The Bugle Dordogne - Apr 2017

New food label system introduced

In the ongoing battle against obesity, France’s health minister has introduced a new food labelling system >> Page 6 November 2016 - Issue #85

Dordogne

Your local newspaper for life in France

April 2017 - Issue 46 - FREE!

France chooses its next president

INSIDE > > > Dordogne towns voted France’s best - pg 3

The country heads to the polls on 23rd April to choose its next president, with Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel

Helmets compulsory for under-12s - pg 6

Macron the current favourites Emmanuel Macron (En Marche !) - Despite his background as an investment banker, a graduate of one of France’s most exclusive colleges and his role as economy minister under Hollande, Macron has tried to define his candidacy as an antiestablishment, quasi-apolitical insurgency targeting the middle ground. When the former minister quit the government last year to launch his new centrist party En Marche ! (On the Move!), and later announced his intention to run for the presidency, most observers believed he had committed political suicide.

“On paper, his ambition is pure madness. His chances of winning are minuscule,” wrote one Ifop pollster Jerome Fourquet at the time, saying Macron simply “does not have enough support to become king”.

Four months later and not only

>> continued on page 8

Dream comes true for Mélanie - pg 7

© WikiCommons (Pablo Tupin-Noriega / Blandine Le Cain)

G

iven recent world events, it should come as no surprise that this year’s French presidential elections are shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in the country’s history.

Scandal, intrigue, back-stabbing and a rank outsider coming from nowhere to win have been a common storyline in recent times, leading one major French daily, Le Parisien, to even stop using polls and give up trying to predict the unpredictable.

So, with the shape of the next five years of the political landscape at stake, who are the runners and riders and which candidates look most likely to be taking up residency in the Elysée Palace come May? There are five main candidates in the first round of voting, which takes place on Sunday 23rd April: Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen, François Fillon, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Benoît Hamon.

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Welcome to

The Bugle

W

ell, this year I managed to not forget to put the clocks forward.

This is something of a personal triumph as I usually go to bed twice a year thinking “It’ll be fine, I’ll change those clocks in the morning” and then at some point the next day receive a rude awakening.

I remember one time when I worked in the city, I only realised my mistake when I arrived at work an hour late on the Monday morning, much to the consternation of my boss (and the amusement of my colleagues).

My bigger problem these days is explaining daylight saving to little people who can’t yet read a clock!

My 2-year-old is a bit of a free spirit and couldn’t care less what the clock says at the best of times, so he has little truck for “I know you don’t think it’s bed time yet, but the rules

changed last night and my TV programme is about to start”.

To be fair, modern technology helps a bit by automatically adjusting your phone/computer/ tablet/watch for you… but do they? I’ve made that mistake before: setting every timepiece in my house to match my phone, only to realise that I had not activated the “Automatically adjust for daylight saving” option. I won't repeat what I called my phone, but let’s just say it contained the letters BST! It does seem a strange convention in the modern world, where so much of what we do is 24/7. I remember writing a piece a few years ago on the subject and one theory was that daylight saving was introduced by a powerful man that enjoyed a round of golf in the evening sun!

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of year when the evenings suddenly start to feel so much longer! I would say barbecue season is almost upon us, but it started a few weeks back in our house: my birthday fell on an unseasonably warm day in March so I dusted off the tongs and grilled myself up a lovely birthday treat!!

It’s a shame that the news continues to be dominated by such negative headlines and I watched in horror as the details of the recent Westminster attack began to unfold. It feels like it is probably an unavoidable part of modern-day largecity living, but equally, how depressing is it that attacks such as this could be dismissed as inevitable.

I received many concerned enquiries from French friends, who I’m sure could empathise after enduring so many similar (and even more deadly) attacks on their own soil these last few years.

And so it was a delight to cover such a life-affirming story as that of Mélanie, the lady with Down’s Syndrome who fulfilled a dream by presenting the weather live on national television (see page 7). The internet can be a disturbing and sometimes dangerous place, but it can also be used to achieve amazing things that wouldn’t have

been possible a few short years ago. Almost every news story these days seems to end by quoting how many “likes” the associated Facebook page has achieved, but every now and then, people get behind a story like this and wonderful things can happen!

With the French elections fast approaching, I will say what I always say: if you have the right to vote, use it! I can’t vote, but I am going to come down off the fence and court controversy by saying that personally, as a foreigner living in (and contributing to) France, I just hope that our next president is not Marine Le Pen. For me, that would be a step backwards, but the people will decide.

Until next month!

Steve Martindale, Editor

siret: 484 768 700 00029

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INSIDE this edition 3-5 Local News 6-10 National News 11-12 French Life 13-16 Directory 17 Community 18-20 What’s On

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15th April for May's edition

LOCAL NEWS ♦ 3

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Telegraph features Dordogne towns 150 million-year-old

A

s the local tourist season gears up for a possibly problematic Brexit summer, a major British daily is hailing the Dordogne as one of the top places to visit in France.

The Daily Telegraph’s Travel Destinations feature published its top twenty most beautiful French villages at the beginning of March.

Well-respected and hugely consulted by British holidaymakers, the Telegraph has placed the Périgord Noir, and especially three of its towns, as of outstanding beauty.

The newspaper’s researchers were impressed by the quality of accommodation, the setting and particularly the medieval character of the three towns selected: Domme, Monpazier and La RoqueGageac.

Domme was voted by the Telegraph team the top visit at number one, with Monpazier at eleven and La Roque-Gageac in fourteenth place. Hundreds of villages across mainland France and Corsica were considered over a range of criteria from seaside to countryside, from mountains to the plains, from history to architecture. The welcome, visitor facilities, gastronomy and

dinosaur moves to the Dordogne

T Domme - France’s number 1 destination ambiance also played their part.

With Brexit and the weak pound casting a cloud of uncertainty over British visitor numbers for 2017, this Telegraph feature is a welcome vote of confidence. Joy Milton, owner of Gîte La Varenne near Nontron, told The Bugle: “School holidays especially are normally booked very early. This year people seemed to hold fire, naturally unsettled by the uncertainty immediately following the referendum. There was a crazy few weeks when no one was sure if passports would be valid across the Chan-

nel. People make their holidays a priority, and really look forward to their stay in the Dordogne. It’s so beautiful and peaceful, and with the best of everything France has to offer right on the doorstep. We can see confidence has returned, and bookings are as busy as ever this summer!”

The Telegraph makes it clear that the selections are subjective, unscientific and based entirely on personal preferences and sheer delight. But then, that’s exactly what holidays are made of! ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

he Dordogne is world famous for its stunning sights and sites. None more so than the “Hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac”, which have just taken delivery of a brand new item to enhance the park and provide a unique new focal point for visitors. With 22 hectares of paths and thousands of 19th century hand-pruned boxwoods, the gardens command a unique position towering 130 metres above the Dordogne River and have been a popular attraction since being restored in 1997.

To be accurate, the “new” presentation is not quite new; the new/old display is the genuine 150 millionyear-old skeleton of an allosaurus.

This ancient giant, named Kan by its discoverers, was acquired in December last year by the park owner, Kléber Rossillon, and has

been lovingly re-assembled on site. The bony beast is displayed in a special hot house in the gardens at Vézac. Kan had previously been displayed in Italy before Kléber bought the massive skeleton at auction in Lyon for the astounding sum of €1.128 million! He had it on show at his other prehistoric site in the Ardèche until transferring it to the Dordogne where it was revealed to the public at the end of March to mark the 20th anniversary of the most visited garden in Périgord.

Originally from the USA, where it was discovered in 2010, Kan is among the world’s most complete dinosaur skeletons. Believed to be one of the most ferocious monsters of the Jurassic period and a close relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex, it unmistakably demonstrates the dangerously powerful family line. ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

4 ♦ LOCAL NEWS

CSF founder Linda Shepherd dies

L

inda Shepherd, the founder of Cancer Support France, has died at the age of 64 following her own battle with

cancer.

She founded the charity in 2002 in Poitou-Charentes after she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer shortly after she moved to France.

She went through extensive treatment which she said was wonderful but found that she needed to talk to someone about her fears and worries in her mother tongue and so Cancer Support France was born. Her French doctor, Professor Alain Daban, who was at that time head of the radiotherapy department at CHU Poitiers, encouraged her as he was aware of the need for a support group for the growing number of anglophone cancer patients. In the past 15 years, around 2,000 people have been helped by CSF, which now has a network of 15 affiliated, but independent associations throughout France. In 2010, it had grown to such an extent that a National Association was created to support the local associations. The charity has trained volunteers who give practical help, information and emotional support adapted to the individual needs of the cancer patients themselves, but also to their carers, families and those closest to them.

Mrs Shepherd stepped down as President in 2014 but her contribution to life for British residents in France was recognised twice that year, once by an invitation to a garden party at the British Residence to mark the Queen’s official birthday and then to

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ APRIL 2017

Dordogne strawberry fair gets the green light

C

iting public safety concerns, finance problems and a shortage of volunteers, some communes have scrapped their plans for traditional, annual festivities. This indeed was the case in Vergt where the mayor, Raymond Cacan, was contemplating calling off the annual strawberry and flower fair.

At a meeting in mid-March these big issues were dealt with by a consortium of the prefecture, the mairie, fire brigade and local enthusiasts and the fair will in fact now take place on 21st May! The haphazard car parking seen in previous years has raised security problems and this year the meadows on the D45 will be made available for visitors, with the Gendarmerie on site to coordinate.

After the 90-minute meeting Raymond Cacan expressed his pleasure at the number of volunteers coming forward to help make the fair a

attend a State Banquet at the Elysée Palace on 6th June at the invitation of the French President. By that time her cancer had come back but she continued to play an active part in CSF and did her last session training volunteers on 1st March of this year, even though she was very poorly by then.

CSF National President Penny Parkinson said: “It is Linda’s vision and determination which led to the creation and development of CSF. Her tireless support and the example of how she lived her own life with cancer is an inspiration to us all. Only last November she was able to attend and contribute to our Trainers’ Conference in Toulouse. Her legacy is that the organisation she created is now helping anglophone people touched by cancer across a large part of France.” ■

success. “Forty volunteers in less than a week, it’s a relief!”

The commune has promised a subsidy of €10,000, which will finance security equipment and provide the final boost to relaunch the fair.

Neighbouring communes will also be asked to chip in.

Vergt, considered the capital of the red fruit, is a major producer. Its location promotes gentle frosts which help give the strawberries their flavour. It has a population of 1,700 people and the fair attracts around 15,000 visitors each year. Plans for this year’s fair include giant tarts, a farmers’ market, flower market, country dancing, painting exhibition, bands, a traditional lunch and other surprises... plus the traditional strawberry tart contest! What’s not to love? ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

Beynac widening complete

W

ell, nearly.

