The Bugle Dordogne - Oct 2013 by The Bugle

Government unveils new home improvement grants New grants, combined with existing initiatiaves, could reimburse up to 80% of eco home improvement projects. >> Page 8

Dordogne October 2013 - Issue #4

Tour de France to come back to the Dordogne The Dordogne is set to welcome the world’s largest annual sporting event in July next year with a time trial stage that may decide the overall winner. The Tour de France has not visited since 2007 and the department has not hosted a stage finish since 1994. tiny amount compared against the potential benefits to local businesses. Although the route of the Tour is officially a closely guarded secret, details of the two Dordogne stages appear to have been leaked. Michel Moyrand and the mayor of Bergerac, Dominique Rousseau, were both remaining tight-lipped as the good news emerged, asserting that they had received no “official” information from the Tour’s organisers. “What you have just told me is fantastic news,” said Périgueux’s mayor when he was asked about the race’s arrival in his town. “It would be marvelous for the entire department.” Whether the organisers like it or not, the word is out and calls to hotels by Sud Ouest newspaper have shown that virtually every room in the department is already booked up for the nights of the 25/26 July. Some hoteliers simply said “we are full”, others claimed that they were busy due to “an important sporting event”, but some were more up front and

>> continued on page 4

NEWS - Record airport numbers at Bergerac A record number of passengers have travelled through Bergerac Airport this year, as Ryanair announce the extension of a new route. >> Page 3

NEWS - New driving licences introduced

The new, Europe-wide plastic driving licences have come into service in September, bringing France in line with the rest of Europe. >> Page 8

SPORT - France lift basketball trophy Led by their NBA stars, France have finally won the European basketball trophy >> Page 13

fter a long wait, the Tour de France will be returning to the Dordogne in 2014, with 2 stages taking place in the department. Although the final route of the 101st Grand Boucle will not be unveiled until 23 October at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, details have emerged of 2 stages that will take place locally: on Friday 25 July, the peloton will transition from the Pyrenees to the Dordogne with a stage from Maubourguet to Bergerac; the following day will see an individual time trial take place between Bergerac and Périgueux, the penultimate stage of the race. The mayor of Périgueux, Michel Moyrand, travelled up to Paris earlier this year to meet with race director Christian Prudhomme and lobby for his town to feature in the Tour. It costs around €50,000 to host a stage departure and as much as €60,000 to host the arrival of a stage, a

INSIDE > > >

Saturday 5th October will see the French Conker Championships take place in the Dordogne >> Page 21

WHAT’S ON - Events in October

3 pages of events to enjoy this month from across the region. >> Pages 21-23

2 ♦ IN THIS EDITION

Welcome to

The Bugle

ctober already!! It really is only in your youth that summers last forever. I was so busy looking forward to la rentrée and getting the kids out from under my feet that I completely forgot to enjoy the lovely weather! Still, we are experiencing something of an Indian summer as I write, so the barbecue might get one last run out before I don’t get round to cleaning it all winter. Once you’ve lived in France for a while, no matter how much or how little French you speak, there are

INSIDE this edition 1 & 3-7 Local News 8-12 National News 13 Sport 14-16 French Life 17 Bilingual 18-20 Directory/Games 21-24 What's On

certain words that you assimilate into English. La rentrée, which I just used then without thinking about it, is one of them for me – impossible to translate adequately in fewer than 8 words. Devis is another... put 2 Brits in a room and soon one will be asking the other if they had a devis for something or other. “Quote” is a perfectly adequate translation, so it’s strange that almost everyone I know uses devis instead in everyday conversation. I was happy to read that France had finally won the European basketball championships after coming so close so often (see page 13). I am a bit of a sport fanatic, but basketball is one of the big four American sports that I just never quite got into and I didn’t realise that France had such a good team. I was also surprised to hear how committed Tony Parker is to the national side. Born in Belgium and living in America since he turned professional, it is refreshing to see someone stay loyal to their roots, especially with so much money involved. Representing your country should be the pinnacle of any sportsperson’s career (I myself am starting to come to the tragic realisation that at 36,

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013 it is becoming more and more unlikely that the England rugby coach will come calling...) But with the amount of money involved in professional sports, especially in America, it is increasingly common for people to put their professional team (who pay their salary) before their country (who offer glory). The difference is most visible to me on the rare occasions when England play both rugby and football on the same day. Saturday afternoon will see 15 rugby players belting out the national anthem, some failing to hold back the tears, before quite literally putting their bodies on the line for their teammates and their country; come the evening, 11 pampered, coiffured football players are more likely to tweet their way through God Save the Queen than sing, and will then be substituted off at half time to protect them for the weekend’s club fixture against QPR. There are exceptions, of course, but you catch my drift. I remember a good few years ago, Serena Williams was being interviewed at or before an Olympics, and the interviewer asked her how excited she was to be representing her country in what is usually an individual sport. She was genuinely confused by the question, before replying that she hoped everyone realised she wasn’t even being paid for this and that the American public should be thankful to her for turning up on her own time!! I might be exaggerating the story slightly and I think she was very young at the time, but that is certainly how I remember it. Apologies to the Williams sisters’ lawyers if I have got that wrong or it was someone else!!

I live in a very old stone house which is great in the summer as the big walls keep us cool, but not so good in the winter when the winds whistle through the cracks and straight out through the roof taking any heat with them. Being warm in winter can be expensive at Bugle Towers! So I was very interested to read about the grants available for insulating lofts, installing double glazing and upgrading your boiler. I knew that tax credits were available for certain things and grants could be applied for, but I never knew just how much help you can get... up to 80% of the costs!! I shall certainly be looking into that some more and would advise you to do the same if your French home is your primary residence and you are tax resident in France. See page 8 for more information and a link to the relevant website. Hopefully we won’t be needing to light fires for a while yet though!! Until next month! Steve Martindale, Editor

CONTACT us Tel: 05.55.41.17.76 General: editor@thebugle.eu Advertising (EN): sales24@thebugle.eu Publicité (FR): publicite@thebugle.eu Subscriptions: subscriptions24@thebugle.eu Editor: Steve Martindale Write to: The Bugle Les Quatre Chemins 23150 St-Yrieix-les-Bois France

LOCAL NEWS ♦ 3

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Bergerac Airport sees record passenger numbers in 2013

here was good news for Bergerac Airport recently with the announcement that Ryanair will be continuing to run its route to Marrakech throughout winter. The Irish low-cost airline made the decision following the success of the new route since it ran its first flight in April this year, with figures showing that the flights were on average more than two-thirds full. Ryanair will now operate 2 flights per week right through to next March, something that pleased Serge Mérillou, president of the Syndicat Mixte Air Dordogne (SMAD): “This is fantastic news for the airport and will allow us to keep passenger numbers up all year round, as places like Marrakech are attractive destinations to visit in February and March. It is safe to say that the destination has been a success.” It has been a good year for Bergerac Airport, helped in part by new lines to destinations like Marrakech and Dusseldorf. The planes to and from Morocco carried 7,376 passengers by the end of July and August saw a record 51,449 travellers through passport control, beating the previous record of 50,234 passengers for the same period in 2010. According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) for the Dordogne, which operates the airport, 207,272 passengers had travelled

through Bergerac Airport by the end of August. The new flights to Marrakech have not only attracted locals in search of sunshine, but are also proving popular with the region’s Moroccan expat community. There is a significant Moroccan population in the Dordogne, an estimated 4,000 in total, with an even greater number in the neighbouring Lot-et-Garrone department. The Moroccan consulate in Bordeaux covers 11 departments in the south-west of France, where the expat population is an estimated 80,000. “For expats, as well as Europeans, this line is responding to a demand and a need,” explained the consulate. The latest link offers an alternative to more established routes from Bordeaux and Toulouse and could also prove ben-

eficial to the estimated 250 businesses in the Aquitaine region that currently have established commercial links with Morocco. In other airport news, it has been announced that the route to Rotterdam will run from February to November next year; in 2013 it operated between April and October. The airport has also unveiled a new logo, featuring a stylised goose, chosen from amongst more than 250 ideas put forward by designers. “It is a migratory bird, one that departs and returns,” explained airport management, before elaborating on the meaning of the colours: the blue tones evoke the sky, travel, balance, security and the green represents “our focus on sustainable development”. The browns make a link with the earth and the land of the Périgord. ■

Indoor ski slope to open near Bergerac

he Dordogne is famous for many things: the food, the weather, the landscape... but one thing it is not well known for is the skiing. Until now that is. Winter is coming to the Dordogne year round with the news that the country’s first indoor revolving ski slope will be opening its doors at the beginning of November in the ZI du Libraire, just outside Bergerac. Urban Ski France was founded by Dutchman Harald Bonzet and the country’s

slope and is therefore suitable for skiers of all ages and abilities. All skiers, irrespective of their level, are required to complete an initiation session with a qualified professional before taking to the slopes by themselves. The idea is already well established in Harald Bonzet’s home country where there are well over 100 such slopes, with the idea also starting to take hold in other countries such as the UK, where 8 revolving pistes are in operation

newest indoor ski slope is a first; unlike France’s only other indoor ski slope in Moselle in the region of Lorraine, which uses artificial snow, Urban Ski France’s slope is never-ending! The revolving piste can be constantly adjusted in terms of speed and

and Germany which has 4. Urban Ski France is holding an Open Day on 2nd November when they are inviting the public to come and discover the new ski slope. For more information, search for “Urban Ski Bergerac” on Facebook. ■

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4 ♦ LOCAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

