I do not sell houses but find suitable ones for my clients to buy.However occasionally  a house becomes available by private sale(thus avoiding the fees of agents) which is exceptional such as this one in Castelnau de Guers, a few minutes drive from the famous and charming market town of Pézenas.Situated in the old part of the village with an abundance of the original stone which is so attractive, it has been cleverly restored to provide a three bedroom village house “ready to move into”,a much abused phrase that in this case is in fact true.With “en suite” facilities for each bedroom,two sitting rooms and a 21sq.m roof terrace,it is within easy walking distance of the shops.It is on the market for  a very reasonable €232,000.For further details I can put you in direct touch with the owners.

Contact me on +33 467 95 81 35 or e-mail cameron.patrick@mac.com

Two years ago I visited a sad  disintegrating old ruin among the vines.Last week,fully restored and extended, it was opened to the acclaim of several hundred guests attending the inauguration ceremony. The restoration,undertaken by Karl O’Hanlon and his team at Domaines et Demeures(info@domainedemeure.com) is remarkable.There are now 28 self catering apartments and houses,some of them with their own swimming pools,furnished with every luxury and in the most elegant style. A huge infinity pool,restaurant,brassserie and bar,tennis  court and boulodrome cater for every taste,and next year the estate will bottle its first vintage,eight stainless steel vats having been installed on the ground floor to process the wine.A full range of activities and events is planned throughout the year.Surely this must be the most prestigious holiday centre in the Languedoc and is yet another example of the way in which the area is rapidly shaking off the reputation of being the poor relation of its neighbour, Provence.For full details contact  www.lescarrasses.com.

To Béziers for a concert given by Joan Baez in the wonderful but oddly named Zinga-Zanga hall. For 50 odd years Joan Baez has been singing  songs protesting man’s inhumanity to man,injustice,racial prejudice,war, and her message resonates with the young today just as it did in the 60’s and 70’s for those of the older generations.Her voice is still  fine and strong, every word is clear and intelligible( a novel idea for many  of the current generation of singers)  and her appearance defies her years. For an hour and forty minutes with hardly a pause, aided by  one  Dirk Powell who she introduced as her “group “and who accompanied her at various times on five different musical instruments, she enchanted her audience with a number of old favourites together with some new ones.Her act is very low key, no glitz no great star introduction, just an elderly fine looking lady singing about what she believes in.And it is not just about her.Two years ago she discovered an amazingly talented young singer and songwriter in Montpellier,Marianne Aya Omac,and again she shared the stage with her young protégée and sang along with her for some numbers.After five encores and standing ovations she finally left the stage with the words”A la prochaine fois”.Let’s hope she meant it.

Saturday was the “Journée du Patrimoine” (Heritage Day),and our project is to save the 12th century tower which stands  high on the hill behind the village.Unfortunately the rock on which it was built has split so without reinforcement the tower is in great danger of falling.Thanks to grants from the state,department,a major donation by a public spirited French company,and the tireless work of the village committee to raise money, a major part of the funds required have been raised and work has begun.

The major technical problem is to get the required materials to the site as there is no road and and indeed not even a proper path.The solution was to build a cable lift from across the gorge to carry the building materials and Saturday saw the official opening,although the lift has already been delivering the vital materials to site.

We have a brilliant engineer in the village,Bernard Raynal.While the original idea was for two men to turn handles to provide the motive power,this proved insufficient.So Bernard came up with the idea of using a 1968 vintage tractor to power the cable lift.He raised it up on bricks so that the axles turned but the tractor did not move,and then connected the turning axles to the cable lift thus providing the necessary power.And of course the tractor was a Lamborghini as that company manufactured tractors before they started making exotic motor cars!

Yesterday the new tram for the third line in Montpellier,the decoration designed by Christain Lacroix,was unveiled. This was no quiet cutting of ribbon,a few self-congratulatory words by the local MP and mayor, followed by a cup of tea and a rock cake