Everyone loves painting!

French children start school quite young, at 3 years old and when Iona and Joe were in the 'Maternelle' class (from 3 - 7 years old) throughout the year there would be numerous events that bought the youngest and the oldest people of the commune together. 

The Mardi Gras 'carnival' was always a great afternoon!. The children would dress up and walk round the village whilst the older members of the village would prepare crepes and hot chocolate and wait for the children to barge into the village hall!. Everyone would then sit at long tables eating crepes and drinking hot chocolate (I seem to remember that the older folk would also knock back a fair bit of Rosé !!) The elderly would admire the childrens' costumes and the children would speak so easily and freely to the older people. Everyone benefited from these occasions.

A retirement home in Brittany has taken this idea one step further. When the commune could not meet the parents demand for a crèche the retirement home offered part of its building to be used as a crèche. Within the building there are some communal areas where the elderly residents and the children and meet and share stories!. They also enjoy joint workshops on cookery, arts and crafts, and music.

Care home residents find the children give them back their joie de vivre and the crèche workers have seen that the children are a lot calmer and gentler when they are with the elderly residents.

Measuring happiness!

Every three months a Paris think-tank works out the ‘happiness GDP’ of France, and its latest findings show that it is rising faster than its economic equivalent.


The think-tanks chief happiness officer, can you believe that is actually a job title, chief happiness officer, now that job wouldn’t allow you to be grumpy, not just for one second!.

Well, the chief happiness officer believes that the French generally have a negative world view but a very positive personal view. She believes that a key element to happiness are good social links and she has recommended that the government improve town planning to maximise opportunities for social gatherings.

Welcome to France and buy a pigs entrail from a vending machine!

When we think of vending machines we think of cold drinks, coffee, chocolate and sweets.

Only in France, can you buy eggs, potatoes, bread, cheese, steak and pig’s intestines from 24-hour street vending machines!

In the Parisian meat vending machine you find everything from Carpaccio de Boeuf at €6, a tender 250g faux-filet steak for €8, pork chops for €5 but also Bayonne ham from the Basque country, chicken and even eggs.
 
Payment can be made by cash or by credit card.

The installation of the meat vending machines, continues a long a trend in France of making sure the public can get their fix of Gallic food 24 hours a day.

In 2011 Paris got its first 24-hour baguette dispenser when Jean-Louis Hecht put one next to his bakery in the 19^th arrondissement.

Dismissing the notion that selling bread in automatic dispensers was tantamount to sacrilege for the French, he said: “This is the bakery of tomorrow. It is answering a real need. To me it’s a public utility.”

Baguette vending machines are now a fairly common sight in French cities.

Working factories increase in popularity.

Finding out just how things are ‘Made in France’ is a growing tourism sector with many businesses now opening their doors to visitors.

Websites and guide books have been produced promoting venues from traditional crafts such as pottery, cheese, wines and olives to heavy industry including car, boat and plane manufacturers.

The idea is that tourists will look up these factories in the same way that they seek out museums and historical monuments when they go on holiday.

As the number of manufacturing companies declines people have less day to day contact with industry and they are keen to find out how everyday items are produced. The companies involved also see this as a way to promote their businesses.

We have visited many working factories in Brittany and I would really recommend la belle-iloise conserverie à Quiberon (sardines), the Airbus factory at Saint Nazaire and the Biscuiterie à Muzillac.

King Arthur, was he French or English?

King Arthur was a British leader, wasn’t he?… Well, that is what I always thought, now I am not so sure.

We seem to live in the heart of ‘King Arthur world’. Every other street in Guer and Ploërmel are dedicated to the King Arthur legend.

Several episodes of the Arthurian saga take place in the magical Forêt de Brocéliande, which is just ten minutes away! In this forest you will find ‘Merlin’s tomb’, ‘the Valley of no return’ and The Église Sainte-Onenne which is steeped in Arthurian lore – its windows depict many scenes of Arthur’s adventures.

Being very diplomatic, I don’t think King Arthur was either French or English. The legends surrounding King Arthur date back to a time before there was a Britain or a France. Before France was unified, Britain (la Grande Bretagne) and Brittany (la Petite Bretagne) had very close ties.

Legends may well have been exchanged, with several episodes of the saga having taken place in the magical and mystical Forêt de Brocéliande.

Are the French rude, or simply misunderstood

The French would argue that the French aren’t rude. Foreigners just don’t understand the codes of French conversation.

Basically French society has different codes of behaviour and standards of what is considered polite. In day to day interactions with the French, you could be breaking any number of those rules without even knowing it.

One of the most important words in the French language is ‘Bonjour’. Yet, this simple word is frequently disregarded, or used improperly by foreign visitors to France. You can’t have any interaction with the French unless you say bonjour, you say it in a meaningful way, and you give them a chance to say bonjour back.

By not waiting for a bonjour in return before you ask a question, you’re not giving them time to acknowledge or give you permission to continue the conversation.

Given France’s history of revolution and motto of egalité, you can imagine why they may be a little touchy when they feel like they’re being spoken down to.

It’s all coconuts and peaches
A common reason French people are perceived as being rude is a certain ‘frostiness’ and lack of desire to engage in small talk. The reason we might feel that way is all to do with peaches and coconuts.

The world is divided into “peaches” and “coconuts”. Or at least that’s according to German-American Psychologist Kirt Lwein, who says that cultures can be divided into these two fruits.

Peaches are warm on the outside, and share personal stories, but make the mistake of thinking that is genuine intimacy and you’ll hit the core ‘inner self’ stone, Lewin argues. Whereas coconuts seem aloof and cold at first, but once you get through to their tough outer shell, they become genuine and open.

If the French are coconuts, then that makes English speaking visitors mainly peaches, and that clash can create some awkwardness. The immediate openness of “peaches” can be off putting for “coconuts”, as the French can perceive immediate openness as being superficial and invasive.
It is probably best to approach French people in a humble but very friendly way, which can often result in their outer shell “melting away”. Just don’t be surprised if a French person doesn’t want to share their own personal life right away.

The Mercedes brand was born in France

The iconic German car brand, Mercedes was named after the daughter of a businessman who lived in the Côte d’Azur at the beginning of the 20^th century.

Emil Jellinek was a successful Austrian businessman based in Nice. He was passionate about racing cars. He enjoyed the German Daimler cars but was frustrated with the slow speeds of just 24kph! He demanded speeds of 40kph.

In 1898 Damlier produced the first four cylinder engine car which could produce speeds of 35kph.

Jellinek used his position to advertise and sell these cars to the wealthy residents of Côte d’Azur and it was agreed that these cars would be called Damlier Mercedes after his daughter Mércédès.