the deux-sèvres monthly - may 2013

THE DEUX-SÈVRES MONTHLY

CONTENTS

Welcome! to Issue 27 of ‘The Deux-Sèvres Monthly’ magazine.

Phew! What a busy month it’s been. As well as the usual tasks to create this issue, we also have successfully launched our new magazine ‘The Vendée Monthly’! It’s been hard work, but I hope it will provide the Vendée (department 85) with an invaluable resource as it does to you all here in the Deux-‐Sèvres.

On the weather front, it seems that we may finally have our Spring, even if a little delayed. It’s long awaited and I am currently planning the potted plants for our Summer terrace and may even try some salad items in pots this year too -‐ time allowing!

There are a number of Bank Holidays this month and many events going on in and around our department...so whatever you choose to do, I hope you have a lovely time.

Email: [email protected] or Tel: 05 49 70 26 21website: www.thedeuxsevresmonthly.fr

THIS MONTH’S ADVERTISERS

Café des Belles Fleurs..........................................................................................Caniclôture (Hidden fencing)...............................................................................Centre de Beauregard..........................................................................................Charente Hair & Make-‐up...................................................................................Chris Bassett Construction..................................................................................Christies (English Book Shop and Tea Room)......................................................Currencies Direct (Money Transfers)...................................................................Cut 46 (Hair Salon)..............................................................................................Cyane Electronic Water Conditioners.................................................................Dave Bowring (Electrician)..................................................................................Dave Rosenberg (Carpenter & Joiner)................................................................David Cropper (Stump Grinding & Jungle Busting)............................................DJ Jeff (Professional DJ).......................................................................................D J Maintenance (Handyman)............................................................................Electricien Anglais en France..............................................................................Energie-‐79...........................................................................................................Equi Libre Immobilier...........................................................................................Gardening & Cleaning Services (Dean Smalley)..................................................Gardens & Stuff....................................................................................................George Rayner Computers..................................................................................Give the Dog a Comb (Dog Grooming)...............................................................GL Joinery.............................................................................................................Glass 2 France......................................................................................................Hallmark Electronique (Electricians & Sat. Engineers)........................................Heather’s Pet Care Services................................................................................Homes In France (Tony Murdoch).......................................................................Insink Plumbing...................................................................................................Keith Hall Renovations.........................................................................................James Harris (Plasterer).......................................................................................John Snee (Groundworks & Septic Tanks)...........................................................John Spray Maçonnerie (Stonemason)...............................................................Jon Crocker Photography.....................................................................................La Deuxieme Chance (Annie Sloan chalk paint supplier)....................................L’Étable Gastronomique (Restaurant).................................................................Leggett Immobilier..............................................................................................Les Bons Voisins...................................................................................................Le Logis (Rare Breed Pigs)....................................................................................Le Petit Cadeau....................................................................................................Le Petit Logis (B&B and Chambre d’Hotes).........................................................Loulesbelles (Dêpot Vente clothing)...................................................................Man & Van (Keith McNie)....................................................................................Mad Hatter’s Kitchen..........................................................................................Mark Sabestini Renovation & Construction........................................................MB Plumbing & Building Services.......................................................................MCH Groundworks/Construction.......................................................................Michael Glover (Plasterer, Renderer & Tiler)......................................................Michael Hobson (Painter & Decorator)...............................................................ML Computers.....................................................................................................Mutuelle de Poitiers Assurances.........................................................................Nathan Foster Building Services..........................................................................Needa Hand Services...........................................................................................Pamela Irving (Massage & Reflexology)..............................................................Pascale Matéo (French Lessons).........................................................................Pascale Terry (French Lessons)............................................................................Philip Irving (Mini Digger hire).............................................................................Phil Savage (General House Repairs)..................................................................Poitou Property Services.....................................................................................Polar Express (Frozen Foods)..............................................................................Premier Autos (Mechanic)..................................................................................Recycled Cardboard Workshops.........................................................................Reflets de campagne...........................................................................................Restaurant des Canards.......................................................................................Rob Berry (Plasterer)...........................................................................................Ross Hendry (Interface Consulting & Engineering).............................................Sandy G (Hairdresser)..........................................................................................Satellite TV (Nigel Gubb)......................................................................................sarl Down to Earth (Groundwork & Construction).............................................Segora Writing Competitions..............................................................................Sentinel Security Systems....................................................................................Siddalls (Financial Advisors).................................................................................Simon Bienz (Carpenter / Joiner)........................................................................Simon The Tiler....................................................................................................Spectrum IFA Group (Amanda Johnson).............................................................Steve Enderby......................................................................................................Sue Burgess (French Courses & Translation).......................................................The English Mechanic & Son -‐ Tony Eyre............................................................The Market..........................................................................................................Total Renovation Services (Michael Dominey)...................................................Tracey Bowring (Hairdressing & Nails)................................................................Trisha Mobile Hairdresser...................................................................................Steve Reid (Building & Renovation).....................................................................Vendée Houses....................................................................................................Vendée Pools.......................................................................................................

Emergency Numbers:15 SAMU, Medical17 Gendarmes, Police18 Pompiers, Fire

112 European emergency113 Drugs and alcohol

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<<The Deux-‐Sèvres Monthly>> est édité par Sarah Berry, La Bartière, 79130, Secondigny. Tél: 05 49 70 26 21. Directeur de la publication et rédacteur en chef: Sarah Berry. Crédits photos: Sarah Berry, Clkr et morgeufile.com. Impression: Raynaud Imprimeurs, zone industrielle, BP13, 79160, Coulonges-‐sur-‐l’Autize. Dépôt légal: mai 2013 -‐ Tirage: 5000 exemplaires. Siret: 515 249 738 00011 ISSN: 2115-‐4848

© Sarah Berry 2013. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without permission. While care is taken to ensure that articles and features are accurate, Sarah Berry accepts no liability for reader dissatisfaction. The opinions expressed and experiences shared are given by individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the publisher. Please ensure you verify that the company you are dealing with is a registered trading company in France and/or elsewhere.

à plus, Sarah.

What’s On.....................................................................................4Hobbies, Clubs & Associations.....................................................6Getting Out & About....................................................................7Take a Break...............................................................................15A-‐Z of the Communes in the Deux-‐Sèvres.................................16Health, Beauty & Fitness............................................................17Our Furry Friends.......................................................................19The Great Outdoors...................................................................21French Life, Food & Drink...........................................................25French Adventures.....................................................................28Motoring....................................................................................29Communications........................................................................32Building & Renovation...............................................................34Business, Finance & Property.....................................................40

79 Renovations.....................................................................................................A2B Food Services...............................................................................................A La Bonne Vie (Restaurant)................................................................................Abattage Service (Slaughter House-‐Poultry).......................................................Ace Pneus (Tyre Supplier & Fitter)......................................................................Affordable UK Designs (Kitchens & UPVC D/Glazing).........................................AKE Petits Travaux (Builder)................................................................................Alan Pearce (Plumbing & Heating).....................................................................Andrew Longman (Plumber)...............................................................................An English Nursery in France (Garden Centre)....................................................A.P.S. Automobiles (FORD Garage)......................................................................ARB French Property............................................................................................Arbrecadabra.com (Tree surgery)........................................................................Assurances Maucourt / GAN...............................................................................Belle Maison (Construction & Cleaning Services)...............................................Blevins Franks Financial Management Ltd..........................................................Blue Bicycle B&B / Chambre d’Hôtes..................................................................Brasserie Vue du Château....................................................................................British Mobile Mechanic (John Purchase)...........................................................Brits Bitz...............................................................................................................Buzay Auto (British/French Car Sales)................................................................

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...continued.


Monthly services at the English speaking Church in Deux-‐Sèvres

JassayThe Chaplaincy of Christ the Good Shepherd, Poitou-‐Charentes, has a Home Group Service at Jassay commencing at 11.00am on every 2nd Sunday in the month. It is held at the home of Ann White, where a warm welcome awaits everyone for a time of worship and fellowship.

St LegerChurch Services on the 1st Sunday of each month at 10.30am at St Leger near Melle starting its summer season from May 5th. After each service tea or coffee is served and an opportunity to meet other people in the area.

ParthenayThe Chaplaincy of Christ the Good Shepherd, Poitou-‐Charentes, also holds services on the 4th Sunday of each month at 10.30am in the Presbytery Rooms, rue de la Citadelle, Parthenay, opposite St Croix Church. After each service, tea or coffee is served and everyone is invited to a 'bring and share' lunch.

For further informacon about locacon of churches and about what else is happening near you, please take a look at our website www.church-‐in-‐france.com or contact us at [email protected]

What’s On... May 201328th April to 5th May -‐ Music in the Gatîne Music Festival4th May, 6.30pm and 8.30pm in Airvault Museum: Schubertiades 1 & 25th May, Collégiale de St Marc la Lande at 17h:Damien Guillon and the Banquet Céleste.1st May -‐ Jardiniers du ParadisPlant/flower show in Champdeniers 79220 from 9.30am-‐6pmFree entry. Drinks and food on sale.2nd May -‐ Fresco Interiors Shop OpeningAt 9 rue du duc D’Aquitaine, Vouvant. Call 02 51 50 77 41 for details.2nd May -‐ Top Hat Quiz & Curry at Chef BoutonneSee www.tophatquizzes.com for more information.3rd May -‐ Phoenix Cards & Gifts.New Spring brochure available, 4-‐6pm at the Tipsy Bar, Coulonges-‐sur-‐l'Autize. For a catalogue or info about joining the Phoenix team, contact Della James 05 49 05 78 61.3rd May -‐ Music / Bistro NightAt Mad Hatter’s Kitchen with Route 403. See advert on P.25 for details.4th & 5th May -‐ ‘Hyper Vide Grenier’ and RefreshmentsAt Faylle, St Saviol, near Civray from 9am -‐ 4pm. All proceeds to ‘Enfants de la Rue’. For info or donations of goods, please phone Philip or Sue on 05 49 97 12 45.5th May -‐ Canal Creepers New Orleans Jazz Band Apero ConcertIn Coulonges-‐sur-‐l’autize at 6pm.5th May -‐ Cerizay Male Voice Choir ConcertAt the Church St Maurice des Noues, La Chataigneraie at 3pm.6th May -‐ Top Hat Quiz & Curry at LimalongesSee www.tophatquizzes.com for more information.8th May -‐ Top Hat Quiz & Curry at AigreSee www.tophatquizzes.com for more information.9th May -‐ Top Hat Quiz & Curry at ChampniersSee www.tophatquizzes.com for more information.10th May -‐ Gourmet Evening, 5 Course Taster MenuAt A La Bonne Vie restaurant, Le Beugnon. See advert on P.27.12th May -‐ Clear Your Clutter for CharityAt Paperback Jan’s, La Ferriere-‐sur-‐Parthenay. See advert on P.515th May -‐ Kiddies Craft MorningAt The Market, Luché sur Brioux. See advert on P.8.17th May -‐ Parthenay Jazz Festival starts !Find details on P.16.18th May -‐ Live Music with NigelAt Café des Belles Fleurs, Fenioux, 8.30pm. See advert on P.27.20th May -‐ Foire de l'Antan Traditional fair with a small market, vide greniers and brocante. At Salle des Fetes, 86250 Chatain from 7am -‐ 5pm. Bar and snacks available from 12 noon.21st May -‐ Help with French Tax ReturnsVal Assist will be available in the private room at Pause! Café, L’Absie from 10am -‐ 5pm for help completing tax forms.22nd May -‐ Book & Coffee MorningAt 45 rue du Bois Baudron, Mauze Thouarsais, from 10am-‐12.30pm.24 / 25 / 26th May -‐ Hope Book SaleAt Salle des Fetes, Clussais la Pommeraie 79190. See P.19 for details.24th May -‐ Mother’s Day Special Quiz with CherylCurry meal available. Please see advert on P.27.25th May -‐ Theatre Chabanais Summer Show“Behind The Secenes” A collection of short plays to amuse and entertain. At Salle fes Fêtes, Chabanais, 8pm. Please contact Penny Gorridge for more details. Tel: 05 45 94 10 71.26th May -‐ Fêtes des Meres (Mother’s Day)28th & 29th May -‐ Taiji WorkshopWith 20th generation Master CHEN Ziqiang in Bressuire. Please see website: www.chentaiji-‐fr.com for details.29th May -‐ PC Course “What Can Google Do For You?”At Pause! Café, L’Absie. Please contact Ross on [email protected] May to 2nd June -‐ Rendez-‐vous aux JardinsVisit the many Open Gardens in your area. For more information please see details on P.22.31st May -‐ Uckfield Brass Band & Grand BBQAt Restaurant des Canards. Please see ad P.25.

Labour Day (Fête du travail)Victory in Europe Day (Fête de la Victoire)Ascension Day (Ascension)Pentacost (Pentecôte)Pentacost (Lundi de Pentecôte)Naconal Day (Fête Na=onale de France)Assumpcon of Mary (Assomp=on)All Saint’s Day (Toussaint)Armiscce Day (Armistace 1918)Christmas Day (Noël)

Wednesday 1st May..........Wednesday 8th May.........Thursday 9th May.............Sunday 19th May..............Monday 20th May.............Sunday 14th July...............Thursday 15th August.......Friday 1st November.........Monday 11th November...Wednesday 25th December.

