The Bugle - November 2022

Winter tyre rules back in force

The

The Tour de France is

The 2023 route is out and it's good news for cycling fans. Le Tour will pass through the Dordogne and Creuse, but Haute-Vienne will host a stage finish and start.

The route of the 2023 Tour de France has been unveiled and it is good news for local cycling fans. Both the women's and men's ver sion of next year's race are set to cross the Dordogne, Haute-Vienne and Creuse departments, but it is HauteVienne that will benefit most from the global expo sure. Limoges, the capital of the former Limousin region, will be hosting the finish of Stage 8 of the main Tour, before the peloton sets off again from nearby SaintLéonard-de-Noblat the next day.

The Tour de France is the world's largest annual sport ing event, attracting a televi sion audience of over 150 million people. The peloton passing through your town

or village is a hugely sig nificant event, but the ulti mate honour for a French town is to host the start or finish of a stage. The news that Haute-Vienne will have both has been welcomed by politicians, businesses and cycling fans alike.

After the success of the last expanded women's race, the female Tour will also be passing through the Dor dogne. The third stage of the women's race will arrive in Montignac after a hilly 147 km route from Collonges-laRouge in the neighbouring Corrèze department. “We had hoped to host a stage of the men's Tour,” explained Christelle Boucaud, vice president of the Conseil dé partemental de la Dordogne in charge of youth and sport.

Carte Vitale to be digitised

The famous yellow and green card that gives you access to the country's healthcare system will soon be on your mobile phone >> Page 12

ith the World Cup just days away, now is usually about the time that I would start asking myself the age-old question: is this the year it comes home? And while this is usually an England-centric question, we've got two chances this year. I'd be just as happy –and it would be a much bigger story – if it were the Welsh that were the ones to do it!

I'm struggling to generate my usual levels of excitement this time around, however. It might be the timing; a winter World Cup just feels wrong. Or more likely that I don't have enough time to invest in sport any more. I have increasingly had to ration my sport watching as the number of children in my house has increased.

Back in the day, I would basically camp out at home for things like the Olympics and World Cups. Sleep patterns would be adjusted to local time zones and every match felt like the most important one ever. Who can forget that classic from USA 1994 when South Korea took on Bolivia in a bottom-oftable clash? I loved it.

These days, I have to be a bit more selective. Taking an entire

Wday off to watch three matches back to back to back is out of the question, let alone several weeks.

I distinctly remember a few World Cups ago, before we had as many children as we do now, I printed out the schedule and colour coded it green, orange and red for “must watch”, “would like to watch” and “only if you're out/ asleep” respectively. Even then I had to negotiate a few greens down to second half only.

When I was younger I had so much more time to invest in the build-up, watching friendlies, studying form and consuming endless column inches of analysis and predictions. The result was heightened excitement when the tournament finally started. As with so much in life, you tend to get out what you put in, and sadly I have not been putting much in recently. In fact, if you gave me 1,000 quid for every member of the current England squad I could name, my family would be able to go on a nice little holiday, but I wouldn't get the five of us Business Class across the Atlantic.

So I will definitely “follow” the World Cup and try to watch as many games as I can involving England, Wales and France. Will I manage to convince my wife to look after the kids so I can watch

Ghana take on Uruguay? We'll have to wait and see. Although there is one tactic I could deploy... I could buy my son a World Cup sticker book and get him “into” football.

My definitive World Cup was Mexico '86. I was nine, so it was the perfect age to discover a sport. I was obsessed with my Panini album and as the tournament approached me and all my friends spent hours making home-made wall charts to track the results. We didn't even know where half of these countries were in the world, but the thrill of filling in yesterday's results each morning is still with me now.

My son will be eight in the next few weeks... maybe it's not too late to get him on the hook. Then I wouldn't be “wasting time watching stupid sport”, I'd be “bonding with my son and having quality father-son time”. It could be the prefect crime had I not just made my plan rather public!

In reality, something else has been niggling away at me. Should the World Cup really be going to a country like Qatar? It's a difficult question that I have spent a bit of time considering and honestly, it is troubling. Without wanting to sound like one of the tofu-eating wokerati, I do think that certain things should preclude a country from hosting global events. Gay sportspeople potentially breaking the law and facing death for being themselves is probably one of them. Qatar has no strong link to football and it does feel like a very expensive PR campaign to try and improve the country's image. I feel the same about the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour and the recent high-profile boxing

matches being held in Saudi Arabia.

Will I boycott the tournament as many are? Probably not. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe. It very quickly becomes lines in the sand. Should you stop shopping at Sainsbury's (15% Qatari owned) when in the UK or only fly in to Stansted rather than Heathrow (20% Qatari owned)?

Luckily for my conscience, not eating at Claridge's or shopping at Harrods (both 100% Qatari owned) will prove easier for a man on my budget.

All I do know is that any criticism aimed at the players is unjustified. There has been a lot of shade thrown at people like Gary Lineker and Gary Neville for agreeing to commentate on matches, but I think any anger should be directed at FIFA and politicians for allowing Qatar to host it in the first place. Money talks, unfortunately.

I hope any teams who are brave enough to protest – silently or

otherwise – are backed up by their FAs and fans and are listened to.

As you may have noticed, this edition of The Bugle has come out mid-month. Unfortunately, a rather nasty bout of Covid ripped through my family in October and we lost several weeks to it. It really did knock me for six. The next edition will now be coming out in the middle of December and then the 1st of every month from February as usual. Apologies to those who have been in touch desperate for their monthly fix of news and views, but rest assured, we are back up and running and going strong! And by the way, this month marks the start of our fourteenth year!!

Until next month!