There has been widespread traffic disruption at the picturesque village of Beynac, which has been closed to all through traffic for two months as a major project to widen the road got underway.

Local motorists and visitors were delighted in mid-March, however, to be able to drive through the temporary single-lane route on the RD 703 instead of

taking the lengthy detour.

The work is not complete, however, as the road’s opening applies only to cars for the time being. HGVs and camper vans will have a longer wait to be allowed through and will have to take the alternative routes in place.

Work is continuing on the pavements and kerbs and the complete, widened section is due to be ready in

June, in time for the busy tourist season The end of the improvement scheme may be coming to a close but opposition to the large scale bypass

continues with direct action, petitions, court cases and support from national and international organisations. ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

LOCAL NEWS ♦ 5

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RIFT: Brexit fear – How can we help?

Background

When the Referendum took place in June 2016 a significant degree of anxiety was felt by citizens residing within the European Union (EU), from this RIFT (Remain In France Together) was formed. To highlight their aims and objectives, Ros Petherick a founder member of RIFT wrote to the Editor of The Bugle in August 2016 explaining how RIFT worked, why it was formed and what it was hoping to achieve.

Since then many things have changed. The political climate for Brexit appears harder than ever, with Theresa May, Prime Minister (PM) set on the notion that a bad deal with the EU is better than no deal, and that she and her ministers alone can have the final say on the United Kingdom’s (UK) relationship with the remaining EU countries without recourse to Parliament.

The EU citizens living and working in the UK, some for many years, have had their lives stuck in limbo. The UK government has refused to unilaterally declare that those already resident in the UK will have the same rights in

the future as they do now. They, as quoted by ministers, are ‘negotiating capital’ and ‘bargaining chips’. This is morally wrong and confirming their rights could have put the UK on the high ground when it came to discussing the future rights for those of us living in France and other countries.

The UK government could also declare, without the need for any agreement with the rest of the EU, that they are going to guarantee that all UK citizens living in the EU will continue to receive S1 healthcare cover and annual old age pension increases. To date they have refused to do this.

Where does RIFT come into this?

We have over 5,400 committed members in the RIFT family (which continues to grow on a daily basis) and are also part of a larger EU coalition representing over 30,000 UK citizens living in all countries of the EU. As well as being an online support group giving advice to members about life in France – S1 healthcare, applying for a carte de séjour, citizenship, amongst other

things – we are also a sounding board for Brexit-related problems and more recently, we have become a powerful lobbying group.

Thousands of letters, emails and Tweets have been sent to MPs and Lords, especially during the recent debates in Parliament regarding invoking Article 50, highlighting the plight of all citizens, EU and UK, not resident in their own country, and how the lack of any concrete statement regarding their future rights in their adopted homes is affecting them. These have been personal stories and have made the debates more human rather than talking statistics.

We have made oral and written submissions to parliamentary select committees discussing exiting the EU and have had our recommendations included in their reports. This is an ongoing process, and it will not stop with the invoking of Article 50.

We have also been lobbying the EU Parliament, in particular Guy Verhofstadt and Sophie in't Veld, both prominent in their views of retention of EU citizenship for citizens of ex-EU countries and the plight of EU citizens in the UK.

Our future needs to be resolved as soon as possible and we do not intend to let negotiators forget their promises.

We also had a large presence at the recent Unite for Europe march in London on 25th March, where people of all nationalities, age and political persuasion marched on the Houses of Parliament to show their support for the EU and the UK’s place within that.

What happens now?

Following the passing of the bill in Parliament giving permission for the Prime Minister to invoke Article 50 we are going to concentrate more on our local representatives in France, MEPs and French MPs. As many people in power need to know of our feelings, we are trying to make our stories as personal as possible, so there is a human focus in the discussions.

The lobbying of MPs in the UK will continue as negotiations commence, they are our representatives after all, especially as the Prime Minister has promised to keep Parliament informed as negotiations progress. We must

not be forgotten.

How can you help?

Becoming a member of RIFT is easy. You do not have to be a political activist to join – you just have to care about your future life in France.

You do not have to do any lobbying, your views are just as important and others can explain them for you if necessary, although they are better coming from you! 1 letter/ email to an MP or MEP takes just 5 minutes of your time, but could add years to your life in France. For important issues we even provide a draft letter that can be personalised by individual members before sending.

Your views are important to us, but it is also important that they are heard.

To find more information about RIFT, go to our website www.remaininfrance.org.

To join our family apply through our Facebook page RIFT (Remain In France Together). We look forward to welcoming you.

Kalba Meadows, Leslie Stuart Gary Angell, Mike Harlow plus over 5,400 members

6 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

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Colour-coded food labels

I

n recent years, repeated studies have been laying waste to the myth put forward by 2004's number one bestselling book “French Women Don't Get Fat”. The latest move in the battle against expanding French waistlines is the introduction of colourcoded nutritional logos on selected products in supermarkets.

The idea was first revealed by France's health minister, Marisol Touraine, in May last year, and tests of different labelling systems have been carried out in sixty supermarkets across the country. The colour-coded system - called the “Nutriscore” - came out on top and will now be rolled out in April. The Nutri-score system will see selected foods and

drinks ranked on a scale of A to E, with the associated colours ranging from dark green (A) to red (E).

Unlike other systems, which show individual ratings for certain ingredients such as salt, fat or calories, the Nutri-score label gives a single, overall rating based on a variety of healthy and unhealthy markers. The principle behind the label is to allow consumers to be able to quickly and easily choose between two similar products, based on their relative health benefits: a Green A packet should look more appealing than a Red E one.

The labels will concern pre-prepared foods such as lasagne and cassoulet, as well as fresh pizzas, dishes in cans or jars, pastries and factory-produced breads.

Bike helmets compulsory for children under 12

S “A good diet is a part of being healthy,” the health minister told Le Parisien newspaper, highlighting that recent studies show that around 30 per cent of adults in France are overweight and about 15 per cent are obese.

“The indicators on food today are often too hard to analyse. They need to be understandable at a glance. The idea isn't to make people choose between a yoghurt and a pizza, but to help them see which of the pizzas contains the lower amounts of fat and salt.

I have already adjusted my own habits, choosing certain cereals over others.”

European law does not allow France to unilaterally force producers to change their labels and the new system will therefore be a voluntary one. “That is unfortunate,” explained the minister. “But I am hoping that pressure from consumers to be informed will force the hand of the industry.

Once certain producers come on board, there will be a snowball effect.” ■

ince 22nd March it has become compulsory for all children under the age of 12 to wear a bike helmet, whether they are riding a bicycle or are a passenger on it. The law was introduced in December of last year, but has only recently come into force, giving parents time to properly equip their children.

Failure to comply with the new law could see the accompanying parent charged with a class 4 road infraction - a fine of €90 (which can increase for delayed payment).

“It is a question of raising awareness through a measure that is easy to accept,” explained Emmanuel Barbe, a governmental road safety delegate. “It's a small change, which will also have an educational benefit for parents. If a parent does not wear a helmet, the child will ask why.

We want to pass the message through the voices of children.”

The government has been working hard to improve road safety figures in France in recent years, but 159 cyclists died in 2016, an increase of 7% on the previous year. A study by road safety guide Sécurité Routière showed that wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of a serious head injury

by 70 per cent, the risk of minor injury by 31 per cent and the risk of facial injuries by 28 per cent.

However, the French Association of Bike Users believes the new law treats the symptoms of a problem and not the cause, arguing that a helmet does not prevent an accident and a better move would be for children at primary school to be given lessons on how to safely ride in traffic.

“We are not against the move, but to suggest that this will change the road safety of the cyclist is nonsense,” said the association's president Olivier Schneider. “A real road safety measure would be to introduce cycling lessons in primary schools, so that children know how to ride a bike on the street. It is not by wearing a helmet that you learn how to avoid an accident.

What's more, it sends the message that cycling is dangerous. If you put a helmet on cyclists, why not impose it on car passengers and people taking the stairs? There are 400 people who fall every year on the stairs and have acute cranial trauma!”

Helmets with the CE quality mark can be bought for as little as €10, but those tested for road use will also carry the “NF EN 1078” mark and may cost several times as much. ■

French growth pushes Eurozone economy to outpace the UK

T

he Eurozone economy has overtaken that of the UK, driven primarily by strong growth in France and Germany. Higher demand pushed up business output across all of the major Eurozone economies, according to IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a composite index which measures companies' trading activity.

The PMI gives a good idea of how well the underlying economy is performing and rose to 56 for the Eurozone in February, its highest level in 6 years. Any score of above 50 indicates the economy is expanding and this relatively high number is consistent with first-quarter GDP growth in the Eurozone of 0.6 per cent.

According to the report's authors the latest figures signal that the bloc's recovery is “surging higher”, adding that job creation was also at its best level for almost a decade. “The

Eurozone economy's throttle opened further in March, with business activity and hiring surging higher,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. “Perhaps the best news came from France, where growth has risen above that seen in Germany, led by strengthening domestic demand.

While elections remain a worry regarding the outlook, for now the business mood in France and across much of Europe is very positive.”

By contrast, the UK’s dominant services sector has slowed down, dragging the PMI for the wider economy down to 53.8, a sharp fall from the 55.4 recorded in January and the weakest number since August 2016. “A further slowdown in UK business activity growth in February adds to evidence that the economy has lost momentum after the impressive expansion seen at the end of last year,” continued Mr Williamson.

“Weaker consumer spending was a key cause of slower service sector growth, suggesting that household budgets are starting to crack under the strain of higher prices and weak wage growth. The ongoing steep upturn in costs suggests that consumer price inflation has significantly further to rise, adding to our belief that inflation will breach 3 per cent over the course of the next year.”

While the French and German economies remain on track to grow by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, Spain is expanding at an even faster rate of 0.7 per cent. There was also good news in Italy, traditionally the poorest performer among the major Eurozone members, which is set to grow by 0.4 per cent over the same period, a figure which matches the UK economy and represents its best growth in more than a year. ■

NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 7

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Mélanie presents the weather caught the attention of France 2, who agreed to give the young lady the chance to present the weather on 13th March. She received four days of training from France 2's weather team, including tips on presenting in front of the green screen where the graphics are digitally projected. “Melanie cannot read or write.

The goal is to make her feel integrated,” said Nathalie Rihouet, head of the weather service of France Télévisions.

Her story was covered extensively on traditional French media, shared widely on social media and her broadcast was subsequently watched live by a record 5.4 million viewers, a staggering 22.5% of the viewing public. Not only that, but a further 6.5 million people have since watched the clips on

her Facebook page.

“I am different, but I would like to show everyone that I can do plenty of things. I want to prove it by appearing on TV,” Mélanie said before going live in front of the nation. “It's work! But it's OK. My dream was to show people the weather. And this can open doors to other people with disabilities.”