The National Holidays, Religious and Feast Days 2013

What’s Coming Up...1st June -‐ New Shop opening in L’AbsieLa Petite Épicière opens its doors. See advert P.9.1st & 2nd June: Exhibition of Lace and Embroidery.At the Salle at Soulièvres, Airvault. See details on P.9.8th June -‐ Segora Writing Competition DeadlineSee article on P.11. for details.9th June -‐ Summer MarketOrganised by Aidez Association. To be held at St Germain-‐de-‐Longue-‐Chaume. See P.5 for information.

Contact ‘The Deux-‐Sèvres Monthly’La Bartière, 79130, Secondigny.Telephone: 05 49 70 26 21

or email: [email protected]

http://www.church-in-france.com/

http://www.church-in-france.com/


Paperback Jan Books in English 1st May: Café Cour du Miracle, Vouvant 85120. 2.30pm-‐4.30pm2nd May: Bar le Palais, St Aubin le Cloud 79450 2pm -‐ 5pm2nd May: Bar La Cabane de Vouhé, Vouhé 79310. 6.30pm -‐ 8pm*3rd May: Bar de la Paix, Thouars 79100. 12pm -‐ 2pm3rd May: Le Tipsy Bar, Coulonges-‐sur-‐l’Autize 79160. 4pm -‐ 6pm5th May: Café des Belles Fleurs, Fenioux 79160. 2pm -‐ 4pm11th May: Cafe Le Chauray, St Maixent l’Ecole 79400. 10am -‐ 1pm12th May: Jan’s home, La Ferrière-‐en-‐Parthenay. 11am -‐ 4pm16th May: Pause! Cafe, L’Absie 79240. 2pm-‐ 5pm31st May: Le P’tit Bar Boucard, Ménigoute 79340. 4pm -‐ 6pm

For more info contact Jan on:06 08 30 73 29 or email: [email protected]

*+ Quiz & Fish and Chips

Mr T’s Friterie

With regular venues at:• Aulnay (Open from 6pm) • Gourville • Loulay• Matha

See www.frying2nite.com for details or call 06 02 22 44 74

Open 6.30-9pm

• Rouillac Foire (27th month)• St Hilaire de Villefranche• St Jean d’Angély

Reel Fish & Chips Traditional English style Fish & Chips Weds 1st May - The Canteen, Etusson 18H30 - 21H00Friday 3rd May - Bar Tabac, Bouille-Loretz 18H30 - 21H00Sunday 12th May -La Ferrière-en-Parthenay 12H00 - 14H30Weds 15th May - The Canteen, Etusson 18H30 - 21H00Thurs 16th May - St Martin de Sanzay 18H30 - 21H00Friday 17th May - Bar Tabac, Genneton 18H30 - 21H00Sunday 19th May - L’Absie 18H30 - 22H00

Tel: 06 04 14 23 94, or visit: www.reelfishandchips.net

Fish 4 Chip Fish, Chips & mushy peas!

Mondays: Bar Tilleuls, Champniers (near Civray)Tuesdays: Sauzé-Vaussais (Main square & can be eaten in local bar)Wednesdays:Chef Boutonne (near Chateau)Thursdays: Sauzé-Vaussais - Lunchtime & Evening. (Main square & can be eaten in local bar)Fridays: Mansle (Car park of Simply Supermarket)

Tel: 06 37 53 56 20, or visit: www.mobilefishandchipsfrance.com

Open 6-8pm

SUMMER MARKETSUNDAY JUNE 9th

Organised by Aidez Association (Terves)

Salles des FetesSt Germain-de-Longue-Chaume

Open from 1pm - 6pm

Good variety of 30 plus stallsRed White and Blue, Plants, Honey, Iceland Frozen foods, Books, Curry experience, RBL with Tombola,

Ceramic Pots, Avon, Jewellery, Bags,Cake Stall and Refreshment area.

Money raised will benefit local French Charities

Entrance, Free of ChargePlease don’t forget to mention‘The Deux-Sèvres Monthly’ when responding to an advert."


Alone in France? We are a group of people living alone in the L'Absie area who meet regularly for coffee and lunches. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 11am for coffee at the Pause cafe in L'Absie. Our lunches are at different venues each month. There's a warm welcome if you'd like to join us. More details from Frank 05 49 69 80 47.

Association Meridien GreenWe are an Anglo-‐French group which was founded in 2001 for mutual understanding of each other's language and culture. We meet twice weekly in the Salle des Associations in St Coutant, 79120. The best way to find out more is to visit our website -‐ www.meridiengreen.asso.fr or contact Maureen Dalby: 05 49 29 94 50. The name of our group comes from the fact that St Coutant is on the Greenwich Meridian!

Hobbies, Clubs & Associations...

The Filling Station ~ Poitou-CharentesThe Filling Station is a network of local Christians of all denominations who meet together regularly for spiritual renewal & evangelism purposes. ALL WELCOME.Please see our website for details of meetings and spring programmes www.the=illingstation.org.uk or locally contact 05 49 87 18 58 or email:[email protected] Meeting: 9th May, Chef Boutonne 79110.

Franglais ThouarsThe Thouars ‘Franglais’ group meets every Wednesday from 19.30h to 21.00h, in the Association’s centre at 7 rue Anne Desrays, Thouars, for conversation in English and French.We welcome those of all nationalities who would like to participate. Either come along to see us one evening, or contact us at: Mobile: 06 52 21 92 34 ~ Email: [email protected]

The Harmonics Singing Group. Based in the Salle d'Annexe behind the mairie in Civray. We meet each Wednesday from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. No experience necessary just a willingness and commitment to learn. We sing all sorts of music and in several languages, whatever the music dictates. We are a small and friendly group who would love to meet you.Contact: Dolly Ait Boualou: 05 45 22 89 32 or [email protected] or Margaret Gomersall on 05 49 48 09 02 or [email protected]

Book Group....meeting 2nd Thursday of the month from 3pm at Christies Tea Room & Bookshop, Gençay, 86160.Take a look at the Book Group page on the website: www.chezchristies.com for more information.

Secondigny Running Club...Put the bounce back in your step. Join our friendly and supportive running group. All abilities welcome.Email Kelly for more details: [email protected]

Through the Lens GroupLocal photography group meets on the last Monday in each month to chat about all things photography! New members welcome. For further information contact:Ian Gawn: 02 51 00 84 52 or Brian Preece: 05 49 72 09 94

Les Amis Solitaires

We are a group of people living alone in France. We meet up for coffee mornings from 11am.1st Tuesday: The Gallery, Civray (coinciding with market day).Every 2nd & 4th Thursday, The Lemon Tree, Sauzé Vaussais.Every 3rd Thursday, Le Bistrot Centrale in Ruffec. More details from Gwen Shepherd 05 49 87 91 79 or email [email protected]

Le Tallud Boules en bois are offering sessions every Wednesday from 16h to 18h from April through to September 2013 at the parc de Loisirs, Le Tallud. Everyone is welcome to

come and play or learn the game of boules en bois. We have all the equipment, just turn up for half an hour or more for a bit of exercise and socialising. Details from Rosemary Williamson [email protected]

2nd Sunday Motorcycle Clubwww.2ndsundayclub.fr

If you would like to attend our coffee mornings please contact us via the website........New members always welcome!

Open Door Lending LibraryOver 7000 fiction and non-fiction books and DVDsOpen Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from

10h00 to midday at 18 rue Pierre Pestureau, Civray (86400)Individual membership 6€, family membership 10€

www.opendoor-civray.com

Book Club Thouars. Do you enjoy reading a cracking good story? And talking to others about it? Do you live in north 79, south 49 or north 86? Come along to our book club.....Contact Alison Morton at [email protected] for more details.

A R E Y O U A M O D E L R A I L W A Y ENTHUSIAST? If so, join a group of like-

minded modellers who meet on a monthly basis to visit members' layouts and swap

information. We are based on the Deux-Sevres/Vendee border but also have members in the Vienne and Charente. If you are interested please contact Gerry Riley for more information on 05 49 63 34 01.

Rubber Bridge:would any of you bridge players out there in the Deux-Sèvres, be interested in making up an occasional 4? Email David Rowe:

[email protected] or ' phone 05 49 63 26 57.

Cancer Support in Deux-Sèvres Cancer support aims to improve the lives Of people affected by cancer.

Don’t worry alone, pick up the phone.For Further information contact: June Searchfield:

Tel: 05 49 64 59 96 or email: [email protected] We are here for you and your Family

Cycling GroupDo you enjoy cycling? I am a keen cyclist and looking for others to meet up with me for outings once or twice a week. Purely for leisure and very informal with

a coffee stop en route. I live at Pamplie, near Secondigny.Contact: [email protected] / 05 49 28 24 06

http://www.opendoor-civray.com/

http://www.thefillingstation.org.uk/

http://www.thefillingstation.org.uk/

mailto:[email protected]







Getting Out & About...

After three happy and very interesting years, ‘La Joie De Vivre’ in Moncoutant has closed its doors. Margaret & Terry would like to take this opportunity to thank all their customers, some of whom have become good friends, for their support and to wish everyone well for the future. Also to thank Paperback Jan for her jolly afternoon gatherings.

Particularly huge & sincere thanks must go to Richard & Chris and Ian & Sandra who were complete stalwarts & utterly brilliant when called in at the last minute to help Margaret close down and clear the shop after Terry was taken ill & hospitalised. Sandra & Chris catalogued & packed all the stock most efficiently (I don’t think Chris will ever want to see any more bubble wrap or sticky tape!!) whilst Richard & Ian made light work of dismantling, loading & unloading. All very happy workmates & so very much appreciated.

Very best wishes go to Ali & Colin Millin too, with their new venture ‘Fresco Interiors’ at the Citadelle in Vouvant, where some of the locally made crafts La Joie de Vivre sold, can now be found.

Onwards & upwards and after their house move last year, this summer will see Terry & Margaret gardening, painting and taking time out to visit people & places.

They would love to wish you all a wonderful summer. A bientot.

says “Thank You”


Horse & Dog Fun ShowFollowing the success of our previous summer Horse and Dog shows, we will host our 5th annual show on Sunday 28th July.

We have on offer Pedigree and Novelty dog classes – this year they will be split between the morning and afternoon. For the equines there is Working Hunter, Show Hunter, Driving and Fun showing classes, and once again these are spread throughout the day.

There will be hot and cold refreshments, including a bar, plus homemade cakes, homemade ice cream and a BBQ serving burgers, hot dogs and bacon butties for the early birds.

There will again be an abundance of stall-‐holders selling their wares and anyone wishing to have a stall can contact Jacki. We have displays organised at lunchtime to entertain you and we will have a saddler on hand to do on the spot repairs and fittings. It is our aim to make an enjoyable family day out whether you have a four legged friend or not, so please come along and enjoy the ambiance of a relaxed day amongst friends new and old.

If distance is a bit of an issue then why not book into our chambre d’hote where stabling is also available and where you and horse will be given a warm welcome – make a weekend of it.

Where things have not worked in the past we always aim to improve and where things have succeeded we leave well alone. Details of this year’s schedule will soon be available on our website www.centredebeauregard.com

Should you wish to be involved in the show in anyway other than as a competitor, don’t be shy, or if you would like to have a stall at our show get in touch with Jacki on 05 49 87 05 59 or email: [email protected] or contact via the website.

PLACE OF INTEREST...79500 MELLECover Photograph by Jon Crocker shows l’Église Saint-‐Savinien in Melle.

The town of Melle was founded in the reign of Charlemagne as a mining centre and was, for a time, the home of the French mint. The mines which supplied the mint continued to function off and on before being forgotten altogether in the 18th century, not to be discovered again until the 20th century. The mine is now a tourist attraction and can be visited most days of the year.

In the Middle Ages, Melle flourished as a town as we can see from its surviving medieval houses and the three churches, built in the Romanesque style during the 11th and 12th centuries.


ARC en FilsAirvault's second Lace and Embroidery Exhibition will be held at Soulièvres hall on the 1st and 2nd June 2013.

The exhibition will be open to the publ ic from 2pm -‐ 7pm on the Saturday and from 10am -‐ 6pm on the Sunday. There will be exhibitions of lacework and embroidery, and demonstrations of different techniques. Visitors will also be able to learn about silk worm breeding. The special guests of the exhibition will be the lace makers from Bobowa in Poland.

There will be stands selling material, threads, frames, scissors and many other things. Entry to the exhibition will be 2 Euros.

Local Markets

Mondays:

Tuesdays:

Wednesdays:Thursdays:

Fridays:

Saturdays:

Sundays:

• Benet 85490

• Lencloître (1st Monday in month) 86140

• Lezay 79120

• Coulonges-sur-l’Autize 79160

• Thouars 79100• Parthenay 79200• Sauzé-Vaussais 79190

• Niort 79000

• Thouars 79100

• Melle 79500

• Chef-Boutonne 79110

• Airvault 79600

• Niort 79000

• Coulon 79510

• Saint-Maixent-l’École 79400• Neuville-de-Poitou 86170

Pho

to: L

isa

Rob

erts


Ups and DownsThe French verb «monter» literally means "to go up" but the verb is also used in many idiomatic expressions and has many different possible meanings: to go up, to assemble, to climb up/into, to board, to edit, to mount, to organize, to set up, to put up, to rise, to stage, to take up or to turn up (the volume).

In the passé composé past tense, when used with «être» it means to go up. «Je suis monté» (I went upstairs), «je suis monté à Paris» (I went up to Paris).

When used with a direct object, it needs «avoir». «J'ai monté une étagère dans la salle de bains» (I put up a shelf unit in the bathroom). «J'ai monté un spectacle avec les enfants» (I put on a show with the children).

