Last posts on France

The Guardian: France and 20 other EU Nations stand firm against lifting US poultry ban - by Jeremy Smith

2008-05-27T00:08:16+02:00

France, the European Union's farming powerhouse, dug in its heels again on Monday ahead of a controversial proposal to lift a ban on U.S. poultry imports, a long-standing irritant in transatlantic trade ties. That ban has been in place since April 1997 because U.S. poultry producers use a low-concentration chlorine wash on chickens, a treatment practice not permitted in Europe.This week, the European Commission will consider a proposal authored by its health chief to lift the ban, although the technical details and control requirements are still unclear. If the Commission agrees, the proposal would then be given to a panel of EU member state experts for their approval. And that, officials say, is where the problems are likely to start.Last week, the idea came in for a drubbing at a meeting of the bloc's agriculture ministers where more than 20 of the 27 EU countries said they were either opposed to lifting the ban or at least had serious doubts about doing so.For the complete report from the Guardian click on this link

IHT: France aims to bolster EU's sway

2008-05-26T23:29:13+02:00

Bolstering Europe's influence on the world stage - and especially on the new American administration - will be the top priority for France when it takes over the presidency of the European Union in July, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France said Monday.Kouchner said France wanted to promote efforts to create a common EU defense policy and to work closely with Washington, once a new U.S. president is elected, on issues like peace in the Middle East. France will take over the EU's six-month rotating presidency from Slovenia on July 1, and a new American president will be inaugurated in January. For the complete report from the IHT click on this link

Parisian Man Writes Voyeur's Guide to French Women

2008-05-06T01:08:38+02:00

Books about sex rarely cause much of a stir -- at least not in France -- but Pierre-Louis Colin's book "Guide des jolies femmes de Paris" is not only raising eyebrows with the "stuffy" anglosaxons in the US and UK, it's also getting the French all worked up. In his defense, the book isn't a sex guide at all, just a list of places where you can ogle Parisien women of all ages and styles. Read more about on my Secrets of Paris blog.

Friday 28th December 2007

2007-12-28T19:30:00+01:00

Well that's another Christmas over and done with! Both gîtes full with satisfied customers and bookings beginning to come in for 2008. Our latest acquisition (a Christmas present for our daughter) is a moth trap, which will enable her to run moth identification events for our gîte customers. The vast majority of our visitors are keen wildlife enthusiasts and will greatly-appreciate such an opportunity. Wildlife has always been close to her heart - she even had articles published in the RSPB magazines and was a Junior Leader of the local RSPB Wildlife Explorers group - and she is now enjoying sharing her hobby with Renaud and learning the French names for birds and insects. We were invited to the local school's Christmas show (as I am their English teacher), which was held in the "Forum" in Nivillac. The Forum is a Community Centre which boasts a very modern theatre. The children did well - the star of the show being a tiny 3-year-old boy who very happily followed the older children around on-stage whilst managing to look completely bewildered at the same time! All the parents were videoing or taking photos - I don't know if it is still the same in the UK, but I remember years ago at Cheryl's school being banned from doing this, for fear of misuse of the images! I remember thinking that the world had finally gone mad - thank goodness that, for the moment at least, such hysteria hasn't hit France.In fact a lot of the "Nanny State-isms" do not trouble us here. Schools can still collect the insides of toilet rolls for Blue Peteresque art projects and playgrounds are full of children charging about on scooters, trikes and space hoppers. Children share headphones without a sign of a box of sterilising wipes. Parents adopt a let-them-find-out-for-themselves attitude generally towards their offspring and, even though this seems a bit dangerous to my English mind, they very quickly seem to develop good sense. There doesn't seem to be an increase in the amount of children on crutches or in plaster compared with my years of teaching in schools in England - so maybe they are right! When you visit a doctor there is no accompanying nurse - even for the most intimate of examinations! I have never undergone any sort of check, police or otherwise, in order to be able to teach - just needed to pass teaching exams! Again, past experience in the UK has led to such measures being put in place - but, let's face it, the vast majority of folk are good and honest. But then again, in the UK you do not need a doctor's note until you have been off ill for a few days - here you have to obtain one for even a half-day! You also have to visit the "Medecin Travail" every 2 years, or when you begin a new job, to be certified "apte". Oh well, you win some ........

Sunday 16th December, 2007

2007-12-16T19:30:00+01:00

With my shoulder and arm very much improved - nearly 8 months after my accident and I am, at last, mainly pain-free. I still only have limited use of my arm - I cannot get my hand up behind my back or raise my hand high enough to write above half-way on the black/whiteboards in class, but otherwise I'm using it almost normally. I still see the physio (kiné) twice a week, which has to somehow be fitted into my busy schedule.Talking of work - I am now officially qualified to teach English in French primary schools. Yippeee! What a relief!Months of hard work paid off when, on 3rd December, I had my final inspection. This is akin to the OFFSTED inspections in the UK. Two officials from the Education Authority sat-in on a 45 min. lesson and looked over my planning for the year (including detailed lesson plans, overview of the progression for the year and evaluations of both the lessons themselves and individual pupils). Taking into consideration the number of different year groups I teach (although they were only interested in the year-groups where a foreign language is compulsary - CE1, CE2, CM1 and CM2) this represented a huge amount of work .... and all in French! The main thing is that I passed with flying colours, receiving a lot of very positive feedback from the Inspectors. Obviously, I have to continue to work within the curriculum ("textes officiales"), but there is no longer any question over my suitability for the job! Not that there ever was, but the qualification is obligatory - even Headteachers who wish to teach English here have to go through the same process to qualify ("être habilité").I have also recently learnt a new skill - creating interactive teaching games in Powerpoint. Thanks to my younger sister's help - she teaches computing in colleges in the UK. My teaching colleagues have taken a keen interest in this idea and I am organising a half-day "workshop" for them at home during the Christmas holidays. It will be useful to exchange ideas and also to pool our resources. All the games I and my colleagues create will be translated into French and made available to children visiting our gîtes - French or English. The children here in all the scchools were enthralled with the games this week and behaved impeccably in order to win the right to participate!Cheryl and I are continuing to train the dogs to do Agility and also Dancing. We are building quite a repertoire - spins, rolls, weaving between legs whilst walking, looking left and right, giving left and right paws, high 5, walking on hind legs, bowing ...... and the dogs can do quite a lot too! We now need to choreograph it all to music. We have a more professional set of 12 weave poles and Gracie and Ficelle are beginning to develop a really good technique through them.Harry continues to be the best cat ever (I'm not biased!). He's the first cat we've ever had and he has won all our hearts. He and the dogs still adore each other and play together. He even joins in the agility sessions - today he did the walk over and the seesaw, but his favourite is the tunnel. We have begun feeding the birds again - placing the feeder in the middle of the garden away from hiding places so that Harry cannot surprise them.

Fashion-forward Fetish Party

2007-12-03T22:34:08+01:00

Fetish in Paris soirées tend to have a younger age average (30-something) than most fetish events. Perhaps it's because the emphasis is on the outrageous fetish fashions instead of BDSM dungeon stuff? Or maybe it's because one of the organizers is a young fetishwear designer herself, Mademoiselle Ilo.

Fetish Book Launch This Friday at Nuits Blanches

2007-12-03T22:23:20+01:00

The Biggest Fetish Party in France

2007-11-14T23:10:00+01:00

It's time for the 8th annual Nuit Démonia, one of the biggest fetish parties in Europe. No matter if you've never been to a fetish party in your life, get out that sexy latex Halloween costume and check out the action! The big night is December 6 at Le Loco (90 boulevard de Clichy, 18th, next door to the Moulin Rouge) from 10pm until 5am, but there are events taking place from the 4th through the 9th. Entry is €40 if you buy your tickets in advance, €50 at the door.

Check out the short video of the event here.

Welcome to Another Life

2007-11-11T14:37:37+01:00

ANOTHER LIFE
How do other people live in a foreign country?How do you manage when you arrive without a word of their language?Welcome to my nightmare did eventually turn into Welcome to my extraordinary life and eventually into Welcome to my normal life....I do have another blog site which is aimed at expats who live in Lyon, France - my adopted home city.Here you will find various things that are happening, some photos and some musings.....LivingInLyon

Friday 5th October 2007

2007-10-05T19:50:00+02:00

Well I survived my first full week back at work since April! Je suis claquée! Any road up, it would appear that the children are all very happy to have their favourite English teacher back - as one Head Teacher told me today "Apparament, l'anglais c'est rigolo!" (Apparently, English is fun!).I have spent most of the week explaining that "L O" is just a list of letters and not "Bonjour en anglais"!! Followed by much hillarity trying to make a piece of tissue fly off the back of the hand whilst saying "Hello!". (I took great care in ensuring that they understood that they should pick up the hundreds of bits of tissue used around the house once they had finished their homework - I wonder how many complaints from parents I'll get next week!!)Great shock was expressed at the idea that English people don't go around kissing each other all day long and that even shaking hands is usually reserved for a very first "rencontre". A+ - as they say in French text messages !!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 9-10

2007-08-04T08:15:00+02:00

Tuesday July 31 is our final day and night of shooting for the Naughty Paris Guide. Kirsten heads back to Toronto on Wednesday morning, so we have to make sure we get the must-have shots today. We start off rather late, at 2pm, because we know we'll be up late shooting night-time images. The day begins at a beauty spa, the Boudoir du Marais. I've visited the place before and liked the decor, very pretty with exposed stone walls and elegant chandeliers and mirrors. However, when we arrive it seems like the place has been almost emptied out. "Are you getting ready to close up for the summer?" I ask. "No, we just moved in today. I bought the spa from the former owner." Ah hah. She assures me that they will not change it at all. This is the most difficult aspect of writing any guidebook, the fact that places close, redecorate, or otherwise change completely between time of researching and the time of publication. I settle in for a manicure (I'm the hand model today, and dammit I need a manicure!) while Kirsten begins photographing the decor elements. The spa has a manicure "bar" and you can rent the whole place for private parties.