“Symbolically, it's

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London-Bordeaux tickets on sale

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© Screenshot (France 2)

I

n another depressing month of negative news, one positive story hit the headlines across the world when Mélanie Ségard fulfilled a lifelong dream and presented the nation's weather on France 2. The 21-year-old, who has Down's Syndrome, soared to prominence after French charity UNAPEI launched an awareness campaign ahead of World Down's Syndrome Day on 21st March, entitled “Mélanie peut le faire” - Mélanie can do it! “Salut tout le monde,” the associated Facebook page read. “Je m'appelle Mélanie et je veux présenter la météo à la télé.”

The page reached its target of 100,000 likes within 36 hours.

A short while later, the page had reached 200,000 and also

a very strong message that a young woman with an intellectual disability can come before millions of French people to do something that is close to her heart.

This shows that these people have abilities,” said UNAPEI's president Luc Gateau.

So what next for France's latest weather presenter? “Tomorrow I'm going back to work. I travel there by

myself,” Mélanie announced proudly, referring to the permanent job she secured after completing training with a medical institute. Despite this and numerous other media engagements in the days following her appearance on national television, her ultimate dream lies elsewhere: “To become a makeup artist and work with celebrities!” ■

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here was a buzz amongst lovers of high-speed train travel as this summer's tickets went on sale in March, particularly over the new Bordeaux-Paris route, which opens on 2nd July. The new stretch of high-speed track between Tours and Bordeaux means that the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region will be just 2 hours 5 mins from Paris, a full 1 hour 10 mins quicker than the current route.

Furthermore, Brits with a penchant for the region's famous wine – or expats looking to travel back to the UK - will be able to book a Eurostar ticket direct from London to Bordeaux, with prices from just £110 return for those that get in early. Although the journey from London involves a change of station in Paris - between the Gare du Nord and Montparnasse - the new stretch of high-speed line will mean that Londoners can be sipping a glass of Bordeaux's finest in less than 6 hours!

“There is a growing appetite for Bordeaux, as British travellers are drawn to the gastronomic and cultural attractions of the city and nearby regions,” said Eurostar's commercial director Nick Mercer.

“With the new high-speed line, passengers will benefit from a more civilised way to travel with city-centre-to city-centre travel, a generous baggage allowance and superior comfort on board our new trains.” ■

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8 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ APRIL 2017

France heads to the polls Baguette >> continued from pg 1

does he have a chance, but he is currently thought to be the most likely to become the Republic’s next president. If successful, he will be the first person to be voted head of state without the backing of a major political party and key to any victory would be the support he has garnered from disaffected members of both the centre-right and centre-left parties.

Economically liberal and probusiness, he is firmly on the left on social issues, but has said that he hates the term centrist, preferring to call himself someone “of the left” open to ideas from the right.

Marine Le Pen (Front National) – As nationalism and populism have swept across Europe, Le Pen has ridden the wave to become a serious contender for the presidency. Under her father, the Front National’s founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party operated on the fringes of the political spectrum, although it did cause an earthquake when Le Pen Senior made it through the second round of voting in 2002, where he was comprehensively beaten by Jacques Chirac by 82% to 18%.

In an effort to make her movement more palatable to mainstream voters, Marine Le Pen has moved away from her father’s more extreme views, even expelling him from the party in 2015 over his repeated antiSemitic remarks. Her “France first”, anti-immigration, anti-EU stance has proved a hit with voters across the country and several polls have predicted that she may even win the first

round of voting this month, although she currently remains unlikely to win the resulting run-off a fortnight later.

She has presented the election as a battle between the “patriots” ready to defend France and its values and the “globalists” whose support for immigration and open borders have caused economic and social chaos.

François Fillon (Les Républicains) – Although the former prime minister has little chance of winning and has had to battle hard just to stay in the race, history may well show that Fillon had the biggest impact on the outcome of the 2017 presidential elections. When the primary season began last year, Hollande’s governing Socialist Party were beset by infighting and languishing in the polls and the smart money was on the next president coming from Les Républicains. François Fillon subsequently caused an upset by knocking out former president Nicolas Sarkozy as well as another former prime minister and the man considered the favourite at the time, Alain Juppé.

The presidency was Fillon’s to lose... something he subsequently set about achieving, starting with Penelopegate, the scandal involving payments of €700,000 made to his Welsh wife Penelope for work his opponents claim she never did. In March, amid calls for him to withdraw from the race, other payments made to his children for allegedly non-existent holiday work surfaced and he was placed under official judicial investigation. Fillon claims he has done nothing wrong, and he may well be cleared, but enough political

mud has stuck to see his supporters deserting the sinking ship.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France insoumise) - Communistbacked firebrand Mélenchon is a seasoned campaigner and has been one of the harshest critics of Hollande’s presidency. He is known for his fiery rhetoric and wants to abandon France’s presidential system for a parliamentary one, as well as renegotiate EU treaties. Whilst he enjoys loyal support from the left, he is currently a long way behind the main contenders.

Benôit Hamon (Parti Socialiste) – Just as François Fillon cleared the main contenders from the centreright, so Hamon removed the big names from the centre-left, defeating prime minister Manuel Valls and former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg. François Hollande was so unpopular that he became the first sitting president in modern times not to seek re-election.

Hamon has been described as France’s Jeremy Corbyn, most noted for being a principled, leftist backbench rebel, but many in his own party do not consider him presidential material and have switched their support to Macron.

After Brexit and the election of Trump, many are looking at the French elections as a potential turning point for populism. UKIP’s former leader Nigel Farage believes an election victory for Le Pen and her far-right National Front would “bring down” the European Union.

Following the defeat of the extremist Geert Wilders in the Netherlands’ recent election, however, others argue that the tide has turned, “Trumpism” has had its day and the fire of populist movements across Europe will begin to fizzle out.

According to Ian Bond, director of policy at the Centre for European Reform think tank, the upcoming election reflects “the battle between mainstream politics and populism” and will reveal whether populism “will take another step forward or if it has reached its peak, and if more reasonable politicians will be able to reassert themselves in Europe”.

The five main candidates took part in a mammoth three and a half hour live television debate in mid-March the first of three - which was watched by 10 million people. When the dust settled, whilst it was agreed that Macron looked slightly uncomfortable on stage - he has virtually no debating experience - the more seasoned campaigners failed to land any significant blows and he now remains the favourite to win the presidential race. One poll taken in the aftermath of the debate showed Macron and Le Pen neck and neck with just over 25% of the vote each, followed by Fillon (19.8%), Hamon (13.9%) and Mélenchon (11.3%). Most pollsters agree that Macron would comfortably beat Le Pen in a run-off.

But in these turbulent times, political fortunes can change at the drop of a hat (or a Russian hack!) and it would take a brave person to confidently state who will be voted the next President of the Fifth French Republic on Sunday 7th May. ■

postbox

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t is an invention that could probably only exist in France, but so popular is the “baguette postbox” that its creator is having to expand his business to cope with the huge demand. The Boîte à Pain is a long rectangular polyethylene box with a cotton bag inside, which is designed to keep its precious contents safe from the elements... and any potential pain pilferers.

The €80 box is the proud invention of 58-year-old Gérard Brun from the Oise department in northern France: “I never expected it to be such a success. When I drive past a house and see my invention, I am proud.”

The system operates in a similar way to standard French postboxes. The owner has a key to their own box and the baker has a master key that opens all similar boxes, allowing them to deposit the baguette at any time of the day.

His practical solution coincides with a recent resurgence in home-delivered bread. Traditionally, the local baker would perform a tournée of their commune every morning, announcing their arrival in each village with a loud honk of the horn. As more and more small, local bakers are closing down, however, this bread run is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The baguette postbox allows for a different model, with bread being delivered on a contract basis even if the customer is not present. One such business in Provence, Le Pèlerin Pain Pain, opened in 2016 and offers a fresh baguette delivered each day for €33.50 per month, with the rental of a baguette postbox a further €3 per month. ■

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NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 9

10 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

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returned to Réunion in February of last year after a five-year absence triggered by a shark attack on local surf champion, Eric Dargent.

The current problem possibly stems from a 1999 ban on the hunting of sharks for food on the island, after concerns that their flesh might be contaminated with ciguatera, a toxin that causes vomiting, nausea and, in rare cases, death. Locals say this has allowed bull and tiger sharks to take over the waters.

“There are so many sharks in the water, it is traumatic,” said Gilbert Pouzet, 55, who has surfed in Réunion for 30 years. “Sometimes, I go down to the waves and I am not sure whether to go in the water or not; 80% of the time I go back home. Most of the time they strike from the side and take your hip and leg.

They sever the femoral artery so you bleed to death in two minutes. The tiger shark will sometimes take an arm or a piece of leg and go away. But the bull shark becomes mad and finishes you off. When the bull sharks attack, they come to kill; they began to colonise because there was nothing to stop them and now we have an invasion.”

The Réunion authorities declined to comment on the surfers' demands, but did say that they already catch and kill 100 sharks per year. Meanwhile, conservationists and shark experts criticised any plans for a large-scale cull. “It’s insane,” said Dr Ken Collins, senior research fellow in ocean and earth science at the University of Southampton. “There is a hierarchy in the natural world for a reason. If you kill all the sharks and the lions, the world would be a poorer place. Who has the right to be in the ocean - the sharks or the surfers? I side with the sharks.” ■

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bungling burglar was caught red-faced, as well as red-handed, when he was arrested by gendarmes after becoming stuck in the window of the jewellers he was attempting to rob. Local law enforcers had initially been called to the shop in Mauléon-Licharre, near the Spanish border in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, following a disturbance, but found no one present. It wasn't until later that night when further reports came in that they discovered the man stuck in the hole he had made in the window.

Judging by the amount of loot subsequently found at the man's home, it is believed that he had made several trips back to the premises to fill his swag bag.

The light-fingered larcenist may want to lose a little weight after his sentencing, however, as local fire fighters had to be called to enlarge the hole in the window to allow gendarmes to finally make the arrest. His night to forget was made even worse when the image was later shared on the Gendarmerie's Twitter account, although the arresting officers did have the decency to pixelate his face and save him from further shame.

After a night in the cells, the man was due before magistrates. ■

05 55 41 17 76 - sales24@thebugle.eu

fter the eighth person in six years was killed recently by a shark, two of the world's top surfers have accused France of not doing enough to keep the waters of Réunion safe.

There are now so many man-eating sharks circling the French overseas dependency of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, that surfing is banned everywhere apart from two beaches that are protected by anti-shark nets. The island’s waves are considered some of the best in the world, however, and many surfers continue to take the risk.