Steve Martindale, Editor

Winter tyre rules back in force

As winter approaches, motorists are again being urged to check their vehicles meet local safety rules when travelling to mountainous areas. Under the loi Montagne, 48 depart ments in France have been given powers to require cars to be fitted with winter tyres or snow chains on sections of the road network.

The new rules came into force last year, but after a grace period, any infringements this winter will now be enforced by a fine of up to €150, although not until January 2023. “It is im portant to give people time to adapt; this isn’t a repressive measure,” a spokesperson said.

The areas concerned are principally the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, Jura and Vosges, but while the almost fifty depart ments have the powers to enforce the rules, they have currently only been introduced in a relstively small number of communes. In the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, for example, Haute-Vienne, Creuse and Corrèze all have the power, but are yet to use it. The measure currently affects 4,172 communes across 34 departments.

If you are planning to travel to an affected area, winter or all-weather tyres must be fit ted to all four wheels and must be marked with either “M+S”, “M.S.” or “M&S”, and/ or the “snow mountain” logo must be valid. If you opt for snow chains or socks, these must be suitable for at least two “driving” wheels –for example, the rear wheels on a rear-wheel-

drive vehicle - and the driver must be able to fit them unaided. The new rules also apply to foreign drivers.

Areas where the new rules are in force will be identified by road signs on entry (B58) and exit (B59) and apply at all times between 1st November and 31st March.

The 48 departments covered by the law are; Ain, Allier, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Cantal, Corrèze,

Côte-d’Or, Creuse, Doubs, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Hérault, Isère, Jura, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lot, Lozère, Meurthe-etMoselle, Moselle, Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Pyrénées-Orientales, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Rhône, Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Var, Vaucluse, Haute-Vienne, Vosges, Yonne, Ter ritoire de Belfort and the whole of the island of Corsica. ■

Squirrel cuts power to village

W hen a Dordogne village was plunged into darkness recently, locals were shocked to discover that the outage was all down to a squirrel. Two hundred house holds in La Bachellerie, near Térrasson-Lavilledieu, experi enced a power outage follow ing a small explosion on a local power line.

Once engineers from Ene dis - the branch of EDF which maintains the country's electric ity grid = arrived, they discov ered the short circuit had been caused by the small écureuil , who unfortunately did not sur vive the accident.

According to a spokesperson for Enedis, this type of accident is incredibly rare, especially involving squirrels. When ac cidents do occur, they are more often caused by birds stretch ing their wings and accidentally touching two wires simultane ously. ■

Man who lived in airport for 18 years dies

An Iranian man who lived in Charles de Gaulle airport for 18 years has died there af ter recently returning to the Parisian terminal.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri, whose story was made famous in the 2004 film The Terminal starring Tom Hanks, died in the airport after a suspected heart attack, according to an official with the Paris airport authorities.

Shortly after his fa ther died of cancer, his mother informed the then 23-year-old Nas seri that she was not his real mother and he was the result of an af fair between his father and a Scottish nurse. He left Iran and flew to

Europe in search of his birth mother and spent a number of years living in Belgium, having been repeatedly denied entry into the UK for not hav ing the correct immigra tion documents.

He then went to France, where he made the airport's 2F Termi nal his home in 1988 after becoming stuck in a legal and immigration black hole. In 1992, a French court ruled that Nasseri had entered the airport legally as a refu gee and therefore could not be expelled from it. Nestled on his bench surrounded by trolleys containing the posses sions he had accumu lated, he spent his days writing about his life in a notebook and reading

books and newspapers.

His ordeal attracted in ternational media atten tion, eventually catch ing the eye of Stephen Spielberg, who would go on to immortalise his story in The Termi nal, starring Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. After its release, and de spite never being men tioned by name in the film or any of the pro motional material, jour nalists flocked to speak with the man who had inspired a Hollywood movie. At one point, Nasseri, who called himself “Sir Alfred”, was giving up to six me dia interviews a day.

In 1999, authorities granted Nasseri the right to stay in France, but he remained in the

airport until 2006 when he was taken to hospital requiring treatment. He would go on to stay in a number of local hotels and hostels, using the money he had been paid

for his numerous inter views, but had appar ently returned to live in the airport again a few weeks before his death.

Asked by a journalist in 2003 whether he felt

angry about having lost 18 years of his life at an airport terminal, he re plied: “Not angry. I just want to know who my parents are.” ■

credit: Michel Euler

End of the line for iconic Metro ticket

ostalgists are mourning the end of the iconic Parisian metro ticket, which has become the latest victim of the inexo rable march of technology. The small white tickets, with their distinctive brown mag netic strip, have been a fea ture of French culture since the first one was sold for 25 centimes in 1900. Over the years they have inspired art ists, filmmakers and singers, served as emergency note pads and, most commonly, bookmarks.

The tickets have also long been a friend of cannabis smokers, who use them to make filter tips for joints. “Ideal thickness, perfect width, readily available... the three gold standards of a good crutch,” confirmed one Japanese-American student in Paris.

Despite their evident popu larity, the writing has been on the metro wall for some time as the capital's transport net work moves towards a digital future. Authorities had hoped

to have already phased out the paper tickets, but a com bination of Covid delays and a global shortage of com puter chips has slowed down the roll-out of the smart cards that will be needed to replace them.

The tickets will be avail able for some time and you will still be able to use any you have lying around at the bottom of a drawer for another year or two, but be careful; there are already a number of metro stations that lack the turnstiles to read them. Transport authorities are also phasing out the ma chines which issue the tickets while the public makes the transition to smart cards and e-tickets, a process which it is hoping to complete by 2025. At €1.90, they are also significantly more expensive than the €1.49 a single jour ney costs when using a smart card.

