cloth feet if they are to serve us toes which is and add five drops well throughout our lives uncomfortable and very of lavender oil. is essential contagious. Avoid Fold it up and put sharing towels and dry it in a plastic bag. well between each toe.

When your feet You can obtain creams or powders from feel swollen or tired at the end of a the chemist or via your doctor. journey, apply the compress to your feet and ankles, gently massaging in an Chilblains: When there is cold weather, I upward direction to the back and front of always carry out the following treatment your calves. each night. Fill one bowl with warm water and another with cold or luke warm water.

Toenail infection: A highly contagious and Add a couple of drops of geranium oil and painful condition. It is best to obtain soak your feet alternatively in the warm treatment as soon as possible as the nail and cold water. This improves circulation can get very thick and push into the skin and helps prevent and heal chilblains. making cutting with normal tools impossible. I help many clients by cutting Hard skin: Regular filing with a foot file the nails with professional tools thus can help remove some of the hard skin on easing the pressure on the end of the toes. the heels and other areas but avoid areas Whatever we do for our feet at home, there that are painful or on any open skin. are times, however, when we need Always use a foot cream afterwards. professional help. We can visit our doctor Ingrown toe nails: The edge of the nail or treat ourselves to a relaxing, revitalising grows into the skin and can be very pedicure. Here dry skin is removed after a painful. To prevent this condition, cut foot bath, cuticles and nails are restored. your toenails straight across. I often see Finally, a foot and leg massage leaves you this condition and in many cases, using feeling as if you are walking on air!

Taking good care of our feet if they are to serve us well throughout our lives is essential. Even 15 minutes a week massaging your feet with a foot cream can help. Some foot problems can be treated at home before they become serious:

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garden

Salvia microphylla

Subshrubs AT LE JARDIN CRÉATIF WE GROW A WIDE RANGE OF SUBSHRUBS AND I OFTEN GET ASKED ABOUT THE DEFINITION.

B

Abutilon) while others that come from otanically they are somewhere more temperate climates can survive down between a true shrub (which has a to minus 8 or 10 degrees, (Salvia, permanent woody framework) and a Penstemon, hardy Fuchsias) with lots of herbaceous perennial (which has soft, non variation in between. Some are mostly woody growth and generally dies back to woody with less herbaceous growth while the ground while dormant, re-growing others are mainly herbaceous developing from ground level each year). A subshrub woody stems just at the very base of will typically develop a woody base and the plant. herbaceous top growth. This is The thing that makes because they They tend to have a very this group of plants originate mainly long flowering season and such good value in from warm climates the garden is that give a good display from where the growing they tend to have a early May right through to season is long, and very long flowering they have not had to the first hard frosts season and give a adapt to full good display from dormancy for early May right the winter. through to the first hard frosts (often still in full flower in November), they are loved Some subshrubs coming from climates by the butterflies and bees, and many have where the temperature never goes below aromatic foliage and medicinal or culinary zero are still very tender and need winter uses. They are fairly easy to care for and if protection, (such as Pelargonium sp. and

By Caroline Wright

Caroline has been a lecturer in horticulture for 20 years and is now running a nursery and 'garden craft' courses in the Haute-Vienne at Le jardin creatif Lejardincreatif.net

you choose the right varieties, they are very well suited to the climate here in south west France, tolerating the hot, dry summers, but they can suffer from excessive wet in the winter and will get a bit of frost damage to the soft growth at the tips. The key to success is not to cut them back too early because the top growth protects the base of the plant during the coldest weather and if they are cut back too early it can induce soft growth from the base which is susceptible to late frosts. I generally wait until May to cut them back. Penstemons can be cut quite hard, while Salvia’s can be given a lighter touch allowing them to develop into small bushes.

You will normally be able to see healthy buds and small shoots low down on the plant and you can cut them back to just above these to promote fresh new growth and remove any damaged stems from over the winter.

etcetera 29

garden

Caryopteris clandonensis

Penstemon with tubular flowers 'Jingle Bells

Penstemon

Penstemon Red with white throat

30 etcetera

garden

Ceratostigma willmottianum

Here are some of my favourite subshrubs for a long season of interest. They can be planted in a herbaceous border, shrub border or mixed border and also do well in containers, especially those that benefit from winter protection as they can be moved to a sheltered spot or polytunnel to overwinter.

a new cultivar with a velvety red/purple flower which we are calling Salvia ‘Le Jardin Créatif’.

Penstemon Next are the Penstemons, which are less woody and more herbaceous. It is tempting not to cut them back in spring because they come through the winter with lush green growth and if you leave Salvia them uncut they will come into flower Salvia have to be the number one choice. even earlier, but I have found that they Some Salvia species are hardy herbaceous become top heavy and the long stems can perennials such as Salvia pratensis, and flow over towards mid-summer so I cut Salvia uliginosa, but many are subshrubs, them back hard in early May to promote some of which are quite tender and do sturdy growth from the base. They start need winter protection but there are a flowering from mid-June and continue number of species such as Salvia into the autumn, particularly if you dead microphylla, S. jamensis and S. greggii head them once or that are reliably twice through hardy, flower for Last year we experimented with our the season. months on end, and have given own hybrids and have developed a Penstemons produce rise to numerous new cultivar with a velvety tall spikes of tubular cultivars in many flowers in a range of red/purple flower which we are different flower colours from pale calling Salvia ‘Le Jardin Créatif’ colours from pale pink, to deep reds, cream, through to and deep dark pinks, purples and blues and some are purples. Some have narrow pendant bicoloured. At Le Jardin Créatif we have a tubular flowers such as Penstemon ‘Jingle collection of well over 40 different Bells’ while others are more upward facing varieties. We propagate the hardiest ones with open corollas and interesting for sale on the nursery and the most markings inside the throat. Popular popular cultivars include ‘Nactvlinder’ varieties are ‘Plum Jerkum’ and with a deep purple flower, ‘Royal Bumble’, ‘Blackbird’ with their rich deep ‘Cherry Queen’ and ‘Radio Red’ all with burgundy/purple flowers. deep red flowers that stand up to the Other hardy subshrubs which we have bright sunshine, and the paler coral pink found to be reliable include Ceratostigma S. grahamii. Last year we experimented willmottianum with its sky-blue flowers with our own hybrids and have developed

sitting in late summer and red autumn leaves. Its stems become quite woody by the end of the season, but it can be treated as a herbaceous perennial, cutting them hard back to promote new growth from ground level which will flower in its first season.

