Letters from France - Letters to the Editor

One day last week One day last week I visited a friend in the south east of the Dordogne. As soon as I arrived she began to tell me about a bird who visited their balcony every day, took crumbs from the table and generally played about, giving my friend and her husband an enormous amount of pleasure.
I visualised a sparrow as my friend had not mentioned the species. I had barely taken my first sip of tea, when, out of the sky came swooping a magnificent magpie, its black, white and blue plumage shining in the sun. It alighted on the table and the first thing I noticed was the huge eyes which looked so intelligent, on closer inspection I saw tiny eye-lashes -I did not realise birds had lashes. Then to my utter amazement, this gorgeous bird jumped on my shoulder and tried to take off my spectacles. We had a little play, but it did not peck me, a quick snatch of the cake crumbs from the table and then she sat on the back of the chair observing everyone there.
We stayed for an hour, the bird played all the time and then just as we were thinking of going, she flew across the road to our car, in through the window and sat on the dashboard.
I have thought about this beautiful bird ever since, a most remarkable experience

ONE DAY THIS WEEK

I telephoned my friend today specifically to ask if the magpie was still visiting, she told me that after we left they did not see the bird for two days but on the third day the magpie arrived minus a few feathers on her head and one leg in plaster, the bird’s friendliness had obviously caused her problem with either animal or human, but she had been well treated and I can only hope that this wonderful, friendly creature will recover and give a great deal of pleasure to all who meet her. Jeanne Murphy Reply to this Letter

Wine Article - Conversations with Charlie Dear Editor
I have really enjoyed your Letters from France e magazine and am really looking forward to my holiday in France this summer. Reading the articles has made me look anew at the country I regularly visit. I think my holiday this year is going to be even better as I recall the stories I have heard about France and its people, its history and its food and wine.
Particularly enjoyable have been the articles on wine ‘conversations with Charlie’ but they have also reminded me of a small problem. I think it maybe because I am in essence a very English person. I do find it difficult to stop for a ‘degustation’ and then leave without buying a case of wine. Usually the wine fulfils my expectations but with only a small car and therefore limited space, I would really prefer just to a buy a bottle or two, or even sample the wine and then look for it back in the UK. How do other readers manage this? I feel so guilty having sampled their wine not to buy. I would really appreciate hints and tips from others.
Yours faithfully, Lilly Thompson Reply to this Letter

'Ours' not 'Whores' I found the piece on 'Fete des Ours' very interesting largely because it brought back a memory of a holiday in the Dordogne.
We were camping near Sarlat back in about 1974 and thought we should take my daughter Anita (aged about 12) and son Ian (about 10) into one of the huge 'Grottes' - cannot remember which one. We were the only English people in a guided party of about 16 people. Deep under ground the cave opened up and there in front of us was about a metre of deep hard mud with many closely packed,smooth and large circular depressions, about three metres diameter. The guide who had a strong accent and spoke quite fast for me explained , as I heard it , they were made by 'whores! I just could not think how such people might have made these holes!
My kids wanted to know what they were and this was not easy to explain! I kept asking to try and comprehend and was getting no where. Eventually a German man said very hesitantly 'Teddy Bear peut etre?' And the penny dropped!
I just had not met the word 'Ours' before and was glad to be able to explain to family that the depressions were made by bears which had hibernated in the cave hundreds of years ago.
So the French for 'Bear' has never left me!
Alan Gifford, UK Reply to this Letter

Standing and Delivering Can anyone advise me how to use those long drop French loos which are just a black hole in the ground? I've managed to avoid them for years, but I know that sooner or later I'll have to go and won't be able to find anywhere else.
Christine Marsh, Poitiers, France Reply to this Letter

Mavis, Bognor, UK writes:
My advice would be carefully! Having had the experience of one during a cycling holiday.... I was desperate as one can get after a few hours in the saddle, shorts etc round ankles, bend zee knees and well squat but at that moment cramp set in .. ooh er sort of hopping round the rim so to speak, managed to do what a girl had to do, then flushed the loo as one does - DON'T FLUSH THE LOO until you are well clear of the receptacle otherwise feet tend to get washed as well, the trick is of course to have a piece of string or wool with you that you tie to the chain and loop over the door- once outside pull, hey presto no wet feet and you have flushed the loo. Hope this helps.

Let them eat Vegetables An aspect of French cuisine not often touched on is the French attitude to vegetarians. As a regular visitor to France over decades, I have never enjoyed a really excellent meal, however hard I have tried.
J. Cooper, Kent, UK Reply to this Letter

L. Palmer, from Essex, UK writes:
Asking for a vegetarian meal in France, I would get a cold or angry response until I learned to say I was "au régime." This evoked sympathy for my apparently enforced privation. In other words, it was considered acceptable to eschew meat for my own wellbeing, but unacceptable on any suspicion of compassion for animals. I suppose an ordinary meat eater would have to plead high chloresterol if he or she wanted to refuse the abominably produced foie gras.

R. Hughes, UK writes:
You can't get a decent vegetarian meal in France. Plus they're all too proud to learn English. And just try to have a decent chat about Ambridge!