“Since 1900, the Métro ticket has accompanied our daily life, at the bottom of our pockets, in our wallets or in the middle of the pages

of our books,” said Grégoire Thonnat, author of the 2019 book A short history of the Paris Métro ticket . “It’s one of the elements of Parisian life. Its lifespan is very short, around an hour to an hour and a half, but we’ve become attached to them. It’s irra tional.”

While many will miss the paper tickets for nostalgic reasons, the next generation of travellers have no such emotional attachment. “I'm against the paper tickets,” said Jeff, a US tourist from Indiana. “If you could do this electronically in your hotel room it would be a lot easi

er than trying to find a ma chine.”

The network currently prints around 500 million tickets each year, using 50 tonnes of paper, although it is estimated that as many as 10% of these end up lost, damaged or forgotten at the bottom of a pocket or bag. ■

spite a record eight podium finishes in the sport's most prestigious race, never wore the Yellow Jersey for a single stage.

Next year's men's race

in Bilbao in Spain's Basque region on 1st July before heading into the Pyrenees for several mountain stages that will define the 2023 race. When the final route was unveiled in October, there were audible gasps in the audience at the number of mountain stages. The 110th edition of the Tour will feature just a single 22 km time trial – itself in the Alps – as well as moun tain stages in all five of France’s moun tain ranges: the Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura and Vosges.

The long 201 km stage to Limoges on 8th July is one of two transitional stages between the Pyrenees and Massif Central that will leave Libourne before heading to La Roche Chalais and travelling through the north of the Dordogne before an ex pected sprint finish in the City of Porce lain. The following day the peloton will gather for a stage start in Saint-Léonardde-Noblat, a further nod to the French cy cling legend Raymond Poulidor, who was buried in the town after his death in 2019, and finishing atop the Puy de Dôme for the first time in 35 years.

Nicknamed “Pou-Pou”, Poulidor became France’s most popular racerand arguably its best-loved sportsmanthrough his valiant, perennial failure to win the Tour de France over a 15-year period between 1962 and 1976. A combi nation of bad luck and bad timing - his career coincided with that of the great Eddy Merckx - meant that Poulidor, de

The climb up the dormant volcano of the Puy de Dôme is 13.3 km long at an average of 7.7%, although the final four kilometres are above 11%. It hasn't fea tured since 1988 but has a special place in Tour de France history. Poulidor broke Jacques Anquetil on its slopes in 1964 to get within 14 seconds of the Yellow Jersey and it was also the backdrop to the drama of 1975 when a spectator punched Eddy Merckx to try to stop him winning yet again.

As well as being a global spectacle, the economic and financial impact of the Tour passing through the region is sub stantial. It costs around €120,000 to host a stage finish – and €80,000 for a stage start – as well as the additional local costs for decorations and entertainment. When bunch sprint finishes are expected, towns may also be required to modify rounda bouts or sharp corners.

These costs are usually dwarfed by the benefits, however. Resurfaced roads and improved pavements last for decades and the thousands of tourists who are drawn in spend their money in the local economy. It is estimated that for every euro spent in hosting the Tour, three euros are added to the local economy.

Since 2012, British riders have domi nated the Tour de France with Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome (4 times) all wearing the famous Yellow Jersey on the Champs-Elysées, but Team Ineos have not topped the podium since Egan Bernal won in 2019. Most commentators are predicting that

the mountainous nature of this year's race will not reverse this trend and will heav ily favour last year's winner, Jonas Ving egaard, one of the strongest grimpeurs of recent years.

It is widely expected that Tour heavy weights such as Geraint Thomas, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglič are more likely to target the Giro d’Italia, which has three times the amount of time tri alling and fewer mountains. The lack of time trials and numerous mountains will,

however, likely favour French hopes Thibaut Pinot, David Gaudu and Romain Bardet.

“I really like the route. It’s going to be a hard race right from the start with a tough first week in the Basque Country,” said two-time Slovenian winner Tadej Pogačar. “It has a lot of climbing which I like, particularly the first and third week. It’s still a long while away but I’m sure it will be another great Tour and I’m already excited for next July.” ■

Dordogne village where half of drivers speed

Dordogne commune plagued by speeding drivers has commis sioned a study which shows that more than half of all drivers passing through are breaking the limit. The rela tively long and straight D3 road traverses the commune of An nesse-et-Beaulieu, to the west of Périgueux and while the 50 km/h limit in the town centre is more respected, the long stretches of 70 km/h either side are largely being ignored by motorists and, more worryingly, HGV drivers.

A survey carried out by the department revealed that 52% of the 29,000 vehicles checked were breaking the 70 km/h limit, despite the speeds being meas ured just metres from the en trance to the village itself. More than 600 were “significantly” over the limit at 100 km/h, and a shocking 100 vehicles were travelling at more than 130 km/h

– almost double the stated limit.

The average speed of all cars during the study was 88 km/h.

After numerous complaints to the authorities, local gendarmes recently set up a mobile speed trap and over the course of two hours handed out 13 fines for speeding, including to one driv er travelling at 150 km/h in the 70 km/h zone being controlled.

“We used to walk on the side of the road with our little one in the pram,” explained one local resident. “It's not just the speed, though. They don’t leave much space for pedestrians…it's got to a point where we just don’t feel very safe.”

“There are no miraculous solu tions, but there are some ideas,” the town's mayor Philippe Per perot said. “We’ve asked for more police controls because it's the most immediate solution and it makes people think. If you keep this up, then people quickly learn

this is an area being checked and they don't drive as fast.”

