Accommodation searches short and long term - Telephone and internet installations
Help with Utilities - English speaking contacts for all requirements (Banking, Insurance....)
English TV installation
Holiday Home / Gite Management, Reservations, Websites (15 years experience in the UK Travel Industry and agent for www.TotstoFrance.co.uk for the South of France.)
Making friends - Helping with schools, Creches, Nannies
I charge an hourly rate or part thereof.
My overall aim? To get you independant as quickly and painlessly as possible
Telling you how it is, no rose-tinted spectacles here.

Monday, February 08, 2010

British Screen / Ecrans Britanniques 5-14 Fevrier 2010


HIGHLIGHTS of today (Mon. 8) and tomorrow (Tues. 9)/Les meilleurs moments d’aujourd’hui (lundi 8) et demain (mardi 9) 


Today/ Aujourd’hui, Lundi 8 fév. au Sémaphore

14h – 16h - 18h  RED RIDING TRILOGY (1,2,3) de Jarrold, Marsh et Tucker - (Adaptations des romans de DAVID PEACE  - sous les titres originaux de 1974, 1980, 1983 – et disponible en versions françaises, traduits par Daniel Lemoine)

20h30    WHITE LIGHNIN’   de Dominic Murphy.  AVANT-PREMIERE en présence du producteur MIKE DOWNEY.  Le réalisateur Dominic Murphy a gagné le prix prestigieux, Le Hitchcock d’Or, (the Golden Hitchcock) au festival anglo-francais du film britannique de DINARD en octobre dernier (2009).  

SEE YESTERDAY’S EMAIL BULLETIN FOR more details of Mike Downey, our guest tonight


Tomorrow/ Demain (mardi 9 fév) au Carre d’Art

14h00   The FREE CINEMA in the presence of film-makers and experts
               programme Free Cinema présenté par les cinéastes invités :
Shorts/ courts-métrages: Momma don't Allow (de Karel Reisz et Tony Richardson), The Singing Street (Norton Park Group)
We Are the Lambeth Boys (de Reisz et Richardson) ,Together ( de Lorenza Mazzetti), Refuge England (Robert Vas et Walter Lassally )

Documentary.  Small is beautiful : le Free Cinema raconté par ses inventeurs, documentaire de Christophe Dupin, 2006, 43 mn 
En présence du réalisateur Christophe Dupin et de protagonistes du film, y compris Walter Lassally (voir ci-dessous)

And tomorrow evening/ demain soir (mardi 9 fev) au Sémaphore

20h30 THIS SPORTING LIFE de Lindsay Anderson  (Le prix d’un homme) présenté par Christophe Dupin du BFI
Classique du cinema britannique. A recently restored print, thanks to the Britsih Film Institute.

 

Our guests :

 

Christophe Dupin is French and works in London at the British Film Institute where he is the InView Curator. He is a specialist in the Free Cinema movement.

 

Walter Lassally is a celebrated cinematographer. He is now 83 years old, and  lives in Crete. He bought his house there after he fell in love with Crete  when filming ZORBA THE GREEK. He is still working. His credits are extensive, and include A Taste of Honey, (Un Gout de Miel), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tom Jones, Zorba the Greek, and countless others. He has worked with many leading directors, not only those associated with Free Cinema, but also the British New Wave of the early 1960s, and with Michael Cacoyannis in the 1960s and James Ivory in the 1970s and 1980s. His autobiography, Itinerant Cameraman, was published in 1987.


Walter Lassally est un célèbre chef opérateur. Il a 83 ans, et vit en Crète dans un endroit pour lequel il a eu le coup de foudre  alors qu'il tournait Zorba le Grec. Il est toujours actif. On l'associe étroitement au mouvement du Free Cinema dans les années 50 et à la nouvelle vague britannique du début des années 60 Il a tourné Un Goût de Miel, La Solitude du Coureur de Fond, Tom Jones et bien d'autres films pour lesquels il a travaillé avec des metteurs en scène renommés. Il a par exemple collaboré avec le réalisateur grec Michael Cacoyannis entre 1956 et 1967, ainsi qu'avec James Ivory dans les années 70 et 80.

Kees Bakker is a specialist in documentary film and television history and is Director at the Institut Jean Vigo at Perpignan. He also programmes the documentary history section of the Documentary Festival in Lussas.
Kees Bakker est spécialiste en théories et histoire du cinéma et de la télévision, et notamment en cinéma documentaire. A présent, il est Directeur de projet à l’Institut Jean Vigo à Perpignan. Il programme également la section Histoire de doc du festival documentaire de Lussas.

Elena Von Kassel writes on the cinema – she has already presented (Saturday) the tribute to Humphrey jennings, and she is staying with us for the next few days and will particpate in the events/screenings/debates.
Elena Von Kassel est écrivain de cinéma – elle a déjà présenté (samedi) l’hommage à Humphrey Jennings, et elle reste avec nous pendant les prochains jours et particpera dans les événéments/ séances/débats.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Leeds Bradford flights to Montpellier

Bradford’s large Polish community could play a key role in further expansion of flights at Leeds-Bradford International Airport. 

An executive of budget airline Ryanair, which is establishing a new base at Yeadon, said its flights to Cracow could expand by providing a convenient link to family and friends in Eastern Europe for local residents of Polish descent. 

Dara Brady, deputy head, sales and marketing, at Ryanair, hoped that the district’s Polish population of around 30,000 would provide a basis for expanding the Cracow service along with other Eastern European routes. 

