Fab Networks

Running a small business can be lonely business. One has to be an expert at all kinds of things ; marketing, sales, admin, organising, planning, cleaning, all things IT, accounting, taxation, customer service, advertising, PR, law AND be better than one's competitors while keeping one's head above water as well concentrating on the actual business at hand.
Running a business in another country where the rules are different, the people speak the wrong language, where bureaucracy can reduce grown men to tears and the law changes every five seconds, can throw up altogether new challenges.
Being a part of a Business Network can make your life a little easier ... The local Network for all expats and nationalities in the region is called FAB Networks (French Anglo Business) and they meet about once a month to co-work, network and organise events. There are over 20 different nationalities in the Network and everyone brings something to the table.
If you have a small business in the Pyrenees Orientales or are thinking of setting up one, it would be an ideal network for you.
The next meeting of FAB Networks is on this Monday 5th March from 12h to 14h in ESPI on Quai Vauban in Perpignan. This lunch and learn date hosted by Anna Walmsey of AW Consulting will focus on social media and how all small businesses can benefit.
Lunch will be 10euros and people are advised to bring their laptops.
You can register here 

The National Front

The Presidential Race is well under way here in France with the three main parties gearing up for battle - we have Sarko's band , UMP ( Union for a Popular Movement), the PS ( Socialist Party) and the third runners, the FN (National Front).
Marine Le Pen is the lady at the forefront of the FN, the daughter of founder Jean Marie Le Pen, a man not shy of controversy...
Some of the Far Right policies of the FN:

• Zero Tolerance for Law and Order and a Referendum to bring back the death penalty
• Strong Opposition to Immigration, particularly Muslim Immigration. In the 1995 elections, Le Pen proposed to send 3 million Muslims back to where they came from
• Re-instate the Frank and drop the euro
• Reinstate custom borders
• Deportation of unemployed immigrants

One needs the backing of 500 mayors to run for the French presidential elections. The FN have not been able to obtain the support of any mayor in the Pyrenees Orientales, where we live. 

Perhaps , they need to change their nick name to obtain a few more votes .. after all, would you vote for FN or as it is affectionately known as "FANNY"??

Vote for FANNY, eh? Catchy! 

See article here in the local L'Independent ( in French)

Spain, A Perfect Day Out with the kids

We wore clothes to match the decor!

Spain is only a half an hours drive from where we live and I don't know if it's because we come from Ireland, an island, that it feels so exciting and different when we cross the border into another country. At the péage ( toll booths) we get all giggly with our Holas and Gracias, the sign posts are different, the terrain changes, the people are so friendly and relaxed, the dress sense is much more décontracté and the children get a huge welcome wherever we go. A day in Spain feels like a mini break, a real holiday and feels completely different to La France.

Off we headed with les enfants to one of the nearest beaches to us on the Costa Brava on Sunday, about 40 minutes from our house in Cabestany. Llanca is a small little fishing/tourist village with a lovely marina and a beautiful sheltered little beach where we found a fab restaurant literally with it's toes in the water.

Our private beach

While the kids cantered and foraged around the beach, we enjoyed melt in the mouth calamari and fresh urchins straight from the sea. We opted for the paella ( well, when in Spain 'n all that...) which was the best paella I've ever eaten with generous amounts of shellfish, plump mussels, scallops and clams and interestingly , artichokes. As I'm off the booze for lent ( don't ask!) , Mr Getrealfrance had half a bottle of Godeval which he oohed and ahed over. The kids licked their plates clean and with coffees and desserts for the kids, the bill came to 70euros. Excellent.

Llanca

A walk along the cliffs to discover private little beaches which we had all to ourselves finished off a perfect day. We'll be back!

A boat called after Granny Nora!

The restaurant  : Le Blau Grifeu, Platja Grifeu, Llanca, Tel: 972 380 718

Love is on the air waves

Shakira, with her rendition of French Francis Cabrel's love song is every DJ's favourite song at the moment and one cannot turn on the radio without hearing Shakira's distinctive voice belting out this old French classic. I think she does a fine job of it and love the live version.
The lyrics of the song are quite beautiful, even if you don't understand French, but here's a quick translation ( please correct any mistakes if you know better ). It's a great way to learn French as well ..