“I won’t be popular for saying this, but there needs to be a serious cull on Réunion and it should happen every day,” said Kelly Slater, 11-time world champion, speaking with Jeremy Flores, who grew up on the island. “There is a clear imbalance happening in the ocean there. If the whole world had these rates of attack nobody would use the ocean and millions of people would be dying like this. The French government needs to figure this out, asap.”

Slater has previously been an outspoken defender of maritime life, so his comments provoked strong reactions.

“Things are getting really serious and we are tired of crying for our brothers,” said Flores after a shark recently killed 26-yearold body boarder Alexandre Naussac by biting through a major artery in his leg. “People are dying one after another and for some this sounds normal, but it really isn’t.”

Since 2011, there have been a total of 22 recorded attacks on the island, which lies 1,000 km east of Madagascar and 175 km south of Mauritius. Surfing competitions only

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Tiger sharks and bull sharks have taken over the waters of Réunion

© Albert kok (WikiCommons)

Burglar caught red-faced Calls for shark cull on French overseas territory

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FRENCH LIFE ♦ 11

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M

In the garden - jobs for April

arch and April are really flirty months - promising good weather, then changing their minds, then going back to it again! But then, like all charmers, we forgive them their ‘caprices’ and enjoy their charm. Yes, you’ve still got to whip out there on a cold evening and get the fleece over the tender seedlings, yes there are cold grey days with pouring rain when you feel you’re back in November, yes you despair of those hot sunny days that so tantalisingly remind you how glorious the weather can be here, before swiftly disappearing. But the days are longer, the water means the growth is lush, and in good shape, and the warmth means that things have come well out of winter dormancy. Will the season be good for fruit? Well, it depends mainly on these critical months and whether the fragile blossom is damaged, or not.

by Michelle Pierce This part of France is, in my opinion, especially gorgeous in the Spring – with the ornamental prunus, camellias, magnolias, wisterias, lilacs, snowdrop trees, etc. all playing a central role. Every year their emergence reminds me how you can never have enough blossom trees in a garden, or urban landscape. Plant more, or encourage others to do so. It’s fundamental for the bees and other insects. Especially if underplanted with spring bulbs.

Divine.

So there’s plenty to do now.

The greenhouse needs regular attention, with gentle watering of seedlings (ideally not late in the day, to avoid them suffering from the cold), and ongoing, regular sowings, pricking out, potting on, planting. The fast growers like the leaf greens, radishes, or garlic are especially good for getting production started, and how pleasant it is to be collecting your own salad leaves and fresh

herbs now. Feed overwintered pots of perennials with nettle tea, diluted to 1:10. This reminds us to start picking the fresh young nettle tops. These are great for cooking - soup is the classic, with a dose of cream and nutmeg, but you can also use it cooked like spinach, in stir fries, in omelettes or in cheesy parcels much like the Greek spanakopita. You can, of course, make your own nettle tea very easily for feeding your garden and this is particularly good when made with the first flush of young growth. A friend also picked and air dried nettle leaves for use later in the year, crumbled round her tomatoes and other energetic croppers.

Shops will start to have all sorts of lovely plants and bulbs for sale, but remember to harden them off correctly before planting out, in the case of plants, and plant in pots before later transplanting for frost sensitive bulb species.

The wines of Bergerac

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by Martin Walker

his is a lovely time to be in the vineyards with the first of the green shoots beginning to dust the stumps of vines and soon now the whole of the Bergerac will burst out in a glorious explosion of green with all the promise of the vintage to come.

In vineyard after vineyard, the tasting rooms have been polished and repainted ready for the summer floods of visitors. New glasses have been bought and price lists printed.

Labels have been ordered and in some cases re-designed and the menus have been planned for the vineyards that do lunches with their tastings and wine classes.

I’ll be visiting lots of old friends to wish them well for the new season, starting with Sean and Caro Feely at their vineyard in Saussignac, Château Haut Garrigue (sometimes called Terroir Feely). Caro is throwing a launch party for her highly enjoyable new book on

her and her family’s life with wine, ‘Glass Half Full.’

Having become a great fan of her previous books, I read this new one in a single gulp.

It is an enjoyable and sometimes moving story that tells you a lot more about vineyard life than how the vines are tended and how wine is made and why organic wines are important. Caro also writes of the pressures and stress that the unrelenting work of winemaking can impose on people and on families, balanced by the extraordinary joy that the life can bring. The book launch takes place on 17th April at 5 pm (information at feelywines. com - RSVP if you are planning to attend).

I’ll be calling on all my favourites, starting with François-Xavier de Saint-Exupéry at Château de Tiregand in the Pécharmant, Sylvie Deffarge at Château Moulin Caresse and Daniel Hecquet at Château Puy Servain in the Montravel. The Maison des Vins in Bergerac

SUDOKU - EASY

has put together a new 5-minute video which you can find on YouTube, called Portrait d’un vignoble, in which all of these great winemakers are featured. It makes a great start to a springtime wine tasting.

I find that getting to know the people who tend the vineyards and make the wines adds something intangible but very real to my enjoyment of their products. I suppose it’s my memories of the first tastings, the look of pride in the winemakers’ eyes when they gaze over their properties, the passion in their voices when they talk about wine. For these folk, wine is not just a living, it’s their life.

And this year, I have some exploring to do. Recently, enjoying one of those glorious spring evenings filled with birdsong after a sunny day, a friend offered me a glass of chilled Rosette.

I hesitated but then thought I should try it. Rosette is the only Bergerac wine that I have

Cast an eye over your mower, although you might already be using it, and make sure it’s good to go for the season. The grass is growing, but aim to cut it progressively, with different areas at different times, to help the wildlife.

There is still time to plant the last bare root shrubs, just about.

Container grown plants aren’t so crucial, and can basically be planted any time as you’re not really disturbing their root systems, but April planting means better re-establishment and less watering for you than if you do it later. Also, transplanting or splitting up herbaceous perennials can still be done, but if they’re in significant growth, prune the top off to help them re-establish.

Sowing can be done directly this month, in situ, with fleece kept handy to pop over in bad weather. You can also decide to sow seed directly in drills, with the intention of transplanting the

seedlings elsewhere in the veg garden when required.

Get your sun-loving things sown in hotter conditions, inside, or in a propagator – tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, peppers.

The shop bought plants always look so very healthy and tempting, but often don’t perform that much better, if at all, in real garden conditions.

Get your watering systems in place, and make sure your clean water butts are positioned to collect the lovely fresh rainwater of the Spring. Pull out the winter’s fallen leaves from gutters and ponds, too.

Keep an eye on the young brambles, insidiously creeping in, and control them as you need, remembering to leave a few somewhere they won’t be a pain, for the butterflies, and your crumbles later in the year!

So, loads to do!

Good gardening! ■

tended to ignore. Rosette is an unusual wine, a semi-sweet white, and in general if I want a sweet wine, I’ll have a Monbazillac. The first time I tasted a Rosette was at a party where the wine was warm and had been left open for a day or two and it reminded me of student parties back when the world was young and you could get a bottle of plonk for less than a quid. So I thought this was not for me.

But a cool glass of Château du Rooy changed my mind.

It was light and fresh, with an interesting, almost teasing balance between sweet and dry. It is a wine to savour that seems to have been made for springtime. Their vineyard is in Puypezac, just north of Bergerac and they also make Pécharmant wines; their prestige bottle, Folly de Rooy, is a very fine wine and I recommend it.

I have also enjoyed a Rosette from Château Puypezat, which is close to Rooy and I’ll be exploring more of the Rosettes in the future. I relish the way that wines seem to go with the seasons and that rosé wines somehow seem to sym-

bolize summer. So now I can enjoy a glass of Rosette on these lengthening springtime evenings that become that lovely twilight that we have here in the Périgord and which the French call crépuscule. (It is one of my favourite words in the language.)

It is a real pleasure to come across something new and realise what I had been missing.

And it’s a salutary reminder that there is always something new to learn, so I’ll be spending a lot of time this summer exploring vineyards and winemakers that are new to me, and reporting here on those I hope others will enjoy. ■

SUDOKU - MEDIUM

The solutions to this month’s sudokus can be found on page 13

Martin Walker, author of the best-selling ‘Bruno, chief of police’ novels, is a Grand Consul de la Vinée de Bergerac. Formerly a journalist, he spent 25 years as foreign correspondent for The Guardian and then became editor-inchief of United Press International. He and his wife Julia have had a home in the Périgord since 1999 and one of his great hobbies is visiting the vineyards of Bergerac.

SUDOKU - HARD

12 ♦ FRENCH LIFE

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ APRIL 2017

Organic seafood

by Julia Watson

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f you’re a fan of the oyster, you may be pleased to hear that Huîtres Favier Earl on the Seudre River in south-west France and suppliers of oysters to Carrefour, in January became the first farm in France to gain ASC certification.

Roughly explained, it means the methods for raising the 15 to 20 million bivalves in their Paimpol and La Tremblade farms have been judged sustainable, and meeting high standards in aquaculture.

It’s important because oysters are the canaries of farmed fishing. As soon as water quality declines, oysters do too. Given that so much fish globally is now farmed, responsible environmental and social practices applied to every piscatorial species are vital.

Food agencies globally are promoting greater eating of fish. They aren’t the first. It’s said that the reason behind Catholics’ consumption of fish on Fridays is due not to honouring Christ’s Friday death with the renunciation of warm-blooded flesh, but to a medieval pope entering into a secret agreement to prop up the fishing industry. True or not, extending the eating of fish beyond Lent is to be encouraged. It's high in omega-3s and all manner of nutrients from minerals to calcium yet low in cholesterol, and so much better for us and the environment than red meat.

Almost half of all fish consumed worldwide is farmed. It’s a contentious business. The irony is that to produce 1 kilo of farmed trout, you need 2.4 kilos of wild fish as feed,

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though not all of these are species consumed by humans. It’s the goal of French research institutions to lower this rate to 1 kilo by 2020.

Increasing information about fish farming brings increasing public concern about possible side effects. These are wide-ranging, from the impact of escapes from offshore pens on wild fish (assessed by a 2015 report published in ‘Aquaculture’ on six European countries over three years to be nearly 9 million), to the consequences of concentrated fish faeces beneath fish cages, and the use of antibiotics to keep fish with restricted mobility free of parasitic sea lice.

Organic farming of fish is being touted as a solution to preserving wild stocks while tamping down consumers' concerns over the safety of conventionally farmed fish. But there doesn’t seem to be much difference in the two methods of farming. In Scotland, lochs and rivers once teeming with wild salmon are now almost barren, and where fish farms abound off the country’s west coast, a conventional salmon farming cage may contain up to 70,000 fish. An organic farming cage could hold as many as 30,000. Parasitic sea lice are attracted to farmed fish of either type with limited mobility. Conventional or organic, feed and faeces fall through the cages to the ocean or river bed, polluting the waters.