>> continued from pg 1 admitted that they were “fully booked for the Tour de France”. The Tour de France is a huge event, the third most watched sporting event globally after the Olympics and the football World Cup. Live coverage of the race will be beamed across the globe to 190 countries and hosting the arrival or departure of a stage, despite being a prestigious occasion, can also provide a massive financial boost to a town and the surrounding areas. Bergerac and Périgueux have a lot going for them when it comes to hosting a stage, particularly a time trial. The two towns are geographically close and have excellent road links, perfect for a contre la montre (time trial). Angoulême and Bordeaux, with their TGV terminals are not far away and Bergerac Airport provides excellent transport links to Paris for the next and final stage. After the rigors of the Pyrenees, the transitional stage into Bergerac is likely to be a comparative day off for the main general classification contenders, with a bunch sprint or a long-distance breakaway the most likely outcome. The following day’s time trial, however, could prove to be the day when the winner is crowned; it is the penultimate stage, with only the procession into Paris on the Sunday to follow - tradition dictates that the yellow jersey is not attacked on the final day, with a bunch sprint the usual outcome. If the top of the general classification is tight as the peloton arrives in the Dordogne, all eyes will be on a time trial stage that will decide which rider wears the yellow jersey on the ride into Paris, before being crowned champion on the Champs Elysées. The race avoided the Aquitaine region altogether in 2013 and the Dordogne has itself been a touch neglected over recent years. The Tour passed through the department without stopping in 2007 and 1995, but the last time the department hosted a stage departure or arrival was in

1994, when there was also a time trial between Bergerac and Périgueux, as well as a stage from Poitiers to Trélissac, just to the east of Périgueux. The Tour de France does have one bad memory of the Dordogne: during the 1964 Tour, a tanker hit a bridge, killing 9 spectators. Although the exact routes of the individual stages will be revealed later this month, one thing that has been known for a while now is the location of the Grand Départ... Leeds. Despite facing stiff competition from more exotic locations such as Barcelona, Berlin and Florence, it is the city in the north of England that will host the start of the 2014 Tour de France. The largest annual sporting spectacle on Earth will head through Yorkshire on 5th and 6th July, before moving south for a third stage, finishing in London. The race last visited the UK in 2007, when London hosted a prologue ahead of a road stage from the capital to Canterbury, a day that attracted two million roadside spectators. Next year will be the fourth time that the Tour has travelled north of the Channel. At the time of the announcement, British Cycling president Brian Cookson was understandably delighted: “Like every other cycling fan, I am thrilled the world’s biggest bike race is coming back to this country. The huge numbers who turned out to support the 2007 Grand Départ and the London 2012 [Olympic] road races show the passion we have for cycling. I’m sure Yorkshire will give the 2014 Tour de France a welcome which will stand out in the race’s rich history.” Many people are giving credit for the coup to the tourism body Welcome To Yorkshire (WTY), which ran a stunning promotional film highlighting the dramatic Yorkshire landscape. They were backed in their bid by cycling heavyweights Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins. The WTY team put on a show for the French delegates during the bid process, flying them by helicopter to the North York

Moors and Yorkshire Dales national parks and then landing at Harewood House near Leeds where they dined on food prepared by top chef Simon Guellor of the Box Tree restaurant in Ilkley. The body’s chief executive, Gary Verity, a keen cyclist himself, said: “We served them Yorkshire lamb because we thought it was the absolute best of Yorkshire produce.” The tactics obviously worked and the world’s media will descend on Yorkshire next year. “It will mean that, less than two years after hosting the Olympics, the British public can look forward to another of the world’s biggest sporting events coming to the country,” said Mr Verity with obvious pride. “I am in no doubt they will come to Yorkshire in their millions, lining the length and breadth of the route to cheer on the champions of world cycling and our home-grown British heroes.” Race director Christian Prudhomme added: “Since the resounding success of the Grand Départ in London in 2007, we were very keen to return to the United Kingdom... the enormous crowds that followed the cycling events in the streets of London during the Olympic Games encouraged us to go back earlier than we had initially planned.” Chris Froome will be hoping to defend the title he won convincingly in 2013 with Team Sky and make it a hat-trick of British victories in the iconic French event. ■

Dordogne to host crucial Tour de France stage

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constantly innovate to ensure DFS can offer a wide range of sofas to suit every home away from home. Whether you are after a stylish sofa bed so family and friends can visit, a bold and colourful sofa to complement your rural retreat, or a classic sofa to sink into in your chateau, there really is a sofa that every home can love and afford. DFS sofas are handcrafted to order by a team of skilled upholsterers and craftspeople with decades of experience in making sofas to the highest industry standards. To ensure the best possible customer service all items are thoroughly checked by hand ahead of delivery. And with competitive delivery costs and up to four years interest free credit, there really is no reason not to check out the full range at www. dfs.co.uk. Alternatively you can speak to one of DFS’ personal shoppers on 0044 (0)1977 786150, or enter your details online so one of their team can call you back for free. ■

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

LOCAL NEWS ♦ 5

6 ♦ LOCAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Storm damage reveals skills shortages

ollowing the violent storms of the 2/3 August that caused widespread damage across the region, there has been a serious shortage of certain professions in the department. Roofers are currently in strong demand, but an even more specialised skill is repairing the damage done by hail to the bodywork of cars. Such is the demand that foreign experts have been arriving in their droves to plug the gap. “They were here at 9am on Monday the 5th August,” explained José Barbosa, from the Serreau Peugeot garage in Trélissac to the east of Périgueux, speaking about the foreign bodywork experts currently working in his garage. “We had to call on them because there is not enough capacity nationally. The two local companies that we usually deal with, DST 24 and Deboss’24, are inundated.” The garage, typical of many across the department dealing with the fallout of the storms, has already received hundreds

of hail-damaged cars and has 4 workers who can get through around 15-20 cars a day. “They deal mostly with the cars affected by ‘small’ hail, like those in the Périgueux area” explained Mr Barbosa. The work is highly specialised and painstaking. The individual dents are lifted using a relatively basic rounded punch and a hammer, with the skill coming from the worker’s experience. The technology involved is in the form of a white light which highlights the minute imperfections, sometimes so small they can hardly be seen with the naked eye. “The amount of time required for each car can vary,” one of the foreign workers told Sud Ouest, speaking in Italian. “But in general, I need about one hour.” This kind of work inevitably leads to the specialists travelling around Europe for long periods of time, but can prove highly lucrative for those involved and living expenses are also usually covered. While hail damage can be rare in a particular region, Europe is a big place and so there is

and wheat were destroyed. We have been very badly hit,” said the mayor of Lanouille, JeanPierre Cubertafon. Not only were the fruits destroyed, but the hail also stripped bark from trees, causing more long-term damage. Lanouialle is part of the famous “golden triangle” of Golden du Limousin apple producers. The latest damage is particularly devastating for the area’s farmers who have had a terrible year following the ‘black frost’ of spring 2012 that destroyed 80% of fruit in their orchards. At Montpeyroux, 600 young chickens were killed by the hail and farmers reported finding a number of pigeons and magpies also dead. At Saint-Rabier, there was widespread damage: along a 500 metre stretch, the damage to nut trees was total and producers now fear for not only this year, but also next year’s harvest. In a lake at Born, near Salagnac in the north of the department, fishermen found more than a tonne of dead fish. Also badly affected were the region’s vineyards, with 20,000

plenty of work. “We have a lot to do here. We are working flat out, five days a week,” said Alexis, an independent worker from the Tarn department and the only Frenchman among the group. Fortunately, language is not proving to be a problem - the technique is the same in any language. “It is a fun job and you get to meet lots of new people.” The large hail which caused so much of the damage cut a diagonal swathe across the department in early August. “The hail arrived via Villefranche-deLonchat, where damage to local vines was particularly bad, then passed through Périgueux, Excideuil, Lanouialle and Thenon,” explained Jean-Louis Amat, general secretary of the prefecture of the Dordogne, speaking in the days following the storm. Besides the damage done to roofs and cars, the local agricultural industry was very badly hit with losses estimated at around €60 million. “The nets covering the fruit trees were torn down, the corn

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hectares seriously damaged in the famous Bordeaux wineproducing area. The damage to Bordeaux’s vineyards came just a few weeks after summer storms destroyed up to 90 per cent of vines in some vineyards in Burgundy. Bordeaux winemaker Loïc de Roquefeuil, who owns 30 hectares at the Château de Castelneau near the village of Saint Léon, south-east of Bordeaux, told The Guardian: “It’s a catastrophe. Everything has gone: the leaves, the grapes, everything. It happened so quickly. A year’s work gone in nine minutes of hail. The storm was so violent the hailstones wounded the wood. The outer skin is shredded. There won’t be a single bottle from these vines this year. We have been hit by hail six times in the last 25 years, but never like this. We had just finished trimming the vines and getting rid of the weeds without herbicides - ready for the harvest in September. They were perfect. We had high hopes for this harvest.” ■

LOCAL NEWS ♦ 7

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

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Bordeaux win Siddalls South-West Cricket Cup

The winners of this year’s South-West Cricket Cup - Bordeaux Giscours

or those of you who participated in this year’s cricket matches, we have been interested to hear that cricket is actually now a serious and structured sport in France, with its own Federation - “France

Cricket”, which is attached to the Baseball Federation, - a national competition and French national teams at several age levels participating in European and even worldwide competitions. Dedicated cricket grounds now exist all over France,

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with many being in particularly spectacular settings, from Château Giscours in Margaux, home of Bordeaux Giscours Cricket Club, to the Château de Thoiry, west of Paris and Entrecasteaux in the Var. The long-standing local club of Sainte-Aulaye on the Dordogne/Charente border is a particular suc-

cess story, with a young team, which now provides almost half of the French national under 19 squad. Mansle Cricket Club, north of Angoulême, is now well-installed at the racecourse and a club also exists in Poitiers. Cricket in the SouthWest is run by the hard work of a governing association, the “Association des Clubs de Cricket du Sud-Ouest” ( ACCSO), which now has 11 club members and has developed mainly thanks to the sponsorship of independent financial advisers Siddalls (www.siddalls.fr). David Hardy, Siddalls Regional Manager for the Poitou Charentes and Limousin, said: “For the last fifteen years, we have sponsored ACCSO, who organise the Siddalls South-West Cricket Cup, in which all teams participate, and the Siddalls SouthWest Cricket League, with currently 8 participants,

due to the extra commitment. The winners of the League are then invited to play off for the national second division title and, if they can meet a certain “cahier des charges”, are promoted to the “superligue”, based in Paris. Bordeaux Giscours won the Cup this year, beating Damazan (Lot et Garonne) in the final, while the League Final was played on Sunday 29th September at Sainte-Aulaye, between Sainte-Aulaye and Noé-Gascogne of the Gers. Siddalls are proud to provide sponsorship, to cover the running costs of ACCSO, but there is no question that future development of the game depends on the support of the French government and the ICC. Both are based on the number of teams and licenced players participating, with particular emphasis on the number of youth teams and ladies teams, since the strategists are convinced that the French ladies team has a greater chance of breaking into the top level than the men’s, at least in the short to medium term. ACCSO would therefore be more than happy to hear of any cricket projects in the region and the clubs are always looking for new players and supporters. Their contact details are all on their web-site www.cricketsw-france.org, which also keeps us up to date with results and club news. ■