Perovskia atriplicifolia, another late summer blue flower on spikes above silvery white stems and foliage, an aromatic plant that associates well with ornamental grasses and can be treated like a herbaceous perennial.

Carypoteris clandonensis is shrubbier, requiring just a light trim in spring back to visible new shoots halfway down the stems. It produces masses of blue flowers above silvery foliage in mid-summer.

le jardin creatif…

You can see a range of subshrubs growing in our borders at Le Jardin Créatif. We are open on Saturdays throughout the summer season.

We stock a range perennials and subshrubs on the nursery and are happy to give advice on planting. Our Salvia collection is also on display.

You can view our current availability list online at www.lejardincreatif.net/nursery

etcetera 31

garden

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garden

Making a Difference

By Ronnie Ogier

Ronnie is a passionate gardener and now loves sharing her years of experience of success and failures in her own garden and sharing it with you. Also a keen runner, having been bitten by the ‘Couch to 5K’ bug!

In our gardens FORTUNATELY, OUR GARDENS DO NOT RECOGNISE COVID, AND MAY HAS A LOT TO OFFER US, A MONTH TO BE ENJOYED BY GARDENERS AND NATURE LOVERS ALIKE. LET’S MAKE SURE WE ARE NOT ONLY LOOKING AFTER OURSELVES AND LOVED ONES DURING THIS TIME, BUT ALSO THE PLANET WE LIVE ON

I

n May everything seems to spring into of climate change. Can one individual life and grow, the soil has warmed up make a difference? Perhaps alone the and the days are long, so plants are difference you could make would not have growing strongly. This means that our a major impact on global climate change, gardens change almost daily, rising up to but if all gardeners made some changes the peak of the year. But a few words of then the impact could be more dynamic. caution – weeds are plants as well as Sometimes it’s not a case of what we do roses, peonies and potatoes, so they will but more a case of what we don’t do! Take grow just as quickly, though in my garden one example – water. Most of us use a lot it seems more quickly than the plants I of water in our gardens and at times it wish to enjoy. This means dealing with does seem hard to understand that even if them as they appear by hoeing regularly. we’ve had a very wet winter with flooding, Another caution which I seem to mention each summer we seem to face water every year, but it reminds us all of the restrictions. The easy answer is to fickle nature of the weather - don’t forget conserve the winter water in butts for use la lune rousse, this year between 12th in the summer, but that is not always April and 11th May. sufficient This is the first full and the way lunar cycle after Easter your own Perhaps alone the difference you when skies are soil either could make would not have a major regularly clear, holds water impact on global climate change, temperatures good, or is very but if all gardeners made some even high during the free changes then the impact could be day, but drop heavily draining has at night. New buds are a further more dynamic breaking, plants are impact on full of vigour and the the amount sap is rising, cold nights with low we use. I would suggest that watering temperatures extending into the early lawns is a no-no, I certainly have given up hours burn the new buds, giving them a on trying to develop the green sward of scorched appearance. And as if that isn’t grass I had as a lawn in the UK. I now enough there are les Saintes Glaces, (11th, accept almost anything that is green filling 12th and 13th May). Traditionally in the space planned as a lawn! If, like us, France annuals and some delicate plants you have a well, it is tempting to think that are not put into the ground until after you are not using water from the taps, it’s these dates. So be patient, wait until later from the well and this will have very little in the month to safely plant out tomatoes, impact on overall water supplies. But, peppers, aubergines and tender annuals – once again, if this is done on a large scale they will catch up. then that will have an impact on the water table below the surface and lessen this Now more than ever we need to be aware valuable resource still further. of the consequences of our actions. As gardeners we can make an impact on the I’m not suggesting that we should not environment and help to lessen the effects water plants, but what I would suggest is

34 etcetera

that we do all we can to reduce the loss of water through evaporation. The first step is to mulch to conserve water that you put on your plants – home-made compost, leaf mould, recycled materials including grass clippings, bark and shredded branches are all good. It might seem counter intuitive but growing more plants is also an efficient method of conserving water, in that if no soil is visible the plants will provide their own mulch. And when you do need to water, make sure the water is aimed at the most useful place – the roots.

The biggest change any of us can make, if we’re not doing it already, is to grow organically. It is a way of maintaining a sustainable approach that follows and emulates nature. Our role in this is to ensure that we are helping Mother Nature by adding to the soil the items she puts in for free. We can make compost and leaf mould, we can stick to using only rainwater and make our own natural liquid feeds and treatments for bugs and diseases, and we can encourage beneficial insects into our gardens to help deal with the pests. Such methods promote strong and healthy growth and enable us to grow intensively without upsetting the balance of nature.

We need to avoid the use of chemical fertilisers in order to boost the growth of our plants. In the longer-term chemical additives have a detrimental effect on micro-organisms in the soil, and gradually reduce the very things we rely on for the healthy soil which our plants need to grow. Growing organically means sustaining your soil by reproducing the natural processes whereby nature recycles materials to feed the soil. This becomes a

garden

virtuous circle – we grow plants, even weeds, though possibly not by design.

When we have enjoyed the plants, either vegetable or flower, we recycle the unwanted plant growth in a compost maker to put back on to the soil and return to nature the good produce she has given to us. This process had been going on unaided for centuries, until man stepped in to ‘improve’ it and grow gardens!

slugs! Plant a native hedge or a tree, even a small one; these will provide food and shelter for wildlife and help to store carbon from the air and release oxygen.

If we are ever to slow down or even halt climate change it must be us, the gardeners, who are at the forefront by making personal choices which can help on a global scale if we all join in.

