[multilanguage_switcher]While the option for farmers to continue using agrochemicals remains open, we all have to remain vigilant. The French Union for the industrial protection of plants, the UIIP<...
Bio-boom in France: from Agro-chemicals to Bio farming Read Post »
[multilanguage_switcher]The short story entitled Le Train which you can read on the…
There is much talk of desertification of the countryside in France, with people leaving for the big towns and cities; doctors are difficult to find in small communities, jobs are rare, and city lights…
Isolation and Reciprocity Read Post »
A messy subject, but important for our environment and economics. Manure is still massively under-exploited. Alone, it is a fertilizer full of pathogens which get spread back onto the fields. But put through a methane digester under anaerobic c…
Mess, manure, and anaerobic digesters Read Post »
Two expert reports on the state of the environment in France were published this July, one by the French National Agency for Health Security Anses (Agence nation…
France's environmental dilemma Read Post »
[multilanguage_switcher]The five-acre field up our road stretched out like a yellow pall under the sky, desiccated. The local farmer had sprayed it before re-ploughing and sowing his next crop. He sprayed it with glyphosate – what dosage we’ll ne…
Glyphosate: the War on Weeds Read Post »
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“Union” Jack?[/captio…
I'm All Right Jack. What the French say about Brexit. Read Post »
If you went down to our woods eight years ago you’d have heard and seen ten beehives 
amongst the birches. …
To Bee or not to Bee Read Post »
On May the 1st we took to the woods. If you go down a track in the Forêt de Brotonne – the Forest of Brotonne – you’ll come across a small chapel: the Chapelle Saint Maur. It is surrounded by beech trees and horn…
May Day, rickets, and the Forêt de Brotonne Read Post »
The small Leper colony in the woods down the hill with its Saint Thomas Chapel dates back to the 12th Century. We have been coming here on our walks for the last 15 years. It is surrounded by a high flint wall now taken over by the rampant vegetation.
Leprosy and La Chapelle Saint Thomas Read Post »
On the barbed wire fence by the farm up the road we counted 120 moles strung up in the sun like socks hung out to dry. A gruesome encounter. The local mole catcher had been by. He gets paid per mole, has to prove his catch and he’d clearly earned …
Alternative medecine: moles Read Post »
Cup in hand I take my tea at midnight
down a darkening track
lush chestnut oak and elm hang heavy
wheat field hushed, summer breeze between the husks halted.
Silence is a darkness too familiar.
Breath of cattle huddled by the fence
shadows si…
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