In the UK, the Soil Association is the certifying body behind all organic labelling. Under its certification guidelines, organically farmed fish, just like conventionally farmed

Hearty Crab Bisque 450g white crabmeat 1 medium courgette, finely chopped 1/4 head of cabbage, finely shredded 1/4 head of celery, finely chopped 3 carrots, peeled and finely diced 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 large can tomato juice (750ml approx)

250ml fish stock 6 plum tomatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil (1 for soup, plus 1 for drizzling) 1 small wine glass of Monbazillac or other sweet wine Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Halve the tomatoes, place the cut side up in a lightly greased pan, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast till softened and beginning to lightly caramelize (about 35 minutes). When slightly cooled, chop into bite-sized pieces.

Heat remaining olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and add the courgette, carrots, cabbage and celery. Sauté them, stirring frequently, until they turn golden and soft, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the shallots and garlic to the pan, stir and sauté to soften. Add the crab meat and stew them all gently together for two minutes. Return the reserved vegetables to the pan.

Add the tomato juice and fish stock and the roasted tomatoes, stir and bring to a simmer.

Then add the wine and return to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning and serve in warm bowls with a salad on the side and a crusty loaf to mop up its juices..

Can be prepared ahead of time.

fish, are allowed to be fattened on a feed that includes fish oil and matter from fish that haven't themselves been raised on an organic diet. To keep disease at bay, organic fish farms are allowed to employ the same chemicals as conventional fish farms (though only twice in the 30-month life of an organic salmon). If necessary, they can dose them with three courses of appropriate medicines over this time. As to Scottish organic salmon, the Soil Association gave over the job of assessing the organic fish-farming industry to an organization set up and manned by conventional salmon farmers.

In France, IFREMER (the French Research Institute for Sea Exploitation) and INRA (the National Institute for Agronomic Research) are researching into replacing raw sea materials like fish meal from wild fish and fish oil with feeding farmed fish on raw plant materials.

If you want to check the latest news on responsibly farmed seafood, go to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s site at http://www.asc-aqua.org. ■ Julia Watson has been a long-time Food Writer for newspapers and magazines in the US and the UK.

No surprises in UK Spring Budget other than a sting in the tail for pensions - Blevins Franks

n Philip Hammond’s first and only Spring Budget, there was very little to surprise and not much that had not already been announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement.

£146 per year instead of over £730. From next April this lower cost option will no longer be available.

Personal allowances

Citing the current allowance as too generous, the government announced a reduction in the tax-free dividend allowance from £5,000 to £2,000 from April 2018.

This measure is aimed at director shareholders but could also affect those with large portfolios of shares.

However, for non-UK residents using the ‘disregarded income’ regime, dividends can still be tax-free in the UK. Although this approach may not be the most suitable way for expatriates to invest, this regime can still be used to tax-efficiently extract funds from UK companies.

The personal tax-free allowance will increase by £500 to £11,500 from April 2017.

The threshold for the higher rate band will also rise to £45,000 (excluding Scotland, where it remains at £43,000). The budget proposed to increase the personal allowance and the basic rate band to £12,500 and £50,000 respectively from April 2020.

National Insurance The government confirmed it will abolish Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) – a flat rate contribution paid by the self-employed – in April 2018.

However, Hammond’s plan to increase the rate of Class 4 NICs – payable by the selfemployed on profits – was dropped a week later amidst claims it broke a key Conservative party ‘tax lock’ election promise.

While there will now be no change in Class 4 contributions, Class 2 contributions will still be scrapped next year.

Currently, in order to top up their UK State Pension, expatriates who are selfemployed within the EU can opt to pay the flat rate Class 2 contributions instead of the higher Class 3 voluntary contributions.

As Class 2 contributions are under half those of Class 3, this makes the purchase of an extra year’s pension only around

Dividend allowance

Corporation tax As set out in the 2016 Autumn Statement, the government will cut the rate of corporation tax to 19% from April this year and then again to 17% in 2020. This is to encourage outward investment in the UK from non-UK individuals and corporations, but can be tax-efficient for Britons moving abroad who retain UK companies.

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) In the most unexpected move, the government announced they will introduce a 25% charge on transfers to QROPS from 9th March 2017. This targets those seeking

to reduce the UK tax payable by moving their pension wealth to another jurisdiction.

However, some crucial exceptions will apply. If expatriates reside in and transfer into a QROPS based in the European Economic Area (including Gibraltar), transfers may still be made tax-free.

Tax avoidance The government plans to introduce a new penalty for people who enable another person or business to use a tax avoidance arrangement that is later defeated by HMRC. They will also close a loophole in the Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes (POTAS) legislation, making it harder to circumvent the law through re-organising business structures.

Taxation of non-domiciles There was no update on the government’s proposed changes to the taxation of non-UK domiciled individuals and offshore structures owning UK residential properties.

Amendments suggested in the Summer Budget 2015 include introducing UK inheritance tax liability for those holding residential properties indirectly through a company or partnership, and revised domicile rules for those resident in the UK from 5th April 2017.

However, we will have to wait for the final version of the 2017 Finance Bill legislation to be released for confirmation of changes.

ISAs For UK residents, the ISA limit increases to £20,000 from 6th April 2017, as announced in the 2016 Budget. This allows more tax-free savings to be locked away each year. While non-UK residents cannot add to or open an ISA, they may retain existing ones. However, income and gains from ISAs are generally not tax-free in the new country of residence.

Other news The new 12-sided one-pound coin comes into circulation on 28th March 2017, so from then you can expect your change to look different on return visits to the UK. As the round pound will cease to be legal tender from October 2017, the clock is ticking on the chance to cash in any British piggy banks.

If you are thinking of transferring your UK pensions to a QROPS, or you think any other of these Budget measures may affect you, take personalised, professional advice.

An adviser with cross-border experience can guide you on both UK and French taxation and your range of options as an expatriate. ■ Tel: 05 53 63 49 19 Email: bergerac@blevinsfranks.com Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change.

Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual is advised to seek personalised advice.

DIRECTORY ♦ 13

APRIL 2017 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Business Directory

Your indispensable guide to finding local businesses & artisans Animals & Pets

Blacksmiths

MinouCats

Purpose built cattery with 7 heated, well equipped luxury suites Relaxed and secure environment Experienced and qualified owners Tender loving care all day long Agnac, 47800

Tel: 05 53 93 92 44

Ironwood Motif Artist Blacksmith Ferronnerie d’Art

www.ironwoodmotif.com Pergolas, staircases, railings, handrails, balustrades, balconies, gates, sculptures, outdoor structures & more.

Simple or elaborate, intricate or uncomplicated, small or large, we can fabricate, forge and hand make ironwork customised to your needs.

Tel: 05 65 30 53 99

nicky@minoucats.fr www.minoucats.fr

Facebook & Instagram: Ironwood Motif SIRET: 481 198 638 00019

At Masterplans.eu we can help guide you through your planning application in France.

From initial feasibility to completed dossiers.

We will compile all the relevant drawings and complete the necessary paperwork to ensure your application proceeds smoothly.

We are equally at home working with clients here in France or those living abroad.

Tel: 05 55 80 72 83 Mob: 06 33 07 29 72 Email: info@masterplans.eu www.masterplans.eu Siret: 790 016 984 00011

All breeds catered for Clipping, hand stripping and bathing 30 years’ experience 24500 Eymet

uPVC windows, doors, porches & conservatories

BARWICK Services ÉLECTRICITÉ Architects/Surveyors SHAUN BARWICK

05 53 58 55 38 and home of CANOUAN ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIELS

Pre-purchase & Structural Surveys.

Verbal & written reports.

Structural calculations & drawings.

Redevelopment ideas & solutions.

Tim Haw B.Eng C.Eng M.I.Struct.E

FR: 0033 (0)6 05 56 42 81 UK: 0044 (0)7448 466 662

Siret: 499 234 615 00015

Auto Services CHARENTE

Suppliers of Car & Van Spares & LHD headlights, anywhere in France JOHN SOWERSBY

motorptscharente@aol.com www.motorpartscharente.com

Tel: 09 72 35 74 73

Email: barwick.shaun@gmail.com

Siret: 498 843 051 00018

@iret: 794 282 368 00016

Architectural DRAWING SERVICE

Qualified Electrician

New build?

Dossiers prepared Permis de Construire Déclarations Préalables

Tel: 05 53 52 36 05

+44 (0)1377 538 639

Available for all types of electrical work Small jobs, new builds, renovations, rewires Consuel assistance and certification service available Fully insured with 10 year workmanship guarantee Based near Châlus (87230)

Web: www.versineer.com Email: enquiries@versineer.com

Renovating your French property?

MOTOR PARTS

EASY

QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN

CHARTERED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

lavieilleabbaye@orange.fr www.latuspeter-architecturaldrawings-24.com SIRET: 493 770 358 00015

MEDIUM

Building Services General

upvc-solutions

Building Services Electricians

SHAMPOOCHIENS Building Dog Grooming Parlour

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

From wire a plug to a full rewire + Property Services: Gite Preparation, Key Holding Painting, decorating, Grass Cutting, Strimming, etc

Tel: Susan 06 41 81 63 96 Siret: 824 825 095 00014

Available in white, beige & oak woodgrain.

Visit our website for more information.

www.upvc-solutions.webs.com email: upvc-solutions@orange.fr siret: 503 133 159 00015

CHARKER DAVID

Specialist in the renovation and restoration of period and contemporary buildings All small works undertaken

Stonework, Traditional renderings in Lime, Doors and Windows, Dry line walls, Zinc work, Electrical wiring and interior finishes Based near Brantôme

E-mail : dn.charker@sfr.fr

Tel: 05 53 09 42 18 No Siret: 402 444 871 00030

For more information on advertising in the Bugle Business Directory, give us a call or send us an email:

sales24@thebugle.eu

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

05 55 41 17 76

HARD

Your advert here 05 55 41 17 76 Harlequin Developments est. 2007

All aspects of renovation and refurbishment, big or small, undertaken.

Kitchens fitted and tiled Replacement doors and windows Parquet flooring Oak framed porches Plasterboard and Insulation

05.55.68.67.56 06.06.60.46.97

harlequindevelopments@live.com www.harlequindevelopments.com SIRET: 494.501.067.00016

ANGLO SCAFFOLDING UK scaffolding supplied and erected here in France Qualified and fully insured FREE no obligation quotes Call Ian on

06 34 24 64 11 or see

www.lakesidebandb.net

Email: akbrunnstrom@yahoo.co.uk SIRET: 799 067 939 00014

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE...

Advertise your business to more than 25,000 readers from as little as €13.50 per month

05 55 41 17 76 sales24@thebugle.eu

14 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ APRIL 2017

ADVERTORIAL

Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI) and Common Reporting Standards (CRS) – Are you ready?

