For the last couple of months we have been spotting a family of red-legged partridges waddling about around our hamlet. They are so funny to watch and we have been trying to capture them on camera for a long time. Finally today I noticed two of them through the office window as they explored Michel’s garden next door.
So I whipped out the video camera and managed to grab some photos and video of these cute little fellas.
We just hope that they stay well clear of our cats!
Our school project this year is all about water and we are making a film with a professional team for the Conseil General de la Vendée (the department council).
Last Thursday was the first day of our filming trip, to Port Du Bec near Noirmoutier. For this I had to get up at 6:30am for school, but normally I get up at 7:30am. I got to school at 7:15am to be on the bus at 7:30.
So we set off up to the north of the Vendée. The journey took 2h30, which was long, but when we got there it was worth it. After the introduction we were split into two groups: the Yellows and the Reds (I was yellow). There were two parts to the day, the first one in the morning and the second in the afternoon. In the morning the Yellows went to do an interview and the Reds took the sound and some photos of the countryside and then we swapped round. We each took it in turns to take the different roles: director, sound engineer, cameraman etc…
So we went to interview an ostreiculteur (someone who works with oysters). His name was Jean-Louis and he showed us where he works and what he does. Here’s a video of an ostreiculteur at work.
Then it was dinnertime, so we got our picnic and we ate in a big room near the port.
After, it was our time to take photos and the sound of the country side. We saw lots of wildlife, including some horses, sheep and birds. While we where doing this, the other group were interviewing Nicolas, who is aquaculteur (he works with all different types of fish – mussels, prawns etc…) then we met up to film the last scene.
Port du Bec (photo by David Howlett)
We left Port Du Bec at 4:45pm and got back to school at 6:55pm. We were very tired but had had a fantastic day. The next trip is on 24th of March, with another on 14th of April and I can’t wait!
This weekend, as promised, we gathered with our friends on the field and, to strains of “I’m a lumberjack and I’m okay…“, set about cutting back all the trees around our field. Curtis, Dee, Lynn and Alan all came along armed with ladders, saws and secateurs, prepared for a day’s hard work in the garden – and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
While Curtis and Joe started work on the field, I helped Alan with an other “quick” job – changing the inner tube in the tyre of our wheelbarrow. Working in the garden has been a less-than ideal experience for a long time since the wheelbarrow suffered a puncture, so we were delighted to hear that Alan had managed to find a replacement inner tube. It took a good 20 minutes of poking, pulling, pushing, huffing and puffing, but the tyre eventually came loose and the new inner tube was fitted. At last – a wheelbarrow with a wheel that turns! Hurrah 
With the tyre trauma behind us, everyone congregated on the field and set about attacking the trees. At the risk of sounding a bit Winston Churchill, never have so many branches been cut by so few. We sawed, snipped, chopped, pulled, cut, swore, tugged, climbed, and snapped our way through trees and branches galore and lunchtime arrived before we knew it. And what a perfect lunch it was – cold beer and bacon butties, courtesy of Rosie & Molly. Just what we needed!
Fully refreshed, we got back into it, with the men climbing the ladders to tackle the big trees and the ladies and kids trimming the smaller fruit trees and brambles. Surprisingly, even though we chaps often found ourselves rather precariously-balanced at the top of tall ladders, there was only one minor injury. Of course I had to be the victim. I had chopped though a huge branch from a tree at the corner of the field. The branch (well, I call it a branch, it was more like a tree) fell straight down in front of me, whipping my head and face as is fell past. I kept hold of the ladder and even managed not to swear! Unfortunately, not having sufficient hair to hide the cuts on my head, I now look like some kind of Harry Potter tribute.
We even managed to avoid breaking the telephone cables, around which the trees had grown over the last few years. There was one close call, with Curtis and myself working the saw and Dee poised on the ground to guide the branch to safety. Unfortunately the branch got hooked on the cables, resulting in a few brief seconds of panic – “Woah! Look out! Grab it! Get out the way! Help!” – before we managed to free the offending article while Dee dived for cover. Luckily no damage done! *phew*
Although the black clouds kept threatening to bring an early end to the proceedings, the day remained dry and really quite lovely. Were it not for the extreme effort required to cut through the branches with our rusty saws, it would have been quite pleasant up in the trees, enjoying the view out over lake and the apple trees!
We were kept well fed and watered thanks to regular tea, coffee and cake supplies by the girls and progress was very impressive. But as the bonfire pile grew higher and higher, so our muscles became more and more tired, until, at around 4.30pm, we finally downed tools and called it a day. Everyone had worked their socks off, and we had broken the back of the work with only one side of the field remaining. It had been a hard day’s work, but we were all very pleased with the progress we had made, and the field looked so different once we could see the horizon at last! After a final tea break, where Lynn amused us all by inventing the “sniccup”, the workers returned home to freshen up, before coming back for a thank-you supper and drinks.
It was a lovely end to a long, hard day’s work, but, even through all the bumps, scratches, aches and pains, we all felt good about our efforts. Once again we find ourselves feeling humbled by the generosity of our friends. It had been an epic day of really hard work from everyone, but seeing our friends and family all working together and having fun made it all worth it.
I’m soon about to leave College (Secondary school) in France and I thought it would be nice to tell you about life in France for a teenager. When we moved out here I was only 12 and I’d had a year and a half in comprehensive school in England.
