August 2014 - Issue #14

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Dordogne

Many in F r a n c e d r a w t h e i r sense of

local identity from their de-partment and their region, which is why President Hollande’s plan to halve the number of regions in France by 2017 was always likely to provoke contro-versy. Over the past few months an almost endless series of maps have been produced showing how mainland France’s 95 de-partments would finally be divided up in the new-look administrative framework. There has been much de-bate, many arguments and an unknown amount of po-litical wrangling. A poll taken when the re-forms were first announced showed that while 68 per

cent of the French believed the changes were neces-sary, 77 per cent rejected the potential disappearance of their own region. Ini-tially, it looked likely that Aquitaine would be join-ing with the Midi-Pyrénées region, then it appeared as though they would actually be combined with Poitou-Charentes. Following po-litical manoeuvrings and a series of amendments, the final map, adopted by MPs on 23rd July, looks to be crystallising (see page 5), with Aquitaine now set to be combined with both Poi-tou-Charentes and Limou-sin in a new “super region”. The number of regions will be cut from 22 to 13. Whilst arguments were put forward for a link with

>> continued on page 5

The government is in the process of re-drawing the administrative map of France, reducing the number of regions from 22 to just 13. After months of political manoeuvring, the Limousin and Poitou-Charentes will soon be joining Aquitaine.

Aquitaine at heart of new super region

The cost of using your mobile across Europe has again fallen, with data charges more than halved >> Page 7

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Sarkozy's comeback derailed by arrestThe arrest of the former leader on charges of corruption sent shockwaves through the country - he is the first president ever held in police custody. >> Page 9

INSIDE > > >

BILINGUAL - Anyone for tea?We take a b i l ingual look at the u n i q u e l y British obsession with tea >> Page 15

The Bugle Business Directory 4 pages of listings for local English-speaking business-es - your essential guide to finding just what you’re looking for >> Pages 16-19

NEWS - UFOs spotted over Dordogne forestUnverified YouTube footage appears to show unidentified objects flying in the skies over the region... did you see anything? >> Page 4

NEWS - Half of all jobs could go to robotsA leading think tank believes that half of all French jobs could become automated in the next 20 years >> Page 12

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 20142 ♦ IN THIS EDITION

CONTACT usTel: 05.55.41.17.76

General:editor@thebugle.euAdvertising (EN):

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subscriptions24@thebugle.euEditor:

Steve MartindaleWrite to:

The Bugle Les Quatre Chemins

23150 St-Yrieix-les-BoisFrance

INSIDEthis edition

3-6 Local News

7-12 National News

13 Language & Games

14 French Life

15 Practical/Bilingual

16-19 Directory

20-24 What's On

Welcome toThe BugleAs anyone who

regularly reads this paper will know, I am a big fan of pretty

much all sport. As a kid, I used to follow the Tour de France when it was on Channel 4 and my interest in cycling has grown after spells living in Belgium - where Eddy Merckx is revered as a demi-god – and now France. People often think of wine and baguettes when they think of France - or occasionally striped shirts and rings of onions - but cycling would probably also make it onto the Family Fortunes board. So I was particularly looking forward to this year’s race, despite Sir Brad’s omission from Team Sky. Not only were the first 3 stages taking place in England, but Froome looked like a good bet for a third successive Team Sky win and there were 2 key final stages in the Dordogne. What a disappointment it was then when not only Froome, but then Contador and Schleck all crashed out in

kilometres. Unlike back in the UK, cyclists are, for the most part, given due respect on the country’s roads. There is even talk in France of introducing a new law to ban overtaking cyclists on a solid white line. Drivers in France are respectful of those on two wheels and already give them a wide berth when overtaking. I don’t know if this is simply because there are more cyclists on the roads and people are used to dealing with them, or whether it is a cultural difference. I suspect that it is a bit of both. To hear people north of the Channel talking, cyclists are sometimes portrayed as the enemy of motorists! I remember a case not that long ago of a woman who boasted on Twitter about hitting a cyclist: “Definitely knocked a cyclist off his bike earlier - I have right of way - he doesn’t even pay road tax #bloodycyclists”. The cyclist in question picked himself out of the hedge and was lucky to suffer only minor injuries; following her public boasting, however, the woman was convicted of failing to stop and failing to report an accident. She was given a hefty fine and received 7 points on her licence. I guess I should counter this point by telling another Tour de France-related story, which casts a more favourable light on the British... My elderly neighbours commented to me that they now understood why

the early days before the race had really got going. With the big favourites out of it, the Tour became the Vincenzo Nibali show. For long periods his dominance was probably more impressive than it was exciting. One positive to come out of the Tour was the success of a number of French riders. A Frenchman has not worn Yellow up the Champs-Elysée since Bernard Hinault way back in 1985, a statistic that has become increasingly frustrating for such a cycling-mad country. They have not even had a man on the podium since 1997. This year they had 2! Prepare yourself for kilometres of column inches in the French press, if you’ll allow me to mix my metaphorical units. You can see the French obsession with cycling everywhere here, especially in summer. Men, women and children seemingly aged from 10 to 100 can be found out on their road bikes, fully kitted up with their favourite team’s jersey, pounding out the

I had moved to the Creuse after watching the first stages of this year’s race which took place on the Yorkshire Dales. They told me that they had no idea England was so beautiful, and were particularly impressed by the dry-stoned walls. Apparently to them it looked a lot like rural Limousin. What really impressed them, however, were the huge crowds (which reportedly numbered more than a million!) and how well behaved they were. “They just stood there, cheering behind the walls and barriers... no one ran onto the road to try and get closer to the cyclists. Nothing like in France!” I explained that, despite what you may read in some of the press, we are a polite nation... sometimes painfully so! I have seen a fair bit of the world and no one queues like the Brits!!

Until next month!

Steve Martindale, Editor

3 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu LOCAL NEWS ♦

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Swimmers off the Aquitaine coast will be no strangers to jellyfish - most years, health

authorities release warnings to be on the lookout for a certain species. In 2013, for example, there was an influx of Portuguese man o’ war when a number of swimmers were stung off the coast in the Landes department. This year it is the turn of the com-pass jellyfish to be the focus of an alert. This yellow-coloured jellyfish has 16 distinctive brown V-shaped stripes that radiate outwards from a dark central spot. According to local authorities, compass jellyfish are relatively rare locally, only seen on average every 3 years. They can grow to around 30cm in diameter and their sting can be painful. Not all jellyfish are dangerous, however. The large white jellyfish which are a very common sight off the coast of France are more of a nuisance than a harm. “As the tide rises, they are brought up onto the beach, and when the tide goes out again, it carries them with it,” explained Guillaume Christ, a lifeguard from Lacanau (33). “But with these, there are no dangers. They are inoffensive, at most a lit-tle irritating. People either have fun with them, or stay away from

them.” Should you be stung by a jelly-fish or a Portuguese man o’ war, the best treatment is as follows:- Try not to scratch! Avoid any fur-ther contact and carefully remove any remnants of the organism from the skin (taking care not to touch them directly), then gently scrape the skin with the flat of a knife or a bank card to remove the stinging cells.- Apply salt water to the affected area (not freshwater, which tends to make the the sting worse).- Follow this, if possible, with the application of hot water (around 45 °C) for 15-20 minutes. This eases the pain of a sting by denaturing the toxins.- If in doubt, seek medical advice. Contrary to popular belief, apply-ing vinegar (or other slightly acidic fluids that may be easily available!) actually increases the poison deliv-ery, making the pain worse. ■

It is just 60 years since an un-known French cleric set up a non-religious organisation to help people down on their luck.

That humble beginning has become a major international force for home-lessness, rehabilitation, self-help, and the fight against poverty. Abbé Pierre’s idea was that little live-in communi-ties should be set up, to lodge together and earn a living, mainly by collect-ing, renovating, repairing, recycling and selling other people’s junk. The Périgueux branch of the Em-maüs Foundation fell on hard times it-self last year due to a disastrous fire at its premises in Coulounieix-Chamiers on the outskirts of Périgueux. It took thirty firefighters to bring the blaze under control that night in March last year. Cédric Thomas, community manager was devastated: “There was nothing left of the main building. We were thankful the liv-ing accommodation was not touched, and that the electrical appliances and clothing sections were safe.” In late July 2014, an elated Cédric Thomas was able to announce that Emmaüs 24 is to live anew in the capital of the Dordogne when work is completed on rebuilding their ware-house and workshops. Re-opening of the new main building is planned for November 2014 at a cost of over half

a million euros. “We hope to get the other buildings re-roofed, improve the dining room and increase the accommodation for our companions,” Cédric told The Bugle. “We are grateful for our band of lion-hearted volunteers and our own doughty community, who have man-aged to keep Emmaüs 24 in business since the disaster of 2013.”

It was March 1954 when Abbé Pierre officially founded the Associa-tion Emmaüs, named after the place where, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus had supper with disciples after the cruci-fixion. Abbé Pierre was concerned to of-fer practical help to down-and-outs and the homeless in France in the late 1940s. At that time France was slowly recovering from 5 years of enemy

occupation, deportations, a million Frenchmen held as POWs, massacres, bombing and warfare. Abbé Pierre also insisted that help, shelter, food and friendship should be non-reli-gious and completely unconditional. Ex-convicts and clients with drink and drugs problems, for instance, would never be turned away. Sixty years later, Emmaüs Associa-tions are found all over France and in 40 countries worldwide. The UK has 24 branches. The Périgueux site near the mairie of Coulounieix-Chamiers, on the south bank of the Isle, has become an antique collector’s hypermar-ket, despite the fire. Donors can call Emmaüs who will collect furniture, books, clothes, household equipment, domestic electrics, etc. After refur-bishment and cleaning the items go to the “showroom” for the hundreds of chineurs who flock in every weekend to snap up the collectibles as fast as they arrive. As the saying goes, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure”. Emmaüs 24 will continue with busi-ness as usual during building works. The depot can be found in the rue Gus-tave Eiffel, Coulounieix-Chamiers. For more information tel 05 53 35 04 19 or visit www.emmaus24.com ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

Jellyfish warning Emmaüs Foundation resurrected©

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www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 20144 ♦ LOCAL NEWS

Alien spotters were on high alert in July when four Unidentified Fly-ing Objects were spot-

ted hovering over a forest in the Dordogne. The spherical objects, which were caught on film, began flashing before suddenly plum-meting to the ground. The video can be seen on YouTube, entitled “Disturbing UFO activity! 3 UFOs landing in Forest, July 2014”. The grainy footage was ap-parently shot at dusk and from a distance on a digital camera. The un-named location is stated to be a “ghost village”, with only about 50 inhabitants in the area, none of whom apparently witnessed this strange event. “I filmed three UFOs over a forest in Dordogne, France. It was during a beautiful sunset. I looked between two houses to discover the nice sky, when I saw these ob-jects,” writes the maker of the clip. “I think these objects were there since a long time. This is probably a landing. Indeed, the three objects seem to descend and get behind the trees.”