H

aving just returned from a week spent with my Blacktower colleagues in Spain I have realised how lucky we are living in France with our tax system (believe it or not).

Many expats living there have never declared their wealth to the full extent necessary to satisfy the Spanish authorities via the Modelo 720 (the principles of which are currently being considered in several other countries, including France) and this is leaving them facing serious fines starting from €5,000 upwards for any ‘mistakes’ that have been made on their

Building Services Painters/Decorators Simon Carter

Painter & Decorator Qualified craftsman with over 25 years UK experience, now based Haute-Vienne/north Dordogne border.

Specialist services: Interior & exterior painting & decorating, wallpapering, plastering.

FREE QUOTES

Tel: 05 87 19 91 50 Mob: 07 81 26 88 65 Web: www.sjcmontluc.fr Email: sjcmontluc@yahoo.fr siret: 792.130.932.00017

Building Services Plumbing & Heating

PLUMBING & HEATING ENGINEER - Installation, from kitchen taps to full central heating systems - Breakdown / Replacement boilers - Emergency plumbing repairs - Full analysed testing

M : 06 72 47 88 00 T: 05 53 20 64 02 E : wellers@orange.fr Registered Artisan - Siret No: 480 857 853 00018

declaration. Although the EU is currently challenging these fines I am pleased to say that we do not face the same penalties here in France, yet.

That said you need to be prepared for the changes in the coming months with the upcoming Automatic Exchange of Information agreements that have been made between the UK and several other countries.

As quoted from HMRC www.gov.uk “These agreements allow the exchange of information between tax authorities of different countries about financial accounts and investments to help stop tax evasion.

Financial institutions, for example, banks, building societies, insurance companies, investment companies, will provide information on non-UK residents with financial accounts and investments in the UK to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

HMRC will share this information

with the relevant countries.”

What does this mean?

Any accounts or investments that you have outside of France that have your French address associated with them will be automatically reported to the French tax authority from 31st May 2017, showing the balances that you held in those accounts/investments as at 31st December 2016 and all the withdrawals you took from the accounts in 2016. Should there be any unpaid tax, due to nondeclaration of your worldwide wealth, the tax authorities are within their rights to claim this.

What can you do to avoid any major issues going forward?

At Blacktower we can look at tax efficient solutions for your savings and investments that are compliant

WEBSITE No6 DESIGN

Building Services Sandblasting

For an independent, professional and impartial consultation please contact me by phone or email: rosemary.sheppard@blacktowerfm.com 06 38 86 99 70 The above information was correct at the time of preparation and does not constitute investment advice and you should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity.

Food & Drink

before

Sand and Blast We provide a fully operated

sandblasting

service for wood, stone and metal.

Perfect for stripping away years of grime or paint.

Contact us for a free quote, or see our website:

www.sandandblast.com

05 55 76 31 59 / 06 77 40 95 92 bobby@sandandblast.com steve@sandandblast.com

05 53 91 12 63

during

- Refresh / redesign your existing site - Create new one page / multipage / shop / gite booking system site afterwards

- Update your own site if you like!

- Enjoy a fully maintained site - Enjoy full website support contact@no6.co

06 38 75 32 97

Your advert here

Computers, Satellites & Web Design

05 55 41 17 76

Stephen Wisedale

WiFi Anglais Solve your Internet, wireless and computer problems

Chimney Sweeps

Extended wired and wireless networks for homes, gîtes and small businesses.

VPN solutions. Windows and Mac OSX.

www.wifianglais.com Email: hello@wifianglais.com Tel: 05 53 30 23 96 Mob: 07 78 52 20 46

AUBERGE AUX DELICES DE LA TREILLE 24350 MONTAGRIER

Shhhhh... it’s aisecret!

TheiSecret CurryiClub Pop-Up restaurant serving Indian Restaurant Curries

Weihaveiregularivenues in Ribérac, Villeréal, Bergerac, SteiFoyilaiGrandei & Nontron

Siret: 80493524500014

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) through whom we have a registered branch and passport for financial services in France.

License number 00805B.

- Free quote / discussion / meeting / assessment of current site

www.no6.co

SIRET: 812 727 253 00013

Siret: 800 525 040 00013

with the French tax system. Now is a good time to review your global financial situation to check what alterations, if any, you may need to make to avoid any tax ‘hiccups’ now or in the future and also assess if anything may affect you that has been introduced by the UK Chancellor, Phillip Hammond in his Spring Budget.

All initial consultations are without obligation or cost. ■

‘Secret Curry Club Dordogne’ secretcurryclubdordogne@gmail.com

06 84 35 42 73

The Dordogne Chippy

Traditional Fish & Chips in a town near you All venues are in the evening between 6pm & 8.30 pm 1st Monday: Le Champsac Tuesday: Tremolat Thursday: Eymet 1st & 3rd Friday: Lauzun 2nd Friday: Ste-Alvère Last Friday: Daglan See our website for full details:

siret: 444 925 630 00014

Email: cinderssweep@gmail.com

T: 05 53 91 87 88 siret: 484 768 700 00011

A La Carte or 2 Set Menus Lunchtimes (except Sun and bank hols) Soup+Starter+Main+Dessert - €15 Soup+Starter+Main - €11.90 Soup+Main+Dessert - €11.90 Soup+Main - €8.90 €24.90 Menu Soup+Starter+Main+Cheese+Dessert

La Poutre

Bar & Restaurant

24400 Beaupouyet (N89 between Montpon & Mussidan)

www.thedordognechippy.com 05 53 74 01 91 or 06 19 99 25 62 Experienced, Registered & Fully Insured No mess, no fuss

Closed Tue eve & Wed

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

French/International cuisine.

Open Tue - Fri: 11am - 9pm (except Wed eve) Sat: 6pm - 10pm, Sun: 12pm - 3pm, For further details call Steve:

05 53 80 29 54

or email: steve.francis24@gmail.com or facebook: Beaupouyet La Poutre siret 537 415 903 00013

Gifts & Crafts Ivan Petley

3D Puzzle Maker Handmade, fully interlocking, multi-layered 3D puzzles from just €9.

Keyrings €2 plus other unique gift ideas.

Customisation and personalisation possible.

Postal delivery options across France.

Tel: 05.55.80.29.98 Les Bregères, 23150 St-Martial-le-Mont alison.petley@wanadoo.fr

Would you like to receive your copy of The Bugle by post each month?

We can deliver a copy to your door, hot off the press

France, UK and Europe - €20 per year

Email us for more details - subscriptions24@thebugle.eu or visit www.thebugle.eu

DIRECTORY ♦ 15

APRIL 2017 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

ADVERTORIAL

Houses on Internet: A Global Property Network

H

ouses on Internet – Global Property Services (hereafter referred to as “HOIGPS”) is the internet/marketing company that has been helping people sell their French property to buyers worldwide for many years now.

Richard Kroon, founder and director of the company: "The number of responses from prospective buyers and sales keep rising. No doubt one of the reasons is that we were able to increase our worldwide advertising budget and reach more prospective buyers than ever."

Last year HOI-GPS sold to people from 12 different countries, such as Australia, Belgium, Holland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Canada and, of course, France.

Language Services FRENCH LESSONS Via Skype

with a native French speaker Why commute? Long distance learning is the answer!

C’est simple, call Sophie...

05 55 89 15 74 scarolinea@yahoo.fr

Learn French in France Complete immersion in a local family with lessons, conversation workshops, visits and local activities in Périgord, all at your own pace. (total independence possible)

Richard continues: “Our continuous global marketing is definitely paying off and guarantees a worldwide exposure of your property to buyers wherever they live.

"The actual work all starts with the presentation of a property. If that’s not good enough, all other marketing efforts are useless. Our photographers usually take 150 to 200 photos of a house and in addition copy any good (summer) photos our clients may have themselves.

"About 50 to 60 of those photos are selected, enhanced and presented on the dedicated website we make for each property.

"The texts don’t just describe the house, garden and outbuildings, but information about shopping, schools, airports and leisure is given too.

"When the website for the

For more information on advertising in the Bugle Business Directory, give us a call or send us an email: sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

house is online, we first connect it to our main HOI-GPS websites which attract over 135,000 visitors from 40+ countries each month. Most of these people find us through Google and additional Google advertising.

"To reach an even larger audience, a summary of the presentation of the house is also placed on several other leading property websites. These adverts are also connected to the dedicated website of the house, making it all one big global property network.

"As the property market has become a global one, a prospective buyer can be on the other side of the world while the owner is in bed sleeping.

With our approach, the buyer does not have to wait and can see the entire property whenever he wants, at the moment he is

Retail & Commerce

bookstop

Quality second-hand books in English & French 19 r Victor Hugo, 24310 Brantôme

09 51 45 57 49

Enjoy a relaxing read in the tea room or riverside garden bookstop24@gmail.com facebook.com/bookstop24

Eco Entrepot

Property Sales

aka The Shed

32,000ft2 of great products incl.

British Groceries, DIY, Housewares, Furniture, Clothing, Toiletries plus loads more!!

www.auclairduperigord.com +33 (0)6 41 37 02 50

05 55 68 74 73

d.nina@live.co.uk

Open every day except Monday

Your advert here

Your advert here

05 55 41 17 76

05 55 41 17 76

Managing Editor: Steve Martindale Editor-in-Chief: Steve Martindale Registered Address: Les Quatre Chemins

23150 St-Yrieix-les-Bois France SIRET: 514 989 748 00017 Printed by: Charente Libre

16340, L’Isle d’Espagnac France Monthly circulation: 12,000 copies All copyright, unless stated otherwise, is reserved to The Bugle. Reproduction in whole or part of any text without permission is prohibited.

Dépôt légal à parution.

Directeur: Steve Martindale Rédacteur-en-chef: Steve Martindale Siège Les Quatre Chemins

23150 St-Yrieix-les-Bois France SIRET: 514 989 748 00017 Imprimé par: Charente Libre

16340, L’Isle d’Espagnac France

Tirage mensuel:

12,000 copies

Tous droits réservés. Toute reproduction, totale ou partielle, des articles et illustrations du présent numéro est strictement interdite.

Dépôt légal à parution.

The Bugle cannot accept responsibility for the claims of advertisers or their professionalism. We strongly advise readers to verify that the company you are dealing with is a registered trading company in France or elsewhere in the world.

interested in it."

For more information on HOI-GPS or to market your property through them, visit their website. ■

Support

Houses on Internet Global Property Services www.housesoninternet.com

+31 (0)6 41 20 73 69

Smart Moves For a fully insured, careful service

SOS Help

anxious? stressed? feeling down? call us up!