I'm more of a blood-red nail polish kind of girl, but my friends keep telling me that's not very "summer", so I go for the most obnoxious shade of bubble-gum pink. I can't help but think that I'm not tan enough (or blonde enough) to pull this off. After my manicure, we go to lunch and the photographer has to return to her hotel to upload the photos so she has enough memory space to continue shooting (yes, this is all done with a digital SLR, so instead of carrying around rolls of film, she's carrying memory cards). We arrange to meet up with Stephen Clarke for a cameo shot.

Stephen reading a Parisian newspaper article about sexual habits of the French.We are running a bit late for one of the most difficult shoots of the whole guide, Cris et Chuchotements, the last full-time fetish and s/m club in Paris. I was going to take the car, but 6pm traffic is looking bad so I think it will be easier to cross town on the metro. We happen to meet a fellow American, Byron, traveling around Paris with one of my guidebooks sticking out of his pocket (the Michelin Green Guide Paris). He's heading the same direction, so conveniently helps clear a path through the crowded metro so we could get out with all of the equipment in one piece. "We definitely need to hire a caddy/bodyguard/assistant next time we do this," says Kirsten. I wholeheartedly agree.On the way to the club the photographer spots some oysters she wants to shoot in front of the Wepler Brasserie (Place de Clichy). I distract the oyster guy with questions about eating them during the months without "R" in them while Kirsten shoots away. So we're almost a half hour late for our fetish club appointment, not usually a problem in France, but a problem today. It's 7pm and the owner has to leave at 7:30pm, barely enough time for the model to change and for Kirsten to set up and adjust to the low lights.

My camera flash lights up the whole bar area, where Kirsten is quickly setting up.We pick just two rooms to photograph, the bar area (which looks pretty harmless aside from a basket of riding crops next to the sofa and a pair of hand cuffs casually hanging from a hook) and one of the "play" rooms with a large bird cage and other light restraining devices. We do not shoot in the whipping room (the light wasn't good), nor the "medical exam" room (too creepy). I should mention the club is closed, so we are the only ones in there, bumbling around in the dark and trying not to trip over the various steps.

I was surprised this one came out so well: the model in her fetishwear dress and the photographer peeking out from under the spiral stairs.After being shoo'd out of here rather quickly, we hop in a taxi and head to the Pont Neuf for some sunset shots with models Marcus and Eva, who are running about 15 minutes behind us. The two weeks of shooting, last-day exhaustion, and the endless rushing around finally break down our gentle Canadian photographer and she starts embracing her inner obnoxious photographer. She kicks a couple (politely) out of the little balcony we want to use (it's in the perfect place for the back ground and angle of the light) and quickly get the models in the right poses before we lose the light.

From Kirsten's point of view.She's standing on the other side of the bridge, too far away for the models to hear her directions, so I'm standing next to them with a cell phone, repeating the orders that Kirsten is barking out. "Tell her to put her left leg up." "Tell him to pull her closer at the hips." "Stop posing, just act natural!" and finally, all decorum breaks down and I hear Kirsten yell, "Act like you want to f*** his brains out!" (she tells me later she was aware of a few passers-by coming to a halt at that point)I pause (probably blushing)....then I say, "Act like you really want to be in a room alone right now!" The models, bless them, finally get it and Kirsten gets her shot.

From my point of view on the bridge (it looks like Eva is biting his head off from this angle!)The models don't actually know each other in "that way", but they fake it pretty well! I considered at one point just finding couples kissing on the bridge and asking their permission to shoot them for the guide, but there are so many factors to consider:- will they be dressed right?- will they keep doing the same thing over and over until we've got the perfect shot?- will they let us make them stand in very unnatural poses which actually appear more natural on film? There are so many things we can't control in the photo sessions, that we decide against this and go with our own models. We then make Eva and Marcus stand under the Pont Neuf (which is more typically sexy than romantic). We all have to breathe through our mouths because the stench of urine is a bit too strong (not very romantic, indeed). The next shot involved the woman straddling the man on a marble bench. Bless her (again) for trying so hard to pretend her knees weren't in excruciating pain while Kirsten kept promising "Almost done!" And that was the last shoot with the models. We celebrated with dinner at l'Ecluse at St-Michel, then rushed back out at midnight to shoot one the Musée de l'Erotisme before it closed (at 2am). We detoured at the Eiffel Tower while Kirsten searched for the angle that the taxi took her past the night before, so we didn't arrive at Pigalle again until 1am. No one else was in the museum that night, so it was pretty easy to get in a few good shots without worrying about avoiding the public.

I perused the visitor's book at the museum, and found quite a few notes from women like this.

The famous "tongue chair" in the front window of the museum. Pigalle at 2am is always lively (bus loads of Moulin Rouge clients, of course), but not necessarily the place you feel comfortable as a woman walking around with very expensive camera equipment. Luckily the peep show hawkers don't bother the women (they're looking to pull in the men walking around), so we quickly take a few pics of the neon windmill at the Moulin Rouge and then go back to the car. We return to a more elegant district of Paris: the Place Vendôme, Champs-Elysées, Avenue Montaigne, etc., where the photographer gets some night shots of the facades.

This is the absolute very last and final photo shoot (I took this from the car as she set up her tripod on the square). I sleep for two hours while the photographer packs up, then we drive to Ladurée for a final breakfast (and macarons!) before I drop her off at Charles de Gaulle airport at 9:30am. That's all folks! For the rest of the month, while the rest of the country is on vacation, I will be finishing up the text editing while Kirsten processes the photographs and the designer creates the final layout. When will you get to see the final Naughty Paris Guide? Stay tuned...a small number of copies will be available by the holidays, before the official launch in January 2008. Bisous, and good night!Heather signing off....

Guidebook Shoot: Day 8

2007-08-03T10:11:19+02:00

After a few days' break, the photographer returns from the French Riviera for two final days of Naughty Paris shooting in Paris. I was able to get a few more appointments settled, but we have a lot to cover in a short time. On Monday morning we begin at Le Bon Marché department store, shooting images of the Théâtre de Beauté (that's a fancy name for the Cosmetics and Perfume Department). If you just walk into a department store (well, most stores, actually) and start shotting photos, you'll have a very angry staff on your back very quickly. At the Bon Marché we had to get special badges AND a letter from the PR director giving us permission to take photos. We had to whip out the letter several times, and even with it the woman at the Chanel counter was being officious and making a lot of phone calls to find out whether it was really okay for us to have our model photographed in front of a huge bottle of Chanel n°5. Since I didn't think we had time to sit around and wait, we just left and found another stand that wouldn't hassle us.

The people at Guerlaine were very polite, and the makeup artist Sebastien even agreed to do a little impromptu make-over on our model for the camera.

Nicole's Mona Lisa smile.After the Bon Marché we broke for lunch. But we don't ever really get breaks. Kirsten continued shooting photos as we walked to the café in the Jardins du Luxembourg. I had to keep an eye out for the park guards (professional shooting in the Paris parks requires a permit, so anyone with a tripod or even a fancy-looking camera will get stopped). Luckily the guards seem to be on vacation already, and we have no problems. The sun is a bit too strong, creating contrasts that don't photograph well. Who knew that the pros actually prefer overcast days? We meet up with writer Stephen Clarke (author of the best-selling Year in the Merde series) at lunch. I know Kirsten is a huge fan, so I ask him if he'll do a cameo appearance in the book for us (see Day 9).

Stephen checking out Kirsten's camera. We're running a little late (slow waiter), so being the cruel boss lady that I am, I herd Kirsten to the next appointment before her noisette café arrives. We have a rendez-vous with Victoria Vesta, the Pleasure Coach. My friends are all quite intrigued by the idea of a Pleasure Coach. Even after visiting Victoria's website, Divine Feminine Touch, they are still full of questions. "So what exactly does she do?" being the most common. She teaches men, women, and couples how to touch each other. She does sensual massage to help people learn about their own erogenous zones. She talks to people, helping them find their own sensuality and remove whatever might be blocking that in their lives....et cetera. No, there's no sex. She's not that kind of masseuse.

The Boudoir.So, that out the way, back to the shoot. The room where the sessions take place is very dark, so Kirsten gets to work setting up the tripod and testing different angles and lighting. I check out the cool feathers (used in the massage), but start getting worried about our female model, who seems to be MIA. We begin with the male model on the table, and I end up standing in as a hand model (this isn't the only time you'll see my hands in the book), with Victoria showing me how to massage the model. There's a bit of a debate about whether the model's bare bottom should be seen in the guide or not. After all, this is a lady's guide, and even if it's implied, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with showing it. We compromise with a strategically-placed feather and everyone is happy (good thing the model isn't ticklish).