Local newspaper Sud Ouest for-warded the clip to Geipan, a unit of the French Space Agency CNES whose brief is to investigate uni-dentified aerospace phenomena and make its findings available to the public. At the time of going to press, it had yet to come up with an explanation. UFO commentators were quick to join the discussion online. “My first guess was [hot air] balloons, but then the flashes are not those familiar to that of gas heaters, and then they just vanished, disap-peared... now that spells out capi-tal UFOs!” said one commenter. Another warned that “these things will be used to kill the en-emies of the United States. They are antigravity jet propulsion sys-tems; a technology first developed by the Nazis. This technology has existed for decades but kept under wraps.” Were you in the area? Did you notice any strange activity in the skies? Was there a period of time on July 4th that you can no longer account for (that didn’t involve the local wine!)...? Let us know! ■

UFOs spotted over Dordogne

High-flying mayor Politicians can sometimes be guilty of saying what-ever it takes to win votes and then failing to follow through on their promises. That cannot, however, be said of Antoine Audi, the mayor of Périgueux, who threw himself out of a plane in July, making good on an election pledge to do a parachute jump if he was elected mayor. The stunt was seen as a tongue-in-cheek response to commentators who claimed that the politician, who has lived in Paris for many years, had been “parachuted” into the region. Audi, who was relatively unknown at the start of the election process, defended his candida-ture: “I was born in Périgueux, I pursued my studies here. Both my daughters were born here. And now I di-vide my week between Paris for my work and this city that I love.” The tandem jump from 10,000 feet cost EUR 270, a fee which the mayor was keen to stress came out of his own pocket. ■

Dordogne man hits jackpot A Dordogne civil servant has become an overnight mil-lionaire thanks to the “Pluie de millionnaires EuroMillions - My Million” - a one-off game run as part of the EuroMil-lions lottery. In one week, 20 tickets in France were guar-anteed to win €1 million and the lucky young local, who wished to remain anonymous, was one of them. “I just stared at my computer screen for 10 minutes,” said the millionaire. “It took me a while to realise that my account was saying €2.50 in the deposit column, and €1,000,000 in the winnings column.” What would the lucky winner be doing with his new fortune? “First of all I’m going to build a house for my

parents, then one for myself! I don’t intend to waste it as I know how hard money is to come by.” The win is the latest in a series of 7-figure jackpots in the Dordogne: in January 2013, €11 million was won on the French Loto in Mussidan; prior to that €7 million was won in Issigeac in 2012, €5 million in both Nontron in 2005 and Javerlhac in 2003 and €4.6 million in Saint-Léon-sur-l’Isle in 1999. ■

3-year-old Highland bull Albert was in the news this month after escaping from his Dordogne farm near An-goisse in the Périgord Vert. “He sneaked under the fence, as he sometimes does,” explained owner Olivier Loux. “Except this time he didn’t return at dusk.” Alerts were issued and the local gendarmes were even called in to help in the search. Al-though an impressive and potentially frightening beast, Albert was described as gentle and even a little bit of a scaredy-cat. The panic was short-lived, however, as Albert was found a few days later sleeping peacefully under a chest-nut tree. ■

5 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu LOCAL NEWS ♦

either Poitou-Charentes or Midi-Pyrénées, very few in the Aquitaine favoured a un-ion with the Limousin - few-er than 25% of those sur-veyed. The mood was very different in the Limousin, however, where 69% were in favour of joining their larger, richer neighbour. The same story was repeated in the Poitou-Charentes where a meagre 14% were in fa-vour of joining forces with the Limousin. Politicians and business leaders in Corrèze are un-derstandably particularly interested in joining Aqui-taine. Brive and Bordeaux are well connected by a ma-jor motorway and are less than 2 hours apart. “We are all for opening this corridor to the Atlantic and a region-al capital in the internation-ally renowned city of Bor-deaux,” said Gérard Bonnet, president of the Conseil régional de la Corrèze. As for the apparent reluctance of the Aquitaine public? “It is a region that is wealthier and more populous and they

want to keep those riches,” continued Mr Bonnet. “But it is necessary for the people of Aquitaine to accept that change is coming.” It is not yet known ex-actly how the new regions will function and how budg-ets will be allocated to each department. In fact, there have even been proposals to remove the departments altogether. The names of the new regions are also not yet known.

Much will change over the coming years, but back-ers of the reforms are con-fident that the simplified structure will help to reduce the financial and adminis-trative burden of France’s current large, multi-layered and cumbersome system. Prime Minister Manuel Valls recently told journal-ists that the moves could save the country €25 billion in administration costs and efficiency savings. ■

>> continued from pg 1

It’s been a busy year for the Cancer Sup-port France group in the North Dordog-ne. This dedicated band of expats take a practical approach to cancer support.

In Spring, the group, who rejoice in the nick-name “The Kitchen Cabinet”, purchased a shower bed for patients’ use and electronic equipment for treatments at the hospital at Soyaux, Angoulême. This new hi-tech facil-ity is used to treat large numbers of locals and expats from Charente, Haute-Vienne and Dordogne. Anora Tilley (pictured) is often thought of as Santa Claus in hospitals in Périgueux as well as Angoulême. It is Anora’s task to help the treatment centres to work out their wish lists on behalf of CSF. “We find out what will make a difference for the hospitals and for the cancer patients,” explains Anora. “Then we try to deliver it.” On Friday 11th July, Cancer Support France North Dordogne fund-raisers celebrated the first 6 months of 2014 with an open-air “Thank You Party” for all the people who have helped with fund-raising events so far this year. Anora Tilley, president of CSF Ribérac, re-viewed some of the donations and events of the year so far, including Chapaid, the Bienvenues Club and the Hadrian’s Wall Walk, to the warm applause of the 70-odd donors and fund-raisers at the party at La Pouge, near Brantôme. Anora went on to reveal that the current funds raised in 2014 stand at a whopping €10,225. This is sufficient to pay for the Dia-mond Detector which will be installed at Gi-

rac Hospital in Angoulême later this year. This highly specialised piece of equipment enables a radiographer to precisely target cancer cells and pinpoint tumour destruction, without painful burn damage to the surrounding tis-sues. This will help make radiotherapy more effective and less unpleasant for patients. “Cancer Support France is there to help cancer sufferers and their families,” Anora told The Bugle. “CSF can help with the tricky non-medical issues for everybody involved, give support and advice and even practical assistance. An expat with cancer in a foreign country can feel isolated, vulnerable and help-less. That’s where CSF comes in.” Upcoming fund-raisers already planned for the rest of 2014 include:- 31st August - Village Le Chat at Ecuras will host a cream tea and sponsored swim in their pool.- September 20th - Music Evening with the popular duo “Andy and Sandy” in the Salle des Fêtes at Busserolles to raise awareness of CSF.- September 28th - Fun Duck Race on the river at Busserolles (under local angling as-sociation regulations).- November 14th - Dinner Dance at the Hotel de France in St-Pardoux-la-Rivière.- December 5th - Carol Evening with festive fare and mulled wine at the Château de Var-aignes.

For more information visit:http://www.cancersupportfrance.org

by Brian Hinchcliffe

The two main cricket teams in the Dor-dogne have enjoyed mixed fortunes in

the “Siddalls Cricket League” this year. Saint-Aulaye contin-ued their fine form of last year, qualifying for the semi-finals of the league, by taking second place of the “North Group” behind Bordeaux Giscours. Eymet Cricket Club missed out on the knockout stages af-ter finishing 3rd in the North

Group. The semi-finals of the Sid-dalls Cricket League will be held on 7th September with the final taking place on 28th September. Before then, South-West cricket takes its traditional break from the league to compete in the “Sid-dalls South-West Cup”, cul-minating in the final on 31st August, at Bordeaux Giscours’ picturesque ground at Château Giscours, near Margaux.

Furthermore, to show that cricket in France is keeping up with the evolution of the game, Saint-Aulaye recently hosted the “North Group” qualifying stage of the T20 competition on 6th July. The day went to form, with an excellent match between the hosts and Bordeaux Gis-cours deciding the 3-way qual-ifier. In the deciding match, Bordeaux scored 142-4 (Rhys 53*) from their twenty overs, despite an outfield slowed by rain, but Saint-Aulaye set about making a home victory look easy with some powerful hitting. However, when look-ing as if they were cruising to victory, some tight bowling and fielding caused a flurry of crucial late wickets and Saint-Aulaye were obliged to settle for a 20 over total of 123-9 (Adnan 44). T20 finals day is scheduled for 24th August at Eymet. The home team will be hoping for victory after they also pro-gressed from their qualifying group. Full details of fixture lists, results and clubs are available on the website of ACCSO, the “Association des Clubs de Cricket du Sud-Ouest”:www.cricket-sw-france.org Siddalls are the proud spon-sors of various Cricket associ-ations in France and have been for over 17 years. ■

The Siddalls South-West Cricket Championship 2014

Cancer fund-raisers celebrate successThe new-look map of France

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 20146 ♦ LOCAL NEWS

A British family from Dordogne is carrying on the fight against cancer whilst commemorating a father lost to the disease.

Roy Bowen succumbed to prostate cancer and is buried in Sarlat, the town he loved. Roy’s widow, Terri and his son, Chris have decided to mark his passing with an effort to help the battle against this scourge. Chris, a professional tennis coach in Winchester, is to mark the course of his father’s life in a 1500 mile marathon sponsored bike ride in 15 days during August. “We call it a Ride for Roy,” Terri told The Bugle. The ride starts in Seeboden, Austria, where Roy was born in 1946 to a German mother and a British father. Chris rides next to Brüggen, where Roy served in the RAF, then to Rotterdam for a ferry to the UK. The next leg goes to Leeds where Roy grew up, then on to Poole in Dorset where Roy and Terri met, married, and lived. Chris crosses the Channel via St Malo and then presses on home to Sarlat. The Bowens’ aim is to raise £10,000 destined for cancer charities in France and the UK. Sponsors include a Winches-ter cycle dealer who supplied the Whyte RD7 cycle, Winchester College, Brittany Ferries, N°5 Restaurant in Winchester and Bourne Leisure where Roy had been a top manager. Roy died from prostate cancer, once

upon a time generally underestimated and believed to be the cancer that men died with, not of. In the past it was often left untreated, often undiagnosed. However, with 15.3% of all men likely to be diagnosed at some point in their lives this is clearly not something to be ignored. According to the US Cancer Institute, with timely treatment, 98% of diagnosed men survive at least 5 years. Doctor Nick Plowman of Macmillan Cancer Support UK states, “The first es-sential is active surveillance and watch-ful waiting”. In Roy’s case, the early stages were not picked up by a GP in the UK and Roy was later, eventually diagnosed with Ad-vanced Prostate Cancer. Meanwhile, Terri and Roy had fallen in love with Sarlat and like many Brits, Roy’s imagination was fired and together with his expertise in the leisure industry, they were seduced into buying a property in 2004. After moving to France in 2006, Roy’s treatment was taken up and accelerated in Périgueux by Dr Kouri, then Dr Cany at the city’s Clinique Francheville. Between hospital appointments, treat-ments, scans and tests they continued set-ting up their B&B, La Lanterne, in Sar-lat. Terri and Chris are adamant that this ride is not just a personal pilgrimage. “Many men don’t realise,” says Terri, “that this cancer can be beaten. But it is important to get it under surveillance

even from before it starts. That might sound crazy, but there is a very simple and cheap way to diagnose the start using a PSA blood test then a scheme called the Gleason system. This will work out the best kind of treatment. Here in France the PSA is a routine part of most GPs’ regu-lar “bilan de santé”, a bit like a whole-body MOT”. Terri and Chris are anxious that the fund-raising part of the marathon should be a success and welcome any pledges and donations, all of which will go to the fight against cancer. Chris added: “On Saturday 16th Au-gust Mum wants to arrange a little wel-come party at La Lanterne as I ride in. It would be great if local people could find a few minutes to help round off the trip.”

Cancer Support France will be cer-tainly be there. A partner with La Ligue contre le cancer, CSF supports English-speaking sufferers and their families across France. ■

To contact Terri, find out more,or get Chris’ arrival time email

info@sarlat.biz

To contact Chris emailinfo@momentumtennis.co.uk

To make a donation visitwww.justgiving.com/RidingforRoy

To learn more about prostate cancer visit www.macmillan.org.uk

Ride for Roy - Cycling 1500 miles in 15 days for Prostate Cancer

7 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu NATIONAL NEWS ♦

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The curse of Courbefy strikes again?It was one of the most memorable

stories of 2012: an entire village in the Périgord-Limousin going on sale for just €330,000.

