If making choux pralinés under the watchful eye of the winner of the last series of TV’s Le Meilleur Pâtissier sounds stressful, think again. Rachel Levesque – who was crowned…
While friends and family spent the Easter weekend sheltering from rain and snow, Damon and I got sunstroke as we made our way south to Nouvelle Aquitaine. Seriously. The sun…
My birthday wish has come true: I’m back in the south west. I have 4 days here to enjoy catching up with friends and visiting old haunts. I like to…
Emmanuel Macron launched a drive this week to give the French language a boost. That’s all well and good – but someone should tell the French. Here, speaking English is…
No matter what your politics, you have to take your hat off to Pierre Mauroy, the former Socialist French prime minister and mayor of Lille. Without him, there would be…
Switching apples for pears and adding a hint of rosemary is the perfect way to bring the classic tarte Tatin bang up to date. It’s also a great way to…
Ce qui ne nous tue pas nous rend plus fort, as the French say. Well, move over Jean-Claude van Damme, I’ve had quite a week. A new role has been…
Forget Roquefort, Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme d’Ambert. I’ve found a new blue cheese to try: Pavé Bleu. Trouble is, I can’t find it anywhere. I wouldn’t mind but it’s produced…
Getting hooked on a TV series is one of the things I enjoy about winter – and if I can improve my language skills while binge-watching, so much the better.…
The publication this week of the Michelin stars for 2018 has created a sensation up and down the country. Here in Lille, we’re celebrating the naming of a 3rd restaurant…
Monaco may be a playground for the rich and famous, but our day out there quickly became little more than a pit stop. We didn’t love it. I had wanted…
If there is a better way to mark an anniversary than with a few days away on the Côte d’Azur’s most glamorous of cities, I have yet to find it.…
I have finally worked up the courage to try boudin blanc – only to find it was a sheer delight. There was no reason to have avoided it after all.…
The news of France Gall’s death this week has hit me badly. She was – and is – my favourite French chanteuse of all time. Her untrained vocals and girl-next-door…
Forget New Year’s resolutions – for me, the start of a new year means it time for French onion soup. What started out as a hangover cure many years ago…
We will remember 2017 as the year we moved to France. Although we had been planning to make the move for some time, this year is the year we did…
Chris Rea has a lot to answer for. I couldn’t get his 1988 Christmas hit out of my head this morning as I boarded the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk.…
I was interviewed this week about Brexit. Now I just hope I won’t be vilified in the media like the British Conservative MPs who voted on Wednesday to give Parliament…
Fifteen minutes is all it takes. No, not that. A quarter of an hour is all you need to have a conversation at a language-exchange night. Damon and I signed…
Shopping is definitely one of the reasons I like living in Lille. Now it seems I am not alone in appreciating the city – the Guardian has ranked it number…
