Forget the World Cup and Wimbledon, there’s a far more exciting event on the sporting horizon. What is it? The Tour de France of course. This year’s Tour kicks off in Leeds on Saturday. It’s only the second time in the event’s 111-year history that it’s started in the UK and it’s going to be big. Around three million spectators are expected to line the route, Bettys, cake makers par excellence, ...keep reading
“It’s all kicking off out there,” grinned my teenage son when he returned from buying croissants with his dad. By “kicking off” he meant that every inch of the roadside was lined with massive campervans, the majestic tower of Crest, one of the highest keeps in Europe, was draped in the Tricoleur and the road surfaces had been chalked with everything from Champion to pretty pink and blue hearts. As ...keep reading
As we drove south, through olive groves, lavender fields and dusty tracks twisting up the scorched Provençal hillside, I felt more and more nervous. My son, sitting in the back of the car with his sister, was as happy as Larry – especially as the distinctive peak of Mont Ventoux appeared above the skyline. We’d left at dawn so he could attempt to cycle up Mont Ventoux for the first ...keep reading
The icy weather and sub-zero temperatures are making me dream of the House With No Name. Of long, lazy lunches under the plane tree and games of boules on the dusty courtyard. I’m kidding myself of course because it’s minus six degrees in our part of France and I’m just hoping that the cheeky dormouse living in the attic hasn’t moved all his mates in. I got to thinking about ...keep reading