The model's legs and Victoria's hand.Our female model hasn't been answering her phone because she forgot it at home and had been standing outside the metro station hoping I'd come find her (she didn't have the address with her either). That finally cleared up, we take the rest of the photos and then head back out to take some shopping photos around Place St-Sulpice.

Our model's in a playful mood as always (which is sooooooo helpful, since Kirsten and I need the energy boost at this point), and hops onto a red Vespa parked in the square. I pray that it doesn't tip over, or that the owner isn't sitting on the café terrace across the street glaring at us. It is a cute Vespa, and I wish we could have her riding around on one with her shopping bags. Alas, as cute as it may be, how many people visiting Paris rent a scooter? Hmmmm....maybe more SHOULD.

We say good bye to our model Nicole and head home for a short break before meeting two other models for more shopping pics on the Avenue Montaigne. We get there at about 8:30pm so we have good light (and minimum foot traffic from shoppers). I window shop while Kirsten directs the models (basically, walking back and forth a million times until the shot looks "natural"). I continuously herd the bystanders out of the camera's range, and carry around Kirsten's tripod like a caddy (we decide that we'll hire a caddy for the next guidebook. And a personal masseuse).

Kirsten shows the models how to walk while I guard the camera.The sun is almost down, but the day is not over. One of the restaurants in the guide, Ginger, is right around the corner, and we need some night shots of the dining room. The models are starving, so we kill two birds with one stone. Ginger is surprisingly full for a Monday night on July 30, so we decide to start at the bar where we won't disturb anyone. We ask the barman Sophana to mix us some pretty cocktails (pretty strong, that is) for the models, while Kirsten and I continue on our Perrier diets.

Kirsten goes over the day's shoot with the models.

Pho at Ginger...must feed the models...By the time enough clients have left to get shots of the dining room, it's almost midnight. We celebrate with a nightcap (wine for me, Champagne for Kirsten, who says that bars in Toronto don't serve it by the glass like they do in Paris). I put her in a taxi soon after. She calls ten minutes later to tell me she has seen the perfect spot to shoot the foot of the Eiffel Tower. I ask her how, between the Champs-Elysées and the Latin Quarter, she ended up passing the foot of the Eiffel Tower. She barely speaks French, so I think her taxi driver was giving her the "tourist tour" of the city. Sigh. I ask her to make sure she gets a receipt. Tomorrow is our last day of shooting. I can barely sleep, hoping that we're not forgetting anything important. Come back tomorrow to see a sneak peek inside the only fetish club left in Paris!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 7

2007-08-02T11:00:00+02:00

I'm not sure where our energy is coming from. Sheer willpower at this point! I pull up in front of the photographer's hotel at 5:55am. I had promised her and the model that I'd bring some pain au chocolat, but the local bakery still isn't open.

The model is waiting for us on the Quai Voltaire, and we drive as fast as possible through morning traffic to get to the foot of the Eiffel Tower before the sun comes up. I try and remind myself that we won't get there any faster if I get us run over by the big Shell truck on our tail. The Champ de Mars is filthy in the morning, littered with garbage, overflowing plastic trash bags, and crows picking through it. The model is a trooper, though, and walks around barefoot after we check for bottle caps and broken glass. Kirsten figures she can Photoshop the trash out if it gets in the picture, but luckily during the course of the half-hour shoot, the municipal workers manage to get it all cleaned up (they actually walk around and clean it up on foot with their claw tools).

After getting the picture we want, we head over to the nearest bakery that's open and sit down for some breakfast. I drop off the model back at her place and then Kirsten at Orly airport. She'll be down on the Côte d'Azur for a few days shooting for own private portfolio (the South of France has an amazing quality of light that you don't get anywhere else in France).

I go back home and sleep for the rest of the day. The photographer will only be back for three days before returning to Toronto, so I need to make sure all of the last-minute appointments are settled and that we have the models on board. There are a few places that we haven't received permission to shoot yet, so I have to get a bit more aggressive....or get creative! Check back on August 3 for Day 8!!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 6

2007-07-30T18:05:00+02:00

Tuesday starts off well enough at YOBA, a beautiful lingerie and toy boutique just off the Tuileries Gardens. The summer sales are still on, so it's hard not to do a little shopping while the model and photographer are at work.

Afterwards we go to another boutique, Phylea, which specializes in fantasy corsets and fetishwear. We get Nicole all laced up in a traditional corset and tell her not to pass out until we're done shooting. We shoot in the doorway and start drawing a small audience of bystanders. We also get her in a purple rubber dress, but after her cell phone rings in the changing room we have to wrap up as she zooms off to put out a fire back home (figurative, folks, calm down).

We all reconvene later at the Experimental Cocktail Club near Montorgueil, a stylish little design bar run by three young French gentlemen who do indeed have some fabulous cocktails! The Perfect Agave is the first cocktail with Tequila that I've ever liked (well, ever since that incident in Arizona in 1992....). I recruited some more friends to act as the "crowd", but there was already a real one there, so we had to artfully block them from view. Kirsten had half the bar sign model releases in the end anyway, just in case.

The model was sick of me always hiding behind the camera, so here I am, officially on break, drinking a Perrier (not very experimental, but it keeps me going!)Afterwards Kirsten and I went to Le Paris-Paris to meet up with Nicolas Ullmann for the last Ullmann Cabarock of the season. We're not shooting the Paris-Paris, just picking up Nicolas so we can photograph him at Le Baron afterwards. It was absolutely packed, and Nicolas had a hard time pulling us into the door. Unfortunately we immediately lost him while he went back out to rescue more friends from the sidewalk crowd pushing against the velvet ropes.

Nicolas (left) singing at the final season Cabarock at Le Paris-Paris. Le Baron is dark and red. And dark. And crowded and small and smoky. And it's one of the best parties in town! Butthe staff are not in a party mood since Nicolas has invited the entire crowd from Paris-Paris to come to Le Baron, which is a quarter of the size. They see Kirsten doing light tests with her huge camera and start freaking out. We explain what we're doing (and more importantly, that we're with Nicolas), but they seem intent on kicking us out. We're saved by Nicolas at the last moment, when one particularly angry gorilla looks as if he's about to rip Kirsten's camera right out of her hands. We take a few quick snapshots and pray they'll work, thank Nicolas, and head back out into the night. Sick of the taxi search and hauling our bodies through the metro, I have wisely brought along my car for the evening. Miraculously, we found parking places directly across the street (the Parisians have already started leaving for summer vacation). It's 3am by the time I drop Kirsten off at the hotel. I tell her to be ready at 6am when I come back to pick her up for for the sunrise shots on the Champ de Mars.To be continued...

Encrypted Station-Chaines crypté

2007-07-29T16:40:00+02:00

Salut tt l mondes bah j ai un service a offrire , pour les francais surtout et tt les autres je peux vs fournire tt se qu il vs faux pour voir vos chain,es préféré ,code, flash,Chring voici mon email pour toutes demandes letsdream2gether@hotmail.com

hi every body for who want to watch the encrypted stations here is a solution with me, i can provide for you the codes flash and chring to watch all the stations you need, you can mail me if you need something here is my email letsdream2gether@hotmail.com

Guidebook Shoot: Day 5

2007-07-26T23:55:00+02:00

I let everyone have Sunday off (including yours truly, who needed to do some market shopping), and on Monday we got off to a soggy start. We were supposed to meet in front of the Eiffel Tower at 6am for sunrise shooting. At 5am I wake up and hear rain on my roof. The model calls about wardrobe issues and I tell her to wait and see if the photographer wanted to risk getting her equipment wet...the word comes back at 5:30am: "Go back to bed, see you at lunch". After a nice lunch at Palais Royal, where we deal with some of the necessary paperwork (model releases, contracts, etc.), we head out in the rain to another shoot with personal stylist/shopping consultant Jacqueline Sablayrolles of La Mode-Le Club. We go to the wrong address (there are two) and our taxi already has left before we realized it, so we had to flag down another while calling the model to warn her of the change. Jacqueline has some dresses from the new collection of Fatima Guerrout (who's to shy to let us put her photo in the guide...isn't she cute though!) that we ooh and ahh over before setting up the shoot.

Fatima watching from the side:

Afterwards we have an unconfirmed shoot at a fetish club called Cris-et-Chuchotements, all the way on the other side of town. I knew they weren't open (that's why they were letting us take pics), but the contact person I had was not answering the phone and no one answered the door, so we had to abort that mission. It's not our day!But we decide to take some photos around the Petit Palais when we see a promising sign:

Kirsten is determined to get the rainbow, even though the wind is blowing the rain right into her lense. (I actually did go and help hold the umbrella after shooting this pic!)

We then head over to Les Ombres for a late dinner shoot. The Eiffel Tower is usually visible through the glass and steel roof, but the rain was once again wreaking havoc. Kirsten manages to get out on the balcony to get some nice shots anyway. I have a Kir Royal and head home to feed my dogs.