Another solution being con sidered by the small commune is the installation of more signage

and a digital display showing drivers how fast they are driv ing, although these can cost sev eral thousand euros each. Speed bumps are even more expensive,

costing as much as €40,000, but could only be installed in the cen tre of the village itself, not on the more dangerous entry and exit roads. ■

Annesse-et-Beaulieu mayor Philippe Perperot has asked the police for more help

screenshot; France3 television

Ref:

Ian Scott English Hairdresser

Netflix conman in Limoges jail awaiting trial

British conman Robert Hen dy-Freegard is back in the region and back behind bars after being extradited from Belgium. The convicted conman, the subject of a hit Netflix documentary, faces charges of attempted murder af ter fleeing in his car from gendarmes trying to detain him, hitting two of them in the process. If found guilty, he potentially faces life imprisonment.

After a brief appearance at a court in Valenciennes near Lille, HendyFreegard was transferred to a jail in Limoges, where he will be held for “a duration of one year which may be re newed”.

Hendy-Freegard was sentenced to life in prison in the UK in 2005 for kidnap and fraud, having been found guilty of extorting £1 million from his victims and earning the nickname “The Puppet Master” from Scotland Yard. After a lengthy legal battle, he was re leased in 2009 when the charges were downgraded on appeal.

Following his release, the conman returned to his former ways and the latter part of the Netflix documentary “The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ulti mate Conman” focuses on the efforts of Sandra Clifton's family to track down their mother after she became his latest victim. Sandra met “David” through an online dating site, before gradually withdrawing from her family, eventu ally cutting off contact altogether, sell ing the family home and moving to La Forêt-Belleville, a small village near Vidaillat in the Creuse department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Mounting evidence that the couple were running an illegal dog breed ing business led to the recent visit by gendarmes. Arriving at the property, the officers found a woman, believed to be Sandra Clifton, who then phoned Hendy-Freegard to tell him their dogs were being taken. He arrived a short while later in an Audi A3, telling gen darmes that he was a former MI5 agent (a common lie he had used in previous

scams).

Officers then removed his passport and explained he would need to come down to the station to give a statement. “When the couple were asked to come to the local Gendarmerie for identifica tion purposes, the man started his car and fled, hitting two gendarmes,” the Creuse prefecture said in a statement.

One gendarme was carried 100 metres on the bonnet of the car and was admit ted to hospital with a broken nose.

He was stopped on a European ar rest warrant several days later when Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras south of Ghent in Belgium, flagged his car as the one used in the hit and run. ■

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Carte Vitale to be digitised French job agency in London to close

In another blow for cross-Channel culture, the Centre Charles Péguy in London has been forced to close its doors as a result of Brexit. The British charity has been helping young French people to find work in the capital since 1964, but changes to immigration rules have made this increasingly difficult.

Until recently, the centre helped as many as 1,000 young French jobseekers into employment in London each year, as well as help ing with finding accommodation and other administrative tasks. “Brexit really hurt us. Our main mission was to find jobs for French speakers in London and we found ourselves blocked by Brexit and Covid,” explained Thibault Dufresne, director of the CEI associa tion which ran the centre. “We have been talking about it for a long time with the Consulate and the French community in London... and we regret to announce the end of this great adventure.”

The carte vitale, the famous green card that grants access to the French healthcare system, could soon become the latest physical object to go online. After smaller trials, a fully digi tal carte vitale will now be more widely tested in eight departments of France with a view to a full national roll-out in 2023. The digitisation of the crucial card is primarily aimed at combatting a growing problem of fraud, but the extra biometric security measures have worried some privacy campaigners.

The new electronic card will work in a similar way to current banking apps that allow people to pay for pur chases using their mobile phones. Users will be able to download an application which will contain the infor

mation currently stored on the microchip in the carte vitale. Healthcare providers such as GPs and pharma cists will then be able to identify you - and your health care rights – either via a generated QR code that can be scanned, or via an NFC signal – the technology used for contactless payment.

The controversy comes from the extra security meas ures involved. When installing the application, users will have to photograph their identity card, and also take an image of their face in order to confirm their identity. The current project to digitise the carte vitale is separate to a much larger, long-term project to make the card fully biometric and enable it to store some in formation of a user's medical history. ■

As well as a significant drop in activity, the centre has been hit by rising rent costs and the loss of access to the Erasmus programme, which gives young Europeans access to education, training and sport elsewhere in the EU. Since Britain withdrew from Erasmus, the Republic of Ireland has seen a large increase in the number of people wanting to improve their language skills in an Englishspeaking environment.

Under the new, stricter rules, anyone from the EU wanting to work in Britain must be “sponsored” by a UK business, which comes with significant bureaucracy and costs to the employer. The roles must also be “high-level”, or on a shortages list. Chefs are eli gible, for example, but not cooks, and there are growing reports of French restaurants in London having to reduce their opening hours as they struggle to recruit kitchen staff. ■

USB-C to become only charger cable in EU

In October, the European Par liament voted through legis lation that will make USBC charging ports standard on all small electronic devices. The proposals, which have been championed by consumer groups and environmental campaigners, have faced opposition from sev eral technology giants, most no tably Apple, but have now been given the green light and will be come European law from autumn 2024.

The new legislation will re quire all new mobile phones, tab lets, digital cameras and headsets sold in the EU to have a USB-C charging port, signalling the end of Apple's proprietary Lightning connector and the micro-USB currently used by many electron ics manufacturers. The new rules also standardise “fast charging” to prevent the charging speed from being restricted when using a charger from a brand different from the device, and allow con sumers to choose whether they purchase a device with or without a charger.