And finally, one of my regular obsessions There are many ways in which we, as if you haven’t taken photographs of your gardeners, can develop an garden in previous environmentally years try to get into friendly environment. the habit of doing so We can start by We can start by propagating now. Monthly photos propagating our own our own plants – growing of your garden plants – growing from from seed and taking cuttings remind you where seed and taking plants are and where cuttings. I find it very there are gaps; it lets satisfying, giving me you see what went well and what didn’t the opportunity to grow many more work, and it’s very rewarding to look back different varieties than are readily at your successes at different times of available either in garden centres or onthe year. line, and it means I’m not relying on energy-intensive commercial But no matter how busy we are in our manufacturing. If we grow our own gardens there is still the opportunity to vegetables we eat them fresh, packed with share and enjoy the gardens of others. taste and nutrients but they carry no air Gardens opening for Open miles. Try to go chemical free - it’s not too Gardens/Jardins Ouverts have been difficult to establish a balance within your available for some time now but in April garden and the more of us that do it the Covid restrictions reduced the possibility easier and more effective it becomes. of visiting gardens other than those within the 10km limit of your home. We are And further encourage wildlife – not only hoping that in May there will be more are they fascinating to watch but they eat freedom to go out and about, though insects, act as pollinators, and birds and remembering social distancing and mask small mammals will seek out and eat pests wearing. There are several gardens including the all-pervasive snails and

opening within this area on specific days during May and others who will be open sur rendezvous. The details may be found on the Open Gardens/Jardins Ouverts website – www.opengardens.eu so have a look and see if there are any gardens near you opening. Each time you visit a garden you will see something different, get ideas, perhaps buy plants or have a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Each time you visit a garden you will be making a valuable donation to the Association and its efforts to support French children and young people with life inhibiting illnesses and conditions. We are opening our garden, near Vayres in the Haute Vienne, with at least one other garden on Saturday 22nd May – come along and see what we have to offer or inspire you. Check the website for timings and the full address. I look forward to meeting some of you on that occasion.

Happy gardening and keep taking the photos!

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farm life

Males right and centre, female left at seven weeks old

Too Many Cockerals!

Tamsin Cooper is a smallholder and writer with a keen interest in animal behaviour and welfare

By Tam s

in Coop er

www.goatwriter.com

HATCHING YOUR OWN CHICKS? YOU’LL NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR SOME TO GROW INTO COCKERELS

S

adly for them, too many cockerels really do spoil the flock, unless you have enough hens for each of them.

Experts recommend an average of ten hens to every male. Fewer than that can lead to fighting cocks and overworked hens with tattered feathers where they are so often trodden by ardent mates.

Last year, our hens hatched a few of their own chicks. Two hens each brooded five eggs. Each clutch had their own minihouse-and-run to protect them from predators. We figured that would result in four or five new hens and about the same number of cockerels. Males have a reputation for fighting; rarely can they live peacefully in a small flock once mature.

However, our resident male, Pablo, is a gentle soul who lived harmoniously with his brothers until he came to us at about a

36 etcetera

year old. I had also read that brothers were more tolerant and less hostile.

First Signs of Cockerel-Hood As some eggs turned out to be infertile, one hen hatched two chicks and the other three. Maternal hormones kicked in and each hen began to protect and teach her chicks the ways of chicken-hood: foraging, drinking, dust-bathing and perching.

These skills they picked up almost immediately, and they soon began bouncing around in play and perching on low branches. Within the first couple of weeks, male chicks start running, leaping and sparring. So we could see that two of the threesome were likely to be male.

It was not until the twosome were six weeks old that we recognised signs that one was a cockerel. Barbarossa we called him, as his chest was rich brown (it means “red beard”). He had very sturdy legs and

small wattles and comb, as opposed to his sister, whose comb was still only just visible. But chickens develop at different rates and at nine weeks, his comb and wattles were still quite small. By this time, he was attempting to crow. Meanwhile, within the trio, one chick grew substantial wattles and comb at only four weeks old and started crowing at five. His brother had small but distinct wattles and comb by seven weeks old, while their sister had virtually none.

Rapid Early Learning When the chicks reached four weeks old, we allowed them supervised outings, so that they could get familiar with the flock and range while under mother-hen’s protection. This meant keeping our large bouncy cat indoors while the small chicks found their way around safely. They quickly learned to use perches and bushes

farm life Bottom, Barbarossa at 14 weeks old, when he joined the adult flock Right, Barbarossa at nine months old, when he took over the flock

as safety zones, retiring to a bush if they lost their mother, calling her with high peeps when she returned. By six weeks, the chicks became independent of mother, and no longer needed supervision. This is just as well, because mother-hen was taking little notice of them by now, laying and roosting with the adults in the big house. I had hoped they would follow her, as often occurs. However, they stuck to their infant nests until I moved them over one night, once they were fully integrated into the main flock by day. In retrospect, a henhouse large enough to accommodate closable chick-rearing pens might have worked better.

The two groups of chicks first met at six and four weeks old respectively. Males were conspicuous in their behaviour: Barbarossa exchanged threats with both younger males, but the females avoided confrontation. Three weeks later, the youngsters were hanging around together peacefully and hierarchy was evident, the older cockerel being the boss and the others keeping out of his way. Meanwhile, the mothers had rejoined the flock, experiencing only a few pecks from the boss-hen and Pablo’s delighted attention.

So brief is the period of motherhood and so quickly the relationship forgotten!

When he was seven weeks old, Barbarossa’s brood-mother pecked him away from food, whereas just weeks earlier she was calling him to feed. However, those first six weeks had filled him with chicken-sense and a great start for a strong and healthy life.

Adolescence At 10 weeks, the chicks started roosting

following one of the hens around amorously. Together they courted her, and when she finally succumbed, they both tried to jump on her at once. Of course, neither managed to mount properly, but there was no dispute, and they continued to dance and follow her together. As they started to pester more and more hens, it became clear that the flock could not take any more cockerels. Happily, we found them a caring home with flocks of their own.