Charges against Dordogne naturist dropped

A court in Périgueux has dismissed the case of a 52-year-old man charged with “sexual exhibitionism” for strolling naked in woods near La Roche-Chalais in the west of the Dordogne in February. The court ruled an element of sexual exhibitionism could not be proved and the accused’s lawyer, Tewfik Bouzenoune, hailed the judgement as a victory for naturists everywhere. “The court has made a distinction between sexual exhibitionism and naturism,” he said. “This was not about naked rambling, it is about people practising naturism with precautions. “One of the precautions my client took was to always have clothing to hand so that he could hide his private parts. He wasn’t trying to be provocative.” The naked rambler had been reported to police by a woman who, having spotted the man a first time while walking in the woods, returned with her grandson to check that what she had seen was indeed a man in the most basic of attire! ■

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8 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Government announces new home improvement grants

n a further bid to encourage homeowners to make their properties more energy efficient, the government has announced a series of grants, available over the next 2 years that, combined with other initiatives, will cover up to 80% of the cost of an energy saving renovation project. Under the slogan “J'éco-rénove, J'économise” - I eco-renovate, I save - the government is introducing 2 major new grants: one worth €1,350 and the other worth €3,000. These grants are available until 31st December 2015, but only one can be applied for per property. To be eligible for the grant, the property must be your primary residence and be at least 2 years old. The work must be carried out by an approved company and include 2 eco improvements from a list including thermal insulation of the whole roof, thermal insulation of at least half of the walls, installation of a gas boiler, condensing boiler or heat pump boiler, or any other renewable energy heating system. The grants are subject to a degree of means testing: a family of four with an income of less than €50,000 would be eligible for the €1,350 grant; a family of four with an income less than €37,000 would be eligible for the full €3,000 grant.

The objective, set out by Cécile Duflot, the minister for territorial equality and housing, is to help as many people as possible to reduce their utility bills. The average household's heating bill is currently €900 per year, which represents 9% of the average annual household budget. With this in mind, the above grants are able to be used in conjunction with the other incentives already available: subsidies from Anah (l'Agence nationale de l'habitat); tax credits for sustainable development (crédit d'impôt développement durable - CCID); and even 0% eco-tax loans up to €30,000 (l'éco-prêt à taux zéro - Eco-PTZ+). Together, all these grants and tax credits can account for the vast majority of the cost of the work. An example given on the ministry for housing website is as follows: A couple with 3 children and a household income of €33,000, who would like to undertake €28,000 of work to improve the efficiency of their house, would receive €22,300 of public support - 80% of the total - with the balance potentially available as a 10-year loan. The housing ministry has created a website with more information: http://www.renovation-info-service.gouv.fr/ or you can call for more details on 0810 140 240 (cost of a local call). ■

rom September, France has now officially adopted the standardised, European plastic driving licence, replacing the 'pink paper' licences previously issued here. The plastic, credit card-sized permit is replacing the roughly 100 different types currently in the wallets of the 300 million registered drivers in Europe's 27 member states. Existing licences are not affected, but will be changed to the new format at the time of renewal. All licences will have to be replaced by the electronic version by January 2033 at the latest. Although the new cards came into operation Europe-wide at the beginning of this year, the first plastic licences are only now being issued in France, following technical issues. The new cards contain a chip that holds information on the card as well as additional data, which the International Automobile Federation (FIA) says is a key step towards making cross-border travel easier and the counterfeiting of driving licences harder.

It is thought that 5-10% of the driving licences currently in use in France today are counterfeit and it is hoped that the new plastic credit-card style will help to reduce this number. FIA regional director general Jacob Bangsgaard commented: “The new licence will not only make it easier to drive crossborder, it will also help to tackle the problem of drivers banned in one member state trying to get a licence in another country.” Until recent changes, any EU issued driving licence is valid in all other EU states. In practice, this has meant that people who lose a licence in one country, can simply hop the border and apply for one in a neighbouring state. Legislators hope that the new cards will stop this “driving licence tourism” as the data will be shared between all countries. Unlimited validity will also now come to an end. Existing French licences are valid for life, but the new chipped licences will have to be replaced every 10 years (or every 15 years if states choose this option).

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Licences for professional drivers will be valid for 5 years. When plans for the new Europe-wide licence were first announced in 2006, Belgian MEP Mathieu Grosch highlighted at

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NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 9

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Payout agreed for France set to deaf pig farm worker ban "Mini Miss"

tribunal at Lons-le-Saunier in the Jura department has ordered the owners of a pig farm to pay compensation to a former worker who became deaf, partly due to the screams of the pigs he was looking after. The court found that the Pelizzarri company was guilty of “inexcusable conduct” in the case of 49-year-old Sergio Personeni. The amount of any compensation will be decided at a later date following further medical evaluations. “I am very happy,” Mr Personeni told reporters. “I have been fighting this for 5 years, and the justice system has finally recognised my employer's liability.” The former employee worked at three Pelizzarri sites between 2001 and 2008 where the noise levels at feeding times reached as high as 133 decibels - the law in France requires employers to provide ear protection at noise levels above 85 decibels. 100 decibels is equivalent to a chainsaw or pneumatic drill, but for every 10 decibel increase, the volume increases by

a factor of 10, so 110 decibels is ten times louder than 100 decibels, etc. For example, 120 decibels is equivalent to standing in front of the speakers at a rock concert and 130 decibels is the noise of a 4-engine jet airplane heard from 30 metres!! The court found that employees were made to “work in conditions incompatible with human dignity” for 8 hours every day, 7 days a week. In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive has previously warned that the noise made by pigs during mealtimes can affect hearing. In its leaflet, entitled “Farmwise - An Essential Guide to Health and Safety in Farming”, it states that “large numbers of pigs in a building can create noise levels of 100 decibels or above, especially at feeding time” before advising famers to install automated feeding equipment to avoid the need to enter pig sheds during feeding times. According to the HSE, more than one in five farm workers is being exposed to deafening levels of noise. ■

beauty pageants

hildren's beauty pageants look set to become a thing of the past in France following a vote in the Senate to ban “Mini-Miss” competitions for under16s. The amendment is part of a broader bill on women’s rights, which will now proceed to the National Assembly, the French parliament’s lower house, for debate and another vote before becoming law. The senators voted in favour of the measure, arguing that it will protect children from being prematurely “sexualised” through the use of heavy makeup and often provocative attire. Under the proposed law, anyone who flouts the minimum age limit for beauty pageants will face up to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine. The ban was opposed by the Socialist senator Virginie Klès, who sponsored the gender equality bill, as well as the government's spokeswoman and women's rights minister, Najat VallaudBelkacem, both of whom judged the penalties too harsh. The proposed law changes follow a report produced by former sports minister and current senator Chantal Jouanno entitled “Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality”. In the report, Jouanno also called for a ban on adult-style clothing for children, including padded bras and high-heeled shoes, although these proposals have not been included in the current amendment. Other suggestions were banning advertisers from dressing underage models in adult attire and the reintroduction of uniforms in primary schools. “Let us not make our girls believe from a very young age that their worth

is only judged by their appearance,” Jouanno told senators. “Let us not allow commercial interests to outweigh social interests. Lawmakers are not moralisers, but we have a duty to defend the superior interest of the child.” When the report came out last year, she said young girls were being disguised as “sexual candy” in beauty pageants, which she claimed was a step backwards in the battle for women's equality. “This phenomenon is a real concern for society,” Jouanno told Le Figaro when the report was first published. “Today, children are forming their identities in a context of declining gender equality and growing stereotypes featured in music videos, toys and reality TV. As parents and politicians, this is our responsibility.” After the senate vote, Michel Le Parmentier, who organises the Mini-Miss annual pageant in France, said his company would look at moving the contest to another European country if France imposed a ban. “Maybe in Belgium, very close to the border,” Le Parmentier said, insisting that his pageants involved “no make-up, no swimsuits, no artifice” and that the girls simply paraded in princess dresses. Controversy over the issue of sexualising children reached its peak in December 2010 when French Vogue published a photo spread featuring provocative images of a 10-year-old French girl, Thylane Loubry Blondeau, decked out in a tight dress, jewellery, high heels and make-up. The magazine argued that the photos were meant to capture a classic fantasy of young girls - to dress up like their mother. ■

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10 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Shop owner faces murder charge over fatal shooting of jewel thief and titled “Support the Nice jeweller” was getting hundreds of “likes” and within 4 days had garnered a total of 1.5 million. The jeweller reportedly told the magistrates that he had fired his first two shots with the intention of demobilising the scooter and a third one in response to his victim threatening to shoot him with a rifle. French law allows for killers to escape conviction for murder if they can show they acted in “legitimate defence”, but the prosecutor who recommended Turk be charged does not believe that can be applied in this case, claiming that his life did not appear to be in immediate danger when he fired his unlicensed 7.65 semi-automatic pistol at the fleeing criminals. If convicted of voluntary homicide, the jeweller could spend the rest of his life in prison. Yann Turk, Stephan Turk's son, was in the shop during the attack and told local newspaper Nice Matin: “It was a difficult situation. I don't know how I would have reacted myself. I don't endorse what he did, but he had been beaten and threatened with death … we've had it with being targeted by robbers.” France has seen a spate of high-profile jewellery thefts recently and jewellers in southern France say they are being targeted increasingly and lack the resources to protect themselves. “The number of jewellery store robberies has been climbing for years. There's one robbery a day in France,” Christine Boquet, president of the union of jewellers and watchmakers, told Nice Matin. “This creates enormous stress for the mer-

