20th June 2010

According to a recent report in the Guardian, apparently more and more English expats in France are ordering food online from cheap UK supermarkets like Asda: even stuff like wine and croissants! Can you believe that? I don't believe it for one minute, and I certainly haven't seen any giant Asda lorries in our village - not that they'd be able to fit into our tiny lanes anyway. Maybe in the Costa del Sol, where cafes advertising 'Tea like mother used to make' and 'Pie, beer and chips' are always full of red-necked English. But in France? No, no, a thousand times no. One of the first things you learn here is that the food we eat must have a greater priority in our budget: it's what governs our health and the length of time we live. Far more important to spend more on the superior quality and freshness of French food and less on so-called 'must have' consumer goods.
There was another report that English people moving to France were 'quite mad' - especially when moving from a busy working life in a city to the quiet French rural countryside. I can understand this report a little more. It's certainly a big culture shock - not only is it so very very quiet, but me and 'him indoors' are together 24/7 for the first time in our lives.
Enough said.