And pray the next day goes more smoothly!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 4

2007-07-26T17:58:16+02:00

The crew slept in Saturday morning, then met up at Les Chandelles, one of the best-known echangiste (swinger) clubs in Paris. We have an appointment with the owner Valerie. We enter with our equipment at about 5pm and start setting up, even though, as happens, Valerie is neither there nor does her staff have any clue that we're supposed to be there. But we manage to explain what we're doing and the manager gives us carte blanche to shoot away (she did warn the other clientèle before we went downstairs). After wardrobe changes, the model does a little spin on the dance floor's pole. Lucky for us she's a natural! Then we do a few montage scenes around the club, careful not to get any of the clientèle in the shots. It's a beautiful club, much nicer than most of the places of this genre. Being the afternoon, there's only a handful of people (at the bar, not in the "back"), but they don't seem to mind watching our shoot. I just know all of you are asking where MY photos are...unfortunately I can't publish those here...you'll just have to see the guide when it's finished! Afterwards we head over to the Latin Quarter, where we pick up a friend who happens to be a tango dancer. We're all starving so we grab some crepes, the equivalent of French fast food, and taxi up to the Bistro Latin. It's actually pretty empty, and someone tells us everyone is dancing on the Seine. Paris Plage had just opened that day, so the crowd dancing on the quays at the foot of the Institut du Monde Arabe were bigger than normal. We started to walk, (and Kirsten kept stopping to shoot the sunset), but with everyone in heels, we soon changed to another taxi and made it to the Quai St-Bernard just as the sun was getting low.

Kirsten tried to keep up with our tango'ing couple amidst the swirl, but it wasn't easy!

Afterwards we meet another model and her beau at Le Fumoir for a nightcap. We look for a taxi along the quays, but by the time we reached the metro there were still no taxis free, so we metro'd home. La classe!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 3

2007-07-22T11:35:00+02:00

Day 3 starts early, at 10am. Luckily for our model, it only entails getting a massage in the best spa in town: the Four Seasons George V.

Kirsten (and our PR liaison at the hotel, Jean-Louis) wearing hygienic booties for the shots around the swimming pool.We shoot some food images during lunch at Ginger, on the Rue de La Trémoille, then head out to our first "toy" store shoot at the Dollhouse, back in the Marais.

Kirsten demonstrates how she wants the model to use the leather flogger. It's late afternoon, but there are still two more sessions with yet another model, first at the vintage photography gallery of erotic art, Au Bonheur du Jour, and then afternoon tea photos in the adorable lounge of the Hotel Daniel. Unfortunately we arrived a bit late and my contact had already gone home for the day. The photographer starts setting up anyway while I explain to a slightly bewildered-looking staff that we're just going to snap a few pics and be on our way.

As they say, sometimes it's better to apologize than to ask for permission. ;) We get some lovely shots (and I think the gentlemen guests at the other end of the tearoom were enjoying the view of our model's long legs) and wrapped up by 7pm. We were supposed to shoot another restaurant that evening at 10:30pm (because it isn't dark until then in Paris, and we need the shots to look like they're taken at dinner!) but everyone needs a break, so I let the team go home and get their beauty rest. Next stop? One of the most famous swinger's clubs in Europe....stay tuned!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 2

2007-07-22T11:05:00+02:00

Day 2 started out with three very dehydrated, sleep deprived ladies in sunglasses. Luckily we're all young enough to bounce back by the time the shooting starts at the naughty perfume boutique, Etat Libre d'Orange, in the Marais. We had to improvise a bit to get some good perfume shots without actually spraying the model with the perfume (since we wouldn't have time to hose her down before the next session).

We can't resist a closeup of the model's shoes on the hot pink rug.After lunch we shoot at L'Hotel in the St-Germain-des-Près district, a sultry Jacques Garcia designed boutique hotel. Aarathi arrives to help style the room photos. We have a beautifully exotic room for the shoot (the Marco Polo, I believe), and decide to go ahead and fill the tub so it can look like the model is about to get in. I should mention that all of the hotels we shoot are kindly letting us use the room for an hour or so. But we're not supposed to mess it up, so we're very careful to "leave no traces" at the end of the sessions. Between setting up, arranging and changing the photographic equipment, styling the models and then cleaning up behind ourselves, it soon becomes obvious why so many people are needed on fashion shoots!

Aarathi arranges the model's hair to look "natural". We wrap up at L'Hotel and go for lunch at La Palette, just down the road. The model's boyfriend has arrived in Paris unexpectedly, so she won't be coming to the evening session at Chez Régine's. Luckily, I invited all of my girlfriends to participate in the shoot, which is for the weekly ladies' night, "Au Bonheur des Dames". How do you get your friends to come out and basically "work" for free? Free drinks, free food, free male entertainment....if only all my work was this easy!

The ladies waiting patiently for the show to begin. What isn't easy is getting in, since there's a whole sea of women pressed up against the velvet rope at opening time. After talking our way past the doorman (with the help of the PR woman's email to me, which I thankfully remembered to print out and bring along....this is France, after all) our crew set up on the edge of the dance floor where the show takes place. And what a show!

"Zorro" shows the willing participant where to pull the zipper on his tight black pants...At some point during the shooting, Kirsten lost a piece of her flash equipment, called a diaphragm, so I had to walk around asking the wait staff if they'd accidentally "cleaned up" a large white diaphragm...sometimes this job has its surreal moments. Despite the loss (I promised to bring some wax paper and scotch tape to the next shoot to improvise), it was another successful day of shooting. We got the photographer home earlier on Day 2, just after midnight!Tune in tomorrow to see us shoot our first naughty toy boutique!

Guidebook Shoot: Day 1

2007-07-21T11:00:00+02:00

Our photographer Kirsten arrives from Toronto at 9am, and immediately has to change hotels because the "Double Deluxe" at the first one was too small to unpack all of her equipment. The team meets for lunch at Lapérouse, one of the restaurants in the guide, where Kirsten meets the production assistant Aarathi and one of the models, Nicole. After a light lunch, they get rolling with a few photos in Laperouse's famous "salons privées". The staff are brilliantly helpful. A good start!

Kisten (spotting a good angle to photograph), Nicole, Aarathi, and Joann at Lapérouse. Next stop is the Murano Urban Resort, where we meet another model, Marcus, for photos in the bar and the Honeymoon suite. In the early afternoon the bar is almost empty, so we get full run of the place. The Honeymoon suite is a total trip (although it did take five of us to figure out how to get all of the random gadgets and colored lights to work), so it was no problem getting the models to have a little fun posing in the big round bed.

It's sporty work being a naughty photographer! Kirsten pretends she needs to lie down to take these photos. We order her a pot of coffee.

Kirsten gets to go home for a few hours' rest before the third and final session of Day 1, the Black Calavados (aka BC) bar and restaurant. Being almost completely black, it was quite a challenge to get the right shots. Thankfully the other restaurant guests were having such a rowdy time themselves that we didn't bother anyone with our entourage.

We head downstairs to the bar, and since it's still empty early in the evening we start taking more photos with our young models. But it does fill quickly, being such a tiny bar, so the manager eventually cuts us off, and we celebrate the end of a successful first day with a few bottles of Champagne. Kirsten is now jetlagged and buzzed, but she can't resist continuing to shoot on the sly.

We manage to get the mild-mannered party animal to bed by 2am. Come back tomorrow for Day 2!

Naughty Paris photo shoots start today!!

2007-07-18T20:01:15+02:00

Today the photographer for the Naughty Paris Guide arrives from Toronto, and we will start an insanely hectic shooting schedule, photographing over 23 locations over the next ten days!! Coordinating the models, photographer, photographer's entourage, stylist, and venues in the guide (hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, boutiques, etc) has taken up 100% of my time the past week, so I expect everything will run smoothly. Ha! This is Paris, after all.I will be taking a few pics on my crappy camera to document the shooting, and will give you all an update of how things are going. For better or worse, summer has finally arrived in Paris, so we expect beautiful light, but muggy conditions. Any volunteers to come and fan the models with a palm frond? ;) -Heather

Sexy Thursdays in Paris!

2007-07-03T16:25:00+02:00

This Thursday (5th) is the second Scandalous Ball at Sens (23 rue Ponthieu, 8th) from midnight until dawn. It's organized by the celebrated New York nightlife queen Susanne Bartsch, accompanied by her friends Kenny Kenny, World Famous Bob, Johanna Constantine and Lady Fag.

If you're looking for a good warm-up party, there's always Au Bonheur des Dames at Régine's Club, every Thursday from 9:30pm (women only for a super girly show and entertainement and cocktails, 100% free), and your men can join you there from 11:30pm.