during part of the night, although still apart from the main flock. They would not perch fully until they moved into the main house, which afforded more space. The less-developed male finally showed the longer legs, tail, and fuller comb and Pablo’s Last Stand wattles of his sex. But he still didn’t crow, The peace lasted until Barbarossa was nine perhaps inhibited by his fast-maturing months old. He is now tall, deep-chested, brother, until he was almost six months colourful and shiny, with a large red comb old. He and his brother engaged in long and wattles. Every inch a hen’s dream, in challenges, but fortunately no actual fact. Outshining, out-sizing, and outviolence. Around 12 weeks, the chicks’ crowing Pablo. One evening, the males did sweet peeps changed to adult-sounding not come for treats, so I went out looking. I clucks and gurgles. At this time, males found them fighting tried out courtship around the woodpile. dances towards to adult During the next few weeks, the Barbarossa pinned hens, who refused their more mature males began to Pablo down and tore his advances, while Pablo comb. A defeated but vary their calls, becoming intervened and chased defiant Pablo eventually louder and bolder, and moult the young rascals away. stood down and dared

into more colourful plumage

At 14 weeks, Barbarossa resolutely joined the adult flock, tolerated by Pablo and accepted by the hens. The younger male chicks stuck together, while the females became a little remote until they too joined the flock. During the next few weeks, the more mature males began to vary their calls, becoming louder and bolder, and moult into more colourful plumage. Some hens started to accept matings from Barbarossa, uncontested by Pablo. However, they clearly preferred Pablo and he would defend them if they ran to him. On the other hand, when Pablo mounted Barbarossa’s sister, the latter was quick to attack, although Pablo chased him away. By six months, the two males were still sharing the flock harmoniously, when the two younger cockerels started

not enter the chickenhouse until after the others had settled.

Thereafter, he avoided Barbarossa, and suppressed his crow for several days. The hens, meanwhile, nonchalantly stuck with Barbarossa. After several days, Pablo was still skulking around, and when he restarted crowing, it was with a different voice. Barbarossa chased him away from evening treats again: it was heartbreaking to see him demoted to pariah. Fortunately, a kind couple would take either male for their flock. Barbarossa was by now surrounded by hens and difficult to extract from the roost, while poor Pablo perched alone. So Pablo was collected and inherited a new flock of his own. A happy ending for him, but a lesson for us that our flock just wasn’t big enough for the both of them.

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angling

THE REAL OUVERTURE UNLIKE IN THE UK FRANCE DOES NOT HAVE A CLOSE SEASON FOR COARSE FISH IN RIVERS OR LAKES

By Clive Kenyon

T

he chasse season ends in February / March dependent on species and some chasseurs take to fishing for trout from the middle of March. But, for a lot of pécheurs they are just biding their time until the weather turns warmer and more importantly for some, the predator season commences.

Whether you are a carpiste or prefer to catch brochet, sandre or perche, May is the time of year that it all kicks off. Back in the UK however, river fishing for coarse fish is still out of bounds as the close season applies. Always seemed strange to me that the coarse fish close season ended before many river species - chub, barbel and carp for example - had commenced let alone completed their nuptials.

Being situated in a more temperate region the reproduction of these three species is usually earlier than in the UK and care must be taken at this time of year to avoid catching spawning fish. For my part I will have stopped fishing for carp and barbel at the end of April and will concentrate mostly on the predators and trout for the next two months.

Black Bass An increasing number of lakes and rivers here are being stocked one way or another with American black bass, sometimes called largemouth bass. I first came across this species in Cyprus where they had been stocked in some inland dams supposedly to control the population of grass snakes. Bass have also found their way into many other countries including South Africa where they have been voted as the most sporting fish in that country.

Bass are short, stocky fish and members of the perch family with whom they share common traits. In the United States black bass are probably the number one game fish and can be found in most States where competitions are held attracting thousands of anglers. Every young angler dreams of becoming a bass pro’ and earning their living from the rich cash prizes tournament winners receive. Bass fishing has become an art, a science and in some cases, a religion. Tactics are regularly discussed in fishing magazines and forums and include fishing weedless worm rigs in thick weed beds to surface fishing poppers and fish bait rigs using small bait fish.

In France the increasing interest in bass fishing includes using float tubes to be able to allow anglers to cast to the edge of surface weeds and tweak a floating frog lure back from the weeds. Bass stalk prey

fish and frogs slowly and stealthily until they are close enough to rush the victim and inhale it into their huge mouths. The sound of a bass taking a surface lure is unforgettable. It sounds like somebody ripping linoleum. It is important to allow the lure to rest for ten to thirty seconds between tweaks to allow the lurking bass to stalk the lure. Once hooked they fight like trout on steroids. If you imagine how a rainbow trout fights but with no fatigue, that is what a bass gives you. They never give in.

Imagine my delight therefore when at a vide-grenier in Availles-Limouzine I discovered tucked away amongst a few bundles of firewood described as canne à pêche, a small ugly spinning rod attached to a Pezon et Michel reel. Pezon et Michel are the nearest thing to Hardy in France and some of their fly rods fetch eyeFor the fly-fishermen amongst us bass watering sums. Their coarse fishing reels, gives you the chance to use your #6 weight especially the first generation, are also in anger. Large buoyant flies made from eagerly sought by French collectors. The deer hair such as Muddlers can be used as reel that was attached to the spinning rod poppers. The bass don’t seem to know the was a fairly rare model known by the difference. It is important to cast the fly or name of ‘Capot’ referring to the cover that lure right to the edge of any floating weed encloses the spool similar to an ABU 506. and allow plenty of time between the lure This particular reel has a small concealed landing and beginning a twitch retrieve pickup that resembles a half-bail, that is a jerking the lure back a claw type arrangement few feet between rests. hinged only at one Bait fishermen can use Many pécheurs would agree side. Instead of worms or sand eels, the with that and so you may see reaching over the front latter are sometimes of the spool to collect red notices stipulating “No available in the line as normal Kill” for the black bass supermarkets in the half-bail reels do, this summer months. one is hinged inside Mount the bait on a the hood and when casting folds inside the weedless hook, the type that has a spring hood to allow line to freely leave the spool. guard resting against the point of the On asking the price I was stunned to hear hook. This can be cast into or alongside that the ensemble was €5. I had expected weed beds with less chance of the the usually ambitious price of four or five hook snagging. times that amount. I was so shocked I Bass can be found in rivers including the forgot to haggle and by the time that I had Charente and Vienne and are usually come to my senses my five Euro note was found where you would expect perch to be. safely in the hand of the vendeur and he Weed beds on the edge of the main was off to find another victim. current or where there is structure such as I put the reel in my pocket and went off in pilings, walls or deep channels are worth search of a receptacle to deposit the rod in. a try.