Moi je n'étais rien (Me, I used to be nothing)
Mais voila qu'aujourd'hui (But look how today)
Je suis le gardien (I am the keeper)
Du sommeil de ses nuits (of the sleep/dreams of her nights)
Je l'aime a mourir (I love her to death)

Vous pouvez détruire (You could destroy)
Tout ce qui vous plaira (Anything you want)
Elle n'aura qu' ouvrir (But she would only have to open)
L'espace de ses bras (The space between her arms)
Pour tout reconstruire x2 (to rebuild it all)
Je l'aime a mourir (I love her to death)

Elle a gommé les chiffres (She erased the numbers)
Des horloges du quartier (Of every clock around)
Elle a fait de ma vie (She made of my life)
Des cocottes en papier (Little pieces of papers)
Des éclats de rires (and bursts of laughter)
Elle a bati des ponts (She built bridges)
Entre nous et le ciel (between us and the sky)
Et nous les traversons (and we would traverse them)
A chaque fois qu'elle (each time that she)
Ne veut pas dormir x2 (didnt want to sleep)
Je l'aime a mourir (I love her to death)

Elle a du faire toutes les guerres (she must've had to fight all her battles)
Pour être si forte aujourd'hui (to be as strong as she is today)
Elle a du faire toutes les guerres (she must've faught all the battles)
De la vie, et l'amour aussi (of life, and love too)

Here she is , looking and sounding like an angel

Obligatory Breathalyser

If you're travelling by car to France this year, don't forget to furnish yourself with a breathalyer which you must by law have in your car from July 1st, 2012. If you are found without an "alcootest" or an " éthylotest " , you will face an on the spot fine of 11 euros...
Road deaths have halved in France over the past decade and are now around 4000 per annum. Sarko aims to get this number under 3000 with this new legislation. France is the first nation in the world to make breathalysers mandatory and if it is a success, the law will be introduced throughout Europe.
How effective they will be is anyone's guess but they will certainly be a good money spinner, for the trésor public and the manufacturers of the alccootests, which are going to cost about 2euros a blow.
I've seen a big change in people's attitude to drink driving in the 10 years I've been here .. Everyone, without exception, drank and drove in the early noughties. Now, taxis seem to be more available ( although extortionate in price, a 4 km night taxi drive from Perpignan to Cabestany can cost up to 20euros), people nominate a designated driver ( who will only drink wine!) and in general, people are more careful. Still, drink driving is a huge problem in France, where drinking wine, is not really considered "drinking" and most motorists would be well over the limit after a normal lunch of apero and wine with their food.
At a family lunch party this weekend, the french inlaws knocked back several whiskeys and several wines, followed by Irish coffees and then they all merrily hopped into their cars and drove home without a thought..
Would an alcootest have stopped them? 

Sarkozy - Let the Race Begin!

Sarkozy finally threw his hat in the ring this week and has officially announced his candidature for the presidential election in April this year. And so the race begins.
Sarko has been president of France since 2007 when he beat lefty Segolene Royale. Since then, he has just about managed to keep his head above water, through "la crise", riots, international incidents, and a public that will take to the streets to strike with any whisper of change ( longer working week/ earlier retirement age, etc). It has not been an easy ride. He faces a battle over the next three months with his usual conservative vote worried about issues regarding immigration and employment. 
10 things you may not know about Sarkozy:

1. As a child, he was abandoned by his father and hence spent much of his childhood at his grandfather's home. His parents are Greek and Hungarian.
2. He used to feel inferior to the wealthier and taller classmates at school. " What made me who I am now is the sum of all the humiliations suffered during childhood" 
3. He has 121 cars at his disposal in the Elysee Palace and spends over 10,000euros a day on food
4. He married ex super model Carla Bruni after a brief two month romance
5. He is twice divorced and has 4 children
6. As the French President, one of his first actions was to give himself a pay rise: his yearly salary went from €101,000 to €240,000
7. He measures up at 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) and frequently wears platforms when meeting with tall leaders, eg Obama
8. He famously told a hustler in a crowd to "casse toi, pauvre con" (f off, you loser - loose translation) in the run up to the last elections.
9. He appeared drunk in public after a meeting with Russian president Putin
10. He is currently trailing 10 points behind in the polls behind the socialist candidate Francois Hollande

An interesting few weeks ahead as the battle commences .. we don't have the right to vote in the presidential elections though, tant pis!

