Upside down days!

If winter in France is the time to work hard and hu,nker down, attend fewer social engagements and concentrate on all those projects making the most of the shorter days, then come summer in France it all turns topsy turvy! Arse about tit so we say where I come from… For some inexplicable reason during

France’s impact on my mental health

As I look back on my first 5 years in France, I realise just how much I have to be thankful for. Living a different life, certainly. But more importantly perhaps, becoming a completely different person. Do I think France is responsible for in so many ways for bettering my mental health and wellbeing? Without

The best time of year

Spring in France is one of my favourite times. The start of the best time of the year ahead. After winters during which many including myself hide away and activity around my village is noticeably diminished, it is a time of great hope and energy… Perhaps the first sign of spring here is the re-arrival

Take me back to London

After over two months, I’ve only just realized that i didn’t even update you about my trip back to the UK at Christmas. And let’s face it, after 5 years, it probably deserves at least a cursory mention but actually perhaps so much more than that… This trip encompassed every single anxiety I have in

It’s all coming together

As always, with the impending end of a year comes the inevitable thoughts back of what has happened this year. And taking stock. And, during a fantastically relaxed day off today, it dawned on me, once again how many things have changed and evolved for me throughout the course of this year. And how very

The pursuit of happiness

I read a really interesting article today; The headline being “I’m so jealous of everyone else. How can I stop it ruining my life?”. My first response was to dismiss it as absolute stupidity and the writer as a complete melt, but then it actually got me thinking… Comparison truly is the mother of all

I hope…

J’espère que demain se terminera comme aujourd’hui J’espère que je pourrai me reposer tranquille dans ce pays que je considère “chez moi” J’espère que je ne commencerai pas à croire que mes “amis” ne me voudront plus ici en France J’espère que ce pays ne va pas dans le même terrier de lapin absurde que

Live the life you imagined…

Today marks 4 years since that fateful day that I signed on the dotted line for my wonderful home in France, so it is only right to give it the huge nod that it so rightly deserves. After 25 years of thinking about moving abroad and changing my mind intermittently between France and Greece (the

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

We all know that whether you’re going through a good or a bad period, life can always still be hard at times. You don’t appreciate when young of course, despite everyone telling you, that life may never be so easy and carefree again. Adulting frankly, can at times absolutely suck, and possibly never has there

This somewhat strange summer in France

Whilst it’s true that summer in France is normally more reliable than back in the good old UK, this summer for various different reasons has been unlike any I have experienced in nearly 4 years of being here! Normally the weather over summer here can absolutely be relied upon, but this year has brought a