The absence of any bins resulted in my Many gourmets regards bass as one of the taking the rod home where on closer best fish for the table. Many pécheurs inspection it turned out to be better than I would agree with that and so you may see had initially thought. Not exactly more red notices stipulating “No Kill” for the desirable. More like less undesirable and I black bass. This preservation initiative is will find a place for it in the back of my also finding traction in trout and grayling cupboard. However the reel cleaned up fishing so please check the regulations nicely and once the original solidified online if you intend to take a fish for grease had been replaced it ran as good as the pot. any 65 year old reel could be expected to.

Bargain Hunt The Fédération Nationale de la Pêche has Brocantes and vide-greniers can sometimes be good places to find items of fishing tackle. However, I have lost count of the times that I have been disappointed in finding something slightly interesting only to find the price was beyond ambitious often prompting the Yorkshire war cry of, “How much?”

announced the ease of restrictions for anglers. As of the 14th April anglers can travel anywhere within their home department to fish and/or up to 30km from home in neighbouring departments.

Restrictions on curfews however are still applicable. Please check for updates as they will, understandably, keep changing.

etcetera 39

free time

40 etcetera

free time

etcetera 41

nature

Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds

A male Great-tit puts all its breaks on as it comes in to alight. Note how every feather is at full streatch to bring the tiny, hurtling creature to a stop

42 etcetera

nature

WHAT ARE FEATHERS? WHAT DO THEY DO? HOW DOES A BIRD USE THEM? AND HOW DID THEY DEVELOP?

F

eathers are remarkably complex outgrowths from the skin of a bird, made of keratin, a stiff form of protein similar to the material that forms hair and horn in mammals, but chemically toughened to be even stiffer. There are different types of feathers, but they resolve themselves broadly into three classes: vaned feathers (pennaceous), down feathers (plumaceous) and bristle feathers. The pennaceous feathers are the ones we usually think of – one long stiff stem (the rachis), either up the centre of the feather or off towards one side, from which sprout side-shoots (barbs) which in turn sprout finer side-shoots of their own (barbules) all in one plane of growth.

The barbules in turn have a Velcro-like system which locks them together, further stiffening the feather and maintaining its shape. These inevitably come slightly undone over time, but the bird can re-secure them as part of the process of preening.

Most feathers are only attached to the flesh of the bird, but the feathers that do the hard work are usually attached to bone as well. The flight-feathers and some of the tail-feathers fall into this category. They need the strong attachment to stay stable under stress.

What do feathers do?

birds, they found that their ability to catch insects was quite unimpaired!

Why does a bird have feathers anyway?

That seems like the most obvious question – they enable them to fly, of course. However, that is only part of the answer, and, as we shall see, probably was not the primary reason for growing feathers in the first place.

The problem is that we do not really know when feathers first appeared. We know fish had scales from very early on, because these are preserved quite well, and anyway, people expect to find scales on a fish, so they looked for them when they found a fish skeleton. Feathers are more perishable, and thus less likely to be preserved in the fossil record, and anyway, the early fossil hunters were more interested in the bones than the other parts of the vertebrate fossils they found. Besides, they had been told that these were reptiles – giant lizards – and whoever saw a lizard with feathers?

The odd feather turned up in suitably fine-grained rock, but not associated with anything else. This merely was noted as giving an indication that birds were around about that time (Jurassic – a bit early, but there you are). After all, you often find loose feathers lying about today. Why not then?

Usually, it is the pennaceous feathers that one sees on a The big Had it climbed a tree and living bird. The breakthrough came flight-feathers and tried to jump out, it would when a beautiful, tail, of course, but have fluttered in an ungainly almost complete also the contour tangle to the ground skeleton of what feathers. These cover was at first taken as the entire body, and a Coelurosaurian provide streamlining dinosaur was found to cut down drag, but most of all provide, in the Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone together with the plumaceous feathers of Bavaria, Germany, in 1861. This below them, a strong thermal insulation, limestone is very fine-grained, preserves because remember, a bird is fine details and splits cleanly. The fossil endothermic, that is, it uses its own was missing its head, although there were energy reserves to maintain its bodysuggestions of teeth around, but the rest temperature, like a mammal, and must of the skeleton was there, and moreover, therefore avoid losing heat unnecessarily. it was surrounded by the impressions of Mammals do the same (with one notable large, pennaceous feathers. Subsequently exception), but use the simpler system of another specimen was found, complete hair-cover for the body. The nearest a with head, which confirmed the presence bird gets to hair are the bristle-feathers, of teeth. Unfortunately, although the which usually are found on the face, wing-shape was modified it still bore around the base of the beak. Nobody is separate claws, not the fused finger-bones sure even now what their function is. of a modern bird, it had a bony tail and Someone suggested they act as sensors to long, robust legs clearly intended facilitate the catching of insects, covering for running. the blind-spot between the edge of vision and the beak. Sadly, when experimenters These specimens, which were given the name Archaeopteryx (ancient feather) shaved the bristles off some insectivorous

By Mik

e Geo r ge

Mike George is our regular contributor on wildlife and the countryside in France. He is a geologist and naturalist, living in the Jurassic area of the Charente

which neatly ducked all the issues, were seized upon both by the Darwinists and the Creationists of the time (it was the period when the new theory of Evolution was under hot debate). The Creationists hailed them as proof that birds were created independently from other creatures, or else where did the feathers come from? The Darwinists insisted that they were a transitional stage between reptiles and birds. Neither faction was correct.

After many years of fruitless argument, someone decided to have a good, close look at the specimens (a couple more had turned up in the meanwhile). Yes, Archaeopteryx did have claws, but then so does the Hoatzin bird of South America (at least in its fledgling stage) today. The main problem was the musculature and the "flight" feathers.

Archaeopteryx did not have the deepkeeled breastbone, as a modern bird has, for the attachment of the heavy-duty flight-muscles needed to pull the wings downwards against the bird’s weight, nor did the "wing" bones have evidence of the insertion of such muscles. In addition, the large pennaceous feathers along the wing did not insert into bone-tissue, but were solely inserted into flesh. Thus, the “wings” did not have the strength to lift the bird or even to hold it in gliding flight.