The French expression «à l'étage» can mean "upstairs" or "downstairs," depending on what it is used with. «À l'étage» on its own means "upstairs," and it can also refer specifically to the upper floor of a two-‐story building. In France, this is also known as «le premier étage» (in the UK, "the first floor", in the US, "the second floor").

! But be careful as different words can be added which make it mean "downstairs":

• «à l'étage du dessus / à l'étage au-‐dessus» -‐ upstairs, on the floor above

• «à l'étage du dessous / à l'étage en-‐dessous» -‐ downstairs, on the floor below

• «monter à l'étage» -‐ to go upstairs• «monter à l'étage supérieure» -‐ to go up one floor, to the next floor

• «monter au cinquième étage» -‐ to go up to the 5th floor• «descendre à l'étage inférieur» -‐ to go down one floor• «descendre au 5ème étage» -‐ to go down to the 5th floor

The verb «descendre» basically means to go down or to descend. With an object it can mean to take down. «J'ai descendu les valises» (I got the suitcases down), «Je descends le sapin de noël du grenier» (I get the Christmas tree down from the attic).

Other meanings of «descendre» are bring down, climb down, come down, descend, ebb, get down, get off (transport). «Je suis descendu du bus à la mairie». (I got off the bus at the town hall).

by Sue Burgess

End

Vocabulary / Vocabulaire : Expressions with monter and descendre

monter des mailles to cast on stitches

monter en courant to run upstairs

monter en flèche to soar (literally and figuratively)

monter en grade to be promoted

monter le son to turn the volume up

monter sur le trône to ascend to the throne

monter un coup to plan a job

Ça fait monter les prix. It makes prices go up.

C'est un artiste qui monte He's an up-‐and-‐coming artist.

faire monter des blancs en neige to beat egg whites into stiff peaks

Je monte la garde (sign) Beware of dog

La moutarde me monte au nez. I'm losing my temper.

Descendre en rappel to abseil


ARTicles

Is this cultural theft? Throughout art history there has been an active interaction and dialogue between old and new. When an artist borrows something familiar from a well-‐known image, does this help the viewer to grasp the idea through familiarity?

Modernism in its broadest definition is modern thought, character or practice. More specifically the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of cultural movements. Originally arising in the late 19th and early 20th century, Modernism broke away from the conservative values of Realism.

A salient characteristic of modernism is self-‐consciousness. This often led to experiments with form and work that drew attention to the processes and materials used and to the further tendency of abstraction.

This notion of cultural theft in art is an ongoing tradition of referencing an interaction between images, a dialogue between old and new. Intertextuality dissolves boundaries between visual arts creating a dialogue where the artist borrows something familiar. Can the artists claim the work as their own? A parody, a piece of work responding imitating or mocking another work, genre or style of painting. Not only are parodies entertaining, but they also promote a greater understanding of the original work?

The post-‐modernistic term became popular currency in the 1970s, characterised by irony, appropriation and self-‐reference. In particular, the movement uncovered the mystical presence of source ideas, information and influences. Challenging the idea of originality, it has also made art inimical to straightforward assumptions about the place of the author and the viewer. ‘In postmodernity, there is no higher perspective; all perspectives are leveled in the name of ready accessibility. There is no possibility of an original perspective on an unoriginal world. All the artist can do is replicate the world, giving it a perverse twist, which is the sign of subjective presence.’

As a postmodernist characteristic appropriation in art is, to borrow and recycle, using composited elements in the creation of the new work. Re-‐working old masters is in fact a way of synthesising cultural observations, taking bits and pieces, mixing and matching, making an image that is their own. The process involves adopting intellectual property from elsewhere, who is the author of the image? Las Meninas has been used as a source for many images of ‘After Velasquez.’ Appropriation is an important historical practice in art. The creative effort is defined by the idea with the end strangely familiar, however it’s an altogether new creation. Again we raise the question, who is the author of the image?

There is a rich seam of paintings which I could have chosen from, however I have chosen Diego Velasquez’s: La Meninas (1656–57) to demonstrate the characteristic of appropriation. Picasso found inspiration in Velasquez’s ‘Las Meninas’ and produced a body of work

referencing the painting over and over.

by Josie Bounds

Is This Cultural Theft?

Diego Velasquez: Las Meninas, 1656 -‐ 57Pablo Picasso: ‘After Velasquez.’ 1957

Writing competitions – why?

Jocelyn and Gordon Simms announce the 2013 Segora competitions for poetry and fiction. The deadline for all three (poetry, short story and vignette) is midnight, 8th June.

Now in its seventh year, Segora was launched to offer several challenges to the writer. Firstly is the need to meet a deadline, thus overcoming the common problem of procrastination. Secondly, editing is vital to perfect a piece for judging and requires all the tools of the trade -‐ analysing syntax, dipping into the thesaurus, clipping the word count. Thirdly, entries must be professionally presented, demanding concentration and computer skills. No wonder writers feel a sense of achievement when the finished product is despatched.

Nothing is quite like the thrill of winning. While disappointment is unavoidable for some, most entrants are motivated to enter other competitions with different judges, themes and deadlines in the hope that success will ultimately be theirs.

At one time there were few opportunities where, for a modest fee, writers could win prizes, read adjudications and see their work published. Recently international competitions have flourished. This may be due to the ease of accessing information and entering via the internet, and the fact that more people are writing as a hobby. Last year winning Segora entries came from Eire, Sweden, USA, UK, France and Spain. All can be read on our website.

This year we will hold a presentation of winning and commended entries – an opportunity to enjoy contemporary writing and to hear plans for the next bilingual LitFest in 2014. Winners will be announced on our website and in ‘The Deux-‐Sèvres and Vendée Monthly’ magazines.

Jocelyn and Gordon, both published poets, would like to hear from anyone interested in joining them for creative writing workshops, discussions and readings.

Contact Gordon and Jocelyn Simms, Le Moulin de L’Arche, 79150, St Clémenun. Tel: 05 49 80 22 96.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]: www.poetryproseandplays.co.uk and www.stclementinlitfest.com

by Jocelyn Simms

http://www.poetryproseandplays.co.uk

http://www.poetryproseandplays.co.uk

http://www.stclementinlitfest.com

http://www.stclementinlitfest.com


More from local writer Alison Morton... Please see back issues of ‘The DSM’ if you would like to see previous articles.

How to Sell More Books: Write More Books!Agatha Christie’s bestseller status is no mystery: she wrote lots and lots of books. Any writer increases their chance of becoming a bestselling author – and just as importantly, a regular seller – just by writing more books.

Of course, we all know writers who have achieved literary immortality with a single novel, for example, Emily Brontë with Wuthering Heights, Harper Lee and To Kill A Mockingbird and Margaret Mitchell with Gone with the Wind, but it’s much easier to name bestselling authors who have written multiple books:

1. Agatha Christie – 85 2. Barbara Cartland – 723 3. Danielle Steele – 120 4. Harold Robbins – 23 5. Georges Simenon – 570 6. Sidney Sheldon – 21 7. Enid Blyton – 800 8. Dr Seuss – 44 9. Gilbert Patten – 209 10. J K Rowling – 9(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-‐selling_fiction_authors)

With just nine books to her name, J K Rowling, who we tend to think of as being an all-‐time, record-‐breaking phenomenon, has sold only 350 million books, a fraction of the more productive Agatha Christie’s total sales of 2 billion. Harold Robbins comes in at 750 million and Danielle Steele at 500 million.

Quantity alone is not enough. A writer who follows up a successful novel with regular new books of similar (or improved!) quality will gain more sales. Of course, these books will also need active promotion. But any book following a successful predecessor will have a greater chance of success as the author will already be known to a base of fans.

It’s never been easier to promote your books effectively than in the digital age. Whenever you publish a new book, you can access social media and be stocked in online bookshops for next to no cost, other than time and effort – advantages never enjoyed by earlier writers.

Four top tips for boosting serial sales available to all published writers:

• At the end of each book, add the beginning of the next one in the series, with the planned publication date, to whet the reader’s appetite and prime them to buy it as soon as it comes out.

• Create your own mailing list of fans by embedding a sign-‐up form on your author website or using an emailing service like Feedburner, so that you’ll be able to contact them direct as soon as the next book is published.

• Stay in regular communication with the reading world by having either or both Goodreads and Facebook author pages and/or writing a blog.

• Offer free downloads or giveaways of the first book in a series to hook new readers. If they enjoy it enough, they’ll buy the rest of the series.

How to Write More Books

The key is discipline. Not the Fifty Shades of Grey type, but sitting down, despite household and life trivia, and writing. Some writers tap at their keyboards for a given time, some have a daily word target. It has to become part of your everyday routine. Even if it’s a snatched hour or thirty minutes at the beginning or end of the working day, the thing is to write regularly.

Happy writing!


Alison Morton writes alternate history thrillers, blogs about wriWng and Romans at hYp://alison-‐morton.com/blog/

Combined Services Support Group (CSSG)Well time has flown by since I last wrote our article for ‘The DSM’, and we are now looking forward to our second meeting. It will be held on 18th May 2013 at the Café des Belle Fleurs in Fenioux at 11am, and anyone interested in helping to support our local Military Charities are more than welcome to join us. Many of us arrive early and begin the morning with a hearty English style breakfast prior to the meeting. If you are thinking of coming and would like to have breakfast as well, please contact Ross Hendry and he will organize it for you.

A full list of our social and fund-‐raising events that our members are assisting, organizing or attending will be available at the meeting, but a couple of dates for your calendar are 12th May at Le Ferriere-‐en-‐Parthenay. Paperback Jan is holding her “Clear Your Clutter For Charity” event and we will be selling tea, coffee and cakes. Also there will be a tombola table. Then on Sunday 9th June we shall be at the Salle de Fetes, St-‐Germain-‐de-‐Longue-‐Champs, (by kind invitation of Aidez) with a tombola stand. For both these events our chosen Charity is The Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Families Association (more often known as SSAFA).

SSAFA is a registered charity, both in the UK and here in France, and all monies raised in France is used in France to help Service and ex-‐Service members or their families in times of need or hardship. SSAFA is based in the Bordeaux area but has case-‐workers and helpers all over France. The SSAFA box at A La Bonne Vie, Le Beugnon, raised the sum of 123.80€ and I am sure that Carl and Carol Walker would join me in thanking all those of you who contributed to this amount.

by Terri Laverick

http://alison-morton.com/blog/

http://alison-morton.com/blog/


The big event of April was the launch of our calendar.

You will see individual and group shots covering the 20 months of the remainder of this year and the whole of 2014. 26 lovely ladies are in the photos including Phyllis who is our oldest participant at 92.

The success of the calendar is mainly down to a wonderful team of Sue Blair, Penny Brewer, Karen Davies, Christine Hester and Jilly Rosenberg. Jilly kindly gave her time to do the ladies hair and make up and Penny was our brilliant photographer.

Sale of the calendar is going really well and if you would like one, (or more!) it can now be ordered by email: [email protected] at a cost of 10€ per calendar plus postage.

Alternatively the calendar may be purchased at any of the shows or at the following venues :-‐• Restaurant A La Bonne Vie, Le Beugnon• Café des Belles Fleurs, Fenioux• Pause! Café, L’Absie• Cafe Cour du Miracle, Vouvant

Please give generously and remember that ALL proceeds from the sale of the calendar goes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Research Foundation in the UK and La Fondation de France: La Recherche contre Leucemie et Lymphome here in France.

Based on ticket sales so far, all performances should be a great success. The performances at Secondigny will be over by the time you read this and we will have moved all scenery and props to La Chataigneraie and carried out technical rehearsals checking out lights and sound equipment and making any adjustments needed for a different sized stage.

You still have a chance to see this wonderful play by booking tickets for the performances at La Chataigneraie Theatre on:

• Friday 3rd May at 8pm• Saturday 4th May at 8pm

Tickets may be booked via email on [email protected] or by telephone. Please ring Maureen Murdoch on 05 49 77 23 54.

Best wishes to you all and thank you for your continued support.John Blair

Don’t forget if you would like to join the Theatre team, the Keynote Singers or The Art Scene you would be very welcome, just send me an email for details: [email protected]

News from the Pays de Gâtine!

On 12th March 2013 a meeting was held at the Centre d’Incendie et Secours (Fire Station) in Parthenay to educate English speaking home owners in this area to the perils of fire.

Firstly Captain Beauvais, Division Commander for the North of the Deux-‐Sèvres, based in Parthenay, gave an overall presentation of the Service Départmental d’Incendie et de Secours (SDIS) and explained how they operate in the Deux-‐Sèvres. In France there are 32,000 professional firemen (civil servants) and 200,000 volunteers.

There are 377,784 inhabitants in the Deux-‐Sèvres and 305 communes (100 of those making up the Gâtine). For administration purposes they have divided the Deux-‐Sèvres in two, to make North and South divisions. The main central fire station is in Niort, and there are also five other centres: Thouars, Bressuire, Parthenay, St Maixent l’École and Melle. There are 26 Fire and Emergency services and a further 20 smaller centres. Their responsibilities are far more varied than the UK, as they not only cover fire but flooding, first aid, rescue service, car accidents, problems with chemicals & radio active products.

Preventing accidents and educating the public is key. There is a fire in France every 2 minutes! It can take hold so quickly that you only have 3 minutes to escape. It is often not flames that kill but toxic smoke and at least 50% of the victims go to hospital or die. At night the risk is even greater and victims are asphyxiated in their sleep. The answer is a smoke detector and they will be obligatory in homes by 8th March 2015. This will at least buy you time, but remember we live in a rural area.