When the village was first put up for auction early in 2012 it did not attract a single bid. As a result, Crédit Agricole became the latest in a long line of owners. The last inhabitants of Courbefy, located close to Châlus just across the border with Haute-Vienne, moved out around 1970, chasing jobs in new industries. Following its demise, the village passed through a number of owners, most of them foreign and all of them apparently without the requisite skills and/or budget to return the village to its former glory. Following a brilliant piece of market-ing, however, the story of Courbefy went global; news channels and media outlets

across the world scrambled to feature the story of the French village on sale for the price of a Parisian flat. US news channel CNN even reported the sale and before long the local mayor, Bernard Guilhem, was being inundated with requests about the village. As the media frenzy increased, it was reported that not only would the buyer become the proud owner of 10 hectares of land, 19 buildings, a tennis court, a swimming pool and some stables, but ru-mours began to circulate that there were vast hordes of Celtic gold buried beneath the small village. The Limousin and Dor-dogne were important mining regions and it is believed that the Celts extracted 70 tonnes of gold from the area. They also often buried their leaders with their gold. The mayor was unimpressed with the

increased attention the village was re-ceiving, saying at the time: “A bunch of scatterbrains have already been here with their metal detectors looking for treas-ure... We have been telling them to clear off!” When the abandoned village finally went under the hammer, it was bought for €520,000 by a US-based Korean photographer known as “Ahae”, who fought off bids from other potential buyers including a Dutch TV company, which wanted to shoot a reality TV show in the village and a Belgian firm want-ing to build a retirement home. Following his purchase, Ahae, whose real name was later revealed to be Yoo Byung-eun, said he was passionate about nature and intended to set up an “environmental, artistic and cultural” project in the village. He earned himself the title of “saviour of Courbefy” in the process. It would appear, however, that it is hard to keep Courbefy out of the news. Despite the project advancing at a good pace - the village has been cleared and new roofs have been installed - its fu-ture was thrown into doubt following

the news that its saviour was in fact a wanted man in South Korea, accused of fraud and other financial crimes. It soon emerged that he was none other than the boss of the company believed to be re-sponsible for the “Sewol” ferry disaster that claimed 304 lives, many of them children, in April this year. Mr Yoo apparently spent 4 years in prison in the 1990s and his daughter is currently being held in France at the Fresnes Prison, awaiting extradition to Korea. According to investigators, he has used his status as an international photographer to illegally move money around the world, forcing companies to buy his images for exorbitant prices. This month, South Korean authorities revealed that the body of Mr Yoo had been discovered in an advanced state of decomposition in a plum orchard, not far from one of his homes 300 kilome-tres south of Seoul. It is not yet known whether he committed suicide or was murdered. Following this latest twist, the story of Courbefy looks set to continue, but no one yet knows how the next chapter will pan out. ■

It is now cheaper than ever to use your mo-bile phone elsewhere within the EU, news

that will come as a relief for expats that regularly travel back “home” or use their UK mobiles in France. From 1st July, the maximum cost of sending and receiv-ing calls once again fell and the cost of data has more than halved. The current price cuts are part of the EU's battle against roaming charges, a fight that it is hoped will end with their abolition in De-cember 2015. Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes said: “Why should we have roaming charges at all in a single market? By the end of this year I hope we see the complete end of roam-ing charges agreed - the Parliament has done their part, now it is up to Member States to seal the deal.”

Operators can now only charge up to €0.20 per mega-byte, plus VAT, for mobile downloads and internet surfing - down from €0.70 in 2012 and €0.45 in 2013. The cost of making a call is now capped at €0.19 per minute, down from €0.24, while the cost of receiving a call is capped at €0.05. The maximum price of sending a text message has also been reduced to €0.06 from €0.08. The latest European Com-mission ruling also states that travellers will be able to use the local service provid-er of their choice in any EU country, and will be able to compare offers from a range of local suppliers. Whilst the removal of roaming charges remains the EU's goal, mobile operators are unsurprisingly resist-ing the changes. A coalition of networks representing 45 million consumers has

warned that the legislation is so badly designed that the cost of domestic calls could rise to pay for it. “There is a risk that domestic tariffs for European consumers will increase,” claims the roaming coalition, which includes France's Free as well as Three and Virgin Media in the UK. “Roam-ing might not be subject to surcharges anymore, but the overall level of tariffs would increase, and non-roaming customers might effectively foot the bill for roaming customers.” Proposed EU legislation states that from 15 Decem-ber 2015, consumers will be given “the confidence to stay connected when they travel in the Union without being subject to additional charges over and above the tariffs which they pay in the Member State where their contract was concluded”. ■

Roaming charges slashed

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 20148 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

9 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu NATIONAL NEWS ♦

Sarkozy comeback derailed by arrestIn a move that has sent

shockwaves through French politics, for-mer president Nicolas Sarkozy has been arrest-

ed and formerly charged with corruption and misuse of in-fluence. He was officially “mis en examen” after being held in police custody and questioned for 15 hours. He is the first head of state to be taken into police custody since 1958 - the beginning of the Fifth Repub-lic. The charges will come as a major blow to Sarkozy, who has been positioning himself for a run at the leadership of the UMP party, with an eye on the 2017 presidential elec-tions. The current investigation is linked to one of the many scandals that are threatening to end the political career of the man who is fast becoming “France's Berlusconi” (see box below right). Since 2013, judges have been looking into claims that Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign was bankrolled by the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to the tune of €50 million. A former mem-ber of the Libyan regime has claimed money was indeed paid. As part of the investiga-tion, judges ordered that the former president's phones be bugged, as well as those of his lawyer, Thierry Herzog. Sarkozy and his lawyer, who apparently realised that their phones were being bugged, took to communicating via pre-paid mobiles registered under false names. It was the subsequent discovery and tap-ping of these phones that led to the evidence of corruption. In brief, Sarkozy is alleged to have built a network of in-formants within the judiciary and the court of cassation who kept him and his lawyers in-formed of the progress of the Libyan affair and other open

investigations. Most damagingly, it is be-lieved that the transcripts allegedly reveal Sarkozy offering one magistrate a high-powered job in Monaco if he passed on legal secrets. If found guilty of corruption, Sarkozy and his lawyer face up to 10 years in prison. The case will almost certainly centre on legal technicalities. “These events only rely on phone taps... whose legal basis will be strongly contested,” said Paul-Albert Iweins, law-yer for Herzog. Both the arrest and its tim-ing are very helpful to current president, François Hollande, whose Socialist Party are struggling in the polls. Hol-lande would much prefer to meet Marine Le Pen in a sec-ond round run-off in 2017 than a resurgent Sarkozy, or even a “lesser” UMP figure such as Alain Juppé. This has led to the obvious suggestion that the current charges are politically moti-vated - Sarkozy certainly be-lieves that they are. Speaking hours after his release from prison and in his first televised interview since he left office in 2012, a visibly angry Sarkozy hit back. “I am profoundly shocked by what has hap-

pened. I have never committed any act contrary to the values of the Republic or the rule of law,” he told TF1. “Every-thing is being done to present an image of me that does not conform to reality. There is a desire to humiliate me. The charges against me are gro-tesque.” He said he would decide “at the end of August or begin-ning of September” whether he planned to officially return to politics by running for the leadership of the centre-right main opposition UMP party. “There is no question of re-nouncing [politics] for me. When it comes to your country, you have duties. In our coun-try, which is the country of hu-man rights and the rule of law, there are things that are being organised. The French need to know what they are and, in conscience and freedom, judge what to make of it.” The Hollande government has denied it is carrying out a witch-hunt against Mr Sarkozy. Both Mr Hollande and his prime minister, Manuel Valls, said judges were acting inde-pendently and that Mr Sarkozy benefited, like all suspects, from the presumption of in-nocence. “No-one is above the law,” said Mr Valls. ■

Inquiries involving SarkozyBettencourt affair: Sarkozy was accused of having “abused the weakness” of France's richest woman, the billionaire L'Oréal heiress Liliane Betten-

court to obtain illegal contributions to his campaign funds. His diaries were seized by police and remain confiscated. He was eventually cleared, although other members of his UMP party are due in court on allegations linked to the case.

Libyan affair: Since 2013, judges have been looking into claims that Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign received €50 million from the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Bygmalion affair: The lawyer for a consultancy company called Bygmalion has told investigators there was a double billing system for events organised during Sarkozy's 2012 campaign to hide the fact that it was costing more than allowed under electoral rules. The investigation is ongoing.

Tapie affair: While Sarkozy was president, a complicated legal case involving businessman Bernard Tapie was sent by his government to arbitration, which then awarded Tapie €403 million. A legal inquiry is underway over whether the arbitration unfairly favoured Tapie, a prominent Sarkozy supporter.

Karachi affair: Sarkozy is named in the so-called Karachi affair, in which illegal commissions and kickbacks were paid by France on arms sales to Pakistan - allegedly to finance the 1995 election campaign of Edouard Balladur, who lost to Jacques Chirac. Sarkozy was Balladur's budget minister and director of his office at the time.

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201410 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

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Historic bridge opens to public

A new 760-metre-long bridge leading out from the coastline of northern France to the historic Mont-Saint-Michel has opened, once again re-storing the famous site to its former island glo-

ry. Despite the decision being made nearly 2 decades ago, work did not begin on the €190 million project until 2005. The bridge replaces the 135-year-old causeway that first connected the island to mainland France, but which caused a build-up of silt that has gradually filled the bay. The final step in the project will be the demolition of this causeway, allowing the sea to once again flow and giving the UNESCO world heritage site back its island status. The Passerelle Mont-Saint-Michel is a sweeping bridge which curves across the bay, designed by Austrian-born architect Dietmar Feichtinger, and is based on 134 pillars, each 12 metres high, which allow currents to pass around the island. Occasional flooding has also been planned to help remove any silt which may eventually build up. “The intention of the project is to guarantee the conti-

nuity of the landscape as far as the eye can see,” said the design team. “The project set itself the imperative of not disturbing the atmosphere and the wonder of the site. The inspiration derives from the sight of a mussel farm with its sticks rising from the sea. The low structure nestles to the water almost touching it.” One of the main objectives behind replacing the previ-ous access road was to prevent visitors driving across the waters and parking up on the base of the island. Instead, they must either walk over or take a shuttle bus. Although the walkway is now open to tourists, the ac-companying shuttle bus service is not scheduled to start until the bridge's official inauguration in November later this year. The Mont-Saint-Michel is one of France's top five tour-ist attractions, receiving 3 million visitors every year. A Norman Benedictine abbey and monastery sit at the is-land's centre, surrounded by the winding streets and elab-orate architecture of the tiny medieval town. ■

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Phone calls to be allowed on flightsIn February this year, Irish low-

cost airline Ryanair announced that, with immediate effect, pas-

sengers would be allowed to use elec-tronic devices such as tablets, smart-phones, e-readers and MP3 players at all times on their flights. Ryanair was following British Airways' lead in allowing the use of so-called PEDs (Personal Electronic Devices) dur-ing take-off and landing - BA were the first major European airline to allow their use throughout the flight.

EasyJet also now allows the use of PEDs during flights. Now, the French telecoms regula-tor, Arcep, has authorised the provi-sion of 3G and 4G services on planes during flights over French airspace, although it has said that the final de-cision on whether to allow passengers to make phone calls on flights would rest with the airlines themselves. The decision, approved by the French government, follows a public consultation period and comes with

a number of restrictions: mobile ser-vices can only be used above 3,000m and on a limited bandwidth – 2100 MHz for 3G and 1800 MHz for 2G and 4G. “Airlines will be able to provide passengers on their aircraft with 3G and 4G services, provided they com-ply with civil aviation regulations. All airlines will have the option of offering these in-flight services, and will be free to set their own prices,” Arcep said. ■

Notaires fees could soon be cut by as much as 20%France's top financial watchdog has suggested

cutting the fees charged in certain “privileged” professions by as much as 20%, according to a leaked report. Newspaper Les Echos has appar-

ently seen a copy of the report produced by the Inspection Générale de Finances (IGF) which names 37 professions as making more money than any other economic sector while at the same time demanding inflated fees for ser-vices. Highlighted in the report are notaires, pharmacists, lawyers, driving instructors and court clerks, industries which are often mini-monopolies with no internal compe-tition. The IGF allegedly said that while these professions are making heftier than deserved profits, often thanks to a closed-shop set-up, surveys showed that their level of customer service was “seriously questioned by users”. Les Echos summed up their article by stating that “the higher the level of regulation surrounding a sector, the higher the profitability". “We don’t want to prevent them from making a living. But they must understand that in a moment when every-one is making an effort, they can make one too,” Sec-retary of State for Government Reform Thierry Mandon told i-Télé news. “Several options are possible, particu-larly the reintroduction of a bit of competition because competition lowers prices.” Whilst those working in the industries concerned will be looking nervously towards the government, any action taken will certainly benefit French consumers. Arnaud Montebourg, France's economy minister, had previously suggested that the finance ministry was con-sidering targeting certain professions that were cashing in on a lack of competition: “Many professions are in a monopoly position and set their prices at a level that hits the purchasing power of households.” Coming in for particular criticism in the leaked report were court clerks (greffiers). The average greffier makes a net profit of €44 for every €100 spent by a consumer, giving him a net monthly income of more than €10,000 per month. The IGF found that the figure bore no relation to the level of education required or risk involved in that particular profession. The authors of the report believe that if their 30 sugges-tions are followed, €6 billion of purchasing power could be returned to French consumers. All eyes are now on the government and what its re-sponse might be. A finance ministry spokesman said the minister would make the report public “at the appropriate time”, but also warned that some of Les Echo’s figures did not match those contained in the report. It is not the first time that attempts have been made to de-regulate parts of the French economy. In 2008, So-cialist economic guru Jacques Attali came up with 316 proposals to “liberate growth” and add flexibility to the economy; in the end, Nicolas Sarkozy adopted only a handful of these. ■