Rennes 2 University has signed an agreement with Harvard that will see Breton being taught at the prestigious American university. Courses in Breizh and regular seminars on Breton studies at Harvard's Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures will now be available to students at the world-famous Ivy League institution.

he case of Stephan Turk, the jeweller charged with murdering a fleeing thief in Nice, has created an intense debate in France. While some denounced him as a dangerous vigilante, others have rallied in massive support of a man who could now face life in prison. The 67-year-old shot the 18-year-old in the back as he and another robber were driving off on a scooter with gems stolen from his shop in the centre of Nice. The thieves had kicked and punched the owner of La Turquoise jewellers before forcing him to open his safe at gunpoint. Mr Turk then ran after them as they sped away and fired three shots at the two robbers, hitting one. Police said a considerable amount of jewellery was found on the dead man. A second thief who was driving the getaway bike escaped. “Armed, aggressive thugs attacked me,” Mr Turk said in a statement to French television. “I regret what happened, I regret that he is dead. But it is him who decided to do what he did. It is normal that I would defend myself.” Mr Turk called for a manslaughter charge, claiming that he fired in the heat of the moment after the robbers had punched and kicked him and threatened him at gunpoint. The examining magistrates, however, rejected this claim and the news that the shop owner was to be charged with murder and fitted with an ankle bracelet sparked a massive outpouring of public sympathy. A Facebook page set up anonymously

Breton to be taught at Harvard University

chants. They live with this fear and insecurity every day.” The dead youth, identified only by his first name Anthony, had a string of convictions for theft, assault and driving offences. “It is true that he did a lot of stupid things,” his father admitted to Nice Matin. “He was a little delinquent, a scooter thief. But he had the face of a child and no child should have to die like that. I'm not defending what my son did, but, there, he has been shot like a pigeon.” His sister has accused Turk of shooting him in the back: “He shot a kid in the back. He's a traitor, he's a coward”. After hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the charges, interior minister Manuel Valls travelled to Nice to urge the town's jewellers to “let justice prevail”. “Even when faced with the unbearable, we have to let justice prevail,” the minister said. Politicians largely stayed out of the debate, but under mounting pressure, President

Hollande was forced to break his silence. In a televised interview, the president said he recognised the “exasperation and anger” in the case, but insisted that “it's up to the justice system to do justice, and no one else”. In November 2007, 45-yearold baker Christophe Poirier claimed to have been hit in the stomach by a robber who had broken into his home. He shot the intruder with his hunting rifle. After an inquiry lasting three years, the court dismissed the case against him. In October 2006, at Nogent-sur-Marne in the eastern suburbs of Paris, three thieves broke into the home of a textile company director, René Dahan. Dahan succeeded in grabbing the gun of one of the intruders, a Magnum .357, and turned it on him. Despite support from the then president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who described him as an “honest man”, Dahan was charged with murder. The case was also later dismissed. ■

Breton, the Celtic language of the French region of Brittany, has an estimated 250,000 speakers, and while nearly two thirds of these are over 60 years old, the number of children attending bilingual classes has risen by 33% between 2006 and 2012 to 14,709. Brittany was the last part of Gaul to be conquered by the Romans and did not become part of France until the 15th century. Its language and Celtic culture have at times been repressed by the French state in an effort to build a centralised, unified France. The Breton people still maintain a strong sense of identity, however, and a small Breton nationalist movement exists to this day. ■

Record cocaine haul seized in Paris

rench police have pulled off the biggest drugs bust in the country’s history, seizing 1.3 tonnes of pure cocaine with a street value of €200 million. The drugs were found in 31 suitcases in the hold of an Air France flight to Paris from Venezuela - not one of the cases was registered to a real passenger. Air France said it was still trying to find out how the drugs were smuggled on board just as authorities in Venezuela announced that three National Guard officials had been arrested. Venezuelan Justice and Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said that it was “almost obvious” that there were also accomplices working with the airline. “How can the cocaine shipment reach France and get taken out without going through the normal controls?” he asked.

Air France said that investigations were ongoing as to exactly how the suitcases got on board. “Pending the results of these investigations, immediate measures have been taken to enhance our checks of baggage and goods on departure from certain sensitive destinations,” the airline said in a statement. “This marks the biggest seizure of cocaine ever made in mainland France as part of a judicial investigation,” France’s interior minister, Manuel Valls, told reporters. Standing in front of the suitcases emptied of the drugs, Mr Valls also stressed the need for tightened cooperation with other European police forces. He said that international drug traffickers “are constantly setting up new strategies. They are diversifying drug routes, so we therefore have to adapt our operations, and

our strategies to these developments”. The drugs were reportedly destined for the Calabrian Mafia known as the ‘Ndrangheta. After moving into drug trafficking in the 1970s, the Italian criminal organisation is reputed to control 80 per cent of the cocaine exported from Latin America to Europe. This latest record-breaking seizure was the result of cooperation between security forces in France, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Police said that at least six people of several European nationalities were being held in relation to the case. Drug enforcement experts say Venezuela’s location on South America’s Caribbean and Atlantic coasts makes it a preferred route for planes and ships carrying Colombian cocaine to the United States and Europe via Central

America and Africa. The United States has for over a decade accused Venezuela of turning a blind eye to drug smuggling, and has described several highranking military officials and ruling party allies as drug “kingpins”. In September, the White House accused Venezuela, along with Bolivia and Myanmar, of not making sufficient efforts during the last 12 months to meet its obligations under global counter-narcotics agreements. The Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro, who won an election in April that followed Hugo Chavez’s death from cancer, called such criticism a politically motivated smear campaign. There have been previous significant drugs busts in France: in 2011, French police at the port of Le Havre seized 700kg

of cocaine in a shipment from Panama; and in 2009, 584kg were discovered in a lorry travelling from Spain. According to the 2013 annual report by the UN Office on Drugs and

Crime, the world’s largest cocaine seizures continue to be reported from Colombia (200 tonnes) and the United States (94 tonnes). ■

NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 11

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

First German president visits site of Oradour-sur-Glane massacre

mother and young wife were killed with so many others in the town’s church. “I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I have always wanted the highest authorities in Germany to come and see this and bear witness, and now

ou represent the dignity of modern Germany, able to look the barbarity of the Nazi era square in the face. Responsibility is the basis for the reconciliation and friendship between our countries, in defiance of history, something that is an example to the whole world. So spoke President François Hollande in September, addressing his German counterpart Joachim Gauck during an historic visit to the Oradour-sur-Glane memorial village north west of Limoges, Limousin. In a hugely symbolic moment, President Gauck became the first German president to visit the village where German troops massacred 642 men, women and children in the closing days of the Second World War. The French president, who is the former mayor of Tulle, the site of another Limousin wartime massacre, also had a word of warning for those present. “Peace, like democracy, is not something that you simply acquire, but is something that must be earned by each generation; peace, which is flouted by the executioners of the past and of today. Vigilance and steadfastness should be ours in the face of these outrages. This we owe to the victims of Oradour.” The presidents were accompanied on their visit round the village by Robert Hébras and Jean-Marcel Darthout, two of the few survivors of the 1944 massacre. “This exceptional visit will remain in the memories of all those present,” said Jean-Marcel Darthout, whose

How it happened Following the Normandy landings, a local Nazi commander was informed that resistance fighters in Oradour-sur-Vayres were holding a German officer hostage. On 10th June 1944, a German battalion sealed off the town of Oradour-sur-Glane having confused it with their intended target of nearby Oradoursur-Vayres - and ordered all the townspeople and passers-by to assemble in the village square to have their identity papers examined. The men were then taken to a barn where a machine gun nest awaited. The women and children were led to the church, which was set alight. In a few short hours 642 of the town’s inhabitants were dead, 205 of which were children, with only a handful managing to escape. The town was subsequently sealed off and preserved as a memorial; it has remained a centre of remembrance ever since. The modern day town was built later, a few hundred metres away. The massacre was the largest atrocity committed against civilians in France the Nazis. ■

I have one just thing to say: well done, thank you and about time!” Robert Hébras has long campaigned for such a visit and had words for the two presidents as he led them round the village. “I spoke to them about my mother, about my two sisters, about the week-old baby and the 90-year-old woman, all of whom were massacred in the church,” Mr Hébras told Le Populaire. “Emotions were running high but the gestures of affection were genuine.” The German president, Joachim Gauck, praised the generosity and hospitality of the two survivors and said that he had been greatly affected by seeing “that which was done under German command”. “However generous the spirit of reconciliation, it does not remove the horror and blame that I feel visiting this village,” the president told the 100 or so gathered journalists. “It is with great pain that we today come to terms with how ordinary people can become murderers. The German people as a whole accept responsibility for the crimes committed under the Nazis. But individual responsibility cannot be ignored, people with names and faces. The current criminal investigation will provide answers to questions that have remained unanswered for 69 years.” The investigation referred to follows a visit by German prosecutors earlier this year who are planning to bring charges against 6 former Nazi soldiers believed to have taken part in the Oradour massacre. When news of the investigation was first announced in 2010, it came as a shock, not least to the residents of the town. Raymond Frugier, mayor of Oradour-sur-Glane, said at the time that he had no idea

that the German authorities were still looking for the perpetrators of the massacre after so long. “It is reassuring to know that the enquiry is still ongoing,” he told the press. “There is no statute of limitations in Germany, so if they are in a fit state to be tried, then they should be.” The team is being headed by Stefan Willms, who has 15 years’ experience tracking Nazi war criminals. “The investigation will continue for as long as the suspects are alive,” Mr Willms told Le Parisien earlier this year. The team has today identified 6 soldiers: one lives in Austria and of the 5 remaining in Germany; 3 are already too ill to ever stand trial. There have been a number of trials surrounding the events at