Then John Hoyland, a retired British fireman living in Parthenay, took over the presentation and explained that the bedroom was the most flammable room in the house and although a detector will alert you, it does not put fire out. The gases can paralyse the nervous system and cause death. A room on fire can easily explode in only three and a half minutes.

Therefore, check for possible hazards -‐ flexible gas pipes have expiry dates, Brillo pads (steel wool) next to a battery can cause a spark, aerosols, hair spray etc are all highly flammable. Attention needs to be paid to all electrical wiring, and filters on tumble dryers must be cleaned regularly.

Always plan an escape route from your house, and ask yourself the question what would I do if……..? Make sure you have a good escape route with no locked gates! Don’t try to put out a fire yourself, unless very small. Get out of the house as soon as possible. He suggested a fire blanket is extremely useful for smothering flames.

It gave us a lot to think about and follow up in our own homes.

by Julia Salvat

Julia SALVAT, Pays de Gâtine. Tel: 05 49 64 25 49 ~ Email: [email protected]

Website: www.gatine.org

Preventing a Fire – A Hot Topic

http://www.gatine.org/

http://www.gatine.org/


Jazz Festival 17th May - 7th July 2013

In Parthenay (79)The Jazz Festival is coming back!

Operation «Commandos Jazz»: Every Friday evening in May and June, you can enjoy a free concert in a village in Gâtine. Also, not to be missed:•Mourad Benhammou will be playing on 5th July! Communicative energy and style, discover or rediscover the drummer Mourad Benhammou with his trio, and the Jazz Workers!

• Tanuki Brass Band will honour us on 6th and 7th July! Their motto is: rhythm, emotion, and pleasure to play, wherever they feel like it!

• And a lot of other artists too … Donʼt hesitate... come and swing!

For more information about the festival, consult the website: www.lejazzbatlacampagne.com or contact us at 05 49 64 25 49.

Festivities & Friendship during the Airvault FestivalAs every year, the town of Airvault and the surrounding villages will be hosting the Music and Dances of the World festival, 9th -‐ 14th of July.

Meeting people, making friends, discovering other cultures… these things make this event, organised by the centre socioculturel and its volunteers, what it is. This year artists from Daghestan, Central Africa and Ukraine will perform in Barroux, Irais and Airvault to show us something of their culture and their traditions during Festivillages.

Free concerts, apericf and concert and a theme meal animated by a group from Brazil and D j e fa ko w i t h t he i r Afr ican colours wi l l c o m p l e t e t h e programme which will end with a firework display on the 14th July at Soulièvres.

Anyone who wishes to volunteer to help organise the festival, or who would like to host foreign singers and dancers is welcome to contact us.

Please contact the centre socioculturel de l’Airvaudais et du Val du Thouet, 16 ter rue Emmanuel Bonnet 79600 Airvault:Tel: 05 49 64 73 10 ~ Email: csc-‐[email protected]: P Jacq

by P Jacq

New Chef at JB79A new era has emerged for JUST BRASS 79 (the brass band of Limalonges), with the recent appointment of a new Musical Director in Enrik Legros. The band had been searching for a new Musical Director for over 2 years, and many thanks go to principal euphonium player Rob Burnett for holding things together by both playing in and directing the 16 piece group over the past 2 years.

Enrik studied horn, music theory and percussion at the Conservatoire de Valenciennes from 1972, winning 1st prize for his studies in 1977 and 1978. He has been a music teacher in Romagne since 1985. He also directs several choirs including 'The Lyre' in Charroux. He held the position of principal euphonium with the brass band of Chateauroux prior to his appointment with JUST BRASS 79. The band have recently undertaken their first concert under his direction at the salle des fetes in Charroux, where a packed hall enjoyed an evening of brass and voices all under the direction of Enrik.

In the future, JUST BRASS 79 will be giving several concerts, the first joint concert will be at Mairie-‐Levescault (79) in the salle des fetes on Wednesday 29th May at 8.30pm with free entry. Thursday evening, 30th

May, the concert will be at the theatre verdure in Chef Boutonne (rear of the Mairie) at 8pm, again with free entry. Uckfield Concert Brass have been keen to renew their friendship with JUST BRASS 79 since their first visit to Chef Boutonne in 2011.

Anyone interested in joining JUST BRASS 79 can find full details on www.justbrass79.fr or call Neville James (president) on 05 49 27 17 93 or perhaps visit the band at the salle des fetes in Limalonges where a warm welcome will await you, any Wednesday evening between 8pm -‐ 10pm.

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Down:1. Circle of light around the head of a saint (4)2. Famous English admiral (6)3. Victory or major achievement (7)4. Small solid extraterrestrial body (6)5. Large deciduous tree (5)6. Personal integrity (6)7. Police surveillance operation (8)12. River that flows through Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico (8)14. Catch fire, ignite (7)16. Excessive devotion to some activity (6)18. Person with an absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes 6)19. Raise or fill with high spirits (6)20. Corrupt someone through illegal payments (5)23. Hit with the palm of the hand (4)

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A-Z of the Communes of the Deux-Sèvres.

CHEYChey is a village of 629 inhabitants in the canton of Lezay. Its inhabitants are called Casaniens and Casaniennes. The neighbouring villages are Chenay, Sepvret, Exoudun, Lezay and Bougon. The highest point of Chey, at 171 metres above sea level, is at la Bourdonnerie in the north west of the commune.

A VOIR / MUST SEE• The manor house (privately owned)• The communal wash-‐house in the centre of the village

• The wash-‐house on the road to Sepvret• The parish church (usually closed)

CHICHÉChiché is a member of the Communauté de Communes “Coeur de Bocage” along with Bressuire, Courlay, Boismé and Faye l'Abbesse. The commune is situated on the N149 which links Nantes to Poitiers, between Bressuire and Parthenay. It is crossed by the Thouaret river.

The commune of Chiché was crossed by a Roman road linking Poitiers to Nantes and by the route from Thouars to Marans. This road crossed the Motte de Chiché where a tumulus has been discovered. The tumulus probably dates from the Carolingian period. T h e Roma n d oma i n o f «Cassius» became «Villa de Cassiacus», then the name «Cassicum» appeared and finally the name of Chiché is mentioned in the 10th century.

In 1214, during the war between France and England, the town which was occupied by the Plantagenets, was burnt by Philippe-‐Auguste. In the same year, John Lackland spent a night in the castle of Chiché whilst on his way to Anjou with his army. The church was burnt down by the protestants in 1558 during the wars of religion.

During the revolution many of the inhabitants of Chiché were on the side of the opponents of the revolution and between December 1793 and March 1794, 24 Chichéens and Chichéennes were sent to the guillotine. A memorial stone near the church is a witness to these events.

Chiché was occupied by the Germans for four years during the second world war.

A VOIR / MUST SEE• Along the Thouaret, the remains of water mills at Haut Gourneau, Bas Gourneau, la Guirère (with its wheel), la Vergnaie, in the village, la Poraire (with its wheel), moulin Aumont and Chantegros.

• The windmills linked to some of the water mills at Bas Gourneau, la Guirère, la Missardière and la Poraire, with its sails, which is inhabited.

• The remains of three priories; at Pierlay, la Poraire and Bandouille.

• The remains of a feudal castle at Haut Chausserais (le Logis). Some parts of the walls and the ditches can be observed as well as part of a doorway and a pigeon loft.

• The old Gallic-‐Roman bridge over the Thouaret and the remains of the 11th century castle built by Thibaud 1 of Beaumont.

• The church (12th century), an old romanesque building and an old Gothic chapel, "Notre Dame de la Recouvrance" (dating from the 15th century) which is today used as the town hall.

• The memorial stone near the church in memory of those killed in the Vendée wars

• Chiché also has several large stone crosses.

LE CHILLOUThe small commune of Le Chillou is situated near Saint Loup Lamairé, the main town of the canton. The town hall of Le Chillou stands at about 150m above sea level and the population in 2007 was 104. There are 78 main residences in Le Chillou and approximately 14 holiday homes and 12 vacant houses.

A VOIR / MUST SEEThe «circus» of Seneuil is situated about 7kms South East of Airvault on the territory of the commune of le Chillou. It is a remarkable example of a dry river bed in the valley of the Gâteau (or Acheneau) a tributary of the Thouet. It’s part of a limestone valley, the valley of the Orangerie which is marked by a series of semi-‐circular «circus» corresponding to meanders of rivers and streams. The banks are covered with grass or oak trees.

The «circus» of Seneuil is a very picturesque site because of its regular shape and its difference in levels. 30m difference between its highest and lowest point. The stream of the Gâteau today passes behind la Butte de la Garde and short cuts the old dry river bed. Behind the Butte de la Garde, the sources of the Seneuil provide drinking water for 17 communes around Parthenay. They are fed by underground water which comes from the Pontreau, downstream from the Château of the Orangerie.

by Sue Burgess

More ‘A-‐Z of the Communes of the Deux-‐Sèvres.’next month...

A-Z of the Communes in the Deux-Sèvres

Above: The monument for the dead of the Vendée wars.

Above: Gallic-Roman bridge

THE DEUX-SÉVRES MONTHLY

Health, Beauty & Fitness...

2013 Beauty RecommendationsSamantha says...Eye shadow Shades 2013. This season you will be seeing rich mauve, pearly pink-‐beige, shimmery lilac and deep eggplant eyeshadow. These are beautiful to create a fabulous day/night eye look.

Base your eye socket with a good eye shadow base or concealer this will make the application much more flawless and last the entire day.

Take the light pearly pink beige and apply over the whole socket, gently blend the rich mauve into the outer corners once you are happy with the outer corner shape and colour blend the shimmery lilac into the outer corner of the eye. Blending is the key to any eye shadow look.

I love to bring the darker shade softly under the bottom lashes and take your liquid liner to the base of the top lashes to create a thicker fuller lash. Finish off with a lash building mascara, both on the top lashes and bottom. Et voila, you are ready to enjoy your summer days ...............

Samantha's recommended item is Chanel les 4 ombres quadra eye shadow pallette in Raffinement available in Sephora.

Emma says...Are there any brave ladies out there for this summer? Yes the pixie cut is back in as one of this year’s trendiest hairstyles for 2013.

The pixie cut is an extremely short hairstyle and is now classed as one of the best short hair cuts. It’s a style recommended if you have an oval face shape and it can carry off most colours. It’s popular with the girls this season and most celebrities such as Charlise Theron are going for it too.

If you’re not feeling that brave, why not keep a long sweeping side fringe which can also give a gorgeous soft look for this summer. It is also a low maintenance style which will give you more time to enjoy the sunshine with a small glass of vino.

Charente Hair & Make UpTel: 05 45 31 56 93 / 06 50 04 37 30www.charentehairandbridal.com


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Satyananda YogaClasses at ‘Maison pour tous’, L’Absie.

7pm - 8.30pm on Thursdays and Salle de millenaire, rue saint roch, Largeasse.

7pm - 8,30pm on Wednesdays.Contact Rysz for more info: 06 42 35 97 11

Bowls Anyone?Perigord Lawn Bowls Club is looking for new members for next season.

As featured in the first TV series of “Little England” we are the only bowls club in France. Situated just south of Angouleme, near the village of Monsec in the north Dordorgne, we offer a full range of league, tournament and club competitions throughout the season, as well as a range of social activities.

The club is at La Charrue, hosted by Pauline and Clive Davie and offers a wide range of facilities including gîtes, B&B, swimming pool and restaurant. They are renowned for their Sunday roast dinners and Friday fish & chips and music evenings.

So if you are a beginner or experienced bowler – we can offer either full or temporary memberships.

For further information, check out the websites:www.la-‐charruefrance.com or www.bowlsinfrance.com, or contact club president Martin Hayhow on 05 49 96 82 54 or competition sec. Terry Titheridge on 05 49 69 06 61.

By Terry Titheridge




Mayday Mes Amis has been formed to help animals in need in l'Absie and the surrounding area. For more information please email: [email protected].

MAYDAY MES AMIS

HOPE BOOK SALE24/25/26 May 10am - 4pm

Salle des fetes, Clussais-La-Pommeraie, 79190(D45 Sauze Vaussais to Lezay Road)

Thousands of English and French books, fiction and non-fiction for adults and children,

each for just 1 euro.

Many trade stands and interesting things to see and do including:

* Massive sale of plants * English fish and chips (by Mr T’s Fisherie)

* Tea and cakes* Bacon butties (by La Boite Delicieuse)* Excellent quality 2nd hand clothes

* Exciting bric-a-brac* Dog agility and obedience display (25th May)

* Face-painting (26th May)* Classic car display (26th May)

Please see www.hopeassoc.org for further details. Books to donate?

Email:[email protected]

Hope Association has lots of dogs and cats looking for adoption/foster homes please take a look at our website www.hopeassoc.org if you can help.



APPEAL

Esprit is only 2 years old and retired from the chasse. He met with a nasty accident with a boar and the boar won. His owner took him to the vet to be put down due to an injury on his leg, luckily for us the vet refused and treated the injury and neutered him.

Esprit will be recovering for the next few weeks and it’s still not certain whether he will keep his leg but the vet is optimistic. He is a shy but kind dog and he is about 2 years old. The operation won’t be done straight away, the vet is going to make him a boot to try and correct his foot. If that doesn’t work then the vet will go ahead with amputation.

If you can give Esprit a forever, loving home please contact Linda Burns at [email protected] for more information. www.hopeassoc.org.