The law passed with very lit tle opposition: 602 MEPs voted in favour and 13 against, with 8

abstentions. The new rules will apply to all electronics sold in the EU, irrespective of where they were manufactured.

“The common charger will fi nally become a reality in Europe. We have waited more than ten years for these rules, but we can at last leave the current plethora of chargers in the past,” said Maltese MEP Aguis Saliba, who was one of many to welcome the result. “This future-proof law al lows for the development of in novative charging solutions in the future, and it will benefit every one - from frustrated consumers to our vulnerable environment. These are difficult times for poli tics, but we have shown that the EU has not run out of ideas or solutions to improve the lives of millions in Europe and inspire other parts of the world to follow suit.”

Consumers in the EU current ly spend around €2.4 billion per year on chargers alone and the European Commission has said that the new rule will save the public up to €250 million annu ally. It is estimated that 11 tonnes of charger cables are currently thrown away each year.

The new EU legislation has been an inevitability for a num ber of years, and the industry has gradually been moving towards standardised ports for some time. Whereas there were as many as 30 types of connector a decade ago, today three main types dom inate the market: USB-C, Light ning and micro-USB.

Despite now being outside the EU, the UK will almost certainly have to adopt the new rules. “Ir respective of whether the UK government mandates the move to USB-C or not, UK consum ers will get the technology by default,” explained Ben Wood, a UK-based industry analyst. “It will make no sense for consumer electronics manufacturers to offer devices with anything else.”

Although Apple has cam paigned to keep its Lightning connector, the tech giant has gradually been introducing USBC to its newer models. USB-C ports were introduced in Apple’s 12in MacBook model in 2015 and in the iPad Pro in late 2018, while other iPads have come with the port since 2020. None of their iPhone range, however, currently uses USB-C.

The EU has been fighting sev eral high-profile legal battles against Apple in recent years, but has in the past denied that the company has been targeted by the decision to choose USB-C as the new standard. “The rule applies to all and sundry. It’s not adopted against anybody,” explained a spokesperson. “We’re working for the consumers, not the com panies, and we have to give these companies rules; rules that are clear in order to enter the inter nal market. In two years’ time, if Apple want to sell their products within our internal market they

have to abide by our rules, and their device will have to be USBC.” ■

The new ruling in Europe will apply to:

• Smartphones

• Tablets

• E-readers

Digital cameras

• Wireless headphones

• Portable games consoles

• GPS navigators

Keyboards and computer mice

• Portable storage units

Agroup of friends have taken on a rather strange chal lenge by trying to set the world record for the larg est drawing ever made using a GPS tracker. Flor ent, Maxime, Nicolas and Franck, all from the Loire department, chose central France as their canvas, due to the large number of relatively straight roads which allowed them to design their image.

Huge cycling fans, the group have planned and designed what they have called a VELOciraptor. After a number of tests creating smaller dinosaur images, the friends have set them selves the ambitious task of creating a 1,111 km image, smash ing the current world record of 760 km.

“We chose this area because it's not far from where we live,

from the Loire,” explained the friends, who designed and “drew” their picture in the Creuse, Allier and Indre depart ments. “It's also relatively flat and there are fewer winding roads than in the mountains, which allows us to create shapes, such as teeth for example.”

Simply completing the ambitious route will not be enough to enter the Guinness Book of Records, however. “Every day, we need to collect signatures and have the residents fill out testi monial sheets, take photos, videos, note the GPS coordinates, etc. It's an organisation.”

The team will submit all the evidence of their feat to Guin ness and await confirmation of a new world record! ■

Man arrested after drunken night in supermarket

A man in his forties has appeared in court after enjoying a boozy night locked inside a supermar ket. The Parisian native admitted to hiding inside the Géant Casino in Lons, near Pau, on a Sun day before being discovered by staff on Monday morning asleep in the clothes aisle.

The 47-year-old had evidently made the most of his time alone, helping himself to the available alcohol, including at least one bottle of whisky and enjoying a dinner of crisps, prawns and cock tail sausages. Police also found six laptops that he had evidently unboxed and placed in his back pack, which he later admitting he planned to steal and sell once he had returned to Paris.

Unfortunately for staff, the amount of booze the man had stolen meant that nature inevitably called, but rather than use the toilets, he had apparently relieved himself onto a display of clothes. When staff woke the man early the next day, he fled into the toilets but was quickly detained.

The damage to the store was estimated at around €3,000 and the court sentenced the man, who had no previous criminal record, to a €100 fine and a three-month suspended prison sentence. ■

Far-right MP suspended for racist outburst

One of the features of this year's par liamentary elections was the further rise of the far right under Marine Le Pen. Despite losing out in her latest bid for the presidency, Le Pen's Rassemblement National party – formerly known as the Front National – won a record 89 seats in the National Assem bly, the highest ever represen tation for a far-right party.

One of this new intake of MPs has now found themselves suspended from parliament, however, for apparently telling a black MP from the opposite benches to “go back to Africa”. Carlos Martens Bilongo, from the left-wing France Insoumise party, had been asking a ques tion in parliament about a boat that was stuck in the Mediter ranean carrying 234 migrants rescued at sea. While he was speaking Grégoire de Four nas got to his feet and shouted “ Qu'il retourne en Afrique ”- he should go back to Africa.

As MPs across the house erupted and shouted “Out! Out! Out!”, speaker Yaël BraunPivet demanded to know who had spoken, eventually declar ing “This is not possible” and suspending the session. It was subsequently ruled that the MP would be suspended from par liament for 15 days and lose half of his MP’s salary for two months – the most severe sanc tion available.