11 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu NATIONAL NEWS ♦

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A campaign is under way in France to en-

courage more people to give blood. With current stocks running at 10% lower than the same time last year, there is real concern that France may be facing a supply short-age. British expats wishing to donate must be aware, however, that there are restrictions in place. If you were living in the UK for more than 12 months in total between 1980 and 1996, then you may not give blood due to a theoretical risk that you could pass on BSE. This is based on a “pre-caution principle”, ac-cording to the Etablisse-ment Français du Sang, which organises blood collection. The blood most in de-mand in France is type O (“universal”) although potential donors of all blood groups are being encouraged to take part. Donors should be aged 18-70 and weigh more than 50kg. Restrictions include: visiting a malarial coun-try (you can give blood four months afterwards), having a tattoo or pierc-ing done (four months), pregnancy (up to six months after the birth), dental work (a day for a filling, a week for re-moving plaque or hav-ing a tooth out), receiv-ing a blood transfusion or an organ transplant, or suffering from a viral illness (two weeks) or

taking antibiotics (two weeks). A further restriction is imposed on men who have engaged in homo-sexual intercourse, a group considered to be at

higher than average risk of carrying HIV. The Eu-ropean Court of Justice is currently considering whether this is discrimi-natory - its avocat gé-néral currently believes

that it is. A judgement is expected before the end of the year. ■

For a list of donation centres visit:

www.dondusang.net

Blood donation drive under way

New "home-made" logo introducedA new “home-made” label - fait maison - has

been introduced in France to allow diners to easily identify restaurants that prepare their dishes in-house, rather than buy in pre-pre-

pared meals. Long gone are the days when almost all French restaurants prepared their dishes from fresh in-gredients on the premises; the Union of Hotel Industry Professions (UMIH) says that today as many as 85 per cent of France's 150,000 restaurants serve vacuum-packed and frozen food without telling customers. If a restaurant's entire menu is “fait maison”, it can prominently display the logo or mention the word “home-made” once, otherwise any home-made meals should be individually singled out. The new rules also require restaurants to display a note somewhere highly visible - preferably on the menu - reminding diners of the definition of “home-made” dishes. If you see this note, and nothing else, it may well mean that none of that restaurant's dishes are prepared and cooked in-house. Supporters hope that the fait maison logo will encour-age the use of fresh ingredients and help to reinforce France's reputation for gastronomic excellence. This reputation has been diluted in recent years as more and more restaurants buy anything from boeuf bourguignon to tarte tatin from industrial producers, only to heat them in microwaves and serve them for ten times the whole-sale price. “We want to give clear, trustworthy and easy to under-stand information to the consumer while giving credit to restaurants that make an effort,” said Carole Delga, sec-retary of state in charge of consumption, saying it would preserve the “art de vivre à la française”. Central to the new rules is the principle that home-made fare must be made only from “raw ingredients”,

defined as “a food product having undergone no signifi-cant modification, including being heated, marinated, assembled or a combination of these procedures”. This definition, however, allows for “smoked, salted, refriger-ated, frozen or deep-frozen” produce as well as “vacuum packed” food to be used as ingredients for dishes, pro-vided that it has not undergone the aforementioned “sig-nificant modification”. Exemptions have been made for certain prepared products such as bread, pasta, cheese and wine. One prominent exception to this rule is for potatoes, which cannot be called home-cooked if they have been peeled off the premises - a move designed to stop fast food restaurants using the logo on their menus. The changes have plenty of opponents, however, with many accusing the government of pandering to the fro-zen food lobby. Hubert Jan, president of the UMIH's res-taurant branch, said: “It's pretty clear the people who drew up this decree are not cooks. The work of kitchen professionals won't be recognised. A tomato salad that arrives vacuum-packed and already in slices can be called fait maison!” Ms Delga responded to this claim by stating that the dressing would have to be home-made for the tomatoes to merit the logo. Stéphane Savorgan, the owner of a Provençal restau-rant in Paris' 14th arrondissement, also claimed that the rules were unfair. “In my restaurant, we don't use any-thing that is deep-frozen... I have people in the kitchen. Peeling the vegetables takes an entire morning for one employee. Real home-made fare requires more staff and more costs,” he told Le Parisien. The new rules will be enforced by anti-fraud inspec-tors, but there will be a grace period until the end of this

year. France and its food have always been intrinsically linked. In 2010, the “Gastronomic meal of the French” was inducted into UNESCO's world intangible heritage list, a list that seeks to protect cultural practices in the same way as UNESCO protects physical sites of cultural value or great natural beauty. UNESCO singled out French gastronomy as a “social custom aimed at celebrating the most important moments in the lives of individuals and groups”. How wines are paired with dishes, how the table is dressed, the precise placing of glasses, for water, red and white wine, knife blade pointing in and fork tines down, are all seen as part of the rite. Many are worried that this rich cultural tradi-tion is slowly being lost in today's fast food culture. ■

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201412 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

Gendarmes "lose"dangerous C-4 explosiveG endarmes in Marseilles are facing

disciplinary action after report-edly “losing” 100g of C-4 ex-

plosive at the city's international airport. The deadly substance was hidden during exercises in which police dogs were be-ing trained to find explosives. Unfortunately, the sniffer dogs had ob-viously not yet earned their C-4 badges and were unable to locate the powerful military explosive. Even worse, it then emerged that the gendarmes could not re-member where they had hidden it! “All searches to find the material have failed,” a police source confirmed. A criminal investigation has been launched to find out who was at fault, said local

police, adding that the culprit could be subject to “administrative penalties and lawsuits”. A preliminary inquiry sug-gested that “there was a negligent super-vision” of the training exercise. The officers are believed to have hid-den the C-4 in the freight section of the airport and investigators still believe that the explosives remain lost and were not stolen. Authorities moved to reassure the pub-lic that without a detonating device, the substance is harmless - C-4 is very stable and not sensitive to most physical shocks. It cannot be detonated by a gunshot or by dropping it on to a hard surface, and it doesn’t explode when set on fire. ■

Problems with the presidential pince-nez

50% of jobs to robots?

President Hol-lande is once again in hot wa-ter after making

the somewhat short-sight-ed decision to buy a for-eign pair of glasses. While the government was busy promoting its “Made in France” campaign, and on the day when economy minister Arnaud Monte-bourg was due to unveil his “roadmap for French economic recovery”, it emerged that François' new frames were in fact from a collection made by Danish firm Lindberg. Several frame manufac-turers were quick to com-plain. One such company was Roussilhe, based near Nantes and employing 35 people, which decided to send the president a pair similar to his brand new bifocals, accompanied by a letter and a label guar-anteeing they were one

hundred per cent home grown. “Your choice of frame may suggest that no French company was able to meet your require-ments,” stated the letter, before going on to explain that they faced “intense international competi-tion” and highlighting the need to “bolster local savoir-faire” and “retain our jobs after two decades of lay-offs”. “By wearing our glass-es, you will become an ambassador of French spectacles around the world,” they concluded. Hollande agreed, or pos-sibly his press office did, and the president imme-diately ordered a pair of their sunglasses for his summer holidays. Not to be outdone, a second French compa-ny then waded in, with Sabine Begault Vagner from Orleans sending

him a “pretty pair of blue and red rectangular glass-es”. The Elysée rang her too, saying the president would use them as his spares. Mr Hollande’s previous glasses were also in fact from a Lindberg collec-tion, as were those worn by Lionel Jospin, who was Prime Minister of France between 1997 and 2002. His latest specs also very closely resemble a pair worn by Jacques Chirac 30 years ago, something which did not escape po-litical commentators. Bruno Roger-Petit, writing in the Nouvel Observateur, said, “The previous glasses, out of fashion for the past ten years, conjured up the im-age of a provincial chem-ist”, whereas the new ones turned the president into “Don Draper in Mad Men”. ■ If you thought that the job market

has been in bad shape recently, then you may want to look away now. A leading Brussels think tank

has said that half of all jobs in France could become automated and taken over by robots in the next 20 years! The study was performed by econo-mist Jeremy Bowles and published by Bruegel, a Brussels-based research or-ganization. Previous work published by Carl Frey and Michael Osborne of Ox-ford University in September last year found that 47% of US jobs were consid-ered “risky”, meaning their roles could possibly be automated over the next dec-ade or two. Bowles' research has now revealed similar figures for Europe's major econ-omies, with the number of jobs at risk varying from 40% to more than 60% across the continent. The future looks most daunting if you currently work in Romania, where 62% of jobs could soon be automated. Countries such as Italy, Poland and Greece come in at 56%, with Germany at 51%, but the Brits should

also be worried as 47% of all work-ers north of the Channel may soon find themselves collecting their P45 from a machine. The figures are not as startling as they may at first appear, however, as auto-mating certain jobs will in turn create others. “Technology is likely to dramati-cally reshape labour markets in the long run and to cause reallocations in the types of skills that the workers of tomor-row will need,” said the study's author. “To mitigate the risks of this realloca-tion it is important for our educational system to adapt.” Jobs identified as most at risk included telemarketers, clerks, referees and credit analysts, with those that were safer in-cluding professions such as social work-ers and doctors. What will this robotic future be like for those of us living in France in 20 years time? One sarcastic contributor writing on The Local's message boards suggest-ed: “Robots will be able to shuffle, print and reject dossiers much quicker, which would still be an improvement”!. ■

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Euthanasia doctor Bonnemaison aquittedN icolas Bonnemai-

son, the doctor who stood accused of “poisoning particu-

larly vulnerable people” at a hospital in Bayonne, has been found not guilty in a landmark verdict. Bonnemaison has ad-mitted administering drugs to 7 terminally ill patients, but his many supporters had argued that his actions were compas-sionate. Indeed many family members of the “victims” were outspoken supporters of the doctor throughout the trial (see last month's edition of The Bu-gle for more details). Cheers and applause rang round the courtroom when the jury at the Court in Pau decided that Dr Bonnemaison had in-deed acted out of “compassion” and found him not guilty after just 3 hours of deliberation. The 53-year-old doctor had been facing a potential life sen-tence if found guilty.

Speaking after the verdict, Bonnemaison's lawyer, Benoît Ducos-Ader, said: “There are no heroes here, no martyrs. This man acted as a doctor. He always acknowledged that, shouted that, despite the blows he received.” The lawyer also called the decision a “monu-mental verdict” and one that would force the government to act quickly to review France's euthanasia laws. Euthanasia and assisted suicide remain il-legal in France, despite repeat-ed polls suggesting that over 90% of the public are in favour. Under a 2005 law, doctors in France are allowed to take a “passive” decision not to ex-tend the life of a patient who is dying in great pain. It also states that doctors may use pal-liative care, including painkill-ers, which may have the side effect of shortening life. The law stops short, however, of allowing doctors to take active

steps to shorten a patient's life. During his election campaign in 2012, President Hollande accepted that this law was too vague and promised to draft a new one. France's medical eth-ics council subsequently sug-gested that euthanasia should be permissible in exceptional cases and when patients make “persistent and lucid requests” to end their life. Invoking a “duty to humanity”, the body said that euthanasia should be reserved for “exceptional cas-es” like putting an end to “pro-longed suffering” or “unbear-able” pain. Nicolas Bonnemaison's case first came to light in August 2011 when the doctor was re-ported to hospital bosses by nurses in the emergency de-partment, who said they found his behaviour suspicious. Be-fore long, Bonnemaison had admitted giving lethal doses of sedatives to seven patients

when they were in great pain and hours from death. Under questioning by an investigating magistrate, Dr Bonnemaison admitted that he had failed to seek agreement from colleagues before acting. “It is only deep inside himself that a doctor can know wheth-er such a decision is the right one,” he said. “It is between him and his conscience.” Speaking in an emotional ad-dress on television as the trial began, the widow of one of the victims said she had asked Bonnemaison to help her hus-band die, and that what the doctor did was “good”. Patri-cia Dhooge went on to say that “it would hurt me very much if they gave him any kind of punishment. I'm having a lot of trouble understanding this trial. I want to tell the court, ‘We were there. We agreed’.” Hours before Bonnemaison's aquittal, the European Court

of Human Rights blocked a French court ruling in favour of ending life support for Vincent Lambert, who was left in a veg-etative state after a motorcycle accident. A French court had said doctors could legally do so under French law, stating that he had made his wishes clear before his accident six years ago. That decision was over-ruled hours later, however, by the European Court in a highly unusual late-night decision. It ordered France to continue treatment until it could ex-amine the case. The court has jurisdiction across the EU and member countries are bound by its rulings. “He is not sick, he is not at the end of his life, he is not suffering,” Jean Paillot, a law-yer for Lambert's parents, told BFM television. “From our perspective, there is no reason to stop feeding or hydrating him.” ■

13 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu LANGUAGE & GAMES ♦

SEARCHWORDOKU © - by Anthony Parson

Pub Quiz Question

Complete the alphabetical Sudoku grid to the left using only the letters already shown, then use the result word-search grid to find: A type of storm

How does it work...?Complete the Sudoku grid in the usual manner, using only the 9 letters already shown. Once complete, you will be left with a 9x9 wordsearch grid, in which to find the final piece of the puzzle.