Monday, 25th June, 2007

2007-06-25T16:07:23+02:00

Between the unseasonable weather and my on-going convalescing we have been un-characteristically house-bound of late. Looking on the bright side it has meant that Paul has been able to catch up with some much needed DIY about the place. We are still waiting for the permission to erect our shed, but we have now installed 3 water butts – giving us a total of 600 -700 ltrs of water for the garden. We bought a pump which fixes onto a hosepipe and gives very good pressure even at several metres. The boules pitch has, at last, got a wooden border around – the French rules allow for a boule to be bounced off the sides in order to sneak past an opponent's boule, which adds another facet to the game.We have also acquired some "traverses SNCF" (railway sleepers) to edge our planned vegetable plot, or "potager", which will be situated next to the shed (eventually!!).Yesterday was the date of the local "Kermesse" (school fête). This began with a sit down meal (outside – we declined in view of the weather!). Next came a "défilé" (parade) headed by the local "Fanfare" (brass band). The school children ("maternelle et primaire") followed in costumes depicting the sea – "baleines et requins" (whales and sharks) for the "Petite et Moyenne Section" (Nursery), "des pirates" for Years 1 - 3 – GS (Grande section), CP (Cours Préparatoire) and CE1 (Cours Elementaire 1) and fishermen/women for the remaining three year groups (CE2 , CM 1 + CM2 – Cours Moyen). There then followed a dance by each class (only 3 classes in the school!) to sea shanties. The usual school fête games were then played – French style – bet on a guinea pig race to win either a rabbit or a guinea fowl for fattening! Personally, I find it rather cruel the way they treat the poor animals, which they seemed to hand them over very roughly – you only had to look at the terrified expressions and the fact that they did not even try to escape due to being rigid with terror! Needless to say, I didn't buy a ticket. We did, however, come away with a slightly better raffle prize than the last 2 years – 2005 was a washing-up bowl, 2006 a cheap brollie .... 2007 a 30 cm terracotta pot for the garden!

Friday, 15th June, 2007

2007-06-15T14:58:38+02:00

The weather deteriorated again this week - heavy showers, wind and some thunder and lightning! I'm having a break from physio treatment for a week following more tests on my shoulder. My doctor sent me for more x-rays and even an ultra-sound scan on my shoulder (aparently a new thing) - all I could see was a grey mass, but the guy seemed to be able to learn from it! I won't be able to start work again now until September, which is a bit of a blow. However, it would appear that all the schools are keen to have me back again next (school) year, so that is a relief.We are waiting with baited breath for our permission to put up a garden shed. This involved submitting scale drawings of the location of the property, the existing buildings and the shed itself - in quadruplicate - attached to a lengthy form. We have heard so many horror stories of 3-4 month battles with the planning office (who will even haggle over a 10cm over-hang of the roof of the shed!), that we decided to go straight to see the organ-grinder herself. She has in the past been very helpful to us (recently granting a change in the original plans for our houses and the coverted "Certificat de Conformité") and this visit was no exception. I can't help thinking that the fact that my French is fluent helps - they must get fed up to the back teeth with Brits going in and expecting them to understand English interspersed with very poor pigeon French! Anyway, the said permission will be granted very quickly - we have her word for it!

Sunday, 3rd June 2007

2007-06-03T17:23:19+02:00

May was a complete washout – the weather was diabolical and I have been stuck at home bored stiff due to my injury. The highlight of my days has been the visit to the physio!!?? My rehabilitation is painfully (in both senses of the word) slow – I am beginning to spend an hour here and there without my sling and can now lift my arm slightly higher, but I am very limited as to what I can do for myself.However, the sun came out briefly this morning and I managed to sit outside for a while and watch the Kestrels feeding their newly-hatched chicks through my telescope. We are incredibly lucky to have such a wealth of wildlife on our doorstep – there is always something to watch. If you enjoy tuning into Springwatch at the moment (as I do), then imagine what it would be like to have access to such wonders daily on your own doorstep. Hares play in the field next to our garden, deer are regular visitors, red squirrels are easy to see in the nearby woods. Black Woodpeckers, Hoopoes, Cirl Buntings, Black Kites, Hen Harriers, Kingfishers ........ I could go on ........ are all easily seen either in our own garden or within walking distance. Swallowtail butterflies are regular visitors (in season) to the garden. I used to visit nature reserves every weekend when I lived in the UK – no need to now!I often wonder why things are so different here from where we used to live in Portsmouth – it isn't so far a distance, but it is a different world. Is it down to climate? I don't think so. Is it down to the fact that I live out in the sticks? That certainly makes the birds more accessible, but then I used to spend all my free time out in the countryside looking for wildlife. Is it down to the fact that there is more countryside (a much bigger country with the same population)? That must have something to do with it. Is it down to different farming practices? I'm not qualified to know. Let's hope it continues! I know I used to see many more birds as a child – Tree sparrows, Bullfinches, Song Thrushes, Partridges etc – than I found as an adult living in the UK. Today is La Fête des Mères (Mothers' Day). Cheryl works in a large hypermarket in Vannes. Every customer was given a rose yesterday. As Cheryl works on the Customer Reception Desk, she was able to bring home a few of the leftovers – 100 roses!!!! It gave me great pleasure to be able to do the rounds of our neighbours with armfuls of flowers and I still had 3 vases full myself!

Thursday, 17th May, 2007

2007-05-17T12:41:11+02:00

They say the best way to learn is through experience. This is especially true for language-learning. You can learn the basics in class, which is a good place to start, but to really perfect your fluency and enrich your vocabulary you need to live in the country and learn through experience.For example, I already knew such words as "une épaule" (a shoulder) and "l'hôpital" and even "les urgences" (A and E) along with such phrases as "Ca me fait mal" (it hurts) and "C'est douleureux" (it's painful). But a recent act of stupidity (getting into a rowing boat without waiting for someone to steady it) gave me the opportunity to learn other words such as "déboitée" (dislocated), "une luxation" (a dislocation), "des calments forts" (strong painkillers), "du kiné" (physiotherapy). I already knew that in order to have even half a day off work you needed "un arrêt" (sick note – mine is initially for one month!) from your "médecin" (doc), but my recent experience has taught me about filling in forms such as "une attestation salaire" (employer's declaration of an employee's earnings) together with a whole host of paperwork to claim re-imbursement of doctors' and physio's fees – France really does revolve around paperwork. In the UK you would not have to pay for such treatment up-front and you do not have to have health insurance to make up the difference (the state only redeems 70% of such fees). However, would you be taken straight in to see the doctor upon arriving at A and E for something as "minor" (compared with heart attacks for example) as a dislocated shoulder? Would you have daily physio treatment for 3 weeks as soon as you reached that stage in your rehabilitation? Would you have the right to free transport door-to-door without having to justify it? (We haven't taken advantage of this option, preferring to use our car – as Paul doesn't work and so is available as chauffeur and nurse 24 hours a day!) Being bi-lingual has many obvious benefits, but my French physiotherapist has discovered one that is not immediately obvious. I very confidently chat away in French (I do not "translate into English" in my own mind – when I speak French I think French) - and he needs me to let him know if a particular movement, or area is painful to help him gauge progress. If something is only slightly painful I say "Aie!" as my brain is in "French gear", but if caught unawares with a very-convincing dose of "douleur" (pain) I revert back to my native tongue and treat him to a nice loud "Ow!!". Thus he has learnt that he has no need to ask me for a scale of pain "from 1 to 10", he simply notes the language!!!A useful bit of vocab that I had already learnt during the (almost) 3 years I've lived (present perfect!!! – for any of my adult students reading this!) in France is that "pins and needles" translates as "des fourmis" (literally "ants"). So when the doctor in Emergency asked me if I had any ants in my fingers I was able to understand and reply "Non, ça va." (No, it's OK). Just imagine the complications such a question may have caused – and at a time when delays are not welcome!Finally, just so that you can enjoy a good laugh at my expense (as all of my friends and family have already) – yes I did fall in the river, yes I was fully-clothed and no, it's not on video so I can't even gain £250!!!!!

Friday, 27th April, 2007

2007-04-27T18:44:10+02:00

I spent the whole 2 weeks of the holiday lesson-planning and studying for my exam – "Habilitation" – which I sat (in front of a board at the Education Authority in Vannes – gulp!!!) on 19th April. This is the official qualification to teach English in primary schools and which I needed to pass in order to continue teaching in September. Although for the French teachers taking the exam a large part of it involves verifying their level of English, for me it was my level of French that was tested. In addition to this, we all had to answer questions about the "Textes Officielles" (Curriculum and Teaching Practice). Anyway, big sigh of relief, I passed with flying colours! This has greatly boosted my confidence and I have gone into the schools with renewed energy this week!The gîtes are beginning to get booked-up a bit more. We even have a 10 day booking for both gîtes from the "Commune de Nivillac" (the Mairie, basically) – a troop of actors who are coming to put on a play at the local "Forum" theatre. For details of the gîtes (holiday cottages) and availability go to our main web-site (link on the left of this page).On Saturday we managed to sail further than ever before up the Vilaine river. We set off from La Roche-Bernard (where our boat is moored) at about 10.30 am (having spent over an hour just rowing out to collect it from its mooring, towing the rowing boat back to the pontoons, ferrying dogs, cat and supplies from the car and getting the sails ready) and arrived at "Le Pont de Cran" (between St. Dolay and Redon) at 1 pm. We had lunch on board and the dogs had a swim – Harry, the cat, declined! – before setting off back to La Roche. Harry is a very cool ship's cat – he takes it all in his stride.We sailed part of the way back. Although there was very little wind and most of the headway was made thanks to the current. Arriving back in La Roche-B, we set the boat on the end of a pontoon and Paul set off to collect a rowing boat to tow back across the river with us. Just then a very large yacht appeared – we had stopped in its berth! Luckily for us it was our friend, Jean-François, who took it all very well and even looked after the dogs on his boat whilst we moored up. We then "had to" stay for an "appero" with him before finally getting home at 9.45 pm!!!!!! We were both very tired and sun burnt – it had been an extremely hot day – worthy of July, never mind April. Life's so tough here in Brittany!!!!

