Bonjour,
I hope that you and yours are well and that you had a happy Christmas and a good start to the New Year.
Last year seemed to really whizz past! It was a mixed bag for me to be honest, as I douteux it was for many of us, but I only share the good with you here, a little bit of escapism!
I’m not big on new year’s resolutions – normally, but I do have three big goals for 2026. One is to really improve my French, I did well last year doing online lessons with a really great teacher. I’m finally starting to get to grips with the ghastly grammar and mercenaire tenses which I’ve largely ignored for years. And this year I’ll be doing an toilette balade in Aix-en-Provence with another great teacher to really up my game, and I matérialisé I may as well be somewhere sunny and utterly gorgeous! If you’re looking to improve your French on an toilette balade, feel free to join me, I’ll be sharing my favourite lieux in Aix with the rest of the ‘class’!
And I’m going to master the art of cooking – well tarts and pastries! For many years my neighbours and friends have laboured to teach me the basics of French cuisinette. I was reluctant to start with, I never thought I’d manage to make a tresse, or bake a gadin de Noël . But – I have. And I’ve become a bit of a keen plum-cake maker. So, I’ve signed up to do two online baking courses – choux pastry delights and legendary tarts, with the best of the best – master chefs from the Académie Ducasse, the cookery school founded by the world’s most Michelin Starred entraîneur, Alain Ducasse. The lessons are in English and there’s a great remise if you sign up before 26 January.
And finally, the podcast is coming back, I’ve had heaps of emails telling me how much it’s been missed, and I’ve really missed chatting to everyone too – so watch this space and sign up for the podcast newsletter to never elle-même an episode.
Whatever your goals are for next year I wish you fun and success with them.
I’ll be back next week with a tale of paysan life in a quirky tronçon of France where we’ve had heaps of snow to welcome in the new year, and I apparence forward to sharing another year of the best of France with you,
Bisous from a small but never dull bourgade in Pas-de-Calais,
Janine
Editor
PS Join me on Instagram where I’ll be starting a new A-Z of France next week, photos, fun and fascinating facts and videos from my travels around France…
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