See the completed example to the right, the clue for which is "An English county".

Be careful not to jump to conclu-sions, as with the letters available, the answer could be SURREY, SUS-SEX, ESSEX, or as it turns out in this case... SOMERSET.

SUDOKU - EASY SUDOKU - MEDIUM SUDOKU - HARD

Across:5. slipper (9)7. positive (7)8. lily (3)10. then (5)11. ton (5)13. summer (3)14. cherries (7)16. grandson (5,4)

Clues in English - answers in French

Down:1. baskets (7)2. tin (5)3. wall (3)4. wedding rings (9)6. toilets (9)9. noodle (7)12. nerves (5)15. pine tree (3)

Bilingual Crossword

Bilingual crossword solution can be found on page 23

Solution on page 23

The solutions to this month’s sudokus can be found on page 23

Mainland France is well over twice the size of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)... but which has the higher population...? (see page 23 for the answer)

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201414 ♦ FRENCH LIFE

Normally many garden magazines talk about August as a lull, where we're all able to

lounge around in deck chairs, drinking wine and just enjoying the garden. Well, maybe, bof… However, if you want to eat veg over the winter, or get a head start for the spring, now is the time to get cracking. If you've got ground available now, say where your early pota-toes were, or your shallots, etc., clear it of any weeds and resow what you want to be eating for the next few months. When you think about it, there is a wide range of things that can be sown now: spring & winter cabbages, kales, cavolo nero, chicories, sorrel, winter lettuce, salad onion, winter radish, winter leeks, mâche, broc-coli, sprouts, parsnips, chards, beet, land cress, swede, oriental leaves like the mustards, parsley, spinach... If you sow early Au-gust, then the plants will hope-fully have had 3 good months' growing before the cold sets in. The tricky part of this is man-

aging the changeover, because most beds will still be full of summer/autumn producing crops. It might be a good idea to make a seed bed, sow into that, and then transplant as space later becomes available. This helps with water-ing during the summer, too, be-cause seedlings are less liable to dry out than in pots or modules. Also keep in mind that it may be easier to manage your winter crops if they are regrouped into areas, and not dotted all over the place. Best winter growth depends on your soil being in good condi-tion - a surface mulch of compost, bracken or manure helps insulate the soil from the severe cold and helps the ecosystem stay active, whilst doing no harm at all during the summer heat. The other advantage of sow-ing for winter is the fact that exist-ing plants, whilst probably look-ing a bit tatty, will have resources that they can access quickly in the spring as the weather warms, and so they have a significant advan-tage over those sown in the early part of the year that have all their

development to do from scratch. Preview some shelter for a portion of your crops (cloches, mini tunnels, fleece, polytun-nel...) just in case. There's plenty of time for this, hopefully. The usual work needs to go on at the same time - weeding, water-ing, picking, etc. If you want to create new beds in your garden next year, put woven weed sup-pressant textile where the bed is planned and peg it or weigh it down well. You need to leave it until next spring, by which time the weeds will largely have been killed, nourishing your soil. Et voilà, no effort! Don't use black plastic because the fact it is water-proof has a very detrimental effect on soil life. Now is also a good time for tak-ing cuttings of soft fruit - white currants, red currants, black cur-

rants, gooseberries, josta berries, etc. Also roses. Take sections of stem about 20cm long, push into the ground and wait and see. Think about cutting out canes of wineberries, tayberries and lo-ganberries that fruited this year, if there is new growth coming at the base. You need new wood for fruiting, so take out the old wood and mulch the plants. Tie in new growth where you want it. Keep an eye on the raspberries, checking that they haven't wandered where you don't want them. Make a note to move extraneous ones at the end of September. Do similarly with your strawberry runners. Seeds, seeds, seeds... You've probably got a good number to collect. Evidently they need to be perfectly dry before storage, so collect them on a dry day and leave them somewhere airy.

August is also a good month for layering plants like clove currant (ribes odoratum), flowering cur-rants, honeysuckle, jasmines, figs, wisterias, cornus, etc. Lay one or several flexible stems on to the ground and weigh them down with a brick, or use a tent peg. They are liable to produce rootlets that can then take over from the original ones once the stem is sectioned. So basically, yes you can lounge around in August but you miss out on lots later. It's up to you!!

Good gardening! ■

I'd like to mention and thank Anne Clarke at Arbres et Abeilles (www.arbres-et-abeilles.eu) for the excellent selection of plants - including a super dwarf pome-granate. Very tempted by lots of other goodies...

In the garden - jobs for Augustby Michelle Pierce

Bitter tastes We're often not that used to bitter tasting things, because in the last few decades there has been a steady, ever constant move towards sweet tastes. But that's not to say that the occasional hint of bitterness isn't to be welcomed. What is a mixed leaf salad without a bit of peppery rocket, or a little dande-lion? They don't detract at all, if rightly balanced with other, gentler flavours. So I'd like to plead the case for the chicories. Endives, a kind of forced chicory, are sown in May, and then uprooted to be trimmed off, replanted in the dark, and forced for the fat, pale yellow buds that we see all over the place in the winter months, so by now you're normally too late to sow these. However, the leaf varieties make great winter veg. They've a thicker, more robust leaf than a lettuce but make a great winter addition to a salad, or can be blanched and stewed in a cheese sauce, or griddled to form a fantastic part of a hearty salad. Endless possibilities, especially now that they are making it into the fashionable restaurants more and more. They are beautiful, too, with colours varying from pale cream with red, through green flecked with red, to the bright reds with white veins of the well-known radicchio. A real attraction in an often rather dull winter potager. If you sow them now, and they grow on well, why not give forcing one or two plants a go come November? Place a dark bucket over a plant that you have cut the top growth off and see what happens. It won't be exactly like the shop bought ones, but might be good, nevertheless. ■

Appeal for plum and cherry stones I am trying to collect and grow some of the local varieties of plums and cher-ries that are disappearing at a horrifying rate. If you have old examples of either, can you save some stones for me? They need to be labelled with the village/place of origin, and a little description of fruit size, colour, etc. would be useful. We still have time to save many varieties but if we do nothing, many will disappear. Send any to Michelle Pierce, Les Gouttes, 16150 Pressignac

Merci! Michelle

Recipe provided by Brett from Le Moulin du Breuil (23140 Pionnat)www.lemoulindubreuil.com - 05 55 80 37 70

3 ways with courgettes

Courgette Frites

Slice the courgettes lengthways 1cm thick, cut in half, then into chips. Place the breadcrumbs into a blend-er and add the herbs. Blend until the herbs are fully incorporated into the breadcrumbs. Set up a ‘pane mix’ (place flour, egg and breadcrumbs into 3 separate flat containers). Line a tray with grease-proof paper. Place the courgette frites into the flour coating each one evenly. Dust off any excess flour. Dip into the egg mix and then the breadcrumb mix and

evenly coat. Heat the fryer to 170º (or heat oil in a shallow pan). Fry the frites for 2-3 mins, drain and sprinkle with a little salt to taste before serving.

Deep Fried Courgette Flowers

Pour the lemonade into a mixing bowl, add the zest of lemon. Gradu-ally whisk in the flour until you have a nice smooth consistency. Heat the fryer to 170º (or oil in a shallow pan). Dip the courgette flowers into the

batter, coating both sides. Place into the hot oil, cook for 2 mins and turn over. Cook until golden. Remove from the oil, draining any excess, sprinkle with salt to taste and serve.

Courgette Purée

Heat a little oil in a pan on the stove, then lightly sweat the onion and garlic for 5 mins.

In a pan bring the vegetable stock to the boil and leave simmering. Add the curry powder to the onion and garlic and sweat for a further 2 mins. Now add the butter and cour-gettes to the onion and garlic and sweat together until the courgettes start to soften (don’t overcook the courgettes as they will lose their co-lour). Once the courgettes are soft add the boiling stock, simmer for a further 5 mins, add the raw spinach and mint leaves, then remove from the heat. (We are not adding the spinach for fla-vour, it's purely just to give the puree a vibrant green colour.) Drain off all the liquid into a sepa-rate container and keep to one side. Put all the vegetables into a blender and blend, adding a little of the stock to get the mixture going (not too much, though, as too much liquid will make the puree too watery). Blend until you have a nice creamy consistency. ■

2 medium courgettes100g fresh breadcrumbs25g flat leaf parsley25g basil25g mint2 eggs beaten100g flour 6 courgette flowers (pick in the

morning if possible)

For the batter:350 ml ice cold lemonade150g flourZest of ½ lemon

1 onion sliced1 clove of garlic sliced600g courgette cut into 1cm cubes4 or 5 large sprigs of mint2 tbsp curry powder150g fresh spinach25g butter400ml vegetable stockSalt and pepper to taste

Courgettes are in abundance during the summer months. Everybody seems to grow them and so many people keep asking me what to do with them. So I thought I would share these three simple recipes with you. All are an ideal complement for fish dishes, the puree especially. I love the deep fried courgette flowers on a salad and the frites are just fantastic as an apéro with some garlic mayo. Try them out see what you think!

15 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu PRACTICAL ♦

First of all, please note that the “autoentrepre-neur” status will be dealt with another time as major reforms are on their way. It is also possi-ble to run a business in France via several other “sole trader” statuses that are not dealt with in this article.

Differences between a “commercial” com-pany and a “civil” company

Commercial companies are companies run to make money from a commercial activity, through selling goods or providing services. The various forms of “commercial” companies are detailed hereafter. The SCI (“société civile immobilière”) is a civil company structure that allows you, with someone else, to hold one or several properties and makes it “easy” to purchase and manage real estate. It is a good way to make extra mon-ey in addition to your pension, for instance. It is a non-trading company, thereby distinguishing it from a company set up to pursue commercial objectives.

PRACTICAL TIP: If you are foreign, it could also be interesting if you possess a prop-

erty in France to possess it through an SCI, as SCI shares are considered by French and Brit-ish inheritance law as personal property and not as real estate, even though they are shares of a property. Due to the French and British dual inheritance system, personal properties are subject to the law of the country where the individual passed away and was permanently residing. For instance if you are a British citizen and reside permanently in the UK but have a house or an apartment in France, when one of the shareholders dies, his/her heir(s) could see the British inheritance law applicable with the rest of the deceased personal properties (such as money in bank accounts and personal belong-ings) instead of the French inheritance law on the property situated in France!

A word of advice: If you believe that creat-ing a legal entity will protect you 100% from escaping personal liability, think again! If neg-ligence or recklessness can be proved against you, you could be sued by creditors and made liable to pay the debts you (the shareholders or the managers) created.

What are the different legal forms of “com-mercial” companies available in France?

EURL:• An EURL is a limited liability company set

up and owned by one person.• The entity is identical to a SARL in every

way except this specific point.