ESPRIT

Our Furry Friends...

http://www.hopeassoc.org/

http://www.hopeassoc.org/

http://hopeassoc.org/





Ever thought of Fostering a dog? there are literally thousands of dogs being destroyed in France each year because they cannot be found good homes in time. Fostering an animal saves lives and allows abandoned or unwanted dogs to be assessed and home-‐trained. It takes a certain type of person to do this work and you must be dedicated and have previous experience of owning a dog. Could you do it?

For more details please contact AssociaWon Orfee by email: [email protected] or [email protected] for further details.

Phoenix Associauon, who rescue and re-‐home animals in need, has a new website. Please visit: www.phoenixasso.com and find out what you can do to help animals in need in south west France!

You may enjoy reading the success stories and finding out about upcoming events, as well as looking at all the beautiful animals awaiting adoption.

HOOF (Horse Orientated Open Forum)HOOF is open to anyone with an equine interest.

You do not need to own a horse! We meet about once a month for talks, visits etc. Interested?

Contact Jo Rowe on: 05 49 64 30 59

Equine Rescue FranceWe are always looking for new members and we are in need of donations so we may continue to help equines in France. Please support the ERF.

Please contact Equine Rescue France via their website www.equinerescuefrance.org

The mysterious exploits of Hercules and GalipetteSome of you may remember the unfortunate story of Hercules the cat from last year. To recap: his family were going on holiday to Portugal from Paris and stopped at the motorway exit at Bournezeau for a break. Hercules was on lead but somehow got away. His family couldn't catch him so reluctantly carried on to Portugal from where they contacted us. Some of our volunteers went to look for him and actually saw him once but couldn't catch him. After a couple of weeks with no further sightings we gave up looking for him.

We were surprised and delighted when a few weeks ago someone in Bournezeau contacted us to say that they had found him. However our reaction pales into insignificance compared with the emotion with which our phone call informing the owner was met. She was so overcome with joy that she couldn't speak and had to pass the phone to her husband. They actually left their home at 4 o'clock in the morning to come to pick him up.

Need I point out that it was only because they had the foresight to have Hercules identified (a legal requirement) that this story had a happy ending?

And now a story in need of a happy ending... recently we were asked by another association to help place a three legged cat. She had gone missing for a couple of days and when spotted by its owner appeared injured. It took him a week to catch her and discover the extent of her injuries. Most of the flesh was missing from the lower part of her front, right leg and she had abrasions around her mouth. He immediately took her to a vet who amputated the leg. Although we'll never know for certain what happened, the vet believes that she was caught in some sort of jawed trap (illegal since 1995).

The vet bills were paid by another association, but the owner was unable to give Gallipette the necessary care, so we were asked to help. We have placed her with one of our foster families where she is doing well and is looking for a new owner.

If you're interested more details can be found on our website: www.nosamislesanimaux.com or you can phone 07 70 31 54 59.

Nos Amis Les Animaux 85480 (NALA 85480). Tel: 07 70 31 54 59 ~ Email: [email protected]

Hercules

Gallipette

http://www.phoenixasso.com/

http://www.phoenixasso.com/


The Great Outdoors...

Bonne Pêche Over the coming

months I wi l l be providing some hints and tips to hopefully help you put more fish on the bank, from roach to carp.

Now that the warmer weather is here you might be thinking of dusting off your fishing tackle that hasn’t been used since autumn. If that is the case, you should do a few simple tasks, so that your equipment doesn’t let you down on the bank.

1. Put new line on your reels (it doesn’t last forever!).2. Check your brolly hasn’t been food for mice over the winter.3. Make sure all your terminal tackle is topped up with the things

you use most frequently.4. Check batteries in all bite alarms.

If you are a novice, try to go fishing with as many good anglers as you can because you can’t beat being under the wing of an experienced angler.

When carp fishing, don’t simply follow the stereotypical approach. Try to think outside of the bubble, especially on hard-‐fished waters. For example, try a float at close range or off the surface. Everybody talks about this style of fishing, but when they get to the lake they are sitting behind hundreds of pounds of bite alarms, with baits all hard on the bottom.

I often spend a long time watching a lake before I even get a rod out, and when I do cast in, I am confident that I have fish in front of me. So don’t just plot up in the first comfortable swim that you come across, have a walk around and watch the water. On some small fisheries you might be better wearing your slippers when you do this because fish are very easily spooked.

Fishing is not always about catching big fish; it is about being there – watching the wildlife, doing it, using your skill and knowledge to put that elusive fish on the bank.

Don’t get me wrong, I like to catch big fish, but if Mother Nature decides that today is not the day – there is always tomorrow. If it were that easy, it wouldn’t be called fishing, it would be called catching.

Our lake temperature is above 10 degrees, and the fish are hungry, so present them their dinner, and get them on the bank…….

Bonne pêche, Simon

Simon Tee is the proprietor of 2 coarse fishing lakes in Secondigny (www.francefishinggites.com)

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Please don’t forget to mention‘The Deux-Sèvres Monthly’ when responding to an advert."

http://www.francefishinggites.com/

http://www.francefishinggites.com/


Friday May 31st, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd June 2013.The garden and its creators...

The Ministry of Culture and Communication invite you for the eleventh consecutive year, to visit both public and private parks and gardens, to discover the wealth and enjoy the entertainment that will be reserved throughout the first weekend of June, and on May 31st.

The new edition of Rendez-vous aux Jardins specifically explores the theme of the garden and its creators. Programming raises the question of the creation for the garden and puts designers in the spotlight whether gardener, designer, owner, art theorist, writer, philosopher or painter.

This year, in commemoration of the four-‐hundredth anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, you can discover many other artists, such as

Bühler brothers, Achille Duchêne, Edouard André, Albert Kahn, Gilles Clement, Louis Benech, Marie Vaconsin, Garouste...

To find a selection of open gardens in your area, please visit http://www.rendezvousauxjardins.culture.fr

Rendez-vous aux Jardins

The swallows are back in the area!This year, more than a month ahead of Spring, we see the first swallow arrive in the region (February 2nd). It is a Barn swallow, which has travelled more than 6,000 miles from its wintering grounds in Central Africa to France.

It may be one of those whose nest was recorded last year in the regional survey. To recall, last May we launched a large regional survey on the Swallows and their declined numbers in Poitou-‐Charentes.

We are interested in particular in three species of nesting swallows: the House Martin, the Swallow and the Bank Swallow. Coordinated by the LPO under the aegis of France Poitou-‐Charentes Nature, the survey is run locally by four associations for the protection of nature: Ornithology Group of Deux-‐Sèvres, Charente Nature, LPO Charente-‐Maritime and the LPO Vienna. Through a large campaign in four corners of the region (eg. evening discovery and survey results in Saint-‐Martin-‐du-‐Fouilloux), it has helped to raise awareness of those species whose numbers have declined significantly over the past twenty years.

More than 240 people, mostly volunteers, came together and identified a total of over 8,300 occupied nests. By building it’s nest under the eaves of our homes it makes them all the more simple to count.

Swallows will be closely monitored in 2013! and in May we officially relaunch the investigation. Volunteers will be asked again to participate in counting occupied nests near them....

If you can help, please contact Estelle Deniaud at the ‘Ornithological Group of Deux-‐Sèvres’ by email:[email protected].

Abeilles (Bees)Last month I started Rucher Ecole de L’Abeille des Deux-‐Sèvres (Bee school) at Celles-‐sur-‐Belle.

Two years ago my husband Mike, and my son, Keenan, both took the course and I now I’ve decided I want to learn more about the bees too.

It is a course for beginners and on the first day thirty nine of us attended (three English). The first two lessons were listening lessons due to the cold, wet weather, but last lesson we were able to open the hives as the temperature had risen to over 15˚C.

As the weather has at last improved, we were also able to ‘spring clean’ our hives at home too. All of the hives have survived the winter which is very pleasing.

They were all very busy and we gave them syrup with vitamins which you must do every spring to help them start the season. This weekend we hope to put the ‘supers’ on so that the bees can start filling them with Colza (oil seed rape) honey for us. We will keep you updated next month.

If you think that you have a swarm of bees and need someone to have a look, please check the website www.planetepassion.eu to find your local beekeeper before phoning us. But if you need to contact us please do not hesitate. We are the Dominey family and we live between Melle and Sauze-‐Vaussais 79190. Contact email: [email protected] or call: 05 49 07 79 78 (after 7pm) or 06 69 67 67 06 (anytime).

by Tania Dominey

Poibers (86)

Celles (17)


THE AMATEUR GARDENER

If I’d written this a week ago I would have greeted you with a “Quack Quack” because we were decidedly waterlogged, borderline mildewed, here in Secondigny. However, everything comes to he who waits and yesterday (mid-‐April) was dry so I was at last able to get into the garden to start some of the jobs on the list. Your soil might be a bit waterlogged in places too, but gradually the potatoes will be planted. As the soil warms up other vegetable plants can go out and the soil can be prepared for sowing pumpkins and other vegetable seeds. Favourite vegetable and salad items should be sown every couple of weeks to ensure a steady supply during the season.

Remove runners from strawberry plants if you do not need them for new plants. This will keep the parent plants growing strongly. Remember that strawberries only have two or three years of good fruit production, so if your plants are getting old pot on the runners ready for next year.

Young herb plants are readily available now. Why not plant them in decorative tubs by the back door so they are easily accessible when cooking, even if it’s pouring with rain.

Garden Centres are full of lovely things to plant so, if you are like me with a new garden to work on, you will be in seventh heaven! I’m planning a laurel hedge along one boundary, simply because it’s evergreen, and hope to make my own plants from cuttings. A lady on the LIFT (Ladies in France Together) Gardening Group tells me that if you put your cuttings in a container of water with a piece of willow the chemical released from the willow will encourage the cuttings to root without using hormone rooting powder or gel.

As spring bulbs finish flowering give them a good feed to build them up again ready for next year. The leaves should be left to die back naturally giving the plant time to make the most of sunlight to produce sugars that replenish and increase the size of the bulb.

Forsythia has given us a lovely show again this year. Cut back after flowering to keep a good shape and give room for any nearby perennials to make new growth. Take this opportunity to stake herbaceous perennials while you have easy access and also tie up your climbing plants too, to avoid wind damage and broken stems. Once these jobs are done you can fill up empty spaces with summer bedding plants and then mulch everything to retain moisture and discourage weeds.

Don’t forget the birds! They are busy nesting and raising their families so food ‘on tap’ is a bonus. Apparently Blue Tits visit their nests up to 900 times each day to feed their young! Wild bird seed mix for bird feeders attracts most birds while Blue Tits love sunflower seeds and fat balls. Feeding stations should ideally be near cover but if there is risk from cats allow about 2 metres all round.

One last thing this month is to mention Processionary Caterpillars. Their nests in pine trees look like clumps of cotton wool. When the weather warms up the caterpillars come down from these nests in a long line, nose to tail, ready to pupate just below the soil surface. Their hairs cause extreme irritation and can also be quite dangerous to dogs and cats, so please be aware.

Bye for now, I’m off to plant up my tubs...See you next month.

by Vanda Lawrence

Whilst driving around delivering to clients in this département (as well as dépt. 16 and 17) I have noticed the vast amount of trees that are being cut down for firewood. I appreciate that the wood is an essential fuel for most of us, but they do not seem to re-‐plant, they leave the ground open for all types of saplings to grow rather than re-‐plant a decent replacement. We need all the trees we can plant, so if you have some land, plant a few trees, native or ornamental.

I have a range of tree saplings, ranging in price from 10€ to 25€, silver Birch, Acers, wild cherries, plus many ornamentals, ready for planting NOW. Discount on quantities.For more information, please call me on 05 46 33 66 17. Michael Curtis


by Peter & Jenny Sebborn.Life on the Farm...At last, some sunshine and warm, dry weather. After the down-‐pour last week it seemed like spring would never arrive. At least we haven’t had to contend with the snow they have had in the UK.

There are definite signs that spring is on the way. Fruit trees and hedgerows starting to show their blossom -‐ lets hope it stays on the trees this year (last year it all got washed away and we had very little fruit). Also the rhubarb and asparagus are showing, a really good sign that summer cannot be that far away. Our 20 000 litre water pillow is full to the brim, a handy reserve for the drier (fingers crossed) months ahead.

The lambs and piglets are all outside enjoying the fresh air. It still makes me smile when I see the lambs bouncing around in the field. Now the lambs are all a few weeks old we have been tending to the needs of the sheep. We set aside a day to trim the feet of the ewes. It is surprising the amount of growth on the hooves of the sheep especially when they are kept on softer ground. In the latter part of pregnancy we don’t like to be turning them over or cause them any stress as it may affect the unborn lambs. We also gave the lambs their medication for the prevention of Coccidiosis, wormed them and put in the ear tags which shows their unique registration number. The tags always seem enormous on a small lamb. The first of the lambs have been weaned and sold for fattening. The new owners wanted them as lawn mowers for the summer, providing the lambs with free food, then later on in the year for them to put in the freezer.

Baaaarbara, the ewe with mastitis, is still recovering despite the vet telling us there was no hope and she wouldn’t survive. She is doing well and still has her udder but we have been told it could well fall off. Her lambs (Jack and Jill) had to be bottle fed as Baaaarbara was unable to feed them. An interesting and quite frightening side effect to the medication is something called wool break. Baaaarbara’s fleece started to fall out in clumps...she looks a bit raggedy in places, but on the mend.