Oradour-sur-Glane (see boxed timeline), but none since 1983. Nine years after the war, 21 men were tried for their part in the massacre: 14 men from the Alsace and 7 Germans, the most senior ranking amongst them was a sergeant. General Lammerding, commander of the division responsible, was sentenced to death in absentia, but lived in Germany until his death in 1971. Adolf Diekmann, who commanded the German troops on the ground on that day, was killed in action shortly afterward during the Battle of Normandy, and a large number of the third company, which had committed the massacre, were themselves killed in action within a few days. ■

Oradour massacre timeline 10 th June 1944 – Soldiers from the 2nd SS Panzer Division ("Das Reich") enter Oradour-sur-Glane and massacre 642 inhabitants. The men are shot and the women and children burned in the church. January 1953 – 21 men (14 Frenchmen from Alsace and 7 Germans) are tried in Bordeaux. The most senior amongst them is a sergeant. February 1953 – France passes an amnesty law for all malgrénous (literally ‘in spite of us’ – the name given to French who fought for the Nazis). Days later, the men from from Alsace are released. By 1958, all of the Germans convicted are also released. 1971 – General Lammerding, commander of the Das Reich division dies of cancer aged 66 in Germany after a career as an engineer. 1983 - Heinz Barth, a platoon leader in charge of 45 soldiers becomes the last man to be tried over the massacre. He was released from prison in the reunified Germany in 1997 and he died in August 2007. 16th July 1999 – Centre de la Mémoire is opened at the site of the massacre by Jacques Chirac. 4th September 2013 – Joachim Gauck becomes the first German president to visit the martyred village.

12 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Police crack Paris pickpocket gang

olice have cracked a gang of pickpockets who had been preying on visitors at the Louvre museum in Paris. The Eastern European thieves, who posed as tourists and targeted mostly Asian visitors inside major Paris tourist attractions, were arrested in a series of raids that came after weeks of police investigation. A worker at the Louvre who is suspected of aiding the criminals was also detained. The arrests will come as a relief for officials after a crime-ridden year for the Louvre. The world's most visited museum, which saw 10 million pass through its turnstiles last year, was forced to shut its doors briefly in the spring after a walkout by staff in protest at the gangs of violent pickpockets. Some complained of being spat at, insulted, threatened or kicked, saying thieves had become more violent. The gangs often also involve children, who can enter the museum for free and can escape punish-

ment. “The children are tough and very well organised,” said one member of staff at the time. “They stop at nothing to get what they want, and work in gangs. We can only do so much, but arrests are usually impossible because of their young age. If they are kicked out, they return the next day. They are very aggressive towards staff, putting people in danger of attack.” The gang members, who also operated at the Eiffel Tower and the Château de Versailles, would often dangle cameras from their necks to blend in and aimed to hit Asian tourists, who are thought to carry large amounts of cash, police said. Most of the suspects arrested were aged between 21 and 35 and were staying in hotels in the Saint-Denis area, north of Paris. “After several weeks of investigation we uncovered this team of offenders, who were conducting pickpocketing on a large scale,” said police captain Ste-

phane Gouaud. The thieves are believed to have been earning up to €2,000 per day from the pockets of tourists, many of whom do not report the thefts because of language issues or the fact that they are only in the city for a short period of time. Cracking down on crime against tourists has been a priority for the authorities in Paris in recent months after China asked the French government to do more to protect its citizens in the wake of an attack on a group of Chinese tourists. While the pickpockets may have been temporarily driven away, another problem affecting the museum is the recent discovery of fake tickets. Suspicions among staff were first aroused this summer when a guide accompanying a group of Chinese tourists tried to hand in an unusually crinkly ticket. “To the touch, the ticket had a strange consistency and the general quality of the paper used wasn't good,” said a Louvre management source. “It looked like the ink had

spread and hadn't been fixed well during the printing. Orders were given to all security agents on the site to be vigilant,” he told Le Parisien newspaper. Following the discovery of more forgeries, one person arrested gave the name of their supplier who had already vanished from his Parisian flat when officers arrived. Belgian customs subsequently alerted French authorities that they had seized 4,000 forged tickets for the Louvre hidden in a package sent from China. “The organiser or organisers of this network haven't been identified but they appear to have acted with the complicity of several Chinese tourist guides,” said the Louvre source. French police are investigating the counterfeit tickets and a spokeswoman for the Louvre confirmed that the state prosecutor in Paris had opened an investigation. A combined ticket for the Louvre's permanent collections and temporary exhibitions costs €16. ■

he Paris Metro is undoubtedly a quick and relatively cheap way to get around the capital, but travelling on the underground network is not always a pleasant experience. As anyone who has used the Metro will know, as well as suffering from over-crowded carriages and the ever-present threat of pickpockets, it also stinks!! Now Pierre Mongin, head of the RATP group that operates the public bus, metro and over-

ground lines in the Paris area, has promised to invest €70 million per year, over five years, in a battle to stop the stench and “guarantee passengers clean areas and trains throughout the day” with results “visible by all” within 18 months. In order to ensure the investment pays dividends, there will be 3,400 monthly spot checks by grime inspectors on the daily work of the 1,000 cleaning staff currently employed by RATP. Workers across the 369 stations will

also be awarded bonus points or pick up black marks against them depending on results. Mr Mongin has also called for increased fines for fare dodging - a serious problem on the Paris Metro. Unlike other major European underground networks, it is relatively easy to 'jump' the Paris system, and fines of between €30€60 do not dissuade everyone from grabbing a free ride. It was recently revealed that Paris lost €100 million in fares last year alone from ticket dodging. ■

Authorities vow to clean up the Metro

SPORT ♦ 13

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

he country's finance minister has hinted that French football clubs could be exempt from the government's planned 75% super-tax. Pierre Moscovici's announcement came after Frédéric Thiriez, head of France's professional football league, warned that the “crazy tax” would see France “lose its best players” and cost top flight teams €182 million. “We are looking at different views on this issue, but it's true that we have football clubs which are in a fragile financial state,” he said. The 75% tax rate for those earning more than €1 million was a key election pledge by François Hollande, but was shot down as being unconstitutional by France's highest court as it was initially going to be applied to individuals, rather than households as is usually the case. The new tax rate was resurrected by the president in April this year, however, when he announced it would be aimed at companies paying employees more than €1 million per year, circumventing the court's objections. France's big clubs had initially hoped that they would not be considered “large businesses”, but the government later said that “The new system will apply to all businesses that pay salaries of more than one million euros,” including football clubs. Football chiefs have tentatively welcomed the finance minister's latest comments, although he did temper them by saying: “It will have to be a more general measure. It's not possible to do a measure for football clubs alone.” According to Le Figaro, an

Stars like Monaco's Falcao risk losing a huge chunk of their pay exemption could save clubs €82 million, with Paris SaintGermain alone set to save €32 million. Philippe Diallo, general director of the French union of professional football clubs, said: “The government appears to have heard the warning messages from French football.” He told Le Figaro: “Still, we remain very cautious as these declarations are worth clarifying, as the tax rules keep changing.” According to financial daily Les Echos, the millionaire's tax will now be imposed in 2013 and 2014, rather than in 2014 and 2015 as previously expected. Although much has been made of the 75% tax rate, it still remains a largely symbolic move by the Socialist government; it is expected to only affect around 1,000 taxpayers and represents a tiny strand of the government's efforts to slash the country's budget deficit, forecast to hit a record 95.1% of GDP next year. ■

France crowned basketball champions of Europe

rance has won its first major basketball title after beating Lithuania 80-66 in the final of the European championship in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. The win finally ended years of frustration for a French team that included six NBA players, among them Tony Parker, widely considered to be one of the best players of his generation. Nicolas Batum scored 17 points for France and Boris Diaw added 15, while Linas Kleiza top-scored with 20 for a Lithuanian side going for its fourth European title after previous wins in 1937, 1939 and 2003. France's NBA star Tony Parker had a quiet night with just 12 points, although his impressive displays during the run to the final - including 32 points against Spain in the semi-finals - earned him the tournament MVP (Most Valuable Player) award. Tony Parker, a three-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs, five-time NBA all-Star and generally regarded as one of the best basketball players in the world, has enjoyed a career packed with success since heading to the States in 2001, but has struggled to achieve the same success and recognition in his homeland during an international career that, at times, has seemed doomed to failure. France lost the final to Spain two years ago, having taken bronze in 2005 and failed to qualify for both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The 31-year-old has, in the past, also failed to endear himself to the French off the court, often facing derision from the public and media - an illjudged and short-lived career as a rapper did not help. After leading France to glory, however, the ex-husband of actress Eva Longoria was showered with praise in the French press,

Football clubs set to escape 75% tax rate

Tony Parker is one of the NBA's biggest stars earning himself the nickname “Superman” - a name once bestowed upon Zinedine Zidane following France’s 1998 World Cup win. It was clear how much the victory meant to the player himself, after years of failure. “It's very emotional as I've been chasing this for ten years,” he told France 2 after the final buzzer. “We have made history because the first title is always the most beautiful. I received so many messages of support this

morning and I didn't want to disappoint people.” The achievement seems just rewards for a player who, despite difficult times with Les Bleus, has never turned his back on the national team, even while winning the highest accolades in NBA. Now that he has a taste for gold, Parker says that he has no plans to retire from international basketball just yet and said that he intends to lead France in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. ■

It's official - cyclists live longer!