“Today it's come back to the colour of my skin. I was born in France, I am a French MP,” Mr Bilongo said after the event. Prime Minister Elisa beth Borne said there was “no room for racism” and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the MP should resign. “I am extremely shocked by what happened in the Assemblée Na tionale. I’ve been in the house for 15 years in one way or an other and it’s the first time I’ve heard anything so disgraceful,” Darmanin told the news chan nel BFMTV.

Rejecting calls to resign, De Fournas apologised to Bilongo for “any misunderstanding”, arguing that he had said “they” and not “he”, or in other words that he was referring to the mi grants arriving in France from Africa, and not the MP. “ Qu’il retourne en Afrique ” (he) and “ Qu’ils retournent en Afrique ”

(they) are hard to distinguish when spoken. Parliamentary transcribers said their notes showed that the phrase De Fournas used was “He should go back to Africa”. Whilst cast ing doubt on his explanation, opponents also pointed out that both should be considered rac ists statements.

Marine Le Pen came out in defence of her MP, tweet ing: “Grégoire de Fournas was clearly talking about migrants being transported by NGOs as evoked by our colleague in his question to the government. The row created by our politi cal rivals is crude and doesn’t fool the French.” ■

Glorious Garlic

by Julia Watson

If my laptop were not a machine but a toga-wearing scribe to be dictated to, it would probably faint. Last night, with a glass of robust red wine to hand, I ate several cloves too many of confit-ted garlic. The cloves had been simmered in oil over the lowest possible heat in a small saucepan until the palest gold, then jar-stored in their oil in the fridge. I smeared some onto a toasted slice of sourdough, here and there dopping on top (this verb I made up has wide cooking applications) a soft teaspoonful of goat’s cheese mashed with a little crème fraîche and flakes of chilli pepper.

In the south of France and Southern Europe, some types of garlic have protected status. But this member of the allium family actually originated in Central Asia and Iran. 76 per cent of global supply sold through supermarkets comes, at 23 million tonnes, from China, with India trailing far behind at just under 3 million. Now is the time to grow it yourself. In fact, most of the year is the time to grow it yourself - indoors, in a flowerpot. September is about the last time you can grow it outdoors. You do not need green fingers. You only need to buy a good healthy bulb. Separate the cloves and bury them, pointy end up, about 2.5cm deep, and wait for the green germ to emerge as a stalk. (You can eat that, too, finely chopped and sprinkled over fish, chicken or in an omelette.)

It’s worth making an effort for garlic. With winter on its way, it’s almost the perfect health food, used medicinally for 3,000 years. Studies in different countries have found it effective in lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure, and as a natural anticoagulant helping prevent blood clots associated with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. It is also thought to have the power to stimulate white blood cells and other immune cells, with an ability to fight bacterial infections. Garlic extract injected into mice with Candida showed some success in tackling that fungal infection. Garlic may even have an application in battling cancer.

The Ancient Egyptians would have doubted none of these claims. The Ebers Papyrus, the Egyptian medical text from around 1550 BC, records applying it externally to tumours. Hippocrates advocated its

use for internal medicine. In exceptionally rare cases, people claim to be allergic to it, although they may be engaged in a sultry affair. When garlic compounds are absorbed into the bloodstream, not only will they emerge through the lungs and affect the breath but also seep out through the pores, neither activity conducive to seduction.

Set aside any prejudice that garlic is no more than an utter stinker. Elizabeth David, the cookery writer who taught the British that eating could be pleasurable, contended that if you swallowed an unpeeled clove whole (an experience I can confirm is akin to gulping down a horse tablet), anything flavoured with garlic that followed wouldn’t cause you to exude powerful fumes. The friends who assured me that this works may just be thoughtfully polite.

Perhaps more reliable is to cook garlic slowly following a blanching in a couple of changes of water, which reduces its anti-social aspect. When using it in cooking, its flavour can often disappear completely if added too soon. Generally, recipes advise its introduction at the very beginning so that it offers no more than a back note. They instruct melting it gently in butter or oil, being careful not to let it turn bitter with burning. But in some recipes - a tomato sauce, say, where you might want a more pronounced flavour - hold some back and add it five minutes before the end of cooking, then the garlic will come through. To get rid of the smell on your fingers after chopping a clove, rub them under running water around any small stainless steel kitchen utensil.

This is a very mild garlic purée that with the addition of 250ml thick cream stretches into a sauce. It goes wonderfully with chicken, steak or fish. Add even more stock and you have an informal garlic soup to which you could add cubes of winter vegetables to poach in the liquid. ■

Julia Watson has been a long-time Food Writer for newspapers and magazines in the US and the UK. She writes 'Tabled', a weekly food blog at juliawatson. substack.com

Ingredients

28 garlic cloves, peeled

600ml light chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon redcurrant jelly

110g butter, melted Juice of ½ lemon Salt and pepper

Bring the garlic cloves to a boil in enough cold water to cover. Reduce heat and poach for 2 minutes. Drain and repeat the process.

Cook the garlic in chicken stock till soft but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside and reduce stock by half in a rolling boil.

Put the garlic and 140ml stock into a blender with remaining ingredients and whizz to a paste.

Serve warm as a sauce.

The wines of Bergerac - Château Monestier La Tour

There are moments when you real ise how quickly ten years can fly by and how deeply some things have changed. This thought struck me during the tenth anniversary party of the Scheufele family taking over the Château Monestier La Tour in the Saussignac, the south-west region of the Bergerac vine yards.

First, it seems like it was only yesterday that I first met Karl-Friedrich and his wife Christine when they bought the vineyard and what was then a rather battered châ teau and an antique chai with old-fashioned equipment. The château itself has been transformed inside and restored on the out side. The parkland has been more than just well-tended. Six hundred new trees have been planted and the place is full of wild life, with a rabbit warren and hares bounc ing around the trees that border the lake, and deer in the woodlands.

