Author: ournormandylife

Our French Life

The One With Second Degree Burns Part II

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hospital 2

Where was I? If you haven’t read about how I came about my 2nd degree burns you can read about it here.  So having pierced one of the blisters (with a sterile needle) the night of the fireworks and shoving a plaster over it – I went to bed and managed to get some sleep. The next morning, as instructed by all and sundry,  I made my way to our local A&E (urgence) straight from the school run with the words “sepsis” ringing in my ears. Better to be safe than sorry. Right? Continue reading “The One With Second Degree Burns Part II” →

Our French Life

The One With Second Degree Burns – Part I

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toffee apples
Never. Ever. Make these.

So I have Je me suis brûlée les doigts or J’ai brûlée mes doigts but never, I have been reliably informed,  Je me suis brûlée mes doigts.  I’m pretty sure I used a mixture of the two and yes, I kind of understand why you would say, “the fingers” when you’ve already said it’s happened to you as in Je me suis. But ultimately, when I held my fingers up heavily bandaged, this transcended any grammatical errors. That and saying it was hot sugar to which the clever Frenchies proclaimed “caramélisé?!”. Prior to that it hadn’t occurred to me to give boiling hot sugar its correct term. They stopped short of calling me an Fffing idiot. Continue reading “The One With Second Degree Burns – Part I” →

Our French Life

The Angry Elf At The Déchetterie

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pumpkins

It’s the school holidays here. One of the big carrots for Master Normandy II to move here was double the half term holidays. Well more or less. This one is two weeks not one, Christmas is more or less the same give or take a few extra days. The February one – yarp that’s two weeks and, oh my days the April one is three weeks and not two! Although they don’t get the week in June off like the UK. Swings and roundabouts but watch out here comes the swing again – a whopping 8 weeks off over summer not 6 weeks. Okay the days are longer but pound for pound, franc for franc, euro for euro this ain’t too shabby. Continue reading “The Angry Elf At The Déchetterie” →

Our French Life, our relocation life

How Not To Get Fat In France

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almond crossiant

I had you at the title didn’t I? I think this can certainly apply to both men and women and all ages so listen up if you don’t want to be labelled the ‘fat anglais(e)” in the village. Okay so if you are planning a move to France you’ll probably think, like many before you, that the weight if you’re carrying a few extra pounds (who isn’t right?) will just fly off.

You will come to that assumption based on all the ‘running around’ you’ll be doing prior to the move and after. I always find this expression quite farcical it’s normally banded about after you’ve had a baby. People say “the weight will soon fly off what with all that running around after the baby”. Sorry what? Please show me a new mum that ran anywhere after giving birth and specifically after a baby that can’t move for the first 8 months. I digress. Continue reading “How Not To Get Fat In France” →

Our French Life, our relocation life

The Wild West Of Normandy

ournormandylife

playmobil

Now, I was initially going to write this post about the British ‘ex-pats’ in Normandy and all that goes with that. However, following on from multiple tales of burglaries and the like in this region, I feel this post has a great deal of relevance and is more than just blogging fodder.

Now with all my posts I feel I need to put a disclaimer that this is meant to be a bit light-hearted (albeit true) and it is only my experience. You may have had none of what I am about to mention and great stuff if that’s the case. However, I feel I would be doing others a disservice if I did not mention the unsavoury element of living somewhere new and in particular, here in Normandy. Once again, strap in. Continue reading “The Wild West Of Normandy” →

Our French Life

Master Normandy Gives Up The Velo Club

ournormandylife

 

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No. God No! Actually it’s okay. I think I’m more sad about it than he is.  Prior to writing this blog post I was about to write about his velo club. About how joining a club as soon as you arrive, be it for yourself or your children, is a great idea. It throws you into a normal French life, normal routine and catapults you into speaking, listening and understanding the language. Don’t wait until your French has improved – it’s always improving, it’s a lifelong project. Do it the moment you arrive. I’m so glad we did. What if I’d waited for a year until I decided to enrol him into this club? We would have missed the boat and he would never have experienced all the wonderful aspects of being part of a team. I’d also say children change massively – the difference in 15 months from the 13 year old that arrived to this 14 year old is huge. Continue reading “Master Normandy Gives Up The Velo Club” →

Our French Life

School’s Out For Summer

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Inkedoutdoor swimming brecey_LI
Outdoor Swimming Pool at Brecey – 3 pools in total

A whole 8 weeks of summer holidays. Some dread it. Some love it. I’m probably somewhere in between.  I love not having to be anywhere in particular. I love the freedom of it. The promise of relaxed holidays where we’re all lazing about, peppered with the odd major day out. Invariably, it never quite ends up like that but one can dream. Continue reading “School’s Out For Summer” →

Our French Life

An Amateur In France

ournormandylife

bald tyre

Although I’ve been living here for just over a year now there are some days, or more recently a few weeks, that I feel like a complete amateur in France – and this generally costs me money.

So where to begin? Okay, so last September whilst we were busy sorting out our house, Mr Normandy noticed that the back two tyres of my car, were completely bald. Little did I realise that this was the beginning of my car troubles. In fact, if I have any sound advice to give you upon moving to France, I’d say treat yourself to a new car! It will be cheaper as second-hand cars, with double the mileage, cost a small fortune. This is even allowing for the fees you will pay for your Carte Grise, Certificate of Conformity etc.  I’d also check to see if there’s a main dealer near where you going to be living. But yes treat yourself and hopefully you won’t spend the best part of a year, in a garage, learning new French words for all manner of car parts. Continue reading “An Amateur In France” →

Our French Life, Our School Life

College Life In France

ournormandylife

timetable

Okay so in the UK it goes like this with regard to schooling:-

Pre-school, Primary, Secondary, ‘A’ Level (which is more than likely at the same secondary school or a college) and then University or College (that specialises in some vocational training). So for us Brits, and I appreciate that some of my readers are not British, college to us is further education. It comes after your child has completed their main secondary educational exams – the G.C.S.E’s (General Certificate of Secondary Education). The students complete an exam in each subject – so you will have a G.C.S.E in Maths, English and so on. Continue reading “College Life In France” →

Our French Life

How To Register Your Vehicle In France

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It appears that most people tend to dread or worry about this process. I’m not sure why, as out of all of them, it’s low down on the brain drain pecking order. Less thought goes into this than, say, setting up a Micro Entrepreneur business (check), much less than if you start thinking about inheritance, dividing up assets and all that other fun adult stuff. And far less than filling out your first tax return form – check (with a “that will do if its wrong am sure they’ll tell me” type of approach). Actually make that forms – there’s a main one and lots of different ones to add a sense of danger and excitement to the occasion. Or you could employ an accountant but where’s the fun in that?!  Continue reading “How To Register Your Vehicle In France” →