Naughty Paris Salon

2007-04-01T15:59:26+02:00

Want to know more about the Naughty Paris Guide? Come meet the Editrix-in-Chief herself at the Context Salon (part of the "Out of Context" series), Wednesday April 4 at 6:30pm, where she'll be speaking about the book, the research, and all of the naughty Parisian addresses from girly sex toy shops to libertine clubs and where to buy naughty art. It's a casual event, hosted by an American expat in her private Montmartre house, with drinks and snacks provided following the talk. The cost is €35/person. To sign up contact Context Paris.

Sunday, 11th March, 2007

2007-03-11T19:20:00+01:00

At last the sun has come out and we have been making the most of it. We spent yesterday and today out in the garden - clipping back the ivy which had invaded the oaks and other trees. The idea is that we have cut the lower stems only, leaving the ivy in place to provide nesting cover for small birds, but that by late summer it will have died back enough to pull out of the tree. Two of our deciduous trees are now in leaf - the Elders. For more information about our garden and the local wildlife go to our main website and follow the link to Nature Notes (see link on the left of this page).Harry (our kitten) "visited" the vets 10 days ago for the big op. At 6 months old we had been advised he was ready. We are hoping that he will now not look to stray too far from the house and garden and have therefore finally allowed him out without being on his long-line. The timing was just right, as we were able to leave the doors to the house open and enjoy the sunshine. He has ventured as far as the log pile at the bottom of the garden (several hundred feet) - stopping to shake his paws as he went because the grass is still long down there and it was quite wet with dew. Otherwise he has just enjoyed his new-found freedom and followed his "sisters" (our two collie/spaniel crosses) around like a little lost sheep! He also joined-in the dog agility session this afternoon - his strengths being the tunnel and the walk-over. (Again photos are available on our website - follow the link from the "Dogs Welcome" page). We have been given a mooring for the boat for the summer at La Roche-Bernard (where it is currently on a pontoon, but from which we have to move on 1 April). This will be a cheaper option, but less user-friendly. There are free rowing boats available to the port users in order to access the moored boats, but we have a small boat of our own with a small, 2CV outboard which we will transport there and back on a trailer. In order to ensure a pontoon for next summer, we need to present ourselves to the Capitainerie on 1 July to get our names down. However, for such events as the Bastille Day Celebrations and the Music Festival, we will be able to put "him" on the Visitors' Pontoon to then stay overnight onboard.

Sunday, 25th February, 2007

2007-02-25T18:45:03+01:00

It's amazing how quickly two weeks can go – back to school tomorrow already. Having started the break with flu and then flown over to Cyprus for a week (which involved 3 days of travelling in all), I spent 3 days lesson planning and there you have it! Cyprus was a chance to catch up with Paul's parents in their holiday home out there. We haven't seen them for nearly a year and they, very generously, paid for us to fly over and it was great to see them. I am not a fan of flying and to have to take a total of 6 airplanes in one week was not my idea of fun. However, once there in one piece, I managed to put the return flight to the back of my mind and enjoy the break. We were fortunate with the weather – eating breakfast outside on all but one day and only having one day of rain. However, we were shocked to see the changes since our last trip 4 years ago. The place has become one big building site – villas going up everywhere (all crammed-in and over-looking each other!) and more estate agencies than ever – all adverts in English (even the prices!). Olive, lemon and orange groves are being carved up along with the mountainsides and gorges. To help people to get around they are building miles of roads just to add to the habitat destruction. I suppose it may be some people's cup of tea, but not mine. The local restaurants have even begun to serve roast dinner all day Sunday! We still managed to find some un-spoilt areas off-the-beaten-track, but the birds were harder to find – I wish I could say the same about the litter – bottles, cans and spent gun cartridges everywhere. I may often moan about how complicated the planning-application process is here in France – we even need to get permission to put up a garden shed! But at least it means that the countryside I so cherish will be here for the good of people and birds for the future and you don't have to get on a plane to get here! Vive la France!

Sunday, 11th February, 2007

2007-02-11T19:00:00+01:00

Well, after my moan last time about the broadband connection teething problems things have been markedly better. Although the line does go dead a few times a week it is usually a case of switching the box off and on again and job done - fingers crossed that things continue to improve because when it works it's great!Not much has been happening here apart from me going down like a very heavy thing with bronchitis which meant that I finally had to admit that I couldn't keep on working and take to my sick bed (cue violins!) The problem with the French system (there's a problem ??? !!!!! shock !!!!) is that you do not get paid for the first 3 days illness - and, seeing as it is usually just those 3 days you need, people tend to try and work through - understandably. The knock-on effect being that everyone else catches the bug and on it goes! The schools have been half-empty (pessimistic view) for a couple of weeks now. The other big difference between the UK and France is that you are required to produce a doctor's certificate for even a half-day's absence (children included) - so the doctors' surgeries are full of people spreading germs too! Add to that the idea that everyone kisses everyone else at least once a day ......! As for the health service system here - you have to cough-up (sorry for the pun!!) 21 € every time you visit the quack. He/she then gives you a form which you send in to the local health office. They then reimburse 70% of the fee (minus a mandatory contribution of 1€) directly into your bank account. The remaining 30% (minus - yes, you've guessed it!) is also reimbursed by your "Mutuel" or complementary health insurance. The same system applies for medicines on prescription, except that now most chemists will take your "Carte Vitale" (national health card - a green credit card with a chip) and you, therefore, do not need to part with any money (no mandatory contribution here ...... yet!). However, we have found the complementary health insurance to be rather costly if you wish to take this option. The first year we lived in France we took out the full Monty (if you'll excuse the phrase), but for the second year we made some enquiries and found that we could save over 200€ over the year by taking the "hospitalisation" option. As far as it appears - and has proved to work so far - all you lose out on is the 30% contribution towards docs visits and prescriptions, everything else (tests, hospital treatment etc) being covered.

Sunday, 28th January, 2007

2007-01-28T13:11:50+01:00

Having heard the news that "ADSL" (Broadband) had finally reached our corner of France (having been available in nearby Nivillac (west) and St. Dolay (east) for over 2 years!) we became really excited and signed up straight away. The reality, however, at the moment is that it's a miracle that I am able to write this "post" at all, as we have had nothing but problems - no phone, no e-mail and no internet access one day, phone and e-mail but no internet another ..... - since the big "switch over" day just over 2 weeks ago. When it does work, the whole system is slower than the old dial-up. If it weren't for the fact that we rely upon the web and e-mail system for over 90% of our bookings for the gîtes, I would quite happily go without the lot of it!In theory, the package is really good - unlimited calls (incl. 40 countries) and broadband access for just 35 €/month. When it works it's brilliant - like everything technical! Watch this space. We shall be calling the customer service line shortly, but don't expect to get any joy - this is France!When you stop to think, though, that only 30 years ago (in the 1970's) our neighbours were excited at the prospect of another new-fangled technical arrival - RUNNING WATER !!!! - it puts it all into perspective.I suppose that being able to sit here typing and look out of the window to see a Hen Harrier quartering the field only about 20 yards away, or a Cirl Bunting huddling in the oak tree only 30 feet away makes it all worth while. It makes you realise what is really important. So I'll take a deep breath of that wonderful country air and take the dogs for a walk along the river and count my blessings - after all that's the life we came out here to find. If you decide to take the plunge and move to France, just remember one thing - it is not the UK - life is so slow here, it's almost at standstill, but if you can go with the flow and enjoy it then you will reap the benefits and never regret your decision!

French Drink Increases Female Libido

2007-01-10T21:25:00+01:00

Too exhausted from work, the weather, kids, or life in general to faire l'amour? Feel like you could use a little boost to the libido? The French have invented a special drink called Diapensia (stupid name) that claims to increase a woman's sex drive. Best of all it's all natural:

Firmly believing in the wealth of traditional medicine, a French research team was able to identify the active principles of the Galanga plant, grown in Asia and reputed for centuries to have aphrodisiac activity. Based on this plant’s active principles, the researchers developed Diapensia, a concentrate of aphrodisiac effects intended to help restore sexual desire.

At €29/bottle plus shipping, it isn't cheap (they recommend a few teaspoons a day), but who knows...could be all you need to put the spring back in your step! ;)

Fetish Photography Exhibition

2007-01-06T22:05:40+01:00

Don't miss the fabulous Christophe Mourthé exposition of fetish photography at the Musée de l'Erotisme (72 blvd de Clichy, 18th), featuring the pin-up burlesque star Dita Von Teese in Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery.

Erotic Art Books at Artcurial

2007-01-05T21:52:29+01:00

The erotic art photography publisher "Chez Higgins Editions" will have an exposition-sale of their limited-edition portfolio collection at Artcurial (7 Rond Point des Champs-Elysées, 8th) from February 1-March 1.