Had it climbed a tree and tried to jump out, it would have fluttered in an ungainly tangle to the ground. More parachuting than flying!

In addition, the creature’s tail actually was a tail, with vertebrae going right down it as well as feathers. This would have caused considerable drag in flight, had flight been possible, as would the long and robust legs.

So, what was this creature doing arrayed in feathers?

What use were the feathers? Where did it get them? Why pretend it could fly when it couldn’t? The answer is that it wasn’t pretending anything. It never intended to fly. The feathers had a very useful purpose, which had nothing to do with flight. The one thing I haven’t told you about Archaeopteryx is its size. It was hardly larger than a crow. 'So?' you ask.

That is bird size, what is unusual about

etcetera 43

nature Feather Types & Anatomy

All these different types of feather can form the plumage of a bird. The barbs of the flight and tail feathers must lock together to hold the aerofoil shape. The blue diagrams above show how this happens

that? When you have ruled out the possibility that Archaeopteryx was a bird, you are left with but one conclusion. It was a dinosaur! In fact, apart from its size, it is identical to several other longlegged dinosaurs, and but for the fullydeveloped feathers, which clearly mark it as an adult creature, it might have been taken for a baby Coelurosaurian dinosaur.

other things being equal, a small dinosaur could not exist!

Archaeopteryx was solving this problem by insulating its body with feathers, which also allowed it to vary its insulation by moving the feathers around, as a modern bird does. It also may have needed the long feathers on its arms and tail to act as stabilisers when it ran, as it Now, as a undoubtedly did, because dinosaur, we its small body was too light Archaeopteryx was solving this now know it problem by insulating its body with to give it the low centre of would have feathers, which also allowed it to vary gravity it needed. Also, it been its insulation by moving the feathers has been suggested that it endothermic, used its feathered wings as around, as a modern bird does. or to remind a sort of catch-net for you, it trapping its prey, generated its own body-heat internally. surrounding it with a conical barrier into Other dinosaurs solved the problem of which it could push its head and gather maintaining their internal heat by being the prey with ease. It almost certainly big, and having a large bulk with a never went into a tree – equipped as it relatively small surface area through was, a tree would be the last place it which to lose heat. Their problem was wanted to be! getting their young up to sufficient size to But where did it get the feathers? reach this situation. That is why the As I say, for a number of reasons we have remains of dinosaur babies are few and no idea when feathers developed. In the far between – they grew so fast that they mid-19th century, there was surprise were babies for a very short time. All when a feather turned up as Hesperornis from the Cretaceous Period. early as the An early example of a bird that lost the Jurassic ability to fly; instead it embraced the period, which we lifestyle of the modern penguin now know was about 180 million years ago. Now evidence suggests that feathers must have appeared even earlier, possibly in the Triassic

44 etcetera

period. Some ancestor of Archaeopteryx and its relatives acquired the ability to grow them, and probably over the millennia some odd arrangements of feathers were tried and failed. It may be that several of the Coelurosaurian species had feathers, which they will have used for warmth, for display, for protection, possibly as an aid in brooding young.

Archaeopteryx was one of the experiments, and the experiment proved that, for a dinosaur, small could be beautiful, but it didn’t lead to flight. Then the trick of taking to the air was tried, and that worked. Now plenty of true birds are coming out of fossil beds in China, from the right periods, and indicating that flight evolved as might be predicted.

Strangely enough, almost as soon as they had gained the ability to fly, some species of bird relinquished it. Hesperornis used its wings to swim underwater, and developed a penguin-like lifestyle. Others - the Phorosrachids or terror-birds reverted to using size as a domination technique, grew as large as some of the old dinosaurs and forfeited flight. They kept the feathers, though.

So, am I saying that birds are descended from dinosaurs?

Yes. Most of the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, but one group gave rise to a new dynasty, the birds. Your garden could be said to be full of tiny dinosaurs, twittering merrily from every bush. It came as quite a shock in the early 1970s when this fact dawned on

palaeontologists. For generations schoolchildren have wished they could see an actual dinosaur. The whole Jurassic Park franchise is built on that very wish!

Well, it seems that they can. These dinosaurs have lost (thank goodness!) their astounding size, their fearsome teeth and many of the “gosh” factors that make them memorable, but they have gained the ability to fly, and that is pretty astounding. In fact, I find the whole thing amazing, and I still, especially in my older years, find myself humbled by the wonders of Nature, and the fascinating mechanisms of Creation. It is a privilege to be able to tell you about them.

Archaeopteryx, the first fossil ever found with feathers. It was, nonetheless, a dinosaur, not a bird.

Archaeopteryx had sharp teeth, three fingers with claws, and a long, bony tail

etcetera 45

astronomy

The Night Sky OUR SKIES MAY BE A LITTLE LIGHTER NOW IN THE EVENINGS, BUT THERE IS STILL SO MUCH TO SEE!

H

ere we are in spring and the days are warmer and getting longer and the nights - sadly for we astronomers - are getting a little shorter as the season proceeds.

With so much technology available to us at the tips of our fingers these days, I thought that it would be handy for you to be able to research the details of this month's events and objects using a free application. You can download 'Stellarium' to your mobile phone or computer. 'Skysafari' provides the same details and views of

46 etcetera

objects you are interested in searching for and, if your mobile phone has an inbuilt compass, will provide live / simulated views as you point your phone at different areas of the sky. I have these apps on my devices and refer to them frequently to search for objects during an imaging session.

They are full of great information and free!

evening objects. What is known to astronomers as 'Galaxy Season' is with us now, so with a small telescope you may be able to spot the brightest of these in the area of Virgo. A meteor shower associated with Comet 1P/Halley will peak on the 6th of the month. Later in the month we are also treated to the beautiful sight of a Supermoon!

This month, amongst other things, we can look forward to the planets Saturn and Jupiter returning to our morning skies while Venus and Mercury will be

The Moon and Planets in May Early in the morning (5.30am) of the 3rd of the month it will be well worth the early start to catch the planet

astronomy Join us Facebook group - Astronomy and Astrophotography France We’re very excited to have started up this group, a place to share experiences of the night sky in France, for English-speaking residents.

By Clair Wardla e w

Saturn rising close to a quarter Moon.

On the 4th and 5th you can see Jupiter join a similar view looking south-east.