French Flour? Having read with great interest the activities of other Brits in France I wonder if anyone can explain the French flours. They seem to have red and blue bags (thought it could mean plain and self-raising) but although tried to find out the difference I couldn't get an answer that I really understood. Can anyone help? I do make my own bread (traitor I know) as well as yorkshire puds which require plain flour. As far as I can understand the French use both red and blue bagged flour and use a raising agent in both so what is the difference?
J Coley Reply to this Letter

Christine Coombes, who contributes the Foody column, writes:
It does take a while to understand the labelling system on French flour, and I sympathise with the reader who thought the secret of whether flour was self-raising or not might lie in the colour of the bag. It isn’t the colour of the bag you need to look at basically the labelling works like this. On the side of every bag of wheat flour is a Type No. This number varies according to the percentage of the whole grain used in the manufacture of that particular flour. Type 45 is the standard white flour used for cake-making, it is excellent for sponge and other light cakes, it can also be used to make white bread but it isn’t ideal for this purpose. Type 55 is slightly less refined but still gives a more or less ‘white flour’ result; it is good for things like fruit or cherry cakes, excellent for pastry and can also be used to make an almost white bread. Types 65, 80 and 110 are all stronger flours that show some colour in cakes or breads. As the type number used increases so does the darkness of the resulting crumb because the higher the type number the greater the proportion of the whole grain that has been used to make it. Type 150 gives the darkest crumb of all because it is whole grain flour. However as usual with all rules there are exceptions and it is becoming fairly common to find bags of flour just labelled Pain Blanc, these are (outside the system) specifically for making completely white bread. As well as the number other messages appear on the packet ‘avec poudre levante incorporée’ literally means with raising powder incorporated i.e. it is self raising. ‘Fluide’ indicates that the flour is light and free flowing and ‘La Garantie Anti-Grumeaux’ means the guaranteed lump free.

Descendant of Jacques de Villiers Thank you for your January edition which was most enjoyable.

I am a direct descendant (8th generation) of one Jacques de Villiers who with his two brothers fled France because they were Protestant.They first went to the Netherlands and eventually made their way to South Africa roundabout 1689.

I have had the good fortune to visit Paris(my favourite city) on more than one occasion. My most memorable visits, however, have been to Southern France – had a lovely lunch at Le Bistrot du Paradoux near Mausanne and visited Nimes, Arles and Avignon. We spent some time near Olanzac and Minervois, drove to Carcassonne and then on to the Sarlat area (to visit my roots!) and then right across the country to Sisteron and on to Marseilles. We found the French to be friendly and helpful and the culture obviously not that difficult to identify with.

Unfortunately life in South Africa has become problematic with the extremely high rate of crime in this country. We have been burgled twice in this month only. Yesterday a colleague of mine’s mother was hijacked. She is still in hospital. Sometime ago my 92 year old mother was violently attacked in her own house. Our little president is totally out of touch with reality and the government does not have the competence (and the political will) to do anything about the problem.

After 318 years this part of the De Villiers family is seriously considering going back to where we came from – France. It will not be an easy decision. South Africa is a beautiful country with lots of sunshine but the price we have to pay is not worth it anymore. One lives in constant fear for your one life and the lives of your relatives. A move to another country is obviously traumatic. There are financial considerations to be taken into account and of course after eight generations one’s French is rather rusty or non existent!

In the meantime we will content ourselves with “Letters from France.”

Willem S de Villiers, Stellenbosch, South Africa Reply to this Letter

Keith Bryer from Cape Town writes:
As a passionate lover of all things French, I can only echo the sentiments of Jaques de Villiers, the South African who despairs for the crime we all face daily in South Africa. I too would move to France in an instant if it were possible. Should the French Government be interested in injecting a million or two hard-working protestants into its farming hinterland it has only to lift its immigration laws to accommodate Afrikaners and English speaking South Africans, to release a flood of applicants. They may turn out to be conservative in their politics but very few of them would vote for M le Pen when they receive ultimately French citizenship -- despite what you may have heard.

Bonjour!

I was prompted to write after recently spending two weeks with long standing friends in St Aubin de Cadelech. My wife and I have been going to France since 1966 and spent our honeymoon in Paris in 1967.

While living in the UK we would visit France at least twice a year. Since moving to Australia we have only been three times. As I retired this year, one of the reasons for our latest trip was to see if we could possibly retire to France, but we have decided to stay in Oz as all our four children are here, and have now moved out of Sydney up to the Blue Mountains about two hours drive away.

During our recent visit to France I was alarmed at the number of English in the area. Everywhere you went you could hear English spoken. I also noticed in a supermarket near Miramont that the signs above the various aisles were in English as well as French. Surely, when in France, do as the French do. I have been learning French for the last 30 years off and on and I don't see why the local French pander to recent English arrivals.

I read absolutely everything published here on France, from Peter Mayle to Mary Moody. Incidentally on our recent trip we tried to find the restaurant in Pomarede run by Madame Murat to no avail. We got to within a couple of kilometres but could not find it. We had better luck with Les Arques, as mentioned in the book "From here you can't see Paris." However the restaurant was closed for renovations. Our recent trip also included a visit to Angouleme Circuit des Remparts which was amazing. So many enthusiasts driving precious machinery with verve and vigour around the ancient town. Where else, apart from Monaco can you do that? Only in France. Vive la différence.

I have just subscribed to the Letters from France and will look forward to comments from your readers. Sue Wells's article on "Romans ruin the French wine industry" was very interesting. It seems as though the circle is still turning ,as currently Australia is providing many of the top wine makers in France.

Regards Tony and Edwina Farr.

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