The Biggest Fetish Party of the Year id Coming!

2006-11-19T23:22:51+01:00

It's time for the 7th annual Nuit Démonia, not just one night, but FOUR nights of events in Paris crowned by the one of the biggest fetish parties in Europe. No matter if you've never been to a fetish party in your life, get out that sexy latex Halloween costume and check out the action!

Poker, cigars and chocolate -- just another Ladies-Only Soirée!

2006-11-15T13:35:43+01:00

The stylish Left Bank restaurant-bar-lounge Alcazar (62 rue Mazarine, 6th, M° Odéon) is hosting the second Demoiselles de l'Alcazar soirée on Tuesday November 21 from 8pm, with poker lessons, cigar and chocolate dégustation (not together, I hope!), gaming tables, back massages, individual coaching sessions, and live DJ, all for €40 (includes meal and a drink). Get your smoking out of the closet, ladies, and grab your girlfriends for a night on the town! Reserve at 0153 10 19 99.

Sunday, 12th November, 2006

2006-11-12T12:34:37+01:00

Life continues apace here at La Belle Vilaine gîtes complex. I have now received my "Habilitation Provisoire" – which basically gives me the permission to teach English in Primary Schools pending an official visit by an Inspector to evaluate a lesson and interview me in order to (hopefully) deliver my "Habilitation Définitive" – basically a kind of "Offsted". I am desperately trying to learn the names of all my new pupils (240) – which is a challenge to say the least. Another important event is the arrival of Harry. Paul surprised me with a kitten for my birthday. Harry is black and white (to match the dogs!) and is now 3 months old and an absolute bundle of fun! The fist week was difficult, as we had to keep him locked away in the spare en-suite bathroom – he was so tiny and Gracie and Ficelle were so keen to chase him that we had no choice! However, with some intensive training and a lot of patience we got there and he now plays happily with them (in fact I think he thinks he's a dog) all day. We can even go out and leave them together without worrying.Harry also had his first taste of sailing a couple of weeks ago. He took to it very well! We are keeping him indoors until he has had his second round of inoculations and then he will go out on a lead only until he has been neutered – so that will finally convince the locals that the English are totally ga-ga! Otherwise, we have been apple picking in a friend's orchard (verger) and Paul went along to a "pressoir" to turn them into apple juice – over 400 bottles in all!On the house front we have fitted a new kitchen. As we live so far out in the sticks, it is a major operation to source the materials for such a job. We had to go to Nantes for most of it – a 45 minute drive each way. This means you have to be organised and have a comprehensive list – including all measurements. Oh to have a DIY store 5 minutes down the road and open on Sunday again!!!!

The Queen of Burlesque meets the Queen of Elegant Lingerie

2006-11-10T10:35:00+01:00

Dita von Teese's burlesque show at the Crazy Horse cabaret was a huge success. She performed the "taking a bath" show immortalized by one of the earliest Crazy Horse retro stars, Lili St-Cyr. It certainly answered the persistent question of visitors in France: "Why doesn't the hand-held shower head attach to the wall?"Thanks to Gentry Lane of Gentry de Paris lingerie for sending me this fabu photo of her (and her lucky lawyer, Sébastien Bono) with Dita on the final evening of the show.

The Marquis de Sade Goes to Prison at 24

2006-10-29T12:19:28+01:00

On this day in 1763, the 24-year-old Marquis de Sade was incarcerated for the first time in the tower at Château de Vincennes (by royal decree) for his wild debauchery Although it was also the year of his marriage (supposedly it was his mother-in-law who had him arrested the first time), he was known for his swinging lifestyle with Parisian actresses and courtesans. Prison time didn't seem to be much of a deterrent for the infamous writer (for whom the word "sadism" is attributed). He would return there often, spending almost 30 years of his life behind bars.

Tuesday, 26 September, 2006

2006-09-26T10:45:00+02:00

I have been extreeeeeemly busy this summer - that's my excuse! In fact, we have been busy with two full gîtes and all the work and fun that brings. We enjoyed boules matches, picnics, walks, fêtes, vide greniers (sort of car boot, but better) and lots of sailing.Before the sailing, though, we had to first find a boat. We traipsed around boat yards for over a month before finally finding our pride and joy - a Jeanneau, Love Love called "Rienkanoux" (Just for us!) - in Vannes. We were also invited aboard a French friend's larger yacht for a cruise around the Golfe du Morbihan just a few days before sailing ours back home, which involved crossing the Golfe. We made the trip back, with a crew of 4 - including our friend Gordon, who has many more years experience than us, at the end of August. The route took us out of the marina in the heart of Vannes, across the Golfe and then a left turn to hug the coast of southern Brittany before finding the mouth of the Vilaine river and passing through the lock at the Arzal barrage and home to La Roche Bernard.Since then we have had several sorties from our berth at La Roche either back towards the barrage or, more often, towards home. However, I have now landed the job I have been waiting for since arriving in France two years ago. I have been taken on by 7 local primary schools as the English Teacher. This new post, added to the teaching jobs I started last October, means that I will be pretty much working full-time. With the gîtes bookings, which were better than we had hoped for in our first year, this new job means we can finally say that we have achieved everything we came here to do. In addition, Cheryl has been offered a permanent contract at work - something that is very hard-won here.And to top it all the sun is still shining!

Lolita Tuesday Report

2006-08-17T00:35:00+02:00

The Mardi Lolita sounded like a fun things to do on a rainy Tuesday, so I called some girly friends to go check it out. "What time should we meet?" emails Gentry. "It starts at 7pm," I reply. "Won't we be total dorks showing up on time? It's Tuesday in August,no one will be there." "Well then you can come at 8. I'll be there getting my manicure at 7:30," I reply. Brenna had yoga until 8pm, but I told her we'd still be there watching the Desperate Housewives episodes on the big screen.I didn't actually make it until 8pm (it's in one of those transportation black holes...I had to take three metros). Gentry was on the upper deck drinking her free Cosmopolitan. "Only the Cosmos are free," she reported. Good thing I like cranberry juice. "And the 'boudoir' sucks." She had arrived at 7:20pm and immediately signed us up for the massages and tarot reader. We were, like, 50th in line. "There's no manicurist tonight, and the make-up person only has eye shadow." We finished our drinks on the deck and when it started raining again we headed below deck to the 'Boudoir'. It was pretty sad, but what can you expect for free? I brought money for extra drinks, but never ended up buying any. It wasn't that crowded, but there's limited seating options, and most of them are taken up by the friends of the masseuses, make-up artists, tarot reader, etc. We camped out next to the sex toy table, and since we couldn't see the TV screen while we waited for our appointments, we played with the toys. Apparently they were for sale, but the girl manning the table ignored us when she wasn't flicking her cigarette in our direction. "Wow, I'd really love to know how these things work," I say loudly. "I'd really love to buy one!" added Gentry. Still no attention. At one point a magician came over, obviously paid to entertain us, and started entertaining the sex toy girl and her friends. We began scheming our plot to sell the sex toys ourselves to anyone who looked interested (that might get her attention), when Brenna arrived. "Any toy you want, five euros!"We found some seats closer to the TV (they'd never seen Desperate Housewives, I was trying to fill in the gaps). Gentry was too distracted checking our progress on the list every ten seconds. "There are 25 people ahead of us and only an hour left. They leave at 10pm," she says. And, right on schedule, at 10pm they all packed up and left (not even a "desolée, on ferme!"). The show we were half-watching cut off mid-episode. The gauzy table cloths and three fashion magazines constituting our boudoir were taken away. Total bummer.Not that we didn't have fun. How can you not have fun when out with the girls? So, my advice: go with friends. Get there at 6:45pm. ;)

Girly Events to Hold You Over for the Summer...

2006-08-08T10:50:00+02:00

Paris has cooled off since the July heatwave, so it's a great time to head to Paris Plage and the floating bars moored on the banks of the Seine. Here are two great girly events to check out:Mardi Lolita (Lolita Tuesdays) are special girly parties on the Bateau Concorde Atlantique (moored on the Left Bank of the Seine across from 23 quai Anatole France, 7th, M° Assemblée Nationle) every Tuesday from 7pm-5am through September 12. Free for ladies, including a free cocktail if you come between 7pm and 10pm (free for guys -- terrace access only -- until 10pm, €10 from 10pm, €15 from midnight). On the upper deck (terrace) is a DJ and a dinner and cocktail menu. Below deck (ladies only) is the "boudoir", with free fortune tellers, massages, make-up artists, manicures, projections of Sex & the City, Nip & Tuck, Desperate Housewives, and The L Word, a juice bar, and a sex toy presentation. From 10pm it becomes a dance club with music from Madonna, Kylie, Blondie, Robbie William, Beyonce, J-Lo, Britney, Bob Sinclar, Black eyed peas, Abba, Donna Summer...for more info call FranK at 06 74 62 00 83. Over on Paris Plage, celebrating French Polynesia this year, are real Tahitian male dancers (my sources have reported that the washboard stomachs are mighty fine). Head to the Espace Tahiti at the foot of Pont Marie (Right Bank) on the 9th and 10th August at 7:30pm and 9pm to see the Ballet Show Tahiti Nui. If you'd like to learn to dance yourself, there are classes daily through August 20 from 5:30pm-7pm. Have a great summer!