SARL:• A SARL is the most common of all com-

pany structures in France.• It has to have at least two shareholders. • There is no minimum capital, no need for a

board of directors or an auditor. • The company is run by one or more direc-

tors (“gérant(s)”). • It is usually subject to corporate tax (“im-

pôts sur les sociétés”).

SA (“société anonyme”)• This is a joint stock company (“société par

action”).• It is a type of company structure useful for

companies with extensive business activity. • Seven shareholders are necessary and its

capital has to be a minimum of €37,000 di-vided into shares.

• It has a board of directors (“administra-teurs”) and a managing director (“président directeur général”).

• An auditor (“expert-comptable commis-saire aux comptes”) is compulsory.

What is the EIRL?How does it work?

The EIRL (“entreprise individuelle à respon-sabilité limitée”) is very recent, created back in January 2011. This status allows any sole trader to protect his/her personal assets from profes-sional creditors in case of bankruptcy. The trader affects certain assets to its professional use, so it is a way of protecting personal assets without creating a company.

BEWARE, as it is a fairly recent creation, it is likely that many lawyers will not have, at the moment, the necessary knowledge about how the EIRL works in practice, its real ad-vantages and drawbacks. ■

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact:Prune CALONNE, Avocat au Barreau de Tou-louse,117 route d’Albi, 31200 Toulouse

Phone: 05 34 30 51 33Mobile: 06 74 16 11 12Email: scpcalonneadouedugast@hotmail.fr

My firm can arrange appointments in CAHORS at our correspondent’s offices. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.

If you are willing to work in France, there are various ways of do-ing so. Creating your own job and company is one of them. Various structures exist in France to set up a company and Prune CALO-NNE, bilingual French lawyer in Toulouse, informs you on some of the main legal structures and gives readers some practical tips.

How to create your company in France

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The British have had a long love affair with tea: “Shall I put the kettle on?”, “Do you fancy a cuppa?” or simply “Tea?” will often be the

first words you hear when visiting a friend’s house in the UK. We love the stuff, drinking a staggering 165 million cups every day… that’s over 60 billion every year! But we are not the largest consumers of tea per capita in the world – that accolade goes to the Irish who push the Brits into second place. Personally, tea is the first thing I think of when I wake in the morning and I tend to be quite grumpy until I have had my first cup every day. I think it is really important to adapt to the habits and customs of the country you choose to live in and I have happily left many creature comforts behind in the country of my birth. British teabags, however, are one of the few things I would find it very hard to live without! No one is allowed to come and visit me here in France unless they come bearing tea. We drink tea to mark every occasion: You’ve had a shock - “I’ll make you a nice cup of tea to calm you down”; you’ve just had some bad news - “I’ll go and put the kettle on”; you’ve just finished a particularly tricky task - “let’s have a nice cuppa to celebrate”. And it is not just at home where we consume vast quantities of tea. The tradition of the tea break at work has been with us for over 200 years. Indeed, we will often call it a tea break even if we are not actually drinking any tea. Initially, when workers began their day at 5 or 6 am, employers allowed them a short break in the mid-morning when food and tea were served. Some employers repeated the break in the afternoon as well. After a while, employers tried to put a stop to the tea break, claiming that tea

drinking and rest periods made working people slothful. Modern thinking couldn’t be further away from this, as regular tea breaks are still considered a vital part of the average working day. Most gossip that does the rounds in the modern office will travel via whispers over a boiling kettle. These days, the majority of the tea drunk in Britain comes in the form of teabags. In fact, 96% of all tea now comes in these handy packages. Traditionally, tea would be spooned into the pot as loose leaves and then strained on its way into the cup. This was all part of the ritual of ‘taking tea’ but did make it a lengthier process. Not everyone has time to get out their finest china every time they are thirsty, and the convenience of having your tea in a bag has certainly helped maintain its status as the country’s most popular drink. Like most things born out of convenience, teabags were created in America, although apparently by chance. Struggling to cut costs, New York merchant Thomas Sullivan started sending out samples of tea in small silk sachets rather than as loose tea. His penny-pinching was misunderstood by his customers who failed to realise that they were supposed to cut open the sachet and empty its contents into a pot before brewing their tea. The result was an instant success with American tea drinkers and teabags slowly made their way across the ocean to the UK. ■

Anyone for tea...?Les Britanniques et le thé vivent une

histoire d’amour depuis fort longtemps. «Je fais chauffer la bouilloire?», «Ca te dirait une tasse de thé?» ou tout

simplement «Du thé?» sont souvent les premiers mots que vous entendez quand vous rendez visite à un ami au Royaume-Uni. On adore ça et on boit le

nombre impressionnant de 165 millions de tasses par jour… soit plus de 60 milliards par an! Mais nous ne sommes pas les plus gros consommateurs du monde par habitant – cet honneur revient aux Irlandais et de ce fait, nous ne sommes qu’à la seconde place. Personnellement, la première chose à laquelle je pense le matin

quand je me lève, c’est mon thé et tant que je ne l’ai pas bu, je suis assez ronchon. Je pense qu’il est très important de s’adapter aux us et coutumes de son pays d’adoption et j’ai abandonné de bon cœur certains conforts matériels de mon pays natal. Cependant les sachets de thé britannique sont l’une des rares choses dont je pourrais difficilement me passer! Personne n’est autorisé à venir me rendre visite en France sans m’en apporter. Toutes les occasions sont bonnes pour en boire. Si vous avez eu un choc - «Je vais te préparer une bonne tasse de thé pour te calmer». Si vous venez d’avoir de mauvaises nouvelles - «Je vais faire chauffer la bouilloire». Si vous venez de terminer une tâche ardue - «Allez, on boit une bonne tasse de thé pour fêter ça!». Et il n’y a pas qu’à la maison que nous consommons de grandes quantités de thé. La tradition de la «pause thé» existe au travail depuis plus de 200 ans. D’ailleurs, on parle souvent de

«pause thé» alors que nous n’en buvons même pas. A l’origine, lorsque les travailleurs commençaient leur journée à 5 ou 6 heures du matin, leurs employeurs leur accordaient un petit break en milieu de matinée, durant lequel étaient servis de la nourriture et du thé. Certains patrons renouvelaient l’expérience dans l’après-midi. Au bout d’un certain temps, les employeurs essayèrent de supprimer cette pause, prétendant que ces moments de repos incitaient à la paresse. De nos jours, une telle interprétation ne se justifie plus du tout car les pauses régulières sont toujours considérées comme un moment vital d’une journée de travail type. La plupart des potins qui font le tour du bureau passent à voix basse par la case «Bouilloire». De nos jours, la majorité du thé bu en Grande-Bretagne est présentée sous forme de sachets. En fait, 96% du thé est désormais présenté de la sorte, ce qui est bien pratique. Traditionnellement, les feuilles de thé étaient déposées dans la théière puis filtrées et la boisson versée dans la tasse. Cela faisait partie intégrante du rituel du thé et demandait davantage de temps, de même que sortir la porcelaine fine à chaque fois que la soif se fait ressentir et le côté pratique du sachet de thé a certainement contribué à maintenir son statut de boisson la plus populaire du pays. Comme beaucoup de choses inventées pour une meilleure praticité, les sachets de thé furent créés en Amérique, bien qu’apparemment par hasard. S’efforçant de réduire les coûts, le négociant new-yorkais Thomas Sullivan commença à envoyer des échantillons de thé dans de petits sachets en soie plutôt qu’en vrac. Son avarice fut mal comprise par ses clients qui n’avaient pas compris qu’ils devaient ouvrir le sachet et en verser le contenu dans la théière pour le faire infuser. Cette technique eut un succès immédiat parmi les buveurs de thé et les sachets commencèrent peu à peu à traverser l’océan pour arriver au Royaume-Uni. ■

BilingualArticle translated bySophie Arsac - see Advert below for contact details

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201416 ♦ DIRECTORY

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CONTINUED NEXT PAGE...

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ADVERTORIAL

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17 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu DIRECTORY ♦ADVERTORIAL

L a Maison is a building and woodwork com-pany based in the

South of the Haute-Vienne run by Pete (otherwise known as Music) and Zoë Gilbert. Having spent 12 years building chalets and renovating old farms in the Alps, they moved to Glandon after discovering a lake and some land that would provide a bit more

space and some new chal-lenges. After building their house seven years ago and more recently a new work-shop, they set up La Mai-son two years ago to con-tinue what they were doing before, in a different envi-ronment and on a slightly smaller scale. With a well equipped workshop and extensive experience, the company offers a wide range of ser-

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La Maison carries full décennale insurance which gives a ten year guarantee on their work, plus they have public liability in-surance and are fully reg-istered with the French authorities. Pete and Zoë speak good French and can offer assistance with ad-ministration and planning applications. Pete also has a natty bit of design soft-ware which enables him to produce technical draw-ings of your project that also helps to visualise how the work will look. They will be pleased to speak to you or visit and provide no obligation ad-vice and quotes free of charge. They have good links with other local trades and can project manage

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produce all in stock. Find me at your local market:

• Tue - Le Bugue • Thu - Eymet • Fri - Le Buisson • Sat - Villereal • Sun - Issigeac

www.karenskitchen24.comemail: karenskitchen24@gmail.com 05 53 74 01 91 or 06 01 31 07 47

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

David’s ServicesWhat can I offer you?

22 Years’ experience working in FranceA complete service of Repairs and

Maintenance (interior and exterior)A house opening and closing service

Good solid technical advice on future projectsTrustworthy, reliable and conscientious

Based in the North of Dordogne

Contact David: 06 12 63 05 86No Siret: 402 444 871 00022

Computers& Satellites

WiFi AnglaisSolve your Internet, wireless and

computer problemsExtended wired and wireless networks for

homes, gîtes and small businesses.VPN solutions. Windows and Mac OSX.

Email: Stephen@Wisedale.comTel: 05 53 30 23 96

Mob: 07 78 52 20 46Siret: 800 525 040 00013

BuildingServices

Architectural Services

ElsaConception(Architecture/ Design/ Decoration)

Need interior design advice?Planning a project? Giving a space a makeover?

Need to submit a building permitor a declaration?

I can support you in all your makeover,renovation or construction projects.

Sarlat and surrounding areas (up to 100km) Tel: 06.87.09.38.94

Web: http://www.elsaconception.com

For more information on advertising in the

Bugle BusinessDirectory, give us

a call or send us an email:

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

Sat-ElecFormerly Electrosat

UK & French Satellite TVDishes & Freesat boxes always in stockTerrestrial digital aerial installationsFrom a single outlet to multi-point systems

TOOWAY BROADBANDApproved Supplier

Wi-Fi, Data Networks, CCTVFor sales, service or advice

call Mike G on:06 30 28 81 43

We only use our own qualified staff No call out charge Free quotations All areas covered

Quality work from qualified Staff5 Place de la Republique Sauviat-sur-Vige 87400

siret no 798 364 600 00014

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201418 ♦ DIRECTORY

Please mentionThe Bugle when

responding to adverts

Please mentionThe Bugle when

responding to adverts

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05 55 41 17 76

The Dordogne Chippy

Traditional Fish & Chips in a town near you

All venues are in the eveningbetween 6pm & 8.30 pm

Monday: Le Champsac (every other week)

Tuesday: TremolatWednesday: Star Inn, Périgueux

Thursday: EymetFriday: Lauzun

(except the last Friday of the month when it is Daglan)

See our website for full details:

www.thedordognechippy.com05 53 74 01 91 or 06 19 99 25 62

siret: 444 925 630 00014

Youradverthere

05 55 41 17 76

Youradverthere

05 55 41 17 76

Gardening &Property Services

Stuart FieldhouseAll aspects of garden maintenance:

hedge cutting, mowing, fencing, etcas well as property maintenance.

References provided.Coussac-Bonneval - 05 55 70 59 75

email: smincky@yahoo.com

GardenServices

Ivan Petley

3D Puzzle MakerHandmade, fully interlocking,

multi-layered 3D puzzles from just €9.Keyrings €2 plus other unique gift ideas.

Customisation and personalisation possible.Postal delivery options across France.

Tel: 05.55.80.29.88Les Bregères, 23150 St-Martial-le-Mont

alison.petley@wanadoo.fr

Gifts & Crafts

WWW.CARDBUBBLE.COMBUY YOUR BRITISH

GREETINGS CARDS ONLINE!

