My French Fancy

Wise words from the Bard  Shakespeare wrote a poem about youth (allegedly) called " Crabbed Age and Youth" which  is about the sharp contrast between the young and the old. In it he says " Youth is full of pleasance while age is full of care". Now as we all know Shakespeare only lived until he was 52 (pretty old for those days) so he did not totally reach the grumpy old man stage. Senior  adults are often heard saying " I wouldn't want to be young in this day and age" my Grandfather included. This was brought home to me last week when my daughter Ellie and niece Lauren came to visit, they are both in their mid twenties and are a pure joy to be around.  And Gladys! As Gladys Knight  says in her rendition of The Way We Were /try to remember" "Hey, you know, everybody's talkin' about the good old days, right Everybody, the good old days, the good old days Well, let's talk about the good old days Come to think of it as, as bad as we t...

  What have I missed! I could kick myself, as I recently discovered that there is an exhibition by David Hockney at the Bayeux museum. It opened in September 2022 and finishes at the end of April 2023 but it is closed for the whole of January-  not sure why, as it would be great thing to do when the weather is bad. www.bayeuxmuseum.com I visited the Bayeux tapestry a few years ago with Tim and Irene - Tim completed the whole thing quicker than doing the 100m dash (it's actually 68 metres long) as he did not realise that you are supposed to pause the audio at each of the scenes (there are 58) or perhaps he did it purposely?. When we arrived at the gift shop (don't you just love a gift shop) I saw a needlework kit that recreated a part of the tapestry.  "oooh I could do that " I said " no you couldn't" said Tim and Irene simultaneously  I bought a key ring instead which I still use to this day (unlikely to be the case with the needlework). A year in Norman...

  Happy New Year! Had a fab New Year's Eve in our own home with good friends, some fabulous fancy dress, tasty food and a very quaffable punch (thank you Dawn and Vernon for that).  Have you ever noticed how we judge whether a night out was any good or not by what time we got home ? Well I went to bed at 3am so I had fab time! My 2023 has got off to a great start - my dearest friend Helen (well she is now) has a ticket for me to see Michael Buble in May and our friends Chris and Maggie have invited us to central France in the summer. Start the year off as you mean to go on that's what I say!. New Year Resolutions- Here we go!  I'd love to say I am giving up wine but I live in France and I (and other Expats) must keep the economy going. It would be like giving up a full English breakfast in the UK - the whole country would come to a grinding halt.  What happened in Sainsbury's-  Whilst in the UK I went to Sainsbury's on Christmas Eve morning and I was impressed w...