Bianca the Bantam only hatched one chick, but at least it is one of her own kind and it makes a change from the guinea fowl and duck she hatched for us last year. The guinea fowl has now joined the rest of the flock but can still be found popping in to say hello to mum. Easter also brought us one baby rabbit and Dotty our other mum, who always produces the cutest baby rabbits in an array of colours, will be having her litter early May.

The tractor has been earning its keep ploughing the veggie plot and towing the trailer round the farm. Until it arrived we used the car to tow the trailer but with all the rain and mud the tractor has really proved its worth. I have been told that every time I sit on the tractor I have a silly grin on my face – that’s boys and their toys for you!

The garden has been giving us some wild garlic which tastes delicious. We have planted a little bit of everything in the poly-‐tunnel to try and give us an earlier crop. We have also planted

some extra fruit trees this year. As well as the fruit it gives the chickens somewhere to scratch around underneath and some extra protection from the sun. Any excess fruit and vegetables are fed to the pigs!

After a lot of deliberation we have also decided to get a milking goat. There are several reasons behind the decision...The milk will not only be used for us but will also be used to bottle feed any orphan baby lambs, hopefully saving a fortune on milk powder. Any excess we can either make into cheese, yoghurt or ice cream, or if we don’t have the time, that too can go to the pigs. (Apparently it is not a good idea to give the pigs too much as it can taint the pork giving it a milky taste).

The goat will come with one of her two male kids so we hope to breed him with Boff (our other goat) next year. It also means we will have milk straight away. Some people have said that a milking animal is a tie and you won’t get a day off or have a holiday. But with about 150 animals and poultry already, we don’t get the luxury of time off anyway so we might as well go the whole hog and have a milker.

The next project is to make a milking stand to make life easier when milking the goat. There are plenty of designs, thanks to the wonder of Google. I will let you know how I get on next month.

We have two incubators full of duck and chicken eggs and have been promised some goose eggs in the near future. Hopefully the hatch rate will be good.

Well I’m off to sit on my tractor -‐ I’m not going to do any work I just like sitting on the thing! Enjoy the sunshine, just watch those weeds grow and don’t forget to give your pigs a wallow to keep cool in, or at least put suntan lotion on their pink ears -‐ no I am not kidding!

See you next month for more ‘Life on the Farm’.

Peter & Jenny Sebborn. Breeders of pigs, lambs and poultry. La Gauteliere, 79220, Pamplie. Tel: 05 49 28 38 57.



French Life, Food & Drink...

by Jacqueline Brown.

You can read more from Jacqui and find her favourite recipes at www.frenchvillagediaries.com.

French Village DiariesWe are now at the beginning of the main growing and harvesting season, an exciting time for me.

The fruit trees in our orchard are heavy with blossom and bees, a perfect combination for a good harvest of cherries, plums and pears, I hope. We have put in some heavy work when the weather has permitted and the potager is now relatively weed free, ready and waiting for the courgette, tomato and pepper seedlings that we are nurturing in the greenhouse. Local legend says never to plant out tender seedlings until after the Saints de Glace in mid May which we tend to follow too, mainly because by then the courgettes will be bursting out of their nursery pots in the greenhouse plus the weather usually makes gardening feel more fun and less of a chore.

We do have a habit of focussing on the summer crops despite saying every year we must try harder for a selection of winter vegetables as well. Maybe this year will be my lucky leek year! To fill the early season gap I have been foraging the hedgerows around Melle and celebrating the first harvest of the year – the wild garlic, something I look forward to every spring. Found in shady woodland it thrives along the old railway embankment where it’s wide green leaves and star-‐like white flowers form a carpet as far as the eye can see. It truly is a beautiful sight, and especially when the dappled sunlight filters through the first leaves on the trees above and the early bluebells join in too. The wild garlic is fairly easy to recognise as once picked the leaves have an unmistakable sweet garlic smell, but please do always check unknown plants before eating them and always wash any foraged leaves thoroughly too.

I have a few favourite things to make with my foraged leaves and top of the list is pesto made with our walnuts harvested last autumn and olive oil. Place 2 or 3 generous handfuls of shelled walnuts (or more traditionally pine nuts) in a food processor and blend until quite fine. Add a very generous bunch of washed wild garlic leaves and blend to chop them. Then add enough olive oil to mix to desired pesto consistency -‐ sort of wet, but not too wet. This can now be used fresh with some grated Parmesan cheese to make a perfect pasta sauce, or frozen in ice cube trays and added to soups and pasta dishes throughout the year. I also make some batches with a couple of fresh or frozen chillies chopped with the nuts to give a pesto with a real zing.

If nuts are not your thing a garlic herb oil to drizzle over salads, soups or steamed vegetables is another delicious way to use them. Just blend the leaves with olive oil. You can also use the leaves as you would baby spinach and wilt in a pan with, for example lardons, onions and mushrooms.

http://www.frenchvillagediaries.com/

http://www.frenchvillagediaries.com/


Item For Sale?

Colour advert only 18€ incl. photograph.


John Sherwin, French Wine Tours. Tel: 02 51 66 13 05

Email: [email protected] ~ www.french-wine-tours.com

What a Mouth, What a North and South.I was on the dog and bone with my mate Michael (Caine) the other day. It’d been a while and we were catching up, like you do: Shakira’s chilblains, the 2012 Bordeaux en primeur, bloody vet bills – my, how we laughed. We talked also, as on so many occasions, of the role of the oral cavity in the process of wine-‐tasting, and that led both of us to reminiscences of our old mate Tommy (Steele) and his revival of the Edwardian music hall number which entitles this piece. Then Mikey told me something I didn’t know – he likes to do that. Turns out that Tommy was one of the first Masters of Wine (MW) in England. Didn’t make a big fuss of it so’s not to put off the teeny-‐boppers. His dissertation, completed just after the recording of ‘What a Mouth’, was on the wines of the northern and southern Rhone, in homage to the song. Or maybe vice versa.

The mighty Rhone river links all the region, but as Tommy noted, the northern and southern Rhone are very different animals. The north end stretches from Vienne to St Péray and is a topographical sliver of steep, vicious vine growing terrain looming over the river. With its continental climate of harsh winters and warm summers, great wines are made. This is the ‘quality’ end of the valley, with wines that can rival the best of Bordeaux or Burgundy. Syrah (or Shiraz) is the only red grape variety allowed for reds, but some white grapes are allowed to be added. Areas to look for on the label are, from north to south, Cote-‐Rotie, Condrieu, Chateau Grillet, Saint-‐Joseph, Crozes-‐Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas, and Saint-‐Péray.

The reds of the northern Rhone have signature aromas of green olive and smokey bacon and, as you head south, hints of liquorice. They best accompany robust food: chilli con carne; devilled kidneys – you get the drift. The whites can be from the grape varieties Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. Viognier is the best known and most intriguing: bouquet of apricot? peaches? pears? Match it with lobster, crab or mussels; roast chicken.

Think of the Rhone as an exclamation mark: the north is the thin down stroke, and there really is a viticultural gap before….the big blob at the end which is the southern Rhone. We’re looking at an ink blot between Montélimar to Avignon, and the region takes on much more of a Mediterranean feel with mildish winters and hot summers. Reds are from a take-‐your-‐pick of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault – rich in tannins with aromas of black fruit, prune, chocolate, undergrowth. Whites are also typically blends from Ugni Blanc, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Picpoul, Clairette and Viognier.

Twenty-‐odd years ago, the southern Rhone made a lot of rather mediocre wine. Standards have improved mightily. Look out for Cairanne and Gigondas reds, and the lovely sweets from Beaumes-‐de-‐Venise.

The southern reds will go well with stews, game, any red meat. The whites, chilled, are a lovely summer wine and will be happy with salads and white meats with a light sauce.

And I bet you didn’t know that.

by John Sherwin.


French Adventures...Zena’s Story...Zena Sabestini has spent most of her adult life here living near Bressuire. She came in 1996 with husband Mark, describing her new home like ‘Stonehenge’.... no running water, electricity or windows!

She had to rough it back then, although she says they spent their first few years “living the good life”, enjoying the weather, doing the garden and making furniture which they sold when they returned to the UK to work for short periods.

Hard as it may be to believe now, one of Zena's initial problems was one of isolation. There were a few British living in the area and, with the age gap, she had nothing in common with them. Luckily, she made friends with a French farmer's wife, Denise, and she spent many happy hours in her kitchen, watching the life on the farm, picking up French words and phrases from the steady stream of people who passed over the threshold of the welcoming kitchen. Things started to feel like home at last.

Zena and Mark spread their time between the UK and France to make a living, but it was not long before Zena wanted to put down roots and start a family. They set up their building business making local enquiries for work, and slowly work started to trickle in.

Soon, their first child Louis was born and they were now a real family. She started to teach English to local French people, moving on to teach it in her son's school as well. Life seemed really good. Zena was keen to have another child and it was during her pregnancy for Sophie, her daughter, that things started to go wrong.

She complained of walking difficulties at her seven month check up and before she knew it, she was having a brain scan to find out what exactly was wrong with her. Zena didn't welcome the prospect of spending time in hospital with a new born and young child to look after.

Sophie was born a month early and as her symptoms subsided, like us all, Zena decided that despite concerns of the doctors she would continue as normal. After all, she must have been OK as she felt fine.

She put down the constant fatigue to the fact she was looking after two young children, but a couple of years later a friend noticed some alarming symptoms and before she knew it, she was back in hospital where she stayed for a few weeks.

After many tests, she was diagnosed as having MS, and her world as she puts it, started to fall apart. Mark had his business to run and two very young children to care for, so reinforcements in the form of Zena's mum were called in from the UK to help out.

She had to take medication that had severe side effects, but very slowly her condition stabilized and she was able to stop taking it. Hard as it is to believe, during this time she also had a breast cancer scare and a major thyroid operation, both of which had positive outcomes.

Thanks to the support of her family and friends, after a difficult four years she was able to return to her post as “The rock of the family”.

Zena is known to many of us as one of the faces on the local networking group LIFT (Ladies In France Together), which has been running successfully for a number of years on Facebook. It has

over a thousand members all over France and offers daily advice and support to its very grateful members.

Along with the founder members, Zena felt that she would have had a much easier start in France with a network like this, and felt that it would benefit others and help them lay down roots like she did, but with a guiding hand from those who had walked the path before them. It is quite amazing that as a busy mother, she finds time to be a very active member on LIFT, offering her advice on anything from setting up a business to where to buy animal food – you name it, Zena has the answer. If she doesn't know, she knows someone who does!

While she found family life and LIFT very satisfying, she was now looking for a challenge outside the home, and last year was approached by Leggett Immobilier to join their team. She recalls loving it instantly and getting a real buzz from going out to visit new people and helping them buy or sell their home. Her bubbly personality is ideally suited to this type of work.

There cannot be many more people here better equipped to offer sound advice on settling in France, so here are Zena's tips for making a success of your new life in France:

Learn the language!

Try to integrate with the locals. Join local associations, groups and stay active Stop comparing France to England, they are different! Try and find work as it keeps you active.

And, what are the final words from the lady herself? Simply this:“I love my life here and I wouldn't change a thing!”

Written by Helen Aurelius-‐Haddock. http://haddockinthekitchen.wordpress.com or contact Helen by email at: [email protected]

Left: Zena with husband Mark, Below: Zena’s family


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Diesel is No Longer a Dirty Word...

Although mass popularity for the diesel engine in road cars is only relatively recent, it may surprise you to learn that diesel technology is well over a century old.

The diesel engine itself was designed by Paris born Rudolf Diesel, and patented in 1892, and the turbo charger fitted to most modern engines was actually invented at the turn of the Twentieth century, and patented in 1905.

Alfred Büchi, the Swiss engineer who developed the system, noted the improvement in efficiency that his device brought to the standard diesel engine, and these are still enjoyed today. Initially the turbo was used in large static, locomotive and marine engines, and then went into trucks in the mid 50‘s.

Although diesel engines had been used extensively in light commercial vehicles since the 1930’s, they weren’t popular for cars. Incredibly it wasn’t until 1978 that the first production car with a turbo diesel engine, the Peugeot 604, came onto the market.

Through the early 80’s more manufacturers joined the diesel revolution, but despite their economy the engines were noisy and produced a lot of black soot, and gained a bad reputation amongst buyers. The French manufacturers started to change this opinion with the 1988 Citroen BX and then the 1989 Peugeot 405. They gave power and refinement approaching petrol engine standards and started the diesel boom in Europe. Modern car and truck diesel engines produce higher power outputs and lower emissions levels than petrol engines.

Today, leading the way in the development of cleaner and better diesel engines is German manufacturer Audi. In 2006 they made history by winning the Le Mans 24hrs with their diesel powered R10, on its maiden run at the event, and put diesel power firmly in the headlines.

It is instantly notable to anyone visiting the race these days that the Audi cars are not only very quick, but so much quieter than their normally aspirated competitors -‐ a far cry from the sluggish, dirty cars of the early 80’s.

Diesel is a desirable option in 2013:• Greater engine efficiency means less fuel used, therefore more miles per gallon, and the lower price of diesel in France makes this even more attractive.

• They have no high voltage electrical ignition system, resulting in high reliability and easy adaptation to damp environments (particularly useful recently!!)

• The life of a diesel engine is generally about twice as long as that of a petrol engine.

• Diesel is a safer fuel than petrol as it will not explode and does not release a large amount of flammable vapour.

• Today the cars that produce the lowest CO2/km in emissions, lower than hybrids, are the most advanced compact European diesel cars.