QUALITY CARDS AT UK PRICES!

E: ANGI@CARDBUBBLE.COM

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siret: 751 978 917 00019

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

sales@thebugle.eu 05.55.41.17.76

Franglais-Services

... exists to provide quality servicesto businesses and individualsin the Dordogne and beyond.

We deliver invaluable linguistic assistance, practical IT and audio-

visual assistance, web solutions and photographic services.To find out more call us on

+33 (0)6 77 38 58 56or visit

www.franglais-services.comsiret: 791 378 433 00019

HandholdingServices

Health & Beauty

Tel: 05 24 13 65 58sarldesouchevicente@sfr.fr

47, rue du Gén. de Gaulle, 24660 Coulounieix Chamiers

• Air-conditioned • Shiatsu massage chairTue - Fri: 9h - 19h, Sat 9h - 17h

● HAIRSTYLIST ● COSMETICIAN● MAKE-UP ● MASTER ARTISAN

ENGLISH SPOKEN

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE...

For more information on advertising in the

Bugle BusinessDirectory, give us

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05 55 41 17 76

ADVERTORIAL

A simple solar energy system that runs on its own, even when you

are not there! – And provides a free heat supplement in winter. The Solarventi air panel was invented more than 20 years ago by Hans Jørgen Chris-tensen, from Aidt Miljø, with the backing of the Danish government. He wanted to use the sun’s energy for airing and ventilation of the thousands of holiday homes on the West coast of Jutland, - houses that were left empty and unheated for long periods - houses with damp problems, mould and bad odours - houses that left their owners with discomfort, lots of work and expense. He wanted a system that would be safe, simple, without the need for radiators, water and/or mains electricity. Slowly but surely, the first Solarventi

model came together.

How it worksThe principle behind Solar-venti is simple: a small, built-in, solar cell powers a 12V fan that is connected to an air vent, a control unit and an on/ off switch. Whenever the sun shines, the air in the solar panel is heated and the fan, receiving power from the solar cell, introduces warm, dry air into your home at the rate of 20 to 100 cubic metres per hour. The initial models were more than capable of keeping the cottages dry (and ventilat-ed), even with the limited sun-shine hours available in Den-mark during the winter season. Since that time, the technology has really come along in leaps and bounds. Now, more than 20 years later, the 3rd and 4th

generation Solarventi have ex-ceeded all expectations. In Southern Europe, So-larventi is not only used for ventilation/dehumidification purposes; with far more winter sunshine hours, it also provides a substantial heating supple-ment. Several technical and governmental studies show that incoming air temperature can be increased by as much as 40°C.

A DIY Solution?The installation process is very straightforward and should only take two or three hours. All that is needed is a drill, hammer and chisel to make a hole in the wall. Roof installa-tions are also possible. In fact, the Solarventi was originally designed to be a DIY product - in Scandinavia it still is. There are no electrical or

water connections and it can be safely left running, even when the property is empty. Solar-venti requires no maintenance - if the property is unoccupied during the hot summer months, then it can be left running at low speeds for ventilation and dehumidification purposes or simply switched off. With a range of panel siz-es, and the option for wall or roof mounting, Solarventi is suitable for all types of build-ings, caravans or even boats!! Following the patenting of its design in 2001, Solarventi has only recently been actively commercialized. Over the last six years, Solarventi units have been installed in more than 24 countries and demand is in-creasing rapidly. From Green-land to Australia, Solarventi is finally getting the recognition it deserves. ■

SOLARVENTI - Available in the Dordogne and Lot from Harlequin DevelopmentsTel: 05 55 68 67 56Mobile: 06 06 60 46 97

“SolarVenti”- the solar solution to damp and humidity

Central France Pest Control

Dératisation, Déinsectisation,Désinfection

02 48 60 83 72 / 06 74 33 02 38www.applicateur3d.com

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La PoutreBar & Restaurant

24400 Beaupouyet (N89 between Montpon & Mussidan)

French/International cuisine.Themed nights each Friday:

1st Friday - Curry night2nd Friday - Quiz night

3rd Friday - Fish n Chips night “best around”!!4th Friday - Live Music night

Open Tue - Fri: 11am - 9pm (except Wed eve)Saturday 6pm - 10pm

Sunday 12pm - 3pm, traditionalEnglish roasts served

For further details call Steve:05 53 80 29 54

or email: steve.francis24@gmail.comor facebook: Beaupouyet La Poutre

siret 537 415 903 00013

19 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu DIRECTORY ♦

Transport,Removals & Storage

Parking ForLimoges AirportEfficient parking for all types of vehicles

Book now!!www.parkinglimoges.com

06 13 38 59 6805 55 14 49 45

Man & VanTransport

Genuine/Reliable/HonestLocal + Europe + UK runs

Now also available for House/Barn clearances!

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05 55 33 21 5987150 Oradour-sur-Vayres

www.frenchvanman.euSiret 530 213 644 00012

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General

SOS Helpanxious? stressed?

feeling down?call us up!

01 46 21 46 463 - 11pm daily

Confidential & Non-profitwww.soshelpline.org

Eco Entrepotaka The Shed

32,000ft2 of great products incl. British Groceries, DIY, Housewares, Furniture, Clothing, Toiletries plus

loads more!!

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CARPET /UPHOLSTERY

CLEANINGSpecialists in all carpet and

upholstery cleaningPROCHEM trained and Qualified

10 years UK experience - Covering depts 24/47/3306 32 32 64 54 / 05 53 58 00 98email lucidservices24@gmail.com

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Dyal ConsultingYour partners for peace of mind

While you’re away, we canlook after your house,

check for weather damage,perform small maintenance jobs,

take care of the garden,get your home ready for winter.

On your return, we can prepareyour house, stock up on groceries, etc...

everything to make your arrival stress free.

We are here to keep your house alive throughout your absence

and to make your life easier!

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PropertyMaintenance

For more information on advertising in the

Bugle BusinessDirectory, give us

a call or send us an email:

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

Directory Advertising is available either in black and white or colour, and in either small (30 words max) or large (45 words max) format.Directory adverts may only contain text - no logos, images or artwork are allowed. The minimum contract length is 6 months. Advertising is payable on publication. All prices are HT.

For more information on any of our advertising options, please feel free to give us a call on 05 55 41 17 76 or send an email to sales24@thebugle.eu

Advertising your business couldn’t be easier. Text only, boxed listings are available in our Business Directory from just €13.50/month. Alternatively, why not spotlight your business with an Advertorial, available from 1/6 Page (€50 HT) up to Full Page (€300 HT). Both Directory Adverts and Ad-vertorials represent a cost effective way to put your brand in front of more than 20,000 pairs of eyes each month!!

Large Directory Ad46mm x 71mm(Actual Size)45 words max

Small Directory Ad46mm x 46mm(Actual Size)30 words max

6-Month Contract 12-Month Contract

Small b&w Directory Ad €108(€18/month)

€162 (€13.50/month)

Large b&w Directory Ad €144(€24/month)

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Small Colour Directory Ad €162(€27/month)

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Large Colour Directory Ad €216(€36/month)

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Advertising in The Bugle Business Directory

ADVERTORIAL

Buggs... where did you get that name from? This seems to be a question that's asked more and more frequently by visitors hiring rental cars at Bergerac and now Limoges airports. Buggs Car Hire, in case you did not know, was the brainchild of Simon Parr and Karl Ayling, way back in the days when the airline Buzz flew into Bergerac. The initial idea was that the new company name would be linked to Buzz for advertising and brand recognition and so the name Buggs was born! Soon after, Buzz sold the route to Ryanair, but the Buggs name had stuck and has proved to be a sound commercial decision; it is instantly recognisable and easy to remember and the distinctive corporate colours of lime green and purple only add to the 'once seen never forgotten!' feel. Since those early beginnings, Buggs has been grateful for year on year success and growth.

This is all down to a simple ethos of keeping the process easy, matching the customers' demands, providing a personal service, giving the end user the best possible value for money and making sure the customer is satisfied enough to use Buggs again and again! Car hire is not complicated, but it could not be simpler with Buggs. From the moment that you make your initial enquiry, you get the feeling that you are dealing with real people and not some sterile multi-national or-ganisation. The booking and payment pro-cess is personal and simple and this theme continues when you arrive at the Buggs desk at the

airport. Because the car rental is pre-paid and Buggs have col-lected all your personal details in advance, the rental agreement requires only a signature and you are away with the keys in your hand! Average completion time is around 2 mins! Compare that to the customers who regu-larly queue for over an hour with the other rental companies. You will never pay over the odds for this service either, as Buggs pricing is always very competitive. Just as important is their guarantee that there will be no extra charges on arrival and no nasty surprises on your credit card statement after!! A guar-antee not to be found with their competitors. Based on the ever growing

success of Buggs at Bergerac, it was a logical move to open at an-other airport. Limoges was cho-sen, because of its year round flight timetable and Buggs 2 went live in November last year. Bookings are strong for 2014, a sure indication that Buggs have firmly established themselves in the car rental market and are continuing to satisfy their cus-tomers.

Looking forward, Buggs do not want to stop there and they would like to add further air-ports in the very near future - Brive, La Rochelle, Carcassonne, Lourdes, Biarritz, Bordeaux... with the prospect of many more visitors asking 'where did you get that name from?' ■

Visit our website to find out more:www.buggscarhire.com

Buggs - making car hire simpler

As a thank you to Bugle readers, Buggs are offering heavily discounted rates this coming

winter, just mention 'The Bugle' when enquiring.

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201420 ♦ WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S

ONBattle of castillon

August 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16Spectacular sound and light show commemorating the last great battle of the Hundred Years War, when France took back Aquitaine from the English in 1453.

Performed on a natural arena encompassing 17 acres, within firing range of the original battle ground, 800 volunteers, including 500 actors and 50 horseback riders, re-enact the Battle of Castillon.

For two hours, spectators are captivated by battle sequences with stunts, special effects and explosives. The spectacle also depicts everyday life of the Middle Ages, including rural scenes set in a farm or an inn or by the well, the grape harvest, shooting practice and market day.

“The Battle of Castillon” has become one of the most popular cultural events in Aquitaine and has attracted more than 700,000 spectators since its inception. It is performed, as the producer Eric Le Col-len says, “with the precision of the cinema, the sensitivity of the theatre and the dimension of the opera”.

The show takes place at the foot of the Château Castegens. Belvès-de-Castillon is 3 minutes from Castillon-la Bataille, on the Gi-ronde/Dordogne border. The performance begins at 10:30pm and lasts for two hours with a 20-minute interval – it is recommended that you arrive one hour before the start. An open-air restaurant offers dinner from 7:30pm (light refreshments and drinks are also available on site and picnics are allowed).

For more information and tickets:Tel 05 57 40 14 53 or visit www.batailledecastillon.comTickets: Adults €23; 13-17 year olds €15; 5-12 year olds €9; FREE for Under 5’s

Castanets at the ready, the town of Bergerac and the Chicas del Sol are organising the sixth Festival Flamenco, with a diverse programme of FREE events, including an Andalusian parade through the streets and performances from local, regional and national flamenco artists.Visit http://flamencopourpre.canalblog.com/ for more information.

Flamenco Festival, Bergerac - 1st-3rd August

21 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu WHAT’S ON ♦

The return of Richard the LionheartOn Sunday 3rd August, Richard the Lion-

heart will once again be at the head of a procession into the Limousin town of Châlus, just north of the Dordogne border,

as part of the biennial Rando Festival Richard Coeur de Lion. This year, the town where one of England's most memorable kings met his end is celebrating the 815th anniversary of his death. For more details on the

life and death of Richard I, see our interview below with historian - and Richard I expert - Professor John Gillingham. The 2014 event will focus on a 20-kilometre walk through the beautiful Limousin countryside, culminat-ing in the King's arrival in Châlus, where the festivi-ties will really begin. The walk consists of two 10-kil-ometre hikes, either side of a break for lunch and will combine subjects on foot, knights on horseback... and even a few modern day citizens on mountain bikes! The walk is free, period costumes are encouraged and lunch can be brought along as a picnic, or bought from one of the food and drink stands that will be waiting for the randonneurs half way round their hike. Once the procession reaches Châlus at 4pm, there will be medieval jousting, falconry, archery, singing and dancing to entertain the crowds. The evening will also feature a medieval banquet: a pork spit-roast will be on offer, with accompanying vegetables, for just €10. Other food and drink choices will also be avail-able from a number of stalls around the town centre, which will be closed to traffic for the duration of the

festival. You can simply turn up on the day for the walk or the meal, but reserving is highly recommended and can be done via the organisers' website: http://www.rando-festival-richard.fr/ By signing up for the walk in advance, you will au-tomatically be covered by the event's liability insur-ance. For details of where to meet and departure times, please also see the above website. ■

THE festival of classical music, the Périgord Noir Festival showcases musical talent from France and around the world.