uch has been made in recent years of the doping problem in the Tour de France. The systematic drug abuse, combined with the obvious dangers of flying down an alpine descent at over 100kph, may lead you to consider professional road racing a dangerous career choice. However, a recent study of French riders in the Tour de France has revealed they will end up living an average 6.3 years longer than the rest of us. A group of five research laboratories measured the longevity of all 786 French competitors in the gruelling bicycle race from 1947 to 2012, and compared this against the lifespan of average Frenchmen. As of September 2012, 208 of the 786 cyclists had died, although the results showed that riders suffered lower rates of death from all causes, including cancer. The one exception was death by traumatic injury, a fact which reflects the frequency of road accidents amongst cyclists. Mortality rates among the study group were 41 per cent lower than in the general population, researchers found. Deaths from cancer and respiratory disease were 44 and 72 per cent lower respectively, and mortality from cardiovascular causes was down by a third. The longevity held true despite three periods of serious doping in cycling - amphetamines in the 1950s and 1960s; anabolic steroids in the 1970s and 1980s; and EPO and growth hormones after 1990. Competing in the Tour de France is the equivalent of running several marathons a week for three weeks and experts in the past have suggested that this level of exercise may not be advisable. Previous small studies using advanced imaging techniques have highlighted a link between intensive exercise and possible heart abnormalities, such as heart arrhythmias. Dr Xavier Jouven, of the European Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, said the results suggested that doctors should now be more assertive in championing vigorous exercise. “We should encourage people to exert themselves,” he said. “If there was a real danger in doing high-level exercise then we should have observed it in this study.” The study said that the longer lifespan could be explained in part by a healthy way of life, as many athletes continue to practise sport after they retire and very few of them smoke. The French cyclists studied took part in an average 2.5 Tour de France races and their average age during their first race was 25 years. ■

14 ♦ FRENCH LIFE

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Halloween: ghoulish costumes, trick or treating… and pumpkins What is Halloween? Where did it come from? Why and how is it celebrated in France?

hese days, it is generally accepted that Halloween originates from across the Channel and has its roots in the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain, a day that marked the transition from the ‘light half’ of the year to the ‘dark half’. Families would take stock of their food supplies and slaughter their livestock in preparation for winter. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became

thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through and mingle with the living. The Celts would leave food at their doors to lure the good spirits in and wore masks to scare off the evil ones. Part of the ritual of scaring off evil spirits was to carve a face into a turnip and leave it in the window of your house with a candle inside. When the Romans later invaded England, they added a few traditions of their own to the celebration of Samhain - celebrating

A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century - Museum of Country Life, Ireland

the end of the harvest and honoring the dead. Centuries later, the Roman Catholic church established November 1st as la Toussaint (All Saints’ Day), in celebration of saints who do not have their own holy day. Part of the reason behind this decision was to attempt to remove attention from the pagan celebration of Samhain on the day before, but it didn’t work. The celebrations on the eve of All Saints’ Day continued to evolve and grow in popularity, and during the Irish immigration of the 1840s, Halloween found its way to the United States, where it developed over time into the children’s holiday that we know today. Many claim that Celts in northern France also historically celebrated Halloween, but this cannot be proved. Either way, Halloween is not a traditional French holiday, yet since its introduction it has become more and more popular every year. How and why this is so is a combination of cultural influence and corporate marketing. With the influence of American popular culture, the French have been aware of Halloween for a long time, but Halloween

parties didn’t first emerge until the 1980s in Paris. The popularity of the day grew during the 1990s as large corporations such as France Télécom, McDonald’s, Disney, and Coca Cola began using pumpkins and other Halloween images and ideas in publicity

The story of the Jack-o'-lantern... T

he Halloween pumpkin has its roots in Irish folklore. Another name for the pumpkin lantern is the Jack-o'-lantern. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was known in his town as a drunk and a prankster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree to get an apple. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, thus trapping the Devil up amongst the leaves and branches. Jack made a deal with the Devil that he would promise to let him down from the tree if the Devil himself promised never to take his soul. For a time, Jack was good to his wife and children and began to go to church. But it didn't last and he soon slipped back into his old, sinful ways. According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he didn't go to Heaven because he'd behaved so badly, but he was not allowed in Hell either because of the deal he had struck with the Devil. The Devil gave him a single piece of coal to light his way through the darkness, which Jack placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer. The Irish originally used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns", but when they emigrated to America, they found that there were far more pumpkins than turnips and they were also larger and easier to carve. The tradition thrived in America where Halloween became big business and eventually the tradition of the pumpkin lantern was transferred back across to Europe. And, so we have it - pumpkin lanterns. On Halloween, if you look closely, you may still be able to see Jack's flame burning dimly as he searches for a home!!

campaigns. This increased familiarity with Halloween amongst the French, but also made it seem like another imposition of American culture, which in turn has led to the day’s decline. Following a backlash against what many in France see as American cultural

imperialism and combined with more general antiAmerican sentiments following the war in Iraq, Halloween has been much less popular in recent years, to such an extent that in 2006, many French newspapers wrote of the death of Halloween. ■

DID YOU KNOW...? - Pumpkins are fruits. A pumpkin is a type of squash and is a member of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), which also includes squash, cucumbers, gherkins, and melons. - The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 768 kg. It was grown by Joe Jutras of North Scituate, Rhode Island. - The largest pumpkin pie ever baked was in 2005 and weighed 918 kg.

FRENCH LIFE ♦ 15

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

In the garden - jobs for October

by Michelle Pierce

t's when you wander a few miles from home that you realise how truly local growing conditions are. Talking to someone the other day, I discovered that for him, it's been a poor year for fruit. Well, not in my part of the Charente Limousine. Branches have broken off plum trees they have been so laden, apples are fine, pears abundant, peaches numerous (but a bit small due to the drought) and some quinces are simply dripping with fruit. It all so depends on those errant late frosts that damage the embryonic fruit. It's not really been great for grapes this year, but perhaps that's just round here.... I shouldn't grumble too much. The larder is full of pots of jam, strings of chillies, sundried tomatoes, herbs and chutneys. The shed is full of jars of dried pulses, seeds and dahlia tubers. The garden is winding down, but we still have that fantastic burst - autumn in the Limousin is usually exceptional, if you're around in the day to appreciate it! The Michaelmas daisies can keep going for ages, if the Indian summer (l'été indien) does its thing, along with heleniums, sedums, helianthus, schizostylus and other late season flowers. Appreciate them all the more, knowing that the winter is just around the corner. Sow something

It will get cold at some stage Don't get fooled like last year. It was so mild for most of last winter that few of us were correctly prepared for really cold weather. OK, it's difficult to do anything about minus twenty but..... Put your tubs and pots under cover if you can move them. If not, wrap sacking or insulation around them, and fleece over the top. It can be helpful to sit pots of sensitive creatures like agapanthus inside bigger pots, filling the gap between the two pots with mulch, cardboard, or any other insulating material. Lay a good thick layer of mulch -

straw, bracken, chopped hemp, fallen leaves, manure, etc. - on borders (focus on the more sensitive species) and around any trees or shrubs that you have planted this year. If you cut down your tall herbaceous plants in the autumn, put the stems over the base of the plants to protect them during

Late August & September in my area were too hot, and especially, too dry to sow anything, so there's a window in early October to try again, if it's under cover in a tunnel or cloche. After gorging yourself all summer long on salads and tomatoes, perhaps you feel like a break, but in a few weeks' time, when you're back to eating the same old veg that you find in supermarkets (that's travelled halfway round the world), sud-

denly the idea of nipping down to the garden to pick a crisp fresh handful of salad leaves, a bunch of rocket or a panier of baby spinach, will have immense appeal. Chicories (red, green, variegated) are lovely mixed in a salad and oriental leaves (mustards, mizuna, pak choi, tatsoi, etc.) do really well in the cooler weather, as do rocket, spinach, winter lettuce, winter radish and all members of the cabbage family. Onions can be sown from seed, or planted as sets, and hardy herbs can be sown to get a head start on next year. It's a good idea to put some mint, rosemary or sage plants somewhere sheltered so that they continue production for as long as possible. This year I'm resolved to plant broad beans, and especially peas. Recipes for pea tops in risotto have made my mouth water! There's such a strong connection between the kitchen and the garden that it's impossible to separate them. Who would fancy a nice bowl of hot pumpkin soup in August?! But come November, that's another matter! Keep and dry seeds from squashes & pumpkins that you find particularly good to eat; that way you can grow your own next year.

Admire your neighbour’s endives... or why not grow some yourself?

the winter. It looks a bit untidy, maybe, but then you will be moving them next year. Take cuttings or divisions of anything that you would be grief-stricken to lose Keep these growing over the winter in a frost-free place. Admire your neighbour's endives! Whoever thought up how to grow these really was creative. The pale yellow things that you see in the shops are actually the new buds! First, during the spring and summer, chicory is grown (this has a beautiful blue flower and is worth a place in the border). Then, in the autumn, the top growth is cut down and the roots dug up and sectioned. The pieces are grown in dark, warm conditions and... hey presto, reform the plump oval buds that are harvested. Why not give it a go next year? Get busy with the seed catalogues Now is the ideal moment to get planning what you will grow next year. In theory it

helps you to focus on any changes you might want to make to your planting - in reality it is like being let into the world's biggest sweet shop and being told « pick what you like ». I don't feel in the least guilty!!Saving so much of my own seed means that I buy new things every year. The British suppliers you probably already know, but you could check out Association Kokopelli, Biau Germe, Baumaux, Fabre, and Villemorin. Don't waste your fallen leaves Don't burn them, or worse still, take them to the dump. Compost them or use them as a mulch over more sensitive plants. If you leave them in a pile for any length of time, you need to expect that beasties such as hedgehogs and dormice will hibernate in them, so leave well alone until the late spring, unless you want to burn them alive, that is! Start to wind down, but make the most of the last of the good weather, and dream about next year's glories. Good gardening! ■

16 ♦ FRENCH LIFE

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

IT Postbox - your computer questions answered With the help of Phil Monaghan from Mayday computer services, we are pleased to bring you the IT Postbox. If you have any computer-related questions you would like answered, send them in to editor@thebugle.eu and our resident expert will do his best to get them answered. Here are a few common questions to get the ball rolling... What is the difference between the various anti-virus products? All anti-virus services are attempting to protect users from the current viruses, malware, and threats. It therefore follows that the protection afforded should be almost identical at these levels from all providers. However, it is worth checking out reviews of these products prior to installing one on your system. Paying for a service might not necessarily mean that it is better than a free product. Two golden rules: ensure that your anti-virus programme is up to date and never run more than one service on a computer

system. My laptop occasionally displays a blue screen with white writing and I have to restart it. Why is this? Blue screens generally suggest that a hardware issue is causing the system to crash. These screens most commonly occur on older systems. Obviously, as computers get older some components start to fail. For example, a hard disc will fail at some point when it becomes unable to read and write correctly, and this can create the “blue screen”.