FORTNIGHTLY SERVICES TO FRANCE FULL OR PART LOADS WELCOME WE COLLECT FROM ALL AREAS OF THE UK AND DELIVER TO ALL AREAS OF FRANCE Please CALL or EMAIL Stephen

01 46 21 46 46

smartmovers@hotmail.co.uk

www.soshelpline.org

www.smartmovesremovals.co.uk

3 - 11pm daily Confidential & Non-profit

Transport, Removals & Storage

Man & Van Transport

Genuine/Reliable/Honest Local + Europe + UK runs Now also available for House/Barn clearances!

14m3 capacity 4.2m load length English & French Spoken

09 82 12 69 73 87150 Oradour-sur-Vayres

www.frenchvanman.eu Siret 530 213 644 00012

+44 (0)1253 725 414

MICHAELS MOVERS Removals

UK ↔ France ↔ UK Full & Part loads All size of vehicles Storage facilities in Sussex UK free phone:

0800 840 3058 Mob: +44 (0)7808 338 386 Removals, storage & house clearance in Dordogne

06 73 96 38 39 (FR) www.michaelsmovers.freeindex.co.uk

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

Advertise your business to more than 25,000 readers from as little as €13.50 per month

05 55 41 17 76 sales24@thebugle.eu

16 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ APRIL 2017

ADVERTORIAL

Online radio station for English-speaking expats Ex-patradio.com is an online internet radio station, which launched live on 21st March 2016. The station is designed for English-speaking expats around the world. The aim is to have a variety of shows, ranging from chat shows through to music programming, covering a full spectrum of musical tastes.

Our shows include: • ‘The Golden Oldies’ with Mick Hennell, featuring tracks from the 50s and 60s • ‘The Beat Goes On’ with Steve Bell, showcasing new expat bands, musicians and singers • ‘The Blend’ with Ira, our American presenter, with the best of Creole and Swamp music through to rare blues cuts • ‘The All Day Special’ with station founder, Dave Hailwood • ‘The Roast Beef’ with Wayne Allen, also “Nashville Calling” • ‘The Retro Chart Show’ with Dave Mac • ‘In Bed with the French’ Talk Show with Christine Caldi • ‘Country Classics’ & ‘The Nostolgia Club’ with David Sibbald • ‘Bridget’s Mix’ with Bridget Waterhouse • ‘Classical Gems’ with Bridget Waterhouse • ‘Digital Blues’ with Ashwyn Smyth • ‘The Culture Gap’ with Vincent • ‘Soul Time’ with Max Morrison • ‘Essential Rhythms’ with Peter Simmons

• • • • •

Email us with requests, stories, jokes, local events in your area, sports groups, and anything else. We want to hear it all...

So get typing to: expatradio.request@gmail.com Like us on Facebook: "expatradiofrance" Tweet us: @ExpatRadioCom And listen live now!

‘Musicial Memories’ with Sir Owen Gee ‘Sunday Bandstand’ with Chris Helme ‘Writers Salon’ with Hazel Manuel ‘The Message Kids’ with Expat Kids And lots more new shows coming soon!

Our live “Coffee Morning” chat shows with station founder, Dave Hailwood (an expat from the UK) and our regular guests from around Europe. We feature regular topics such as women’s issues, gardening, sport, travel, cooking and schooling... in fact anything that affects expats.

Our audience is encouraged to join in via email or phone with comments, questions and requests. Ex-pat Radio aims to be an international station, with an approachable local feel to it. To our surprise we also won “Best Foreign Radio Station” in France as voted by the readers of Paris publication “Expatriates Magazine”, which we won with 75% of the vote.

www.ex-patradio.com

Coming soon: "Treasure Hunting with Charles Hanson" If you have any treasures you would like valued send us in details and photos of your items to expatradio.request@gmail.com and Charles will value for you. We will also have a page on our website. If any valuable items are found, we can arrange to have them shipped to the UK to be auctioned off at Hanson's Auction house.

ADVERTORIAL

“SolarVenti”- the solar solution to damp and humidity

A

simple solar energy system that runs on its own, even when you are not there! – And provides a free heat supplement in winter.

The Solarventi air panel was invented more than 20 years ago

by Hans Jørgen Christensen, from Aidt Miljø, with the backing of the Danish government.

He wanted to use the sun’s energy for airing and ventilation of the thousands of holiday homes on the West coast of Jutland, - houses that were left empty and unheated for long periods - houses with damp problems, mould and bad odours - houses that left their owners with discomfort, lots of work and expense. He wanted a system that would be safe, simple, without the need for radiators, water and/ or mains electricity. Slowly but surely, the first Solarventi model came together.

How it works The principle behind Solarventi is simple: a small, built-in, solar cell powers a 12V fan that is connected to an air vent, a control unit and an on/ off switch.

Whenever the sun shines, the air in the solar panel is heated and the fan, receiving power from the solar cell, introduces warm, dry air into your home at the rate of 20 to 100 cubic metres per hour.

The initial models were more than capable of keeping the cottages dry (and ventilated), even with the limited sunshine hours available in Denmark during the winter season. Since that time, the technology has really come along in leaps and bounds. Now, more than 20 years later, the 3rd and 4th generation Solarventi have exceeded all expectations.

In Southern Europe, Solar-

venti is not only used for ventilation/dehumidification purposes; with far more winter sunshine hours, it also provides a substantial heating supplement. Several technical and governmental studies show that incoming air temperature can be increased by as much as 40°C. A DIY Solution?

The installation process is very straightforward and should only take two or three hours. All that is needed is a drill, hammer and chisel to make a hole in the wall. Roof installations are also possible. In fact, the Solarventi was originally designed to be a DIY product - in Scandinavia it still is.

There are no electrical or water connections and it can be safely left running, even when the property is empty. Solarventi requires no maintenance

- if the property is unoccupied during the hot summer months, then it can be left running at low speeds for ventilation and dehumidification purposes or simply switched off.

With a range of panel sizes, and the option for wall or roof mounting, Solarventi is suitable for all types of buildings, caravans or even boats!! Following the patenting of its design in 2001, Solarventi has only recently been actively commercialized. Over the last six years, Solarventi units have been installed in more than 24 countries and demand is increasing rapidly. From Greenland to Australia, Solarventi is finally getting the recognition it deserves. ■ Units start from €630 TTC. Several ex-demonstration models available at reduced prices, call for details.

SOLARVENTI - Available in the Dordogne and Lot from Harlequin Developments Tel: 05 55 68 67 56 Mobile: 06 06 60 46 97

Advertising in The Bugle Business Directory Advertising your business couldn’t be easier. Text only, boxed listings are available in our Business Directory from just €13.50/month. Alternatively, why not spotlight your business with an Advertorial, available from 1/6 Page (€50 HT) up to Full Page (€300 HT). Both Directory Adverts and Advertorials represent a cost effective way to put your brand in front of more than 25,000 pairs of eyes each month!!

For more information on any of our advertising options, please feel free to give us a call on 05 55 41 17 76 or send an email to sales24@thebugle.eu

6-Month Contract €108

Small b&w Directory Ad

(€18/month)

Large b&w Directory Ad

(€24/month)

Small Colour Directory Ad

(€27/month)

Large Colour Directory Ad

(€36/month)

€144 €162 €216

12-Month Contract €162

(€13.50/month)

€216

(€18/month)

€243

(€20.25/month)

€324

(€27/month)

Directory Advertising is available either in black and white or colour, and in either small (30 words max) or large (45 words max) format.

Directory adverts may only contain text - no logos, images or artwork are allowed. The minimum contract length is 6 months.

Advertising is payable on publication. All prices are HT.

Large Directory Ad 46mm x 71mm (Actual Size) 45 words max Small Directory Ad 46mm x 46mm (Actual Size)

30 words max

COMMUNITY ♦ 17

APRIL 2017 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS TO OVER 25,000 PEOPLE EACH MONTH FOR AS LITTLE AS €13.50 HT

SALES24@THEBUGLE.EU 05 55 41 17 76 PACHA – a 2-year-old Calico (tortoiseshell and white) girl

Monday

Market Days

Beynac Duras Le Fleix Les Eyzies Ste-Alvère

Pacha was found on the doorstep and taken in by a kind French girl.

This beautiful cat was rail-thin and had obviously been living wild for some time. Worse still, her breathing rate was abnormally fast and she seemed exhausted... something serious was wrong.

An X-ray showed that her diaphragm had a large tear in it - probably the result of a car accident - and her abdominal organs had passed through into her thorax and were pushing on her lungs. Phoenix paid for an emergency operation and luckily the vet was able to save her life.

However, now she needs a permanent, loving home, because unfortunately she can’t stay where she is longer than 21st March.

Despite being of no fixed address for some time, Pacha is very affectionate and loves to follow you around for cuddles! Her operation was a success and she has no health issues. She is fine with other cats, but frightened of dogs.

We feel Pacha has already used up enough of her nine lives and truly deserves a happy and secure future! If you feel you can give her this please contact Jenny Brahma on 05 53 89 59 35 or at jennatphoenix@gmail.com Pacha is sterilised and will be chipped and vaccinated on adoption.

www.phoenixasso.com www.facebook.com/PhoenixAssociationFrance

Le Bugue Montignac Mussidan Neuvic Nontron Périgueux Razac Sarlat Sigoulès St Aulaye Ste-Foy-la-Grande Thiviers Verteillac Villefranche du Périgord

Thursday

Tuesday

Razac Sarlat Siorac-en-Périgord Vélines

Beaumont du Périgord Bergerac (bio market) Brantôme Cénac-et-Saint-Julien Lanouaille Le Bugue Mareuil Neuvic Ribérac Salignac Eyvigues Thenon Trémolat

Wednesday Bergerac Gardonne Hautefort Jumilhac-le-Grand La Tour Blanche Montpon-Ménestérol Montignac Périgueux Piégut Pluviers

Domme Excideuil Eymet La Coquille Lalinde Monpazier St Astier St-Julien-de-Lampon Terrasson

Sunday

Friday Bergerac Brantôme Cubjac Le Buisson Ribérac Sarlat Vergt

Saturday

Agonac Beaumont du Périgord Belvès Bergerac Lalinde La Roche Chalais

UPCOMING AQUITAINE CHURCH SERVICES The Chaplaincy of Aquitaine covers the Dordogne, Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, and Condom (Gers).

All services are held in English.