Every year the Festival provides a huge range of great music performed at the highest level, drawing new audiences and committed Festival spectators into the world of the great classics, rare repertory and exciting innovations. The 2014 programme, under the theme Rêves d’Orient (Dreams of the Orient), is packed with exciting music, a wide variety of events in the open air in some of Périgord Noir’s most exquisite gardens (Jardins d’Eyrignac, 6th August) but also with lots of opportunities for children and young people to participate (“Le Petit Conservatoire”, 15th August), top names in European Jazz (Nicholas Folmer and Daniel Humair, 5th August), daily concerts of chamber music by brilliant prize-winners of international competitions (Samuel Hasselhorn, Pierre-Yves Hodique, Trio des Esprits, Jean Rondeau), etc.

Three weeks of music, workshops and master classes for both adults and children alike, set in some of the most beautiful historical monuments, with a varied programme from classical and baroque to jazz will delight audiences who are invited to take the opportunity to enjoy the music along with great food and wine tasting!

For more information visit www.festivalduperigordnoir.fr

The Limousin town of Châlus claims to be the location where Richard I died, after being mortally wounded at the Château de Châlus. Other rumours and legends dispute this claim, however, so what does the historical and scien-tific evidence currently suggest on Richard's last days, the location of his death and his final resting place?

There is no doubt that he was fatally wounded on 26 March 1199 while besieging the castle of Châlus-Chabrol. That name is recorded by some contemporary English chroniclers with good contacts at the royal court, as well as by a local observer named Bernard Itier, monk and later librarian of St Martial’s, the great abbey of Limoges. He died at Châlus on 6 April. His mother Eleanor of Aquitaine took his body to the abbey of Fontevraud, which had been her base in her old age, and he was buried there, close to his father Henry II. His entrails had already been bur-ied separately, probably in the abbey of Charroux (which claimed to have been founded by Charlemagne). His heart was taken on to Rouen Cathedral where it was buried close to the body of his older brother, also a Henry. Recent sci-entific analysis of the powdery remains of what has long

been identified as his heart, preserved in a lead casket, has shown that it had been embalmed.

While Richard the Lionheart ruled England, is it true that he actually spent very little time in the country and may not even have spoken the language?

It is true that he spent little time in England. Although he was born in England, in Oxford, he became duke of Aquitaine when he was 14 years old, and there’s no evi-dence he spent much time in England before then, so he may well never have learned English. Like all the English ruling class since 1066 he spoke French, and in his case probably both langue d'oïl and langue d’oc. As king he, like his father, ruled over much of France (Aquitaine, Anjou, Touraine, Maine and Normandy) and spent the bulk of his reign in France, especially Norman-dy, the part most under threat from the king of France. By contrast his good relations with the Scottish king and Welsh princes meant that England was not threatened, and his presence there not needed.

Professor Gillingham, as a renowned specialist on the life of Richard the Lionheart, why do you think that he re-mains such a “popular” figure, 815 years after his death?

As a king who went on crusade and who shared front-line risks with his soldiers, he became a legend in his own lifetime. This status was enhanced by the extraordinary

fact that he had the misfortune to be captured, not by Mus-lim enemies, but by fellow Christians and held in prison in Germany before being freed in return for the prover-bial king’s ransom. The crusade came to be seen as a duel between him and the great Muslim leader Saladin. All this made him a legend in the Islamic world as well as in Christian Europe, a heroic figure about whom all sorts of new stories were invented in a process which has gone on ever since his death. (The story of treasure trove at Châlus may well be one such tale). And indeed, no other king of England has ever played such an active leading role in world history, in this case the struggle for control of the Middle East between two world religions, Islam and Christianity. ■

John Gillingham studied history at Oxford and Munich Universi-ties, then taught for thirty years at the LSE where he is now an Emeri-tus Professor. He was elected to the British Academy in 2007. His books include The Wars of the Ros-es, Richard I, The English in the Twelfth Century, The Angevin Em-pire, and Conquests, Catastrophe and Recovery. Britain and Ireland c. 1066-c.1485 (due out in October). He is currently working on a biography of William Rufus - another king of England who met a sud-den and sticky end.

In advance of the Rando Festival Richard Coeur de Lion, The Bugle interviewed Richard I expert Professor John Gillinghamabout the life of one of England's most celebrated kings.

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www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201422 ♦ WHAT’S ON

One of the first cricket clubs to exist in the French prov-inces, Eymet Cricket Club (Club Eymetois de Cricket) was founded in 1983 by a group of expats who were seriously missing their favourite sport. For the first sea-son they played on coconut matting laid on the town’s football pitch, but the following year the Mayor kindly offered use of our present ground at Eymet - complete with stand and all necessary facilities.

The club plays an average of twenty matches per season - south-west league games, national competitions, and against several overseas touring sides.

Our home ground in Eymet is at Stade Bretou, hard by

the gendarmerie. Drinks and teas available.

New members, playing or social, are very welcome!

Upcoming fixtures:Sunday 3/8 Friendly at home against CatusMondy 10/8 Cup Semi-FinalSunday 24/8 T 20 Final at homeSunday 31/8 Cup Final

For more information about the club and upcoming fix-utres call Tim Smith on 05 53 24 15 22 or David Hor-lock on 05 53 24 11 40 or visit http://eymetcricket.com/

Managing Editor: Steve MartindaleEditor-in-Chief: Steve MartindaleRegistered Address: Les Quatre Chemins 23150 St-Yrieix-les-Bois FranceSIRET: 514 989 748 00017Printed by: Charente Libre 16340, L’Isle d’Espagnac FranceMonthly circulation: 12,000 copiesAll copyright, unless stated otherwise, is re-served to The Bugle. Reproduction in whole or part of any text without permission is prohibited.Dépôt légal à parution.

Directeur: Steve MartindaleRédacteur-en-chef: Steve MartindaleSiège Les Quatre Chemins 23150 St-Yrieix-les-Bois FranceSIRET: 514 989 748 00017Imprimé par: Charente Libre 16340, L’Isle d’Espagnac FranceTirage mensuel: 12,000 copiesTous droits réservés. Toute reproduction, totale ou partielle, des articles et illustrations du présent numéro est strictement interdite.Dépôt légal à parution.

The Bugle cannot accept responsibility for the claims of advertisers or their professionalism. We strongly advise readers to verify that the company you are dealing with is a registered trading company in France or elsewhere in the world.

Not to be missed this month is the Nontron Knife Festival, which is one of the largest cutlery showcases in France and Europe, with over 100 exhibitors from all over the world. The Festival concludes a week dedicated to the rich heritage of iron and forges in the region. The 2nd and 3rd August sees the Festival Forges et Métallurgie at Etouars, with demonstrations of metalwork and visits of local forges. From 4th to 8th August there will be workshops, exhibitions and visits of Nontron, culminating in the Fête du couteau on 9th and 10th August.

Entry to the Fête des forges at Etouars: €2. Entry to the Fête du couteau at Nontron: €5/ day; €7 for both days.

DID YOU KNOW...?Nontron Knives are traditional forged folding knives with decorated wooden handles made in Nontron, in the heart of the Périgord Vert. The methods and techniques used in making these have remained virtually unchanged since the fifteenth century when they were first in manufacture; in fact the workshop where they are hand made by local craftsman is the oldest continually running cutlery forge in France. Each pocket knife is an original work by one of only six artisan knife makers. The boxwood used for the handles of Nontron knives is cut only in the immediate region and allowed to air dry for at least five years before being cut, shaped and finished as a handle. Each knife is hand decorated with a circle of pyrograved figures of ancient and unknown significance.

FestiVillars

World Music ConcertBoschaud Abbey 15th August

Concert of Latin American guitar as part of the FestiVillars en Périgord Vert.

The artistes: Jorge Cardoso and Sylvie Dagnac with guest Eric Sobczyk.

Full, rich programme including Khatchatourian, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, Cardoso, García, Heraclio-Fernández.

Concert starts at 15h30.Tickets: €12, free for children under 16.For more information visit www.festivillarsenperigordvert.com and www.duocardosodagnac.com

From 25th to 31st August, the 24th edition of the Sinfonia Festival takes a musical voyage through time. Some of Europe’s finest musi-cians will be on hand to transport you back through the centuries, against the backdrop of Périgord’s most beautiful locations. Abbeys, churches, theatres and châteaux all become places of discovery and exchange between audiences and artists. Over the last twenty years Sinfonia has established itself as an un-missable event for lovers of Baroque music, with an ever-changing line-up designed to offer audiences a week of unforgettable experi-ences. For more information visit www.sinfonia-en-perigord.com/

23 AUGUST 2014 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu WHAT’S ON ♦

MondayBeynacLe FleixLes EyziesSte-Alvère

TuesdayBeaumont du PérigordBergeracBrantômeCénac-et-Saint-JulienLanouailleLe BugueMareuilNeuvicRibéracSalignac EyviguesThenonTrémolat Villefranche-de-Lonchat

WednesdayBergeracHautefortJumilhac-le-GrandLa Tour BlancheMontpon-MénestérolMontignacPérigueux

Piégut PluviersRazacSarlatSiorac-en-PérigordVélines

ThursdayDommeExcideuilEymetLa Coquille LalindeMonpazierSt AstierSt-Julien-de-LamponTerrasson

FridayBergeracBrantômeCubjacLe BuissonRibéracSarlatSigoulèsVergt

SaturdayAgonacBeaumont du Périgord

BelvèsBergeracLalindeLa Roche ChalaisLe BugueMontignacMussidanNeuvicNontronPérigueuxRazacSarlatSt AulayeThiviersVerteillacVillefranche du Périgord

SundayBergeracCouze St FrontDaglanIssigeacPontoursPressignac-VicqRouffignacSarlatSorgesSt CyprienSt GéniesSt Pardoux la Rivière

Market Days

EASY MEDIUM HARD

Pub Quiz Question - AnswerThe United Kingdom has a population of 64.1 million, 200,000 more than France which has just over 63.9 million inhabitants

We understand that life can be difficult for expats living away from the UK and that sometimes as-sistance is needed. We will listen and try to help

when that help is needed. As I am sure you realise, there seems to be this popular misconception that expats living outside of the UK live in large houses with hectares of ground and that nobody ever has problems. As we all know this is far from the truth and even the best laid plans can fall apart due to sudden changes in health, bereavement, family

breakdown or a host of other unforeseen problems.

Registered charity Elizabeth Finn Care is able to offer direct financial assistance to British and Irish

nationals or residents who live overseas. We ensure

that our help does not affect any means-tested payments.

Briefly we can consider assisting those who:

1. Are British or Irish residents or nationals.2. Are living on a low income or means-tested

benefits.3. Have formerly been employed in one of a wide

range of qualifying occupations. Have, or have had, a partner employed in a qualifying occupation.

We are able to consider assisting financially in numerous ways.

For more information contact: Mary Hughes - Case worker France, Elizabeth Finn Care

tel: 04 68 23 43 79or visit: www.elizabethfinncare.org.uk

and: www.turn2us.org.uk

BENTLEY - 4-month-old Phoenix kitten needs a home!Bentley’s mum was alone starving and was found by someone just 6 days before she had her litter of kittens. They contacted Phoenix, and we managed to find them a space.

Bentley is the last to be re-homed, possibly as amongst some people, black cats are considered to be unlucky. Nonsense, we say! Bentley is a handsome, friendly boy who is yearning to be out of the pen and into a home of his own. He is chipped, vaccinated and de-parasited.

Please contact Lynda at lapuille@gmail.com or telephone 05 53 81 30 44 for more information.

See more photos of Bentley and our other cats for adoption at:www.phoenixasso.comwww.facebook.com/PhoenixAssociationFrance

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ AUGUST 201424 ♦ WHAT’S ON