French Music - Why isn't it better?

Music is so much a part of youth culture both in the UK and France,  but why is it that the French charts are filled with British and American music whereas in the British charts there is no French music?  My eldest son, Matthew is studying for his Masters at Bristol University in the UK.  He chose to spend his 3rd year studying in a University in Montpellier.  He has had a fantastic year and loves the lifestyle in France, however one of his pet hates is French music. It was a mission of his during his year studying in France to find some decent French bands.  He really wanted to and was constantly pleading with his French friends to introduce him to some. Unfortunately they failed miserably and had to admit defeat.  Most French bands are either europop or rappers and there are no really talented bands to match some of those on the other side of the water..    

I'm fascinated by the differences Matthew has found between his experiences of education and student life in the UK and France.  I've been waiting anxiously for him to finish the year so that I can complete the chapter on Education in the book I'm writing about our experiences as a family in France.  During one of our recent discussions, Matthew told me the following story which highlights one of the differences:

7 Coping Strategies for Working Mums

Its not easy being a fulltime working mother - not only do we have to cope with the pressures of work, but we also have a house and family to run and we live with the guilt that we're not doing any of it well enough. I'm sorry if you think the title of this post is a bit sexist - don't fathers need coping strategies too? Yes I'm sure they do, but I'm not a father, so I can’t comment on that. My husband works incredibly hard and he has his own coping strategies which are very different to mine. He works long hours and often 7 days a week in a very physically demanding job, so the running of the household (cleaning, cooking, shopping, washing and finances) is down to me as is the day-to-day sorting of the kids (remembering things for school, lifts to parties, activities, doctors appointments etc). Being a mother of 5 and running a house the size of a football pitch (no really, I'm not joking) is a fulltime job in itself - you have no idea how much washing my family generate for a start, so its a small miracle I manage to fit in working full time running our garden centre and landscaping business too.  I give a snapshot of my life in this post A Day in the life of a Mother in France  Oh, and then there's the gardening club we run and the students I find host families for from time to time and then of course I have our 3 holiday apartments to manage.  No wonder I'm finding it difficult to squeeze a bit of blogging in too, oh and what's happened to my book… it’s a work in progress!

So, what's my secret? How do I manage to keep going without buckling under the pressure. Well I'm far from perfect and sometimes I do buckle - there are times when I snap and scream and very occasionally I get to the point where I think I can't take any more, but usually I carry on regardless and still manage to enjoy life on the way.

So you think you want to be Self-Employed in France!

I know it’s been a while and I’m sorry if it appears I’ve been neglecting my blog, but I’ve been busy – even busier than usual if that’s possible.  This year, true to one of my New Year Resolutions at least, I’ve been putting a lot of my energies into the business side of my life.  It’s not easy being self-employed and although I have been for most of my working life (15 years in England and now 8 years in France), I find I’m learning new things every day.  I’ve been thinking recently about what it is that makes a business successful.  It’s not just about the business itself – of course you need to offer something other people want, but it’s also largely down to the individual.  

To be self employed in any country you need to have certain qualities, but to be self employed in France (or any country other than the one you were brought up in), these special characteristics become even more important.

Losing Weight in France - Revisited

I’m guest posting at Mademoiselle Slimalicious, retelling the story of how I got motivated to lose weight after moving to France.  Mademoiselle Slimalicious is French and lives in Australia and has some great tips on weight loss the French way, so do pop over to her website and have a browse.  I’m sure you’ll find some good tips there and interesting interviews with Mireille Guiliano, author of “French Women Don’t Get Fat” and Sally Asher, author of “Losing It in France”.

It’s 14 months on now from when I first decided enough is enough and so I thought it would be interesting to review how I’m feeling about my weight now.  Well, the winter is always the hardest time for me (and just about every other woman I know), so I have gained a few pounds, but am still 1 ½ stone lighter than I was in January 2011 and I’m happy with that. 

My attitudes to food have changed for good.  The emphasis now is far more on eating healthily.  I do indulge myself occasionally, but if I have a treat of a cake or something, I’ll make sure to cut back on something else the next day to make up for it.  I’m aiming to have 1 week a month where I’m stricter with myself which helps to keep me on track. 

What's in a Dream?

Do you believe there are hidden messages in our dreams?  Do you believe we can find deeper meaning from the dreams we have which can help us understand what going on our every day lives, or do you think it’s all a load of hogwash?  I’ve always been curious, but very rarely dream anything interesting enough to attempt interpreting it.  However there’s so much going on in the depths of our minds, it makes perfect sense (to me) that we can learn lessons from what our uncouncious mind reveils to us in our dreams.

What’s got me thinking about this?  Well, I woke up from a very vivid dream the other day, which is unusual for me because I don’t usually remember my dreams and if I do they’re very mundane like what I’m going to make for dinner, shopping or talking with family (I kid you not).  In fact it’s probably because they are so boring that I don’t remember them. My husband on the other hand has had loads of dreams of flying and visits from celestial beings and aliens - all sorts of weird and wonderful things happen to him.  On the rare occasions I remember my dreams, I’m keen to share them in case there may be some hidden message which might make them vaguely more interesting.  I start retelling them to my husband “I was standing in the queue at Leader Price and ....” at this point he usually nods off or walks away.    However, the other day I woke up from a truly wonderful dream.  At last a dream that my husband actually found interesting and listened to and followed to the end.  Here’s what I dreamt:

How to beat Lethargy

I am so brimming with ideas at the moment, I think I might burst!  It’s snowing outside and I’ve had an enforced stay at home this morning.  So, I’ve been taking this opportunity to make the beds and sort the washing (even managed to marry 25 pairs of odd socks, only another 25 to go!).  While my body has been catching up on some household chores, my mind has been brimming over with  ideas on things like – how to revitilise our gites, new business ventures, decorating projects, marketing plans, new chapters for the books I’m writing.  I’m going to have to write them all down while they’re fresh in my mind. 

It’s so strange because only a few days ago, I was the complete opposite, slumped in a chair watching dribble on TV feeling positively lethargic.  (Can you be positively lethargic?  I think perhaps negatively lethargic is more accurate a description).  We had just come back from a lovely couple of days away in Spain mixing business and pleasure without the children.  We visited new suppliers for our Garden Centre in the Spanish mountains and brought some new stock.  We took advantage of the fantastic deals in January by staying at a 4 star hotel with views over a private beach.  We watched the sun rise over the sea, relaxed in the spa, ate some wonderful food, drank some wine, had time to talk without the usual interruptions.  It was wonderful.

My New Years Resolutions for 2012 - Consolidate

Happy New Year!  Another year over and a new one just began and what a year 2011 was for me.  It was a year of some hardships, realisations and achievements.  I feel a stronger and more positive person as I move into the New Year and am looking forward to discovering what it holds for me.  I made so many positive changes in my life last year that I feel this year my focus is going to be on consolidating the advances I've made.  I've broken these down into 5 different areas of my life where I feel I need to focus most: