May 2012

Normandy inSite is steadily growing and our reader-base has greatly increased since the launch 4 months ago. We are looking to expand our team and wish to find one or two self-motivated,... Read More

There is no doubt about that, and of course the election results in Greece and France have done nothing to calm market jitters.  As predicted, it was a close and ill-tempered contest in France,... Read More

The annual tax return needs to be completed by the end of May in France. Most of us will have some income derived from the UK and you will need the ‘pink’ form 2047 to declare income earned... Read More

If you ask a British person what the words ‘trot’, ‘trots’ or ‘trotter’, you will usually get one of these replies: Montezuma’s Revenge, Delhi Belly or... Read More

This month, I’ve decided to talk about brown – no not because I’ve had too much chocolate over Easter! but because we talked about black last month and wanted to show an alternative... Read More

Dentists…. Yuk… the very word fills most of us with fear.  Luckily we are not dragged into the surgery, on a lead, like our poor dogs who dislike a visit to the Vet with the same intensity. I... Read More

This year’s brevet, or DNB – diplôme national du brevet – takes place on 28 and 29 June. Whilst most students will go on to lycée to study for a bac, the brevet, taken at the end of... Read More

It is widely believed that France has voted for change rather than a definite wish to have a Socialist government represented by François Hollande. Certainly European politics will fee... Read More

Recently, we were introduced to two very inviting and appealing château bed and breakfasts in Normandy.  In this issue we will tell you about the first, in Calvados ~ Basse Normandie ~ a... Read More

AVF is a national association (registered under the French law of 1901) with 350 local branches throughout France (local A.V.F) non confessional, non political, run by trained volunteers. Its... Read More

Normandy is probably one of the best parts of France for fishing with the Sée and Selune rivers in the Manche being the two main salmon rivers in the whole country (representing 40% of the salmon... Read More

You’re sitting in the garden surveying your newly acquired French acres, there’s a knock at the door and the local farmer is explaining that the previous owner let him graze his cattle on that... Read More

If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d... Read More

The French banking system is not the same as the British – one of the huge advantages being that in France it is still possible to talk to your bank manager face to face. Try doing that in... Read More

In 2007 we sold our house in Kent and prepared to move to Normandy.  As we began our preparation, gave notice to our bosses, we had the bad news that I had breast cancer.  Plans were put on hold,... Read More

Always look on the Bright Side of Life This “Life of Brian” song keeps popping into my head at the moment. As individuals, we can do little or nothing to change the big issues in this world. The... Read More

I love spinning silk!   Although not the easiest of fibres to spin and not a fibre to learn to spin with, it gives a great deal of satisfaction once mastered.  Under a microscope you will see... Read More

The other day I half noticed the word ‘canisiais‘ in the headline to a small article in the Ouest France paper, and had no idea what it meant. Reading the piece showed me that it... Read More

I am not a natural linguist, and it has taken me a long time to become reasonably confident in French. Along the way, I have found a few things that helped that might be worth passing on. To... Read More

Whilst writing this the jury is out on whether Hollande or Sarkozy will be elected.  The two candidates in the second round of the presidential election offer different measures in real estate.... Read More

May 8th - La Fête de la Victoire is a political holiday. Every city, town and village in France has a “monument aux morts” where there is a list of names of those citizens who lost... Read More