On the 12th and 13th you can see a stunning thin waxing crescent Moon pass close to the planets Venus and Mercury and the bright star Aldebaron. Look to the north-west, low on the horizon just after sunset (around 10.10pm). New Moon is on the 11th this month while the very special Full Supermoon will be on the 26th. The 'Supermoon' is the name for a full moon which is at its closest to the Earth during its orbit - known as being 'at perigee'. As the orbit around the Earth is elliptical rather than circular, the Moon will be ONLY (!)

357,111km away from us and will appear 30% brighter. It should be a grand photo opportunity. If we were to pop over to the Americas, the Pacific, Australia or parts of Asia... we could view a total lunar eclipse! This is also on the 26th. I'm sure it will be given some TV coverage. On the evening of the 14th, in the twilight, the Moon will be between Mars and Mercury, while Venus will be very low on the horizon towards the north-west. Taurus and The Pleiades will also be part of this lovely view.

Object of the month The Virgo Cluster This time of the year is known to astronomers as 'Galaxy Season'. One of the most populated areas of our night sky is close to the constellation of Virgo. It is therefore known as 'The Virgo Cluster'. This cluster is made up of 2000 galaxies. The galaxy at the centre of this enormous grouping is M87, a giant elliptical galaxy also known as Virgo A. A small telescope is needed to view this object, when it will appear as a roundish blob. The Virgo cluster of galaxies is around 65 million light years away from earth.

Claire Wardlaw, originally from Edinburgh, lives in the Charente with her husband. Since their move nearly 6 years ago, Claire has become passionate about astronomy.

Shining a light on astro jargon The Ecliptic!

sky. Observe Spica for just a few minutes and you will see it display many changing colours. Virgo follows The word Ecliptic means 'place of the constellation of Leo across the sky eclipses'! All of the major planets, the from east to west and is herself earth and our moon orbit the sun on the same plane - the plane of the followed by the constellation of Libra.

Ecliptic. At different times of the year As Virgo sits on the ecliptic, it is also we can observe planets, the Moon or possible to observe the star Spica stars apparently meeting and passing being passed or occulted by the Moon one another as they continue on their as it changes position in orbit. In orbits. We can Greek mythology, observe Lunar Virgo is usually or Solar associated with the eclipses for We can expect around 40 god of justice Dike. example. meteors per hour and around a The maiden is When the Solar quarter of these will leave long thought to be System Astraea or 'star formed, the persistent trains in the sky Planets settled maiden' and has into their long been linked to orbiting plane, stories of the like marbles sitting on a table. As you harvest, spring and balance. Virgo can follow the journey of the Sun across be viewed throughout the six months the sky throughout the year you can from March to August which may observe that it traces the plane of explain why the many mythological the Ecliptic. stories link her to harvest.

Constellation of the This month's meteor shower month - Virgo The Eta Aquariids Virgo - or 'The Maiden' - is the second The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is largest constellation in the night sky. associated with the comet 1P/Halley.

It can be viewed from the northern The radiant of these meteors is well and southern hemispheres as it sits on below the horizon until late in the the celestial equator. As mentioned night but you can still spot them in the above, it is home to many galaxies and eastern sky. The peak of the shower is an area of the sky which will be this year is on the 6th and coincides much observed during the month. The with a thin waning crescent Moon, so easiest star to spot in Virgo is Spica will therefore be a favourable time for (also known as Alpha Virginis). Spica, viewing. We can expect around 40 in Latin means 'ear of wheat' and meteors per hour and around a marks the bounty held in the left hand quarter of these will leave long of the maiden. To locate the persistent trains in the sky. As always, constellation, firstly find the bright for a night / morning of meteor twinkling star of Arcturus. If you form spotting, get outside at least half an an imaginary curve from the handle of hour beforehand to allow your eyes to the plough, through to Arcturus and adjust to the darkness. Lie back on a continue on this same curve you will lounger or even on a blanket on the arrive at the next bright star Spica, the fifteenth brightest star in the night ground and ensure you have a wide etcetera 47

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This image was captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on the following sol, April 8, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

open view of as much of the sky as possible. Make sure you are able to keep warm and arm yourself with a warm drink!

Astronomy News - Touchdown for Ingenuity On the 4th of April, having travelled 471 million kilometres to Mars on board the NASA Perseverance Rover, the small helicopter craft named Ingenuity completed its journey to the surface of the red planet by dropping from the base of the rover a final 4 inches. Then on the 19th of April history was made again on the red planet. The tiny helicopter made its very first proper flight. It took off,

rose to a height of around three feet, hovered and landed again safely on the surface of Mars. The first controlled flight on another planet.

Information about the helicopter's flights, observed and imaged by the Rover, can be found online via the NASA website at www.nasa.gov/nasalive. This is a great place to view NASA's many space events, images and videos from Mars and, for example, events on the NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this International Space Station, where image using its left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s Frenchman Thomas Pesquet is mast. This is one still frame from a sequence currently Commander.

Happy stargazing and Clear Skies!

captured by the camera while taking video. This image was acquired on Apr. 22, 2021.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

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getting connected free services. went care. to seeI’ve a client recently insult.

Still, II don’t got thick who to setisNetflix up.downside When it skin.wanted Whichme I guess, another got to the point of putting in card details for to my features. the subscription, he said he didn’t realise it STUART wasn’t free. Netflix starts at 7,99 euros per month and Amazon Prime Video is have only 49 An increasing amount of new TVs a WALLACE euros for tuner 12 months which pretty satellite already builtseems into them. good me.you Youdo can have it all in a This value meanstothat not need to use THE FRENCH HOUSE English if satellite you wantreceiver to, so no language seperate (Sky box, issues either.

Freesat box etc) for UK TV reception. You will know if it hasneed one abyway a) looking You will however in whichfor to get ike Boris Johnson turning up for your on the or,either more a itDVB-S onto your TV.specifications So, you can use wife’s birthday party, you may not want likely, TV b) by looking seeboth if it has a ‘smart’ which will to have services this column, but by god, you’re gonna get threaded male connection next to built-in, a media device likepoint an Amazon the traditional push aerial it. Just realised that could be considered a Firestick or Apple TVfit box or a socket.

