The roads were magnificent. The weather was mutinous. The pool remains under investigation.
Himmelfahrt 🇬🇧🇫🇷
Unlock the full story—because Himmelfahrt is just the beginning!
Posted in Celebrations & Special Days, Culture & Identity, Travel
Tagged * Himmelfahrt, Ascension Day, Beer culture, Bollerwagen, Brückentag, Christi Himmelfahrt, Father’s Day Germany, Folk culture, Funny traditions, German festivals, German holidays, German traditions, Herrentag, Männertag, Public holidays in Germany, Religious holidays, Travel Germany, Vatertag
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The world of tyres 🇬🇧
A lifetime in the tyre trade, a lunch in Clermont-Ferrand, and one very small rubber bombshell.
WEC – 6 Hours of SPA 2026 🇬🇧
Experience the drama, speed, and endurance of the 2026 Spa classic through firsthand moments from one of motorsport’s most legendary races.
Excursion en Auvergne 🇬🇧🇫🇷
Volcanoes, winding roads, improbable lunches and the quiet majesty of rural France — Auvergne delivers the kind of journey that makes you wonder why everyone else is still on the motorway.
Posted in Friends, Travel
Tagged * Puy de Dôme, Auvergne, Birthday lunch, Clermont-Ferrand
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Chinese name 🇬🇧
Why Chinese names are never “just names.”
Grey Monday meets British comedy gold 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪
Sometimes it takes foul weather and a happy accident to stumble upon a genuine treasure. I found mine on a Monday morning, free, online, and it had me laughing until my tea went cold. Read on.
The month that was April 2026 🇬🇧
April packed a month’s worth of living into thirty days — two seas, one family Easter, a face-off with the French tax office, and the season’s first dip in the pool. From the tall ships of Sète to the tidal currents of the Golfe du Morbihan, with a detour through bureaucracy that turned out to be oddly instructive, it was the kind of month that earns its own recap. Read how it all unfolded
Posted in Monthly reflections
Tagged Escale à Sète, French Escapade, Golfe de Morbihan, Sète, Tax returns
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The week that was 17/2026 🇬🇧
No weekly recap this week — the author has absconded to Brittany, which has inexplicably decided to be sunny, and is now filing his dispatches from a harbour terrace somewhere between a dish of olives and an ice bucket. What follows is a pointed meditation on boats, aperitifs, civilised arguments about dinner, and why the 24-hour news cycle can, respectfully, wait. Consider it a proof of life. A rather pleasant one. Click in to find out.
Posted in Uncategorized
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Escape to Brittany 🇬🇧
From windswept coastlines to gloriously unexpected sunshine, this short Brittany adventure capture the kind of escape that makes you want to throw a bag in the car and disappear for a few days. Between charming seaside moments, sharp observations, good food, changing skies and the quiet magic that Brittany seems to produce almost effortlessly. Whether it’s a spontaneous French getaway or three precious days of sun in a region famous for testing your meteorological optimism, both pieces are packed with atmosphere, personality and enough wanderlust to make you click immediately. Part I & Part II