As confirmed petrol heads, our household is a relative latecomer to the diesel party, but we now run an Audi A6 quattro Avant, and a Golf Tdi as everyday transport.

To say we are bowled over by the Audi would be an understatement. The performance is very good, the SatNav simply brilliant, and I love getting a 600mile + range after I’ve filled up. I still love my Jag, but he’s now reserved for special occasions!

! Le Mans 2013 ~ 22nd & 23rd June

by Helen Tait-‐Wright

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! BEWARE !On our way through France to the Deux-‐Sèvres last month (dual carriageway about five miles before

Chartres), we overtook a Mercedes with a British registration plate. It then overtook us with it's hazard lights

flashing and an arm waving us down as it pulled onto the hard shoulder. Thinking that he had seen something wrong with our car, I pulled up behind them on the side of the highway. A man got out and came up to the drivers window, he told me (in halting English) that he was running out of petrol and his credit cards didn't work in France -‐-‐ the bank had summarily stopped them -‐-‐ I know this happens after what occurred with my sons in northern France on their way down to see us a few years ago.

However, he said his wife and small baby were in the car so asked him what he wanted ... he said “100 euros today, I pay you back 500 later ... take my watch, my ring my necklace ...". I was about to drive off when he thrust his engraved signet ring and a heavy gold chain into my hand!

After much to'ing and fro'ing and pleading -‐-‐ I reckon he was Turkish -‐-‐ we gave him 50 Euros (really just to get rid of him). He wanted more, however, he wasn't getting any more, and he promised to pay us when he got back to London. Anyway, we exchanged business cards and he eventually drove off with his 50 Euros, went off onto a side road to a petrol station and we went on our way with a ring and a necklace in the car.

He apparently owns a car import/export business in Germany, or so his expensive laminated business card says. If it was a scam I couldn't see the downside, it was a lot of trouble for 50 Euros. I had kept the car in first gear, just in case I needed to put my foot down. You can never be sure with the stories you read about hi-‐jacking on the roads in France ... but he had the ring of truth and was obviously very desperate.

I now know this IS a scam and it seems that many people have been caught out in this way. I won't be caught again however. The address on the business card was spelt slightly wrong, though a genuine address after searching on Google Earth, the phone numbers were spurious as was the email address. I have since discovered the registration plates were also false.

This website says it all: http://www.longrider.co.uk/blog/2009/03/10/the-‐petrol-‐scam. Had I spent longer looking at the card I would have noticed the English phone number was an 0850 number which of course cannot be dialed from outside the UK.

I offer this story to any travellers coming through France this year to be aware! Even though we thought we are too clever by half to be caught in a scam, we were. Seems a lot of work for 50 Euros, but then I don't know how much he has taken from others in this way.

by Steve YoungREADER’s

REPORT


4L TROPHY – MCS RACINGHello! If you have read any of my previous articles, you will remember that we were taking part in the Renault 4L Trophy 2013 and on our way to Morocco to donate 50kgs of equipment to schools.

Well, to follow up -‐ we drove for three days across the desert to Merzouga, where we gave the equipment to the ‘Children of the Desert’ along with 1437 other Renault 4L’s. In total 12 tons of equipment was donated.

Having camped in the desert we had only two days to get to Marrakech. Much of the camping time was “car talk” -‐ how to make repairs to the cars to enable us to continue the journey....

We spent a lot of time getting stuck in the sand and digging our way out with other Renault 4L cars; it was a real team effort. When we finally got to Marrakech and realised how dangerous the roads were, I decided I did not want to use my Renault 4L! The easiest solution was to use taxis but interestingly, the law in Morocco is 6 passengers in a 4 seater car!

I made some great friends along the journey, had a great adventure, loved riding a camel in the desert and the quad bikes were even better! To compete in the Renault 4L Trophy 2013 and to drive 6000kms was an experience I will never forget.

If anyone has any questions, or any students between the ages of 18-‐26 are thinking of taking part next year, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Keenan Dominey,Tel : 06 29 72 33 94 ~ Email: mcs-‐[email protected]

For a full list of our advertising rates, please phone 05 49 70 26 21 for an

advertising pack or download from our website: www.thedeuxsevresmonthly.fr

Find the Cheapest Fuel for Your Vehicles

If you would like to keep tabs on which local fuel

supplier is offering the best price for your chosen fuel type, just visit this government run website:-

www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr.

Simply select your department on the map, your chosen fuel type, and click the ‘Chercher’ button to search for the results.

Happy Searching and Saving!

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Selecting and Buying a New PC Part 2 -‐ Operating SystemsLast month I looked at the range of hardware available and gave you some indication of their cost. This month I would like to consider how you use your PC and look at mobile computing and the operating systems available for "Tablet" PCs in a bit more detail.

What is an operating system or OS?The operating system on your PC, tablet or mobile phone is the very basic software which allows your device to operate. It brings together the hardware chips and components inside your device so they all work in conjunction with each other. The operating system provides all of the basic functionality of your device, for example, being able to browse the internet and being able to run applications and/or on your phone being able to make calls, and send and receive text messages. Your choice of operating system has a massive impact on the look and feel of your device and the applications that it’s able to run.

Most of us have been brought up using Microsoft Windows on our PCs, which we are familiar with. There are two other operating systems for personal computers, Linux and Apple OS. Where as Linux is a "Free", open source OS based upon Unix, it is relatively new (1990s) whereas Apple and Microsoft have competed since the 1970s to get our business. Interestingly, Apple were the inventors/designers of what we now call Windows, allegedly copied by Microsoft!

A couple of newer operating systems have emerged recently, specifically for the mobile telephone and computing market. Apple have iOS and Google nurtured and developed Android, also a Unix based operating system, after initially supporting Android Inc. Google purchased them in 2005. These two operating systems were designed with mobile computing in mind, such as the type you do on your mobile telephone and tablet computer. Unlike iOS, Android is an open source software meaning that it is essentially open for all to use and develop free of charge.

Apple iOS.The most successful to date of these new operating systems so far is Apple's iOS and it is easily the most intuitive to use. It also has more applications (apps) than either of the other two operating systems with around 500,000 available. Whilst iOS is arguably the easiest to use, it is the least business orientated of the three. iOS is used exclusively on Apple products from the iPhone and iPod music devices through to the very successful iPad and iPad2 tablet computers. It was not designed to use a conventional keyboard, but a virtual one on a touch screen. It should be mentioned that iOS is

the least "work orientated" of the operating systems in the traditional sense.

AndroidGoogle internally developed Android as a free alternative to iOS, before releasing it to the Smartphone and tablet manufacturers free of charge. This has lead to the Andriod being adopted by most of the big Smartphone and tablet manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola. These companies take the basic Android operating system provided by Google and add their own customisation before installing it on their Smartphones and Tablets.

Android is set to be the dominant mobile operating system from the middle-‐end of 2013 and with around 400,000 apps available, is able to compete with iOS. Although the Andriod OS is not as slick and polished as the Apple iOS, it boasts a higher proportion of free apps and with the growth of its market share, I believe it will overtake the iOS for apps available in the not too distant future.

Google have two well-‐known devices using the Android system, the Nexus and the Google Chrome Book; great quality devices.

Windows Phone / Windows 8First released in 2010, Windows Phone is Microsoft's entry into the mobile operating system market. Windows Phone looks just like Windows 8 using Microsoft's tile-‐based Metro user interface. This does not use icons such as the other two operating systems but active tiles that show content and spread horizontally across the screen, designed to be operated via the touch screen technology. Microsoft's Windows Phone is now available on many manufacturer's phones such as Nokia's Lumia, Samsung's Omnia and also offerings by Sony, LG and HTC.

Microsoft also have a tablet PC known as the Surface. This has a conventional keyboard that clips to the tablet and is exceedingly slim and light. There are only around 40,000 apps for this device from the Windows Phone Marketplace. The range of applications available for Windows Phone is substantially smaller than on both iOS and Android but this is likely to increase as Windows Phone matures as an operating system.

There is no right or wrong, or best or worst operating system; each of them have their merits. It is simply a question of choosing one that suits your needs and budget. Next month we can consider these issues.

Ross Hendry is the proprietor of Interface Consulting and Engineering, who has over 42 years experience in Communications, Computer Technology and Direct Marketing. (See advert below for more information).

by Ross Hendry

Communications...

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-GB/marketplace

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Contact ‘The Deux-‐Sèvres Monthly’

La Bartière, 79130, Secondigny.Telephone: 05 49 70 26 21

or email: [email protected] see our website: www.thedeuxsevresmonthly.fr

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Get Together is a friendly association of English speakers of various nationalities who have made their home, or who have their second home, in the Deux-‐Sèvres and adjoining departments. Founded in 1989, the primary aims of the association are to provide an environment where members are able to socialise, make new friends, integrate and participate in the social life of France.

The group organises various events and activities throughout the year, including regular walks and lunches, book swaps and history group meetings. The summer months are particularly busy with events such as the annual GT horse racing day, summer BBQ, picnic and garden party.

Get Together has recently launched a new website at www.getogether-‐france.org which is available to both members and non-‐members. As well as providing information on forthcoming events, the site contains details of welfare

organisations and links to other useful sites. In addition, there is a photo gallery where you can browse through pictures of recent events and also have a look at the entries for our very popular calendar competition.

The association welcomes new members and offers a “try before you buy” scheme for anyone considering joining. Non-‐members are welcome to attend up to two events to help them to decide whether to become Get Together members. If you would like to come along to one of the events detailed on our website, please contact one of our co-‐ordinators who will be happy to reserve a place for you and provide any additional information you may require.

For more informa+on, contact one of our co-‐ordinators:John Buckley, Email: [email protected] or Tel: 05 49 07 70 68 AnneHe Green, Email: anneHe.jgreen@b+nternet.com or Tel: 05 49 33 41 90

Below: The Get Together Summer hog roast at l’Orangerie, La Mothe St Héray (picture by Tony Emmett)

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Building & Renovation...

Useful English Language Numbers... Cancer Support Deux-Sèvres: 05 49 64 59 96

French State health insurance advice line: 08 11 36 36 46

Elizabeth Finn Care (Grants and advice if in Financial need): 04 68 23 43 79

Orange Helpline: 09 69 36 39 00

EDF International Customer Service: 05 62 16 49 08

CLEISS (Social security advice between countries): 01 45 26 33 41

Association La Porte Ouverte (Open Door): 05 49 87 97 36 or www.opendoor-civray.com

Funeral Information (AFIF): 01 45 44 90 03 or www.afif.asso.fr

Passport Advice: 0044 208 082 4729

Annual Subscription Costs: 28€ within France, 18€ UK addresses.(Unfortunately the cheaper ‘printed papers’ rate cannot be applied to addresses within France, only when sending abroad)

Full Name:

Postal Address:

Please make cheques payable to SARAH BERRY.

Postcode: Country:

Tel:

Email:


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Short editorials can be offered to advertisers, free of charge.

Please call Sarah to find out more.Tel: 05 49 70 26 21

Contact ‘The Deux-‐Sèvres Monthly’

La Bartière, 79130, Secondigny.Telephone: 05 49 70 26 21



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Protect Your Savings

Since the Cyprus banking hit the headlines we have been getting enquiries from people concerned about the safety of their bank deposits.

Under an EU Directive, France’s Fonds de Garantie des Dépôt will refund bank depositors up to €100,000 should a bank fail. Savings above €100,000 the excess may be lost.

In Cyprus the situation is a little different. e initial plan to tax even accounts under €100,000 was thankfully rejected. However, deposits over €100,000 in the Cyprus’ two largest banks will suffer heavy losses, possibly 50% or even more!

e Cyprus disaster is a stark reminder that it is possible to lose money in the bank. So what can you do to protect your savings?

Remember that cash is not a ‘risk free’ asset. Besides the possibility of institutional failure, interest rates have been at historic lows for years and inflation has been eroding the value of bank deposits.

I would advise against keeping more than €100,000 in one banking group. Note that the compensation limit in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man is lower at £50,000, and they have a cap on the amount they will pay out.

It is important to diversify your capital over different assets. is reduces risk. You need to think of the cash as an investment asset in the same way as shares, bonds and property, and have suitable diversification to spread the risk.

Seek advice on alternative arrangements where you can “ring-fence” your assets from the institution holding them, so that if it fails, your money is protected.

Your investment decisions, whether to invest in shares, cash, or anything else, should be based on your personal objectives, circumstances, time horizon and risk tolerance. Speak to an experienced wealth manager like Blevins Franks to get tailored advice on the best asset allocation for you and asset protection.

To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com

by Bradley Warden, Partner, Blevins Franks

Business, Finance & Property...

Women’s business network

When Emma Willett met Marlies Colville over a haircut, they soon talked about the perils of setting up a business in France as they had both just joined the Auto Entrepreneur scheme. One as a mobile hairdresser and the other, a small business consultant respectively.

As a wife and mother in rural France this seemed even more of a challenge. Therefore the idea was born to set up a business network for women in similar situations to help each other, exchange ideas and experiences and to open networking possibilities (with the occasional glass of wine of course!). Also planned are themed seminars (Social Media, how to market your business, French lessons) and other events aimed at helping to promote women’s business. A commercial Trade Fair is to be held on September 15th.

If you are self employed or thinking of setting up a business, why not join us? We are based around the north of the Charente but have local groups for socialising and networking. Please find out more information on www.lesdamesdefer.fr or contact us by email: [email protected]

http://www.blevinsfranks.com

http://www.blevinsfranks.com


2013 Tax DeclarationsLa Déclaration des Revenus

The month of May in France always means tax return month. The French tax year is a straightforward, calendar year and the deadline for returning your completed declaration of income earned in 2012 is 27th May 2013. Those of you already in the system should receive your partially completed form (or “préremplie”) at the end of April.

