Welcome to our Brittany Blog
Tuesday, 30th April 2019
Just 2 more ‘Spring forwards’ and ‘Fall Backs’ for us!
The European Parliament has approved plans to end seasonal daylight savings hour changes across the EU by 2021.
The vote by MEPs passed with 410 votes in favour, 192 against, and 51 abstentions.
Member states will now be allowed to make a decision on the hour that they will choose to keep all year round - whether “summer” or “winter” hours.
The final clock change across all participating member states choosing summer hours will be the last Sunday in March 2021, and for those choosing winter hours, it will be the last Sunday in October 2021.
Ahead of the vote, European citizens were given the chance to take part in an advisory online survey, asking them their view on the matter.
In France, there were 2,103,999 replies to the poll, with 83.71% of respondents saying they would prefer to abandon the clock-changing system, and stick to one hour all year round.
I am assuming that France will vote for ‘summer hours’ which will give us some very dark mornings in the winter!
It is likely that the EU will encourage member states to choose time zones that align with their close neighbours, so as not to introduce a patchwork of different hours across the bloc.
Monday, 22nd April 2019
Fed up? Hand in your notice, sell up, escape to Brittany and live the dream!
And, I have found you a job!
The Breton island l’Île d'Ouessant (Ushant), which has 800 inhabitants, is seeking a dairy farmer to produce organic milk on the island.
The job advert was posted on the island’s mayoral website, and has been dubbed an “agricultural project”. Applications for the position close on May 21, 2019, so you haven’t got long!
The successful applicant will work with inhabitants on the island to help them produce organic dairy products.
The role will also involve helping to protect the island’s farmland and natural spaces.
The farmer, you, will have a 35-hectare area to work in, as well as existing buildings.
The island has also been setting up a new organic vegetable patch, the produce of which will be sold alongside the new organic dairy products.
Ushant, part of Finistère, is the largest and most isolated of the Breton islands.
Now, doesn’t that sound just perfect!
Friday, 12th April 2019
Everything is taken far too seriously.
The French are quite a serious nation which is generally a good thing but the French do have a knack of making fun things serious. Take table football for example, how can anyone possibly make table football serious?, where the object of the game to to turn a few handles and whack a small ball into a goal. Let me introduce you to how the French approach table football. They have formed a ‘table football school’ !
Around 20 students have enrolled in the course, which will offer weekly lessons for €75 per half-season, every Thursday night from 19h-22h.
Nicolas Constantin, French table football doubles champion (seriously !!), argues that table football is a real sport and that players should train several hours a day and watch their diet, to strengthen their arms, shoulders, and back.
Tuesday, 2nd April 2019
A six month waiting list for reading glasses!
Even after 17 years in France I am discovering new things about the way things work here. Some things I still just assume work the same way as they do in England.
Now, pushing 50, my eyes aren’t quite what they were. I am finding that I am having to hold the paper that I am reading further and further away. Soon my arms won’t be long enough!
So, last week I went to the opticians to ask for an appointment to get my eyes tested.
I was asked for my prescription.
I explained that I was at the opticians to get a prescription.
‘Non, non madame, you must get an appointment from the ophthalmologist and then bring it here. We only provide glasses with a prescription.’
Seems a bit long winded to me, but only because it is different. Not what I am used to.
So, I call the ophthalmologist and the wait is 6 months for an appointment. Seems a long time, usually medical appointments are so much quicker. I try another ophthalmologist, this time an 8 month wait. What is going on?
Apparently, there are 35,718 opticians working in optician shops in France, compared to just 4,643 fully-trained ophthalmologists in clinics and hospitals. This is the problem.
In order to relieve the pressure on ophthalmologists there are proposals under consideration which will widening the services of other eye health professionals, such as opticians. This would also free up ophthalmologists’ time to focus on more serious eye conditions, and on patients who require surgery and other more serious intervention.
It recommended that these professionals receive extra training - up to two years more - to enable them to offer simple consultations to customers who may not require the extra services of an ophthalmologist.