Mayday computer services

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I have a new Windows 8 laptop. How can I play Solitaire? In order to play Microsoft games you will need a Microsoft account. Once you have this you will be able to download applications (free like the games and paid for apps). **Note from Mayday** Windows 8 will be updated in October to include a “Start” button, as in previous versions of Windows. This will make life on the “Desktop” pretty much as it appeared in Windows 7 and Vista. I am about to buy a Macbook. Can I run Microsoft Word? The answer is a definite “yes”. The complete Microsoft Office suite is available on a Mac and the experience is every bit the same as on a PC. Apple also have their own software that addresses these application areas and you may find them equally as good and at the same time less expensive! Pages, from Apple (Word equivalent) will save documents in Word format, allowing your correspondents to read what you’ve written.

Butternut squash risotto

- Serves 4 people

Recipe provided by Brett from Le Moulin du Breuil (23140 Pionnat) www.lemoulindubreuil.com - 05 55 80 37 70 Good risotto rice and flavourful stock is the key to a superb risotto. The possibilities for flavouring a risotto are endless, whether it’s wild mushrooms, seafood or just a simple lemon risotto to accompany a fish dish. For very little effort and time the results are so rewarding. For this recipe I have used butternut squash but you could use pumpkin or potimarron (red kuri squash) instead. I prefer the butternut as I find it has a better texture and flavour when cooked.

Ingredients:

1 Whole butternut squash Salt and pepper to taste 100g Grated parmesan 150g Shallots finely diced (roughly 5) 1 litre Chicken or vegetable stock

Method:

150ml Olive oil 400g Arborio rice 100g Butter 2 Garlic cloves finely diced 10g of Lemon thyme finely chopped (use normal thyme or rosemary if you can’t find lemon thyme)

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Peel butternut and remove all seeds, roughly cut into 1/2inch cubes, place on a baking tray and drizzle over approx 50ml of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven to roast for 20-25 mins, turning halfway. 2. When the butternut is cooked (it should be soft in the centre but not mushy), heat the stock and leave it to the side. 3. Put the remaining olive oil in a thick bottomed pan, add the thyme, shallots, garlic and cook until soft and transparent, with no colour. 4. Add the rice and stir, cooking for 1 min until all rice is coated. At this point remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper (this will help build flavour as you continue cooking). 5. Add 500ml of stock to cover the rice, simmer gently until almost all liquid has been absorbed and the rice takes on a creamy texture, stirring occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 6. Gradually add the remainder of the stock a little at a time, stirring frequently to avoid the rice sticking. Each time you add the stock, bring the rice back to a creamy texture, testing it to make sure it doesn’t overcook - the rice should be soft but still have a little bite to it. 7. When the rice is cooked (10-15 mins) add the butternut and stir into the rice. Now add the butter and parmesan and stir continuously until both melt into the risotto, coating the rice to give a glossy finish and creamy texture. If the rice becomes too sticky, add a little more stock or water. 8. Season to taste and finish with shaved parmesan.

BILINGUAL ♦ 17

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Playground duelling

lets the conker dangle on the full length of the string. The second player then swings his conker and hits the other one as hard as they can in an attempt to break it. Players then take it in turns to hit the other’s conker until only one remains - the winner! Conkers is taken very seriously by schoolchildren and they will go to great lengths to improve the quality of their champion nut (in other words, cheat!) Methods for making your conker harder vary from baking it in the oven, soaking it in vinegar or salt water, leaving it in the dark for one year or even painting it with nail varnish. One technique suggested by a former World Conker Champion (the game is also played by adults!) is to get a

s a child in the UK, you know that summer is coming to an end when the first horse chestnuts start falling from the trees and the conker season begins! Conkers is a traditional British children’s game played using the smooth shiny brown nut of the horse chestnut tree. A variation of the game has been around for centuries, often using shells, and many believe that the word ‘conker’ derives from the French word conque meaning a conch or shell. The first thing you need to play the game is a good conker. Finding the perfect conker is an art and schoolchildren will spend hours searching underneath trees for the nut that will bring them playground glory! As a general rule, the conker should be large, round and have no imperfections. You then need to drill a hole through the centre of your conker and push through a piece of string with a knot on the end – shoelaces are perfect for this! The game is played between two players. One player puts his arm straight out in front and

pig to eat your conker - without chewing - and to ‘recover’ the conker a day or two later when it has passed through the pig. Yuck!! In recent years, with the increase of health and safety concerns in schools, conkers is banned in many playgrounds. There have been stories of teachers handing out safety goggles before allowing children to play and one school even banned conkers because of the fear of nut allergies (although there are no known dangers from horse chestnuts!) In 2001, Eamonn Dooley from Kilkenny, Ireland, smashed the world record and broke an amazing 306 conkers in one hour. ■

Bilingual Crossword Clues in English - answers in French

Across:

u Royaume-Uni, les enfants savent que l’été touche à sa fin lorsque les premiers marrons d’Inde tombent des arbres et que la saison des «conkers» commence! Il s’agit d’un jeu britannique traditionnel que les enfants pratiquent en utilisant des marrons brillants et bien lisses. Des variations de ce jeu existent depuis des siècles, les marrons étant remplacés par exemple par des coquilles de mollusques ou des fruits à coque, et il est probable que le mot «conker» soit un dérivé du mot français «conque» qui désigne notamment une coquille en forme de spirale. Pour pouvoir jouer, vous devez d’abord trouver «le bon marron». C’est tout un art et les écoliers passent des heures sous les marronniers pour trouver «la perfection» qui leur apportera la gloire dans la cour de récréation. Le marron doit être large, bien rond et ne présenter aucune imperfection. Puis il faut percer un trou en son centre et y glisser une ficelle munie d’un nœud à son extrémité (les lacets sont parfaits pour cela!). Il faut deux participants. Le premier joueur étend le bras

The Bugle thanks French teacher, Sophie Arsac, for the translation of this month's bilingual article on a topical aspect of FrancoBritish culture.

devant lui et laisse le marron pendre au bout de la ficelle. Le deuxième joueur lance alors son propre marron pour frapper l’autre marron aussi fort que possible afin de le briser. Chacun joue à tour de rôle jusqu’à ce qu’il ne reste qu’un seul marron: celui du vainqueur! Les écoliers prennent ce jeu très au sérieux et ils se donnent beaucoup de mal pour perfectionner la qualité de leur petit champion (en d’autres mots, pour tricher!). Il existe différentes méthodes pour faire durcir le marron: le faire cuire au four, le faire macérer dans du vinaigre ou de l’eau salée, le laisser dans l’obscurité pendant un an ou même le badigeonner avec du vernis à ongles. Un ancien gagnant du championnat mondial de «conkers» (eh oui, même

les adultes pratiquent ce jeu!) recommande de faire avaler votre marron à un cochon, sans qu’il le mâche. Après un petit périple au sein de l’animal, vous pouvez le récupérer un ou deux jours plus tard… Beurk! Depuis quelques années, les règles d’hygiène et de sécurité se sont accrues dans les écoles et le jeu est désormais banni de nombreuses cours de récréation. On raconte que certains professeurs donnent des lunettes de protection à leurs élèves et qu’une école a même interdit cette activité par crainte des allergies aux marrons (bien que ce risque soit inconnu au bataillon!). En 2001, Eamonn Dooley (Kilkenny, Irlande) a battu le record du monde en brisant le nombre impressionnant de 306 marrons en une heure! ■

5. bag (3) 6. friendships (7) 8. tortoises (7) 9. meadow (3) 11. feather duster (7) 14. here (3) 15. baskets (7) 17. textbooks (7) 18. street (3)

Down:

1. radius (5) 2. raincoat (11) 3. summer (3) 4. subway (5) 7. pen (5) 10. sailor (5) 12. ocean (5) 13. organ (5) 16. hard (3)

Bilingual crossword solution can be found on page 23

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18 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Business Directory

Your indispensable guide to finding local businesses & artisans Accommodation

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Auto Services

Animals & Pets

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Architectural Services

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Renovating your French property? New build? Dossiers prepared Permis de Construire Déclarations Préalables

Tel: 05 53 52 36 05 lavieilleabbaye@orange.fr www.latuspeter-architecturaldrawings-24.com SIRET: 493 770 358 00015

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ADVERTORIAL

“SolarVenti”- the solar solution to damp and humidity

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, 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 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, Solarventi 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. ■

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

DIRECTORY ♦ 19

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Building Services General

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Food & Drink

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Specialising in home-made pastries: Sausage rolls, Pasties - Cornish, Cheese & Onion, Steak & Stilton, Vegetarian & Chicken. Eccles cakes. Scones made to order. All prepared and baked daily on the premises you cannot get fresher! Bacon, cheese, bread, tea bags & tinned produce all in stock. Find me at your local market: • Tue - Le Bugue • Thu - Eymet • Fri - Le Buisson • Sat - Villereal • Sun - Issigeac

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General

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ADVERTORIAL

Spotlight your business to up to 25,000 readers

his month, 11,000 copies of The Bugle Dordogne have been printed and are being distributed across the department. Thanks to our targeted distribution network, personally visiting each of our 200+ distribution points every month, we make sure that the right number of copies go to the right places. As a result, this edition of The Bugle Dordogne will be seen by as many as 25,000 people!! That means 25,000 pairs of eyes may be reading this text in the coming few weeks… and they could be reading about your business! Advertorials cost from just

€50 HT, that’s 500 potential new customers or clients for your business for every euro spent! The Bugle Dordogne is our latest edition, but as a group, The Bugle has 4 years’ experience putting local businesses in touch with the expat community. Our experience shows that an Advertorial, often combined with regular advertising, has proved to be one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways of targeting our loyal readership. Because we only feature a handful of businesses each month, we highlight those businesses prominently and deliver your message in a targeted manner.