He said: “We believe there’s plenty of scope to develop these routes. We’re also seeing strong demand for Nantes and Montpellier flights and will be developing the potential of Malta, which has strong links with the UK.”

Monday, February 01, 2010

The price of having a French bank account

THE post has just arrived and in amongst the envelopes is one from my bank, Crédit Agricole, outlining the fees I was charged in 2009.

At the beginning of the year French banks send a similar breakdown of costs to their customers highlighting the price for such things as having a debit card, possible insurances and money transfer fees.


Sunday, January 31, 2010

Kids and the Montpellier area

For all information regarding bringing children to the Montpellier area including:

  • Fun things to do with the kids on holiday
  • Shopping for kids
  • English education for kids near Montpellier.
Come over to: http://kids-and-montpellier.blogspot.com/

Languedoc uncorked

Château les Carrasses near Capestang is being converted into houses and flats. Its days of mass-production are over but the developer plans to produce quality wine on site

Like all the villages of the Languedoc-Roussillon, Montagnac is surrounded by vineyards. For more than a century this sweetly rolling region of southern France made its living from pumping out millions of litres of vin de table every year.

Now, however, demand for its wine, cheap and cheering though it was, has fallen behind the classier competition from the new world.
 

Friday, January 29, 2010

British Screen / Ecrans Britanniques - Nimes

REMINDER : SALE of MEMBERSHIP CARDS 2010

This weekend 30/31 January

As already announced, we will have a presence at a stall in the foyer of Le Semaphore for the sale of membership cards on both the Saturday and Sunday of this forthcoming weekend : the 30/31 January between 1.30 pm and 6.00 pm.


AND IN ADDITION, on SUNDAY 31 January, from 10h45 am – 1.30 pm.


The benefits of the membership card include a lower ticket price for festival screenings at the Semaphore. Tickets for certain screenings can bought in advance – but by no more than exactly 7 days - at the Semaphore. On presentation of the membership card, the price is reduced to 4 euros..

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Interior Design in the Gard area



Creation, Renovation, Staging, Advice, Building, Shopping...

In your villa or your charmful property, your wish is to have a comfortable, stylish interior where life becomes easy.

Why not ask a professionnal for advice on how to highlight your house?

Fed up with the inside layout ? Just change everything!

You are away from home, you need a French speaking person to talk with artisans and direct the project ?

You feel like going shopping and you want to find the best places to go, advice, or simply someone to drive you around ?

The Interior Designer manages your project in its overall, ideas, plans, administration, and realization. But not only, a good Interior Designer will listen to you and your needs in order to create an atmosphere that belongs to you.

Employing an interior designer will save you time and money. How? By choosing the best artisans around, supervising time schedule and dealing prices in respect of the actual market.

Read more... http://www.desliens-design.com/topic/index.html

Family friendly gites near Perpignan


I think this is the property I would like to go on holiday to.... I visited it back in December Mas Sournia   to rate it for Tots to Travel  and I couldn't fault anything!

Really well equipped for children, from babies to older kids - only 20 mins from Perpignan and 20kms from the beach - with fabulous views of the Pyrenees.


Heated pool - play barn with soft play area / adventure playground and sand pits and the most enormous grassy enclosed area to play on.  Great if you want to have your kiddies play with others in total security within view and not right under your feet!

Book either one of Les Caves or the more private Maison des Vignes.

Read all the details here.

Friday, January 22, 2010

France is World's Best Place to Live, U.S. Drops to #7, Says International Living

Ernest Hemingway did it. So did Julia Child and patriots like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

Humorist David Sedaris is doing it now, as are Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, along with their six children.

These famous Americans all found the "good life" in France. And, it seems, so are many other less-famous Americans, including retirees and families.

Montpellier - The Independant's Guide

GET YOUR BEARINGS: The heart of the city is the Écusson quarter, so-called because of its shape, like an escutcheon, originally created by the old city walls. This pleasant, mainly pedestrianised, area is where visitors spend much of their time. The Tourist Office (3) is on the edge of the Écusson,

Read more: http://travel.independentminds.livejournal.com/265830.html

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Gite - Village House in Aubais



Tastefully Restored & Charming Stone House with Studio and Pool...

Walk to your every necessity! Or, take the short 25 minute drive to the beaches, or stay home by your private pool. It is your choice! This old stone home benefits from a sunny location and is situated in the heart of a preserved French village in the Gard, Languedoc Roussillon region of the south of France.

France to push women into the boardroom

The French version of the glass ceiling has just been cracked open by parliamentary vote. With the backing of President Sarkozy's administration, the National Assembly last night passed a bill that aims to force big companies to appoint women to 40 percent of their seats on the board.

Read More: http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2010/01/france-pushes-women-into-the-boardroom-.html

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2 Hamlets for sale in the Cevennes




Arguably the most sensational property I have had to sell in a long time......

Read more: http://www.lotthemarshall.com/

2 of the top 20 beaches in Europe are in the Languedoc

Sunday Times lists Europe's best beaches

British travellers planning a beach holiday this year need look no further than nearby European countries for some luxurious seafront hotspots, according to the Sunday Times.

In a list of Europe's top 20 beaches for 2010, the newspaper recommended Plage Conguel in Brittany, France, which is reportedly ideal for families.

Other French entries in the list include Lac de Mondely in the Pyrenees region, Collioure in Languedoc and Piemanson in Camargue....

Read more: http://news.opodo.co.uk/NewsDetails/2010-01-18/Sunday_Times_lists_Europe_s_best_beaches

Le Bookshop Montpellier Newsletter