I was in year 7 when we moved over here but, because I didn’t know a lot of French, we decided that at my new french school I should go back a year. It is not unusual for students to do this (to “redouble”). If a student is struggling then a decision is made between the student, the parents, the college and a governor. There is no stigma attached to this decision, as it is considered the best way forward for the student and their education.
When we arrived in France, I went into school for one week before the Christmas holidays to get used to it. I have to say it was very hard, sitting at the back of the class with everyone talking French, not having a clue what they are on about, not to mention the difficulties of getting into the school routine or finding some friends. That went on for a few weeks, but with every month my french progressed and every new year I went into my new class understanding more than i did the year before. I was soon telling the French what lessons we had next and when the holidays were. I felt much better.
In 4eme (year 9) I joined a music club where, every Monday lunchtime from 1pm to 1:55pm, a group of musicians reproduce songs with different instruments, and because I’ve been playing the piano since I was seven years old, I thought I’d give it a go. At the end of the school year we got to play our songs in front of loads of people at the ‘Fête du collège’. Everybody loved our songs and I even had a teacher come over to me and tell me how very talented I was! I felt very happy
I also joined a ‘Comédie musicale’, which is a theatre group held during lunchtime at school, where we act, sing and dance, and at the end of the school year we perform our play to everyone in a theatre. First of all I had to do a singing audition, which was scary at first, but at the end everyone said that I sang very well. A few weeks later I heard that I got a part and I was delighted. It wasn’t a big part, but I opened the play and I closed it so I guess it was okay. It was really hard to remember the lines and to make sure that I prononced the words correctly (it doesn’t help when you have an english accent). I suspect the teachers didn’t think that I’d be able to do it, and neither did I to be quite honest. It didn’t go so well in the dess rehersal and the first performance, but I think the last performance went really well and the teachers were very pleased with me. It goes to show that english people who don’t know a lot of french can play a part in a French play.
This year I’m in 3eme (year 10) which is my last year, finally! This year is a big year, i have 2 ‘Brevet Blanc’ exams, which are the equivalent of “mocks” in England, and at the end of the year I take my ‘Brevet‘ (similar to GCSEs) I have already had a ‘Brevet Blanc’ in November and I will have another in May. In September I will be going to Lycée. I have to choose between two Lycées. I’ve been to an open day at one and I’ll be going to another one in March. It will be a hard decision.
College St. Joseph, Fontenay-le-Comte
I would really recommend Collège St Joseph to anyone for their children. It is a good school and the teachers are very nice and they are always there to help.
I still miss England and I would really like to still be there. Depending on where you live, life can be very different to England. We used to live in a village where most of my friends were and I’d see them everyday. We’d walk to each other’s houses and could catch a bus or a train to Grimsby town centre in around 15 minutes. Here I live in a lovely little village, but I don’t have any friends who live here, and to go into town it’s about 20 mins drive and there is no train or bus. I think that probably, from a parents point of view, this could be good because you can spend more time with family and explore more things together. Then, when you go to school in the week, you can see your friends again and have a good gossip with them about the weekend.
I’ll soon be 16 and that means I can start driving. I can drive with a parent in the car with me. I have to do so many hours with an adult till i’m 18 then take a driving test. When I heard I could do that I was so happy! It’s a really good idea because, when you’re 18 you will have a good experience of driving, and so you will pass your test much easier (hopefully!). I can also start working here as well, like in england. I was scared at first because I heard that you had to be 18 to work but I did some research and I found that you can work at 16. I will be doing that soon
Thanks for reading and I hope this might help you if you are a teenager who is moving to France soon. If you want to ask any questions, just leave a comment and I will try to answer for you.
Wednesday found Rosie, Molly and I wandering around Fontenay-le-Comte in the vain hope of finding Molly a new coat. The zip on her current one had broken this week; though, to be fair, she has had the coat for two years so we can’t really complain. As any Mum will tell you, two years worth of wear from a growing teenager is a real bonus!
We left Foussais in good spirits, but also with a feeling of dread. Given that finding a coat which Molly would actually like would be nigh-on-impossible, plus it is now the end of coat-buying season (swimsuits anyone…?) and our favourite (and reasonably-priced) sports shop Koodza had closed it’s doors, the ending could have been predicted.
Molly decided she would like a ski jacket, narrowing our chances even further. She did find some ski jackets in Intersport that she liked but the budget didn’t quite stretch to the price on the tag! After two hours we returned home empty-handed, apart from three pairs of bargain jeans.
So, Molly then spent another hour and a half trawling the Internet. She found plenty of ski jackets, but they were either the wrong size, unavailable to send to France, or, if they did send to France, the delivery charge was ridiculous.
After persevering, Molly googled “cheap ski jacket France”. Among the usual rubbish, she stumbled across the site Mountain Warehouse. Here we found a large choice of sports clothes and all at very reasonable prices. Within minutes, the choice was made and the order placed.
The order was made at 8.30pm on Wednesday night and the jacket arrived on Friday at 1.30pm. What great service! Molly is delighted with her jacket – the original price tag says “£99″, but we only paid £24.99 and £6.99 for delivery to France by DHL.
So, if you are struggling to find reasonably-priced sports, camping and general outdoor gear over here, we would heartedly recommend this site.
Find Mountain Warehouse on the web at www.mountainwarehouse.com. They have a Facebook Page (and so do we!)