For further details, please see our website: www.churchinaquitaine.org or contact Chaplaincy Administration: Amy Owensmith, +33 (0) 607 04 07 77 chapaq.office@gmail.com Saturday 08 April 14:00 Holy Communion after AGM - Monteton SUNDAY 09 APRIL – Palm Sunday 10:30 Holy Communion – Bertric Burée 10:30 All Age Worship – Bordeaux 10:30 Fresh Expressions – Eymet Temple 10:30 Holy Communion – Limeuil 10:30 Morning Prayer - Monteton 10:30 Family Service – Négrondes 10:30 Holy Communion – Saint Médard, L&G Monday 10 April 17:00 Complines – Bertric Burée Tuesday 11 April 17:00 Complines – Bertric Burée Wednesday 12 April 17:00 Complines – Bertric Burée Thursday 13 April – Maundy Thursday 17:00 Holy Communion – Bertric Burée 17:00 Tenebrae Service – Limeuil 18:00 Holy Communion – Monteton Friday 14 April – Good Friday 12:15 Ecumenical Prayers – Bias, L&G 12:30 Passion Reading – Bergerac Temple 14:00 Good Friday Prayers - Eymet

Bergerac Couze St Front Daglan Gardonne Issigeac Pontours Pressignac-Vicq Rouffignac Sarlat Sorges St Cyprien St Génies St Pardoux la Rivière See www.jours-de-marche.fr for more information

14:00 Good Friday Prayers – Monteton 14:30 Stations of the Cross – Bertric Burée 14:30 Stations of the Cross - Négrondes 17:00 Meditation at the Cross – Limeuil 18:30 Ecumenical Prayers – Tocane St Apre 20:30 Ecumenical Prayers – Port Ste-Foy-et-Ponchapt Saturday 15 April 17:00 Taizé Easter vigil and healing - Limeuil SUNDAY 16 APRIL – Easter Sunday 06:45 Ecumenical Service – St André-et-Appelles, Gironde 10:30 Holy Communion – Bertric Burée 10:30 Family Communion – Bordeaux 10:30 Holy Communion – Chancelade 10:30 Holy Communion – Dondas 10:30 Holy Communion - Doudrac 10:30 Holy Communion – Limeuil 10:30 Fresh Expressions – Eymet Temple 10:30 Holy Communion – Monteton 11:00 Holy Communion by extension - Condom 11:00 Prayer & Praise – Sainte Nathalène Thursday 20 April 10:30 BCP Holy Communion - Limeuil SUNDAY 23 APRIL 10:30 Holy Communion – Bertric Burée 10:30 Family Communion – Bordeaux 10:30 Fresh Expressions – Eymet Temple 10:30 Holy Communion – Limeuil 10:30 Prayer & Praise - Monteton 10:30 Holy Communion – Négrondes Thursday 27 April 11:00 Morning Worship – Condom 10:30 Special Service – Bertric Burée 10:30 Prayer & Praise – Bordeaux 10:30 Joint Protestant Communion – Eymet Temple 10:30 Iona Holy Communion – Limeuil 16:00 Evening Prayer - Monteton

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WHAT’S

ON

Golden Egg Hunt at the Château de Bridoire Legend has it that in the Middle Ages a lord of Bridoire was immensely rich. The people believed that the lord owed this fortune to a hen with golden eggs which he had brought back from the Crusades. Of course this hen died a long time ago, but the last golden egg laid by this enchanted animal has been treasured from generation to generation at Bridoire.

To find it you have to search the castle from the cellar to the attic, from the stables to the chapel, from the kitchens to the guard room.

In each room is a clue, a test. This is a game for the whole family. Under 15s will be rewarded by a chocolate treat but only a lucky few will be able to find the key that opens the chest of the castle... and take away a special reward.

The egg hunt lasts 1 hour 30 mins. Tickets (includes entry to the château) cost €8.50 for adults, €6.50 for 11-18 years, €5.50 for 4-10 years and entry is free for under 4s.

VARIATIONS Vocal Ensemble Easter Concerts Friday 7th & Saturday 8th April Handel’s Messiah, perhaps the greatest musical entertainment ever written, will be performed by Variations Vocal Ensemble, with its excellent soloists and orchestra, on 7th April at the Eglise St-Georges, Périgueux (8 pm) and 8th April at the Eglise Notre-Dame in Riberac (8 pm). Handel, this man of eighteenth-century musical theatre, seemed inspired to write a grand work on a great scale, and he premiered it in Dublin in April 1742, therefore contrary to general belief, it is primarily an oratorio celebrating Easter, rather than Christmas. It is therefore most fitting that Variations will launch the current Easter period by bringing us the Messiah, the overwhelming dramatic and understandable celebration of Handel’s musical supremacy.

Variations has enjoyed a growing reputation over the years and many will remember the wonderful Mozart Requiem and Vivaldi Gloria at Easter time last year, supported as always with their principally professional musicians and soloists, who have become well known to local concert enthusiasts. The Messiah can hardly fail to please and particularly to younger audiences who can identify with the wave on wave of choruses interspersed by moving solo arias and recitatives and great orchestral movements.

The libretto was written to tell the full story of the life of Christ. Part one starts with the joyful preludes to the arrival of the promised Messiah, followed by the familiar story of his birth and his ministry. Part two is the Easter story of his capture and death, but continues with the Resurrection, echoing the gospels’ hope for man’s salvation. Part two ends with the dramatic, uplifting and unforgettable Hallelujah Chorus. After a brief pause the choir and soloists resume to tell us of our redemption and everlasting life, emphasised by the trumpets supporting the Bass aria to signify victory over death.

It is hard to think of another oratorio that has such a cornucopia of uplifting music, echoing the story with emotional delicacy and theatrical passion.

Handel was nearing the end of his prolific productive life when he wrote the Messiah in only four weeks. The fashion of staged music, having turned from his preferred type of opera to more political themes, he embarked on a new era of creativity, embracing and reinventing the oratorio perfecting the genre we know today. Prior to this, soloists dominated oratorios but for Handel it is the choir that pushes along the soloists. The Messiah has wonderful changes of mood throughout, starting with the reflective string overture, suddenly broken by the tenor encouraging man to “Comfort Ye”, and so it continues; Handel never allows the temperature to remain stable nor lets the audience be bored. It is no wonder that the initial performance had an audience of 700 and the Dublin Musick Hall banned ladies from wearing hoops on their dresses to utilise all possible space.

Handel became a superstar.

The Messiah was his second oratorio and it seems to encapsulate his entire life’s work, putting Handel on a par with Bach as a composer of the mid-eighteenth century.

Tickets: €20; 12-16s €8; Under 12s free Reservations: tel 05 53 91 53 52 or email clare32pag@gmail.com For more information visit www.variationsfrance.com or contact Veronica Dare Bryan on 05 53 04 92 00, 06 85 86 73 33 or at veronica.dare-bryan@neuf.fr

Every day from 14h-18h from 1st April to 2nd May except Easter weekend (15th - 17th April) when the château is organising Easter egg hunts and indoor and outdoor games for all ages.

Bring wellies if it is wet and you’ll also need a basket to collect all those eggs!

For more information visit www.chateaudebridoire.com

BOOKSTOP screenings Dan Bessie’s 2017 season in UNDERSTANDING FILM WHEN: Sunday 9th April at 2 pm and the second Sunday of each month to October. With discussion and a refreshment break, a few programmes may be longer than the average of 2 hours and 30 minutes.

WHERE: Bookstop, 19 rue Victor Hugo, Brantôme RESERVATIONS: Please contact Howard on 06 51 45 57 49 or via email at bookstop24@gmail.com. We have room for up to 20 (no need to register for the entire series).

FEE: €7.50 - Includes tea or coffee (maybe popcorn too!)

Cake and other items will be available for purchase.

This month’s screening is Bicycle Thieves, a 1948 Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It will be followed by a discussion on world cinema enjoyed and explained.

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The great Easter egg hunt at the Jardins de Marqueyssac 16th and 17th April

This special event is reserved for the delight of children on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday afternoons.

There will also be workshops for decorating eggs, making mosaics from eggshells and turning your own wooden egg.

As there are more and more participants every year, participation is limited to those who have signed up in advance (by telephone on 05 53 31 36 36 or online at www.marqueyssac.com).

Entry to the gardens is free for Under 10s and costs €4.50 for 10-17 years and €9 for adults. The egg hunt is reserved for Under 12s (no extra charge).

Sarlat K Danses present the Leeds University Union Big Band for their big Annual Dance Night featuring DJ Laurent Magne on 15th April at the salle des fêtes, Carsac.

Tickets €18 (by reservation only): tel 06 67 49 44 39 or email rhonasmithskd@gmail.com

Phoenix Book Fair

The Spring Phoenix Book Fair will be held on Saturday 29th April, in Campsegret (24140), just north of Bergerac.

Over 17,000 English and French books and thousands of DVDs/CDs, all in category or in alphabetical order, will be for sale from one euro and up!

Doors open at 9:30 am (9 am for people with limited mobility) and close at 3 pm.

The famous home-made catering will be on offer, with lots of scrumptious goodies. If that’s not enough, kids’ books and toys, puzzles and bric-a-brac bargains will be there too!

Please bring your donations of books, home-made cakes, unwanted gifts and pet paraphernalia on the day!

While you are there don’t forget to see the gardens’ newest attraction, a 150 million-year-old allosaurus (see page 3 for more information).

Music in the Dordogne sponsored by ARCADES Join us for concerts in the air conditioned new hall in Le Buisson, mostly of classical music, with top class French, English, Russian and other international performers. Concert tickets cost €15 including wine in the interval.

All events are organised by volunteers and serve also as a meeting ground for the French and international communities of the Dordogne, including ACIP and La Tulipe.

Venue - Le Buisson de Cadouin, Nouvelle Salle des Fêtes, Avenue Aquitaine

For more info, tel 06 87 88 15 33 or 05 53 23 86 22 or visit http://www.arcadesinfo.com/

Saturday 29th April at 5pm Quartet AMMENUT (from the Netherlands)

All the proceeds will go to the Phoenix Association... caring for and rehoming animals in need (http://phoenixasso.com)

Plant Sale and Cream Tea for the Bansang Hospital Appeal Gambia All day on SATURDAY 6TH MAY at Le Touroulet, 24800 Chalais (4km from the RN21)

Dorine Gregten-Geurtsen (flute), Hanneke van der Ham-Geurtsen (violin), Mieke van Loon-Geurstsen (cello) and Henk Geurtsen (piano)

Beautiful plants for sale and the usual fabulous cake stall and big surprise tombola.

J.S. Bach: Sonata and Trio, G.Ph.Telemann Second Suite, Haydn: Divertissement Opus 100, Poulenc Sonate for cello and piano, Hengeveld, Songs and dances from the olden days and René Quignard, The Little Symphony for flute, violin, cello and piano

Donations of potted-up plants for us to sell gratefully received, especially herbaceous plants or shrubs in 1 litre pots.

A very warm welcome awaits visitors in the clubhouse with traditional scone tea with clotted cream and home-made jam.

All the proceeds go to Bansang Hospital Gambia.

Find out more at www.bansanghospitalappeal.org

Programme:

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