Best Guinness in Perpignan

Last night I did something I haven't done for a long time.
I had four pints of creamy guinness in a packed pub listening to Irish music with some good buddies.
Great music, real sweaty pub atmosphere, pints for €4.50 ( a bargain in France) and even a bit of Irish dancing by mé féin ( cringe). The South of France just became an even better place to live!

Irish, French and Polish Biddies

Without a doubt, the best guinness in Perpignan , Good luck agus Go n'éirí an t-ádh le O'flahertys Irish pub in Perpignan.
....And well done to Stephen on his debut performance.. Just don't forget us when you're rich and famous!

France's Band Aid

Over 60 of France's most famous artists have come together to make a single under the umbrella of Collectif Paris Africa, giving their time and all the proceeds to Unicef and in particular the children of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya , where children are at greatest risk.

It's sitting at Number 10 in the charts here in France at the moment and is getting alot of air play. Catchy and a worthy cause to boot ; Chapeaux ( Hats off ) to the Ricochets :

The Artist

A fantastically daring silent movie starring Jean DuJardin and Bérénice Bejo, I really enjoyed this over the weekend. Before going to the movie, I thought it was going to be hard work, arty, for the sale of arty but I was quickly swept away by the brilliant acting and excellent score with references to Singing in the Rain and A Star is Born.
Jean DuJardin is famous in France but has never broken into the International scene, mainly because he can't speak English. In fact , he had only two words to say in the film and in my opinion he fluffed them with his heavily accented French 'Wiz Pleasure" grande finalé..
Handsome and hardworking, he came to the French public's attention first with "un gars/une fille" circa 2000, a skit between a young couple and has risen through the french ranks since then with numerous other films and programmes. It is The Artist which has pushed him into the International spot light though and he is a strong favourite for the Oscar this year.
A little spanner in the works however which might thwart his Oscar winning chances , is his starring role in Les Infidèles , a raunchy movie about two lads who like to cheat on their wives regularly. The posters advertising the movie are a little  risqué, to say the least,  and the advertising authorities have ordered that they be taken down ( even though they were splashed all around the cinema in Perpignan this weekend) due to the number of complaints they have received. Bad timing for this French rising star?

What do you think?

I'm going into a meeting

Wine tasting with a difference

Domaine Treloar run a very enjoyable wine club once a month in their winery in Trouillas.
Normally, there is a theme, like a region or a grape variety and we all bring a bottle of Collioure or a Sauvignon Blanc, or whatever has been chosen. The wines are all pooled together and we taste all the wines. The rules are that no-one expresses an opinion until we have all tasted and tested each particular wine. It usually starts off timidly with people shyly expressing their opinions and by the end of the night, everyone is clambering to be heard after a few glasses of vino.
Last night, they tried a different formula .. they provided 6 mystery wines and we had to associate the wines with images. It's a brilliant ice breaker idea and instantly got everyone talking and thinking about wine from a completely different perspective.
There were some very interesting and funny comments ; some wines tasted of dirty beards and cats piss. Others were sweet and Christmas cake-like, some wines were missing something like the headless statue, others sharp like a pierced nipple. What it did was bring everyone down to the same level and there was no wine snobbery involved which can be intimidating for wine tasting amateurs like myself.
They will be trying out this new tasting technique at Vinisud, "the flagship wine event for Mediterranean wines and spirits" in Montpellier 20 - 22 February. An event not to be missed.
A name for this method of wine tasting has yet to be dreamt up ... "Vino pour L'Image" peut être?