Thursday, 6 July, 2006

2006-07-06T15:52:24+02:00

The long-awaited summer holidays have now begun – leaving me with much more free time until I take up my new post as English Teacher in several local primary schools in September. At the market in La Roche-Bernard this morning I was stopped by two sets of parents who wanted to congratulate me on the appointment and to say how pleased they were that their children would have a genuine English person teaching them, not to mention someone that they know – so the "téléphone arabe" (grapevine) is up to its usual speed (possibly the only thing that works at a pace in this laid-back country!).There is a lull in gîte occupancy ahead of a very busy (fully-booked) 6-week period from the 15th. We are looking forward the Le Tour de France arriving at La Roche next week – not the more famous cycle race, but "à Voile" (sailing). This, coupled with a plethora of events for the Bastille Day weekend should keep us busy and offer many opportunities to add to our photo album.One last thing – ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

Fetish Night Tickets on Sale

2006-07-03T21:50:13+02:00

Don't care to watch the "third place" World Cup Match this Saturday? Then grab your leather, latex and PVC and get thee to the Nuit Elastique, one of the city's most popular fetish nights. And as part of the Soldes fever that has taken over the city, you can even buy the tickets in advance at the Boutique Démonia (10 Cité Joly, 11th) for just €7 instead of €20. While you're there check out the videos, toys and sexy clothing on sale!

Friday, 30th June 2006

2006-07-01T00:10:51+02:00

We have been researching boat hire which, as with everything in France, is a lot more complicated than in the UK. Basically, you require a permit to use anything but a boat with a very small engine – although you can sail a huge yacht without! Or, at least, the French yachting types all refuse to have a permit which may mean that they do need it by law, but are being typically French and doing as they jolly well like!Anyway, we have booked a "deckboat" with a motor and a canopy (very important in this heat!) for a day's sailing up the Vilaine with our friends for Paul's birthday in July.This evening we met up with "the gang" in Questembert for a music festival. The streets were buzzing with people and bands of all sorts – unfortunately it would appear that each band set up where and when they liked, resulting in a very confusing and loud racket which had little to do with music!! Individually we would have enjoyed almost all of them (not the punk band or the sea-shanty-singing choir!).

Saturday, 24th June, 2006

2006-06-24T14:39:26+02:00

We survived the evening serving behind the bar of the local community centre yesterday – finally wending our weary way home about 2.45 am! We learnt the concept behind this tradition. Basically, when a family organises a wedding and books the community hall for the evening disco, or "bal", they then approach the local "Associations" or charities and ask them to organise the bar – drinks and staff. The Association and the wedding party agree a price for this service – let's say 500 euros. The Association then asks local people or "les mugs" (made that one up!) to give their time freely and local businesses to provide the drinks on a sale-or-return basis. If at the end of the evening (or should I say the early hours of the morning!) the Association has only taken 300 euros in profit, then the wedding party make up the difference and pay the A. 200 euros. If, on the other hand, the A. make 700 euros the wedding party has nothing to pay and the A. makes a better profit than anticipated. The money is then used to pay for or subsidise other community services. Quite a good plan, we thought. I don't think we'll be volunteering again though, unless we stipulate a time that we will leave.

Under the Pink: A special report by Lady Carolyn

2006-06-20T10:32:13+02:00

While Portuguese football fans were parading up and down the Champs-Élysées last week in celebration of their country’s World Cup win against Angola, Heather, Carolyn and a number of naughty ladies were congregated in the comfortably air conditioned confines of Pink Paradise, not far from the famed boulevard.Normally a gentlemen’s club, Pink Paradise opens its doors every now and then to those gals who’ve always wanted to strap on a pair of stilettos and learn how to twirl seductively around a pole. They call it Girls & the City. This evening, two of the establishment’s sexy stripteaseuses were on call to provide crash courses on stage to the most enthusiastic of volunteers – all of whom quickly learned that pole dancing ain’t as easy as it looks! (Luckily, they didn’t try to teach participants the ol’ climb-up-the-pole-and-then-coquettishly-somersault-down-it move…we surmise that les professionelles have glue slathered on their legs to accomplish that one!) While the announcer was a little, as the French would say, chiant (we think he would have probably preferred to be in a brasserie with the rest of the soccer fans), the crowd was supportive, albeit a little tranquille – perhaps they were suffering from a bit of heat stroke…il fait chaud à Paris !! And, though the dancers were inviting, we weren’t really in agreement with the fact that once the volunteers learned a few steps, the audience was called upon to judge their skills…a little bit too much pressure, we thought, for good girls that are trying to learn a few naughty moves!But even the shyest nouvelles danseuses took all of this in stride, and who could remain timid for too long once the brigade of finely chiseled male dancers -- Les Glamour Boys -- took to the stage? There’s nothing like a seaman with Velcro tear-off pants and a finely structured derrière to make a girl smile. HELLOOOOOO, SAILOR!!! And, just like the Frenchmen on the streets of Paris, male strippers here in France are a lot more, er…forward with the ladies they pull up on stage. Guys, if you were wondering why your girlfriends were so affectionate when they got home, we could tell you why. (But we won’t!!!)After the skin-filled spectacle concluded, Heather and I had the opportunity of speaking with our favorite dancer, Andy, a.k.a. Tarzan. (Hey, we thought he had beautiful…uh…eyes.) Having spent three months as a professional dancer in Los Angeles, our dazzling homme sauvage shared his observations on the differences between the stripper scenes here in France and on the other side of the Big Pond. Les americaines, it seems, are a little freer with their wallets: they will watch the show and then pony up for a more intimate lap dance. Les françaises, he concluded, are a little more conservative about spending the extra cash.But perhaps it’s not a matter of French girls being cheap. Les stripteases à la americaine (and it’s this that Pink Paradise is apparently striving to achieve) are, well, an American phenomenon. It’s possible that French girls just haven’t gotten a hang of the protocol.Not that this was helped by the club’s minimal advertising for the event. The evening, which runs 35 euros per person, includes an open bar, free manicures and hair styling (but you got to get there good and early), and the show – not a bad deal considering what a normal Parisian night on the town costs. We hope that in the future, the club will make more of an effort in publicizing their ladies’ nights. What better way is there for birthday girls and bachlorettes to celebrate than drooling over some fine French flesh?Besides, we want those boys to prosper. As Tarzan would agree, it’s a jungle out there, and one’s gotta eat to keep up a bod like that.

Wednesday, 14th June, 2006

2006-06-14T18:13:04+02:00

We were lucky with the weather on Sunday for our picnic and boules competition. We had about 40 people attending (a mix of French and Brits) and the rain which had been forecast stayed away – except for a brief shower. I chose the teams (doubles) – which encouraged everyone to communicate in both English and French as much as possible. After a well-matched final a few of us decamped to the bar to discuss the day's event, which was enjoyed by everyone.The latest addition to the Agility Course - a 5m long, flexible tunnel - arrived yesterday. This had to be ordered as it is very difficult to make yourself (especially if you are a complete stranger to the art of needlecraft like me!!). Gracie always loved this particular element of agility (although I would say that her all-time favourite is the 6ft high A frame – yet to be made) and she very readily ran through it, showing Ficelle what to do. Ficelle seems to have taken to the idea well and already she will go through on her own. The funny thing about Ficelle is that, having learnt to "weave" through a series of 4 poles, she now believes that she has completed this part of the course after 4 weaves – even though we had added another two! This evening the couple who are staying in one of our gîtes are coming over with their dog to have a go. Their dog is only small and so we will place the caravan steps in front of the table and lower the jumps!

Meet the Pleasure Coach

2006-06-06T23:25:00+02:00

Every Good Girl (and the Men Who Worship Them) should know about Victoria Vesta of Divine Feminine Touch. Bookmark this link! After all, you never know when you may be in need of a bit of sexual awakening, a kick-start to a libido that's been on vacation too long, or just someone to talk to about all of those crazy fantasies that would make your mother faint. So who do you call? A pleasure coach, of course!Victoria came to Paris from New York, where she had a high-stress job in television. In Paris she discovered that je ne sais quoi that Carolyn and I have been telling all you gals about, that erotic energy that permeates the culture in a way that's sorely missing from North American culture. It's not always about sex, but it is about feeling sexy and in touch with your inner femme fatale. Of course, just being in Paris doesn't guarantee that all this erotic mojo will seep into your body through osmosis. Sometimes it helps to have a gentle push in the right direction, a sort of orientation to the world of Naughty Paris. So she decided to move here permanently and devote her life to helping others discover their sexual bliss.Victoria offers women,men and couples pleasure coaching, sensual massage (including lessons), and even gift certificates for that special someone in your life.

I will be your guide in the promotion of your erotic and sensual pleasure - using energies often associated with The Divine Feminine: love, nurturing, healing, wisdom, and guidance.

I had coffee with Victoria yesterday and got to see her gorgeous workspace (inspired by the emperor's bedroom in the film Gladiator). We ended up chatting for hours, and I can say I highly recommend a session with her for anyone who is looking for a safe and healthy place to explore their sexual epanouissement.