5th March 2017

In the Foreword to Vichyssoise I note that "People in democracies all over the world, when casting their vote for leader, should choose the person who is the most educated of the selection." Of course in that book I was referring to the populist French choice of Philippe Petain in WW2 - a man far too-weak and politically-inexperienced. The problem is that no-one at the time of voting could possibly have known what their newly-elected leader would be forced to face. This week a French historian, ironically a specialist in WW2, was detained for 10 hours by armed US customs officials whilst on his way to an academic conference in Texas. Other innocent new arrivals have reported similarly that if you get called out of the arrivals line, you are screamed at and treated as a potential terrorist. What then can the world do about Donald Trump? He's certainly not weak as Petain was and may actually deliver some populist constitutional changes, but his political inexperience and gung-ho bravura, combined with a team bristling with 'mad dog' Generals, bodes just as much ill for the world as did the mild Petain when collaborating with Hitler. I wonder if on his Oval Office wall Trump's got a sign, emulating Petain, saying 'L'histoire me jugera'!

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10th July 2016

Well, what's it to be: go back home or take out French citizenship? Only two options I'm afraid....
I always like to look back at history when pondering the future. Would we have called a referendum in Churchill's day?  For those who haven't yet read my war-time novel VICHYSSOISE (on sale right now, only 99p/99c), there's a message very relevant to today. It's about choosing the right leader. Everything hangs on it. To this day France still regrets electing Petain in 1940 - totally the wrong man, who hadn't a clue about dealing with Hitler. So, a message to today's Tories at this crucial time: think long and hard whom to elect as next PM. We know it'll be a woman, but the wrong choice could bring repercussions greater than we know. Forget personality or likeability: it's all to do with inner strength, political experience, education and an even balance of mind in a crisis. Ask any Frenchman. In this crazy world we don't need another Petain!
....but if I take out French citizenship and the French forget my message and elect Marine Le Pen in the 2017 elections?  Damned if I do, damned if I don't....

1 May 2016

Bank holiday. Need a breather. Friday I launched my latest novel VICHYSSOISE, about the Vichy government during WWII.  Unlike the Nazis and Hitler, not much is known about the motives of Philippe Petain, the old French leader at that time. Why did he sign that infamous armistice with Hitler? As a writer it's important to me to write about that which I know, and clearly all this happened before I was born. So, soon after we moved to France in 2005 I set about delving into original, French historical texts for accuracy.  It soon became clear to me that Petain was no Hitler, simply the wrong man to be leading France back then. As French friends Gerard and Monique agreed with me yesterday, Petain was too old, too weak, in pain, so chose the 'easiest' option in a misguided attempt to salve the suffering of his people. Do you agree? Get your copy by clicking on the VICHYSSOISE image on the right. Looking forward to reading all your reviews on Amazon in due course.
Blog Extra. All those in the creative arts like to depict what's real to them. So, I've decided that this blog, as well as my usual Sunday slot, should develop an extra wing each Wednesday, covering the work of those who write about different countries. I'm kicking off next Wed with writer Angela Wren who wrote Messandrierre about France.

10th January 2016

Yesterday the French paid homage to the victims killed by terrorists one year ago. I often hear, especially from young people, that we shouldn't dwell on the past but move on. However, this is a mistake that has proven costly over the centuries. A few weeks ago France opened access to police and legal archives drawn from one of the country's darkest hours when the Vichy regime collaborated with the Nazis. On the right you can see the covers of my two books covering WW2, to be published in Feb and May.  In the second, Vichyssoise, I've attempted to show that atrocities can also happen indirectly via such things as weak leadership and poor governance. In the chaos theory of life, bad things are sometimes played out not by obvious evil but by an accumulation of events that start by the election of the wrong people at the helm. Petain was not Hitler but the outcome was almost the same! Whatever country you live in, remember this:  elect someone who is well-educated, of proven balanced mind and not so old that they take the easiest option at times of crisis as Petain did. Never forget. Our futures may depend on it.  

29th March 2015

Today we've moved 1h forward to summer. Good. But today the French vote in the 2nd round of the local elections. Not so good if the 'wrong' party does well. You know whom I mean: the woman in sheep's clothing, who glosses over what the real FN represents. She is now calling for a referendum for France to leave the EU.  When those tragic events occurred in Paris, I was worried the French would rally to her cause to fight against  living in their country who were 'different' from themselves. And, a lot did: enough to give the FN candidates in 1000 canons across France. But, TG, she didn't come first last Sunday. It seems the man they all love to hate, UMP Conservative leader Sarkozy still has enough supporters to make a difference. Love him or hate him, I believe he is the man France needs. Centrist Conservative parties are always best placed to boost the economy, Socialist parties to borrow and Far Right parties to bring the country to its knees.
100 years ago the army report on a young officer called Petain said: 'if this man rises higher, it will be disaster for France' (Chambers). Prophetic indeed!  For the future of France and the EU, as the French go to the polls today, they must learn from history and not vote for the disaster called Le Pen.

