OFF ON OUR TRAVELS
Those readers of maturity – i.e., old enough to recall Sacha Distel singing Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head – may remember the advertising phrase, "Your holiday abroad begins aboard". However, it is our experience that sometimes a sense of discord sets in before...
QUEEN ELIZABETH 26TH APRIL 1926 – 8TH SEPTEMBER 2022
The term ‘Entente Cordiale’ is a familiar one, yet its meaning is often taken forgranted. Put simply, it refers to the pact signed on the 8 th of August 1904 tobring to an end centuries of hostility between the UK and France. In theaftermath of the death of Queen...
TERM STARTS – AVEC BEAUCOUP DE GCSE
I previously discussed the joys of waiting for GCSE results, but on the 26th ourapprehension finally ended. However, it has to be said that among the verycreditable array of grades was a less than stellar mark in a certain language.Yes, with comedy timing that would...
A BIRTHDAY AT THE CHATEAU
A gratifying number of readers seem to recall our appearance on Escape to TheChateau; DIY, especially the Australian gentleman complaining about theslavery he regularly endured as part of his lot. This, of course, was a grossexaggeration as Chateau de Bois Giraud...
WELCOME BACK
It is good to be back. Over the past weeks, I have been spending my time marvelling at the Hades that is British daytime television, re-reading novels, and watching box-sets. For that reason, Venetta for the Saint will forever remain in my memory, not least because of...
FRESH IDEAS
Today, I have been mostly considering The Bad Food Guide – and one gem of a story found therein. For those unfamiliar with one of the great tomes of British culinary history, it was authored by Derek Cooper and published in 1967 - a time when many regarded a Berni Inn...
WHEN BACK AT THE CHATEAU…
Or, what am I most looking forward to once I am able to travel again? My answers may surprise you, but they are mine own… 1) The cars. The gentle reader may have noticed that I am somewhat of a motor-vehicle fanatic. The days of the Renault 4CV, the Citroën DS19, the...
The Gate of the Year
At this time, I thought this poem seemed apt. God Knows, also known as The Gate of the Year was written by Minnie Louise Haskins and famously broadcast by HM King George VI as part of his 1939 Christmas broadcast: And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the...
DAYS OF LEMONS
I am writing this blog on St. David’s Day, a time of the year where there is a palpable sense of renewal. It is not merely the quality of the light and how the evenings are longer but also the changes in the flora and the fauna. The summer feels somewhat closer and...
Joyeuse Saint Valentin!
Ah, Valentine’s Day – cards, heart-shaped chocolates with strawberry fondant centres and various ballads emanating from the local radio station. At least these seem to be the standard British practices on the 14th February, but at Chateau de Bois Giraud you are...