Advertorials are just one of the advertising options we offer, and we would be delighted to talk to you about the other options we have for raising the profile of your business. Advertorials are now available in 4 sizes (all prices are HT): 1/6 page - €50 1/3 page - €100 (this one) 2/3 page - €200 Full page - €300 If you would like to find out more about our Advertorials, or any of our other advertising options, please feel free to get in touch with us on 05.55.41.17.76 or drop us a line at sales24@thebugle.eu ■

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 20,000 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

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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.

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WHAT’S ON ♦ 21

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

WHAT’S

in October

French Conker Championships

In 1989 my wife and I bought a hotel bar restaurant in Abjat-sur-Bandiat in the Périgord Vert. The modern history of conkers in France starts here! Passing under the conker trees on the Place des Marronniers on her way to the greengrocer's Sue found she was crushing thousands of conkers underfoot. Naturally, she collected some, much to the amazement of the locals who warned her not to use them for cooking! The French view of English cooking in those days wasn't very high! And so in 1990, with those few collected conkers, we held an impromptu conker tournament with a few Brits on holiday and a couple of bemused Frenchmen. For the next few years we continued, in front of the bar (named in 1989 “Entente Cordiale”) with an increasing number of participants. In 1994 a conker competition with 50 people taking part was won by a young Frenchman Stéphane Jally. When we told him that there existed a World Conker Championship each year in England he insisted that he wanted to take a team to England to represent France and so in October 1995 France was represented in front of 8,000 spectators at the World Championships near Oundle in England. The team returned with nothing but sore heads from the real ale in the beer tent! Sté-

Journée des plantes – Sunday 6th October, Neuvic-sur-l’Isle Exhibition and sale of plants by specialized nurseries (trees, shrubs, perennials, sage, grasses, bamboo, boxwood, lavender, Mediterranean plants...), craft for eco-habitat (recovery of rainwater, solar panels, insulation, natural paints...), specialist book sale and workshops. Conference on pruning fruit trees at 15h. From 9h in the grounds of the Château de Neuvic. Tickets €4.50; FREE for Under 16s. For more information visit www.chateau-parc-neuvic.com

phane won the French Championship the following year (so it's not just luck!) in front of a much bigger, largely French, crowd. It was decided at this time to officially create La Fédération Française de Conkers in order to keep the annual French Conker Championships here in Abjat. Visits to England continued, but were by now heavily sponsored by, among others, P&O Ferries, Flybe, Pastis and Futuroscope. This was brought about by increased media attention - TF1, France 3, BBC and ITV - all coming to Abjat and following the team to England. Successes in England were reserved for the women's team - 2 world champions and 2 women's team champions. This year's French Championships, sponsored by Leggett Immobilier, are being held on Saturday 5th October with a randonnée pédestre in the morning, a monster vide-greniers all day, a meal and a free concert in the evening and the main event - THE CONKERS - starting at 2.30 in the afternoon. For further information or reservations for the vide-greniers contact me, Stewart Edwards, on 05 53 56 16 93 or the Président de La Fédération Française de Conkers (and now, curiously, patron of “Entente Cordiale”!) on 05 53 56 81 01.

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Festival de la Récup 12th - 27th October

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2013

Concert with the Cellissime Quartet - Sunday 6th October

The Association Tardoire Allegro presents a concert by the Quatuor Cellissime at the Eglise Saint-Maurice de Montbron at 17h. The Quartet has been performing at festivals and international events since 1988, regularly appearing in France, Germany, Canada and Japan and more recently at the Festival of Lodz in Poland. Programme Georg PhilippTELEMANN: Sonata in C Major Edward GRIEG: Im Balladenton op. 65 n°5 - Einsamer Wanderer op. 43 n°2 - Kobold op. 71 n°3 Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Three Equali Wilhelm Karl Friedrich FITZENHAGEN: Concert Waltzes for Four Cellos David POPPER: Polonaise brillante Félix SIMONIAN: Adagio for Four Cellos Astor PIAZOLLA: Surprise. Tickets: €15; FREE for Under 15s. Reservations: Montbron tourist office tel 05 45 23 60 09. For more information visit www.tardoireallegro.com and cellissime.wordpress.com Since 2007 and with the help of many local artists, the association Tri-Cycle est Enchanté has organised an annual festival of activities and workshops in Bourdeilles using recovered items to try to make people aware of the ecological, humane, practical and economic reasons for not throwing everything away.

Programme Saturday 12th October (Salle des fêtes) From 19h : Blind test, crazy parade & 3 concerts 20h30: Duo Mong (traditional music - song, accordion, percussion, fiddle) 22h : Mr le Directeur (one man band) 23h30: Joujou (disco-punk duo) Price: €5 incl. 1 drink - food available

Fête de la châtaigne et du cèpe 19th-20th October

This two-day extravaganza offers visitors a farmers and local produce market, the sale of grilled chestnuts and fresh apple juice, artisans demonstrating their skills and plenty of entertainment besides.

On Saturday morning there will be competitions for the best chestnut cake, best chestnut, biggest and smallest chestnut, and best cèpe. In the afternoon, there is a mushroom market & chestnut picking contest. The evening follows with a meal and dancing. On Sunday, sample the giant cèpe omelette (€13 - 1st service 12h; 2nd service 13h30) and then watch the chestnut spitting contest (15h), followed by a mushroom market (16h).

Sunday 13th October (Place de la mairie) 10h: Apple gleaning 12h: “Auberge espagnole” (cook your pizzas and tarts in the wood-fired oven) 14h: Apple pressing (bring your empty bottles!) Free entry - food available Saturday 26th October (Salle des fêtes) From 15h : Talk - “An Introduction to electromagnetic waves”, projection of a documentary & debate Free entry - food available Sunday 27th October (Les promenades) 8h-18h: Vide-greniers, artisanal & local producers market, entertainment, theatre & workshops. Free entry - food available Exhibitions from 12th-27th October (Grande rue) Discover the talents of artists who transform the obsolete into timeless pieces. For more information visit www.tri-cycle.org

GOT AN EVENT...? notices24@thebugle.eu

Head to the village of Villefranche-du-Périgord on the third weekend of October for the 25th edition of its annual chestnut and mushroom festival.

photos: http://www.tourisme.perigord-fr.com/

WHAT’S ON ♦ 23

OCTOBER 2013 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

The Great Phoenix Book Fair

It’s time to stock up on your winter reads and Christmas presents! The largest Anglo-French fundraising event in South West France will return on

Saturday 26th October 2013.

Over 18,000 well-sorted and recent books, CDs and DVDs will once again be available to all for only €1 a piece! The popular crime and non-fiction sections will be even bigger than before and even a good assortment of French books will be on offer for those who wish to polish their language skills. Brand new, high quality books will also be available for a steal at €2.50 each! As if many thousands of books, CDs and DVDs isn’t enough, there will also be stalls with our famous Tombola, family puzzles and games, bric-a-brac, specialist antiquarian and children’s books and lots more! Delicious home-made €1 savouries, tasty cakes, scones and other assorted goodies, along with hot and cold drinks will once again make it an unforgettable ‘British’ day in France! So come and make a day of it, browse, meet new people, join friends, have lunch and enjoy yourself. And most importantly, you’ll be supporting Phoenix Association to help care and re-home animals in need. Salle Municipale, 24140 Camsegret – on the N21 between Bergerac and Périgueux. Doors open from 9.30am to 3.00pm. General enquiries to: bommel@orange.fr Book Donation / Collection enquiries to: anne.avery@wanadoo.fr

Phoenix appeal for FRANKIE - 5 months old

Market Days

"Hello, my name is Frankie. I'm whispering as I write this, as I am a little shy and cautious. I don't know how it happened, but I was homeless when I was tiny. I cried at a holiday home and the holiday-makers felt sorry for me and took me to Phoenix. Most people who come and visit us don't notice me, as in a crowd, I hang around the edges. My foster mum really loves me and I give her lots of cuddles right back. I could play for hours and hours, but in our foster home, there is only one mummy to go around, so please can I come and live with you and have lots of toys of my very own?" If you are interested in adopting Frankie, please contact Lynda on 05 54 81 30 44 or email lapuille@gmail.com

Monday

Check out our ADOPTION PAGE at www. phoenixasso.com or FACEBOOK www. facebook.com/PhoenixAssociationFrance for other Phoenix animals available for adoption.

Wednesday

Pumpkin Festival Sunday 27th October, Issigeac See pumpkins and gourds in all shapes, sizes and colours and sample the delicious pumpkin soup. There will be also be a competition for the biggest pumpkin and the best pumpkin creation. All day. Place du château.

Beynac Le Fleix Les Eyzies Ste-Alvère

Tuesday

Beaumont du Périgord Bergerac Brantôme Cénac-et-Saint-Julien Lanouaille Le Bugue Mareuil Neuvic Ribérac Salignac Eyvigues Trémolat Villefranche-de-Lonchat Bergerac Hautefort Jumilhac-le-Grand La Tour Blanche Montpon-Ménestérol Montignac Périgueux Piégut Pluviers

Razac Sarlat Siorac-en-Périgord Vélines Domme Excideuil Eymet La Coquille Lalinde Monpazier St Astier St-Julien-de-Lampon Terrasson

Bergerac Lalinde La Roche Chalais Le Bugue Montignac Mussidan Neuvic Nontron Périgueux Razac Sarlat St Aulaye Thiviers Verteillac Villefranche du Périgord

Friday

Sunday

Thursday

Bergerac Brantôme Cubjac Le Buisson Ribérac Sarlat Sigoulès Vergt

Saturday

Agonac Beaumont du Périgord Belvès

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