Google If it has, you’re good to go.They are sometimes Hellorude. and Hey-ho, welcome.let’s How you all little goare with it anyway.

Chromecast type device which allows you to a little less user doing?

Well, hope.

Hello and howI the devil are send the servicefriendly from than something likeTV. a Surviving thesafe heatand andwell the you?

Keeping your phone to your It would appear that it is Freesat box, but you continuing requirement to I hope. Some of you may There are a plethora can increasingly difficult to create a favourites list to wearhave masks?

I’ve actually even been vaccinated. (ooh, get me!) of other make life easier. Do not been told that wearing a get a Sky subscription suitable devices out Freeview bad, Freesat good. be told you have to buy a mask makes me more service in France there, but the ones listed Got it? Excellent. seperate receiver box, attractive.

I’m notLet’s sure if here are probably the move on. you don’t. that's in a '50 Shades of most popular. However, Grey' scenario, or,TV more likely, an Not quite satellite related butit’s I just whichever device you choose, you’ll need to

SATELLITE TV

L

want to ensure that you all know that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are not

50 etcetera

have access to the internet. These services are not supported by a satellite dish.

The new 4K Freesat+ receivers (the ones that record stuff) are now available from Amazon UK. However, they won’t deliver to France. So, that’s not really that much use. Another seller is Currys/PC World, who also don’t deliver here.

From anecdotal appear And, it’s still notevidence, the sameitaswould Freeview. that it is increasingly difficult to get a Sky subscription service in France. Not impossible, new subscribers are being A little late but to the party, as I wasn’t pushed Skylast Q. This is Sky’s notifiedtowards until after month’s article had current shiny newbut toyatand whilstthere very are been submitted, present, good, is more difficult to use in France. A no new domestic Tooway (satellite good old fashioned Sky+ HD box to is far internet) activations.

This is due the more simple.

However, it covers would our appear fact that Beam 15, which entire that Skyofare becoming less capacity. willing toIfmake region France, is at full you new available to the older havecards a Tooway system, you mayboxes. well have noticed it running slower Other than that, check outduring the newthe photo! lockdown and subsequent school holidays.

Fan mail to the usual address please. Hate Business tariffs remain available but these mail can be kept to yourself. Thank you. cost more money and are advertised H.T. Had to change it as a client said it made me (hors taxe) meaning that 20% TVA will look like a ‘nutter’. need to be added for use by private It really is true that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Some would be a start….

getting connected

I offer free &

Hedley Marsh 86150 Moussac sur Vienne Tel: 05 49 48 35 49 Mobile: 06 45 74 25 36 Email: hedleymarsh@orange.fr

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etcetera 51

section connected getting

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Check us out with Artisan Central

Homecall PC PC repair on house calls PC building on demand We sell hardware & peripherals ESET SECURITY BROADBAND INSTALLATION SOFTWARE RETAILER ASSISTANCE ON SITE Year round maintenance • Contracts on request

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OPEN MON TO SAT 9AM / 8PM

52 etcetera etcetera 52

Email sales@anglocomputers.com

Piegut-Pluviers, Dordogne

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DARREN LUCKHURST

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Piegut-Pluviers, Dordogne

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artisans 35 years’ experience

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MALCOLM ANDREWS PLASTERING SERVICES All Aspects of Internal and External Plastering and Specialist Renders T: 0780 633 374 E: superspread37@hotmail.com

Tom Turnbull

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www.etceteraonline.org etcetera 53

artisans

Dominic Smith

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H TAYLOR KEITARTISAN

Petits travaux du Batiment

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Contact 05.45.85.78.30 / 06.04.49.04.10 stuart.park@hotmail.fr

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www.etceteraonline.org 54 etcetera

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artisans

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With over 20 years’ experience (8 in France)

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PAINTER & DECORATOR Interior and Exterior

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Siret 5285994590013

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Email leseffes@hotmail.co.uk T: 06 04 43 18 10 / 06 04 44 32 12 Monique PEYNAUD

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05 55 60 47 78 06 10 49 49 57 troy.davey@orange.fr siret: 49895173000015

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ARCHITECT John Hartie B.Arch. A.R.I.A.S, R.I.B.A ORDRE des ARCHITECTES no. 073326 Based in La Rochefoucauld for over 12 years 14 Rue des Bans 16110 La Rochefoucauld T: 05 45 91 73 90 / 06 81 90 18 87 Email: john.hartie@orange.fr Eco-Buildings - New Build Renovations - Barn Conversions

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etcetera 55

artisans

56 etcetera

artisans

TRADITIONAL REPOINTING - HIGH PRESSURE REPOINTING - COLOURED SPRAY RENDERS EXTERIOR PAINTING AND FULL MOBILE SANDBLASTING SERVICE Find us on Facebook: Propoint facades Email: paulchester@club.fr T. 07 81 297 420/ 09 67 351337

etcetera 57

artisans Roofing / Renovations Roofing / Renovations ALL ASPECTS OF ROOFING / RENDERING & POINTING - Zinc / PVC guttering - Anti-moss - Insulation & Plaster boarding - Interior / exterior renovations For a free quotation please contact: Howard (fully bilingual, living in France since 1990, 10 yr décennale Insurance)

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58 etcetera

artisans

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etcetera 59

motors & removals

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siret 53821341400013

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60 etcetera

motors & removals

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etcetera 61

property

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www.etceteraonline.org etcetera 63

listing

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listing

YOUR COMPANION FOR LIFE IN THE FRENCH COMMUNITY

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Simon Hayman

Le Beau Bois Carpentry, Rancon 87290

Tel: 06 28 93 56 28 E: simon.hayman@sfr.fr

BESPOKE OAK FURNITURE - please visit my website to see the full gallery of my work

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DO YOU USE

OR

FOR HEATING?

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Installation of an air to water heat pump * Are you eligible for the new "prime CEE coup de pouce pac" (3500€ or 5000€)?

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FAST RESPONSE

www.newwave-energies.com New Wave Energies • Siège social : 51, rue Descartes 87000 Limoges Tel : 0 981 324 237 • S.A.S.U. au capital de 50 000 euros • N° de Siret 800 247 274 00035 66 etcetera

68 etcetera