But that is just a footnote to the revolu tion that has taken place in the vineyard. There is a new chai, tasting rooms and reception rooms, all in keeping with tradi tional designs. Above all it houses sixteen new stainless-steel vats, each tailored to a single plot of vines, and each equipped with its own thermal system to manage vinifica tion.

New vineyards have been planted, in cluding a plot of Chardonnay vines. The family consulted the old Napoleonic-era maps of the land and found that one slope leading down to the lake had not then been planted with vines. They made a survey of the soil, found that it was too thick in clay to be much use to the vines that had some decades ago been planted there so they dug them all up.

Above all, the entire property has now been certified organic and the vineyards have become dedicated to the bio-dynam

by Martin Walker

ic system of wine-making. I admit that I was a decade ago sceptical of this system. Some of its hallmarks, such as burying cows’ horns filled with manure and yarrow plants, spraying the vines with a tea made of nettles or camomile, along with a care ful assessment of the stages of the moon, smacked to me of alchemy.

Now I know better, thanks to friends like Sean and Caro Feely at Château Feely, also in the Saussignac, who are persuasive and passionate advocates of the system and produce wines that justify their belief. And the glorious new wines from Monestier La Tour are the clinching argument.

At the 10th anniversary party, KarlFriedrich offered us to taste not only his recent bio-dynamic wines from 2017, 2018 and 2019, but also the original wines from 2012. The contrast was stunning. The new wines are alive with fruit, first in the nose with an appealing bouquet, but then in the long aftertaste. The mouth-feel was rich and complex and deeply satisfying.

Then I went back to the 2012, a wine I had admired at the time. The nose was thin, the mouth-feel too crisp and sharp, the af tertaste was - I hate to say chemical - a lit tle sour. Comparing the old and the new, I felt that it was not just the wines that had changed, but my own palate.

I had breakfast the following morning with Michael Schuster, a real expert who has been teaching wine in London and Bordeaux for more than thirty years and produces the World of Fine Wine. Over the croissants he commented on the difference between the 2012 and the later vintages and I said I had written down the same in my own notes.

“I think our tastes and perhaps our expec tations have changed,” he said, and we went on to discuss the extraordinary cone of si lence around the wines of Bergerac. Those of us who live here and drink them regularly

might not realize just how lucky we are to be enjoying wines that are so little known internationally and so cheap by comparison with more famous wines, or those with more effective marketing.

Probably under the impact of the celebra tions and the splendid dinner and the excel lent wines we enjoyed, I scribbled down some notes between tastings and courses, some of them more flowery and romantic than I might write in the cold light of morn ing. Nonetheless, I stand by every word.

“The old wines were good in their way, but somehow I got the impression of a handsome woman putting on a bold face and dressing impeccably to mask an inner constriction, as though feeling locked into a less than happy marriage,” I wrote. “The new wines of the Scheufele era are the same woman, happy and free in the freshness of youth. She is in full and generous bloom, and delighted to let the world know it.”

Bear in mind that 2017, 2018 and 2019 were not the most helpful of years in the Bergerac. The 2017 was a fitful summer, with much rain although it cleared up well for the harvesting. The 2018 vintage was marked by a rainy spring but a much better summer. And the 2019 was hit by the rain and frosts in May.

There were two other important fac tors. The yield in 2017 was 45 hectolitres per hectare; in 2018 and 2019 it was 30. Moreover, the 2012 Merlot was picked in the third week of October and the 2014 har vest in the second week. In 2016 and 2017 and 2018 picking began in the first week of October, and then 2019 in the fourth week of September. A handful of harvests do not make the full case for climate change, but given all the other signs that we have of early ripening, it is persuasive.

I remember tasting with Karl-Friedrich the first wines that Monestier La Tour made

after the transition and they were, as he not ed at the time, pretty grim since the soil was reeling under the impact of no chemicals and the new organic methods. He had done a blind tasting with his family, he confided, and they all scored their own wines as the least enjoyable of the wines being tasted.

How that has changed! The wines are winning international prizes and Hachette stars. It helps that the Scheufele family is wealthy, whereas other, smaller vineyards (like the Feely terroir) went through a similar transition with only a fraction of Monestier La Tour’s resources. And Sean and Caro Feely did it all while raising two young children. But that is the hearten ing reality, that great and small vineyards can produce stunning wines with the biodynamic system, by working with nature rather than throwing in pesticides and fun gicides against it.

Count me as a convert. And try the wines of Monestier La Tour. The Bergerac red, called Cadran, is 10.50 euros a bottle, and the grander Côtes de Bergerac red, Mones tier La Tour, is 17.50 euros and the white is 15 euros. These are mostly made from Ca bernet Franc and Merlot, with just two per cent of Malbec. They are making a special new white wine this year, 90 per cent Se millon and ten per cent Muscadelle, which is already tasting well. The Bergerac has a new jewel. ■

Martin Walker, author of the best-sell ing ‘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-in-chief of United Press International. He and his wife Ju lia have had a home in the Périgord since 1999 and one of his great hobbies is visit ing the vineyards of Bergerac.

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 Chris tensen, 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 Solar venti is simple: a small, builtin, 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 ventilat ed), even with the limited sun shine hours available in Den mark 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 ex ceeded all expectations.