This could include prescriptions for glasses and lenses, eye tests, and the monitoring of certain eye conditions.
So soon France will operate in the same way and England !!.. However France will introduce one difference. To prevent conflict of interest in shops, the court recommended that customers should not be able to receive glasses or lenses from the same place that gave them the initial prescription.
Friday, 22nd March 2019
Tempted by a DIY course
France has just finished a nationwide series of DIY courses and lectures.
I proffered a notice about a DIY course at our local Leroy Merlin DIY shop. He didn’t attend, but I was very tempted, as I am almost too embarrassed to admit, I cannot change a plug, but then I think to myself, when would I ever need to change a plug. Appliances are now all sold with plugs.
The sessions will include lessons on how to take on DIY ("do it yourself") projects safely, avoid accidents, and protect your home.
The project is being spearheaded by Marie Davideau, the founder of renovation training school l’Ecole des Métiers de l’Habitat and DIY class company Lilibricole.
Every year, 300,000 people in France end up in hospital after a DIY accident
Advice from Ms Davideau on how to avoid accidents and injuries - both to yourself and to your home - include:
• Wear hard-wearing clothes with close-fitting long sleeves and trousers, without loops or straps that could get caught
• Wear strong boots or protective shoes
• Tie long hair back
• Wear protective gloves and eye masks
• Take off jewellery including watches, rings, bracelets and necklaces
• Unplug tools when not using them
• Prepare your workspace, including laying sheets or tarpaulins on the floor
• Keep children and pets away from the work
• Use tools adapted to the task, e.g. paint rollers with extendable handles for tall spaces
• Ensure that all ladders have the safety catch properly fixed
• Ensure that your first-aid kit is stocked, including with bandages, disinfectant and eye drops
Tuesday, 12th March 2019
Burial or Cremation
As I write the village church bells are ringing and ringing which means just one thing, a funeral. I don't know if it is true, but there always seems to be more funerals in the winter than in the summer. With just a population of 300, when there is a funeral in the village, there is a high attendance as everyone seems to know or be related to the deceased. There is always a church service, rural Brittany is very catholic and then the whole congregation walk through the village to the graveyard for the burial. In the 17 years that we have lived in Brittany I have never heard of anyone getting cremated. I don't even know if there is a facility to be cremated. I suppose, that in a rural Catholic community there isn't much demand for cremations. But, I think this may be changing.
In a recent survey almost two thirds (63%) of people said they would choose cremation over burial, compared to just over half (51%) of those asked in 2015.Of those who said they would prefer to be cremated, one third (36%) said they would not want a ceremony for it. A similar number would also choose cremation for their loved ones.
It is estimated that by 2030, half of all deceased people in France will be cremated.
It would be interesting to know the regional breakdowns of these statistics. I wouldn't be surprised if cremations are favoured in the larger towns whilst burials will remain more popular in rural Catholic communities.
Monday, 4th March 2019
Will the 80kph speed limit stay after the trial period?
The 80 kph limit was introduced in July 2018, to much opposition and controversy. Some road users and critics said the measure would not help improve road safety, and would simply allow the government to collect more fines.
President Emmanuel Macron and the French government have both previously said that the success of the reduction of the speed limit would be re-evaluated two years after the rule change.
However, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has claimed that 116 lives have been saved on the roads since the introduction of the 80 kph speed limit in July 2018; but that figure has already been questioned.
This is the first suggestion that the government believes that the 80 kph speed limit is saving lives.
However, commentators have questioned Mr Philippe’s recent numbers, as they say that the number of accidents refers to all roads, and not only those under the new speed limit.
In Brittany, for example, many rural dual carriageways still have a speed limit of 110 kph.
Yet, the government has defended its calculations, saying that the number of deaths on other roads has been constant throughout, meaning that the number of lives saved actually does point to the new 80 kph speed limit.
It looks like we will have to wait for another 18 months to see the real impact of the reduced 80kph speed limit.