9th March 2014

Warm sunshine outside, but on the news talk about war - comme d'habitude!  Doesn't matter where in the world, there's always a megalomaniac leader somewhere who wants to wage war with another. But here's the rub: he doesn't fight himself, just uses his country's people as cannon-fodder to achieve his own spurious aims.  In Britain, Deputy leader Clegg is to have a live debate this month with UKIP's Farage over whether to vote In or Out of the EU.  If being in the EU means an end to war in a continent which historically has been involved in countless wars and which instigated two world wars, then I'm In. I know the EU is flawed at the moment. Such an enormous ideal is bound to involve difficulties. Just ask Texans when they originally were coerced into signing the US Declaration. Yet now? They know a united US (complete with flaws!) is better than another Civil War! So, the more countries that join the EU - even if presently against it - means pushing those terrible wars further and further to the extremes of the globe. I even wrote a controversial book about France in WW2 called 'Vichyssoise' - a cold, murky saga about why one ordinary man (Petain) allowed himself to be drawn into Hitler's mindset - in a vain attempt to show why man goes to war.  So, come on Britain. I want many more countries to sign up too. The only way forward for peace.  

15th November 2008

Writing occasionally allows me to be creative and, sometimes, to do something extraordinary.
Earlier this week The Telegraph had a piece on Clint Eastwood's film career. "The main thing is I'm a storyteller," he says. "I ask myself, 'Is this the kind of story I would be interested in seeing?' If the answer is 'yes', then I go with it."
As he has aged he has branched out into more forgiving roles which allow him to use his age as a plot device. "I like heroes that have a personal flaw or an obstacle they have to overcome," he says. "Those are the kind of characters I can relate to. Besides, I'm too old to be playing a young character doing things nobody would believe."
Whilst reading this, I thought instantly of the perfect role for him. A while ago the actor was awarded the coveted Legion d'Honneur by the then French President Jacques Chirac. In his acceptance speech the actor said that his lifelong desire would be to make a film in France. At 78, Clint Eastwood would be ideal to play the part of Philippe Petain in my novel 'Je ne regrette rien' (ISBN 978-1-84753-366-1). The role would have all the elements that suit his style: a man beset by inner feelings of guilt and anxiety but determined to do what he considered right for his country. So, I did something extraordinary. I sent him a copy of my novel.
So, come on Clint, MAKE MY DAY!

..........Don't miss Part 3 of 'I told you I was ill' tomorrow

15th October 2008

Some time ago I wrote a book called 'Je ne regrette rien', which explored how people's minds and political attitudes can change, particularly during times of conflict and war. In France in 1940, before the tides of war swung the allies' way, the then President (Philippe Petain) went with the views of most of the country at that time in thinking that Germany was going to win. Better to side with Hitler then, if France was going to survive. Then everything changed, including people's attitudes. It was interesting, therefore, to read a recent story about the family of a Jersey man shot by the Nazis after joining the French Resistance. The descendants of John Soyer have now been invited to Brehel in Normandy, where he is buried, to commemorate his heroic deeds during the Resistance. The family had been tracked down by a 92 year-old lady, who had helped M. Soyer all that time ago. The residents of Brehel organised a flag-lowering ceremony in Normandy in M. Soyer's honour and renamed an apartment block in the town Residence John Soyer. As Petain himself would have said: how war and conflict change things! It's as if every so often someone stirs around the whole mixing-bowl world with a giant spoon, changing our mindsets in totally different directions. I wonder if the current conflation of serious economic downturn plus the possibility of the first black US President, will have the same effect on us all, changing our views in previously unimaginable ways. We'll just have to wait and see.

29th September 2008

This week is the 70th anniversary of the day when Chamberlain and the French Prime Minister, Daladier, capitulated to Hitler at Munich. It had marked a particularly turbulent time for France's fourth republic, with successive leaders coming and going with remarkable speed. Before Daladier there was Leon Blum, and after him Pierre Reynaud. Charles de Gaulle had been running between Paris and London to try and broker an agreement as the then Foreign Minister, before both he and Reynaud were ousted at a stroke and replaced by that great appeaser, Philippe Petain*. There was only one direction in which France was then heading - towards armistice with Adolf Hitler - and so it proved.
Remarkable times! What worries me is that the era preceding all this marked a time of considerable economic turbulence - rather like now! Let's hope our current EU continues to do its job in avoiding war. Of course, no-one likes or wants war - how could we with all that blood spilt by innocent victims? But, what are governments to do when every generation or so yet another tyrant pops up in a position of total power? One thing's for sure, if we hadn't gone to war against Nazi Germany, I would not be writing this blog today! So, I think I agree with the Americans when they don't use the word 'commemorate' to refer to wars; rather they use the word 'memorialise'.
Enough said.
*To read more about Petain and wartime France, order my novel 'Je ne regrette rien' - now available to order from walk-in bookstores (ISBN 978-1-84753-366-1), or online: http://www.lulu.com/.