In Southern Europe, So larventi is not only used for ventilation/dehumidification purposes; with far more winter sunshine hours, it also provides a substantial heating supple ment. 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. Solar venti 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 siz es, and the option for wall or roof mounting, Solarventi is suitable for all types of build ings, 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 in creasing rapidly. From Green land to Australia, Solarventi is finally getting the recognition it deserves. ■

For enquiries north of the A89 contact Arthur Smith on 06.06.60.46.97

...and enquiries south of the A89 contact Alan Lawson on 07.81.41.55.66

Rosemary Sheppard, Senior International Financial Adviser

to the very low-risk. Any wellconstructed investment portfolio can accommodate this and everything in between.

Missing out on investment returns, especially now that we are seeing high inflation in both the UK and France, and even as predicted some interest rate increases, this will do little to offset the devaluing of funds held in deposit accounts or poorly managed investments.

in writing. This provides you with all the necessary information on which to base your decision. The recommendation provides an overview of the information collated in the fact find, details regarding the product recommended, costs and performance. This allows you time to make a fully informed decision. Be wary of any advisory company that doesn’t provide sufficient information in their recommendation letters.

As a financial advisor, the first question many firsttime investors ask is “can I lose my money?” There is a real misconception that investing is high risk and that you stand to lose everything.

I appreciate that many reading this article know that this simply isn’t the case. However, for those who have either recently moved to France and may have funds from the sale of their home, or who have lived in France for some time but have recently sold a UK rental, second property, or have received an inheritance, it could be the first time they are faced with this issue. For many the fear will put them off contacting a locally-based advisor for advice.

It’s important to remember that investing comes in all shapes and sizes, from the very high-risk

With returns on a cautious portfolio potentially ranging from around 3.5% to 5.5% after charges and with low levels of volatility, can you afford not to at least investigate the options that are available to you?

We at Blacktower Financial Management normally undertake a complimentary initial consultation, and at this first meeting we will sit down and explain how we as the advisor work, how investment portfolios/funds work, and the potential tax considerations and an indication of costs. This first meeting is an opportunity just to get to know each other.

If, at this stage, you feel that the investment world isn’t quite as you first expected and you wish to receive advice, we will then complete a Fact Find and a detailed Risk Profile before putting our recommendation

Don’t let your fears of investing mean that you miss out on an opportunity to earn a return over cash deposits and ensure your funds at least offset some of the effects of rising inflation. You may look back and wish you had joined the many clients that have invested with us and are now enjoying strong investment performance in well-structured and tax-efficient portfolios.

We are here to help you. For a free, no obligation consultation, please contact me today by email Rosemary. sheppard@blacktowerfm.com or call me on 06 38 86 99 70. Website: www. blacktowerfm.com

This communication is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek

Tel: 06 38 86 99 70 rosemary.sheppard@blacktowerfm.com www.blacktowerfm.com

advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity.

Blacktower Insurance Agents & Advisors Ltd is regulated in Cyprus by the Insurance Companies Control Service and registered with ORIAS in France. Blacktower Financial Management (Cyprus) Ltd is regulated in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission and is registered with the AMF in France.

4PERIGORD

YOUR FRENCH SOLUTION

Translation,

Les petits jardiniers du Limousin

We are a gardening association based in the Mairie at St. Amand le Petit, between Eymoutiers and Peyrat le Château. We hold monthly meetings on the third Thursday of the month, starting at 2.30 pm. Meetings are held in English, but we can also present topics in French. We have lots of different nationalities amongst our members. Our aim is to provide and promote opportunities for people to develop their interest and knowledge in horticulture and gardening and related topics in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. In-house workshop meetings, external speakers and visits are on our agenda.

During Covid-19, we were not been able to have meetings and kept in touch with members and friends via Facebook. This has become a very popular feature so do have a look at our Facebook page, "Les petits jardiniers du Limousin", where people post photos of their garden, ask questions, share information and keep in contact on a casual, friendly basis.

Our meeting agenda remains subject to any Covid-19 regulations and restrictions in place at that time:

For any further information contact pjlimousin@gmail.com

Doumy

Some of you may remember Doumy when he featured here last year. Sadly, he has still not been adopted.

Doumy is a really kind, gentle, friendly dog, medium size and around 3 years old. He is still a bit shy and wary at times of people and things around him that he doesn't know, but he has come on leaps and bounds since arriving at the refuge.

Doumy is looking for a family with a quiet environment, preferably no children of a young age and who already have a dog that Doumy can learn from. He also needs an enclosed garden. Surely there is someone who can give this lad a chance, he really is a super little dog once you get to know him, you won't be disappointed !

If you think you can help Doumy then please contact: SPA de Creuse (Guéret), 21 Le Clocher, 23000 Saint-Sulpice-le Guérétois www.spa-creuse.com - email: spa.gueret@orange.fr

By Bram Stoker

Marché de Noël - Saturday 3rd December - 9h30-17h30 Esplanade de l'Auberge, St Sulpice-le-Dunois (23800)

Producers and artisan Christmas market organised by the associations of the commune.

- Christmas photos.

- Christmas decoration workshop with Le Portail de la Forge.

- Children's face painting.

- Tombola.

- Classic car rides in the afternoon.

- And more!

Boussac Brocante Christmas Fayre

A s well as the usual bargains in the clothing, household and furniture sections the store will be buzzing with activity with the presence of Father Christmas, a workshop where kids can design and make their own Christmas cards, tombolas, drinks and yummy cakes. Lots of prizes to be won, including luxury Christmas Food Hampers (Champagne, chocolates, pâtés), wines and spirits, toys and many more!

The volunteers are putting together a selection of gift-wrapped Christmas presents, toys, Christmas cards and handmade gifts. Come along and support this local event and our furry friends at the same time. All proceeds collected on this day and every day are donated towards animals in need; whether they be mistreated, abandoned, old, disabled, lost or neglected.