As in previous years, the tax authorities have granted extra time for those who make their declarations on line at www.impots.gouv.fr, however, the amount of extra time given will actually depend on the number of the department you live in e.g. 11th June for depts. 79 and 85.

For “first-‐timers” you must collect a tax declaration from your local tax office, Centre des Impôts, or download one from the website above. If you have moved to France part way through the year, you will only declare income earned since the date of “arrival”. Any tax due is normally collected in September. Once you have completed your first tax return, you can complete subsequent returns on line at www.impots.gouv.fr.

What forms will you need?Whilst the Déclaration des Revenus comprise a variety of forms, according to your circumstances, here are some of the main forms that apply to expatriates:

• Form 2042This is the main tax form, which those of you already in the system will receive, where you should declare your worldwide income and gains.

• Form 2042C (“Complementary”)This is an additional form which is required for a number of situations, including where you have received income from furnished letting or chambres d’hôtes, or where you have paid tax in the UK that needs to be offset against French tax.

• Form 2047This is an additional form for any income received from outside of France. Foreign income must be declared on this form, as well as on Form 2042.

• Form 3916This is for details of any bank accounts situated outside of France.

What to declare?As a French resident, all of your worldwide income and gains should be declared on your French tax return. Any income which is normally taxed out of France e.g. on UK public sector pensions or UK rental income, will still be used to calculate your overall tax liability. The Double Tax Treaty will ensure, however, that you do not pay tax twice on this income, but these figures are needed to calculate the rate at which your other income should be taxed.

What exchange rate to use?Some tax offices tell people to use the £/€ exchange rate at the end of the year. In theory, you should have kept a note of the exchange rates applicable to your Sterling based income as you received it. However, for income which is received regularly such as a pension, for instance, the authorities will accept the use of the average exchange rate for the year; details of which are made public from various sources, including the official French revenue website noted earlier.

End

Wealth Tax (Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune or “ISF”)One major change that will affect some people is in respect of ‘Wealth Tax’ declaration.

From this year, anyone with taxable assets of between €1,300,000 and €2,570,000, as at 1st January 2013, will declare the asset figure on their income tax return.

Only those with more than €2,570,000 of taxable assets will have to continue making a separate wealth tax return in June.

David Hardy is Regional Manager of Siddalls France, Independent Financial Adviser, specialising in tax, inheritance, pension and investment planning for the British community in

the Poitou-‐Charentes since 1996. Tel: 05 56 34 75 51www.siddalls.fr

by David Hardy


Ask Amanda.April 2013 once again gave expatriates living in the Deux-‐Sèvres the opportunity to meet financial planners, currency exchange specialists, investment experts & other professionals in the relaxed environment of the ‘Tour de Finance’ in Niort.

This well attended event gave delegates the chance to ask questions about their financial wellbeing in an informative but informal environment. With eight different companies involved there was a wide range of interesting discussion topics.

A question I am often asked, which readily springs to mind from advertising & speaking to people at this event is:

“I reviewed my finances several years ago, why should I revisit them now?”At The Spectrum IFA Group, we believe that putting your financial affairs in order is just the start of our service to you. I frequently visit people who have not had their investments and financial plans reviewed since they first came to France. This means that there has been no chance for them to outline any changes to their circumstances or review how and where their money was invested and if those investments are still the right ones for them.

Jupiter Merlin explained during the ‘Tour de Finance’ how the economic performance of the major trading blocs has changed year-‐on-‐year for the last 10 years, whilst Michael Lodhi, Managing Director, of The Spectrum IFA Group explained how the cost of essential commodities had increased in real terms over the last 5. These economic changes demonstrate how important it is to review your financial position every year.

A review allows you to understand your current position, recognise any threats to your wellbeing, take a view on new opportunities & make appropriate changes to your investments.

For a free consultation on Inheritance tax, retirement planning, investments, and tax efficient buying or renovating your home; or if you would like to review y o u r c u r r e n t c i r c um s t a n c e s , please contact me on the numbers below.

Amanda Johnson, The Spectrum IFA Group. Tel: 05 49 98 97 46Email: amanda.johnson@spectrum-‐ifa.com

or “Ask Amanda” at [email protected]

PRÉVOYANCE = FORESIGHT…Do you have it?

Working in Insurance I see people in different walks of life and in various stages of their lives, each with their own needs and expectations. For that reason, we are covering a number of insurance topics to help you understand how best to insure and protect yourselves.

If you are self employed, this particular cover is invaluable for you.

Being self employed the word RSI probably means something to you. You will pay your monthly or quarterly ‘cotisations’ to your caisse under the umbrella of the RSI be you ‘artisan’, ‘commerçant’ or ‘profession libérale’.

If you become ill or injured and unable to work for a period, your cotisations give you access to the health system and will cover a certain amount of the cost of any care or treatment, the rest would be covered by your ‘top-‐up’ complémentaire insurance, but have you thought about who will pay your salary, your lost income? … It is unlikely that the RSI will.

Depending on which caisse you are attached to -‐ you may get a very small income, which could be up to a maximum 50% of the rate ‘capped’ by the caisse. If you are registered ‘profession libérale’ you will receive next to nothing.

Imagine you are unable to work for 2-‐3 months, how will you manage? The shopping still needs to be done and paid for, the bills too as a minimum. Add to that the cost of any ongoing projects, renovation work, school trips, holidays, problems with the car…The prévoyance contract is designed to cover you.

With his permission, I am using Bertrand’s situation as an example. He is 40 years old and earns 1500€/month, his wife works part time. They know that if Bertrand is unable to work due to illness or accident for any length of time, unable to bring home his salary, they will struggle. He would receive around 750€ from his caisse, which is only half of his usual income. His outgoings are not halved during his inability to work.

With his Gan Attitude Prévoyance contract, he has some peace of mind. He pays 12,51€ per month. This covers him for a capital of 20 000€ in the event of his death and for 300€/month to top up his income, which would balance out his revenue and enable them to keep afloat.

For more information on this subject please contact me directly at the office. I am available Monday – Friday, 9am-‐12pm and 2pm-‐6pm.



Making Life (and water) a Little Less HardOF ALL the words which strike terror into the hearts of those living the dream in France, bureaucracy, bindweed and limescale must be in everyone’s top ten.

Many householders get through a kettle or coffee machine every 18 months, making that morning cuppa a costly experience. Worse still, limescale causes unseen damage to pipes, taps and water heaters, with a replacement heater costing anything from 200€. More than 65% of households in France (and a similar figure in the UK) suffer from limescale problems from hard water. When your corner shop sells hydrochloric acid by the gallon, you know you have a problem!

The Cyane range of water conditioners has been launched onto the French market as a sensible and cost-‐effective alternative to traditional water softeners, with no salts or chemicals having to be added to the system. Cyane, a small computerised device, creates an electromagnetic field around the main inlet pipe, keeping the calcium and magnesium in suspension, but preventing the minerals from adhering to pipes and appliances. Because of the way it operates, the water retains health benefits and is drinkable straight from the tap.

Frances Bourne of Right Boxes Ltd, the exclusive distributor for France through www.touteau.com, says: “The idea came about because our then holiday home in Poitou-‐Charentes suffered from very hard water and the time we were in France was spent scrubbing like mad, trying to keep taps and surfaces clean. We saw a water conditioner and decided to develop one for the French market. After a few years on test, we have launched a complete range. Now we are full-‐time residents, we would not be without one!”

Cyane uses a high-‐frequency switched-‐polarity magnetic field which influences the charge of calcium ions, causing them to repel rather than attract each other, preventing them from sticking together. The technology is used by the likes of NASA and the US Coastguard for the same purpose. And prior to launch the dev ice has undergone independent laboratory trials at a British university.

Frances adds: “When money is tight or you are carrying out renovation projects, the last thing you want is to keep spending money on electrical appliances and plumbing, so the installation of this water conditioner will really help to keep unnecessary household expense down”.

A simple DIY installation, four sizes of Cyane electronic water conditioners are available, depending on the size of the property, number of bathrooms, toilets and appliances. This includes a larger heavy duty model suitable for swimming pools and hot tubs, or commercial applications. Installation instructions are supplied in French and English.

Cyane is named after a fresh water nymph (Naiad), in Greek mythology, who lived in a spring in the Sicilian town of Syracuse.

The Cyane range can be purchased online from www.touteau.com

Contact: Frances Bourne on +33 (0)9 70 46 97 17 or +44 (0) 20 3239 7320 ~ Email: [email protected]

End


Sentinel Security Systems Sentinel Security Systems is a small, family business operating in the West Midlands and it's founder John Flynn has been providing security services in the UK for over 30 years. The company is now expanding to France. With the expertise of the company behind them, Kate and Keith Selwood are able to offer the same quality service provided in the UK. They have lived in Deux-‐Sèvres for almost nine years. Keith has a wealth of experience in the electronics and installation and commissioning of computer systems. Kate's experience is in administration.

Why do you need an alarm system?Figures published recently by the crime statistics director show an increase in burglaries of 70% in rural areas over the past five years.

We know only too well what an unpleasant experience it is being burgled; before we moved here permanently our house in France was broken into four times. We also know that even comprehensive insurance can leave you out of pocket by thousands.

We offer reasonably priced wireless systems that will detect an intruder in your home, sound an external alarm and inform you via a telephone message, or SMS, if the system has been triggered. This system can work hand in hand with a CCTV system whereby your home can be viewed via the internet or Smartphone.

In a nutshell this technology allows us to view our property in real time via the internet from anywhere in the world and for a relatively small cost. The alarm system is simple to use with a key fob and can also be checked, activated and deactivated remotely.

We offer a free on site survey, advice and quotations within Deux-‐Sévres and adjoining departments.

There are a number of payment options, including an equipment leasing service, which makes it affordable even on a small budget.

Contact Kate or Keith Selwood on 05 49 09 77 47 or by email: selwood@cc-‐parthenay.fr

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Caring for those who care for FranceWe all need good neighbours – and the network in Poitou-‐Charentes of ‘Les Bons Voisins’ has increased to include Paul and Hazel Murphy based in 79340, Les Forges.

Since 2002 the network founded in southern Brittany has spread across France. With the LBV Group you can buy a property, obtain planning permissions if necessary, and maintain or let it all at a distance through people you can trust who have more than ten years of experience helping owners in France.

Paul and Hazel, who had always planned to undertake property management when they made their move to France, realised that by joining this high profile professional network they would make themselves more easily available to second home owners in their chosen corner of France. They know from their own experience before they came to live in France full time, that long distance ownership can be stressful and whether a problem is administrative (EDF bills estimated incorrectly) or practical (you need someone to supervise the installation of that swimming pool!) by acting on the owners behalf, they can take away that strain.

Where they are not able to actually undertake work themselves (they don’t pretend to be builders for example), they can organise

artisans to undertake the work. They have many local contacts with whom they work on behalf of their clients, ensuring the high standards of professional service expected of ‘Les Bons Voisins’. The fact that Hazel is a fluent French speaker and Paul has a high level of practical skills, means that whatever your issue, they can help.

Don’t hesitate to contact them for a friendly initial chat – without obligation!


Sunny Outlook for French PropertyMarketLast month saw both the first day of Spring and a budget which was great news for UK homeowners.

The onset of Spring in France has traditionally been the time that international buyers reappear looking to snap up a bargain. 2013 is no exception and our agents are reporting increased activity, both in the Deux-‐Sèvres & right across the country. The penny (or centime) seems to have finally dropped that homeowners and agents should price sensibly and we are seeing some terrific bargains being snapped up by clients. We have seen a 31% growth in sales over this time last year and our call-‐centre team are reporting an increase in viewings booked since the onset of Spring.

Perhaps the fact that the weather in the UK has been so poor this winter has also added to the increase in demand from British buyers who have brought forward their plans to find a dream home in the sun.

Watching the news coming out of the UK over the winter, it appears as though they have had some terrible weather. Actually the winter average of 3.3˚C is pretty standard and it has only been marginally wetter (104%) than usual, in addition they have had 5% more sunshine than on average!

This prompted us to compare the UK average hours of sunshine for the last four months (215 hours) with our nearest weather station in Bordeaux (392 hours) -‐ the significance of these figures is that international investors often quote climate as one of the most important factors when choosing a destination. This is intensified by the 24 hour "news culture" we now live in where pictures of people adversely affected by snow and rain are omnipresent on our TV and computer screens.

The fact that you can gain such a dramatic increase in sunny days with what is a relatively short hop across the channel makes a property in France seem even more desirable to UK buyers.

The budget that George Osborne announced a few weeks ago is also likely to indirectly help stimulate demand too. The UK media has dubbed it a "budget for homeowners" with a range of measures announced under the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme aimed at stimulating the housing market. The government is supporting £130bn of mortgages over three years and if confidence returns to the UK market then this spills over into overseas holiday homes too. With so many purchasers looking for a mixture of lifestyle & investment returns, we think that France (and perhaps the Deux-‐Sèvres) is ideally placed to profit.

It's clear that bargains are to be had across all price ranges at the moment and let’s face it, the Deux-‐Sèvres has plenty of well priced property to choose from.

by Trevor Leggett, Chief Executive

End

Leggett Immobilier is one of the leading estate agents in France. You can access all their local property listings and articles atwww.frenchestateagents.com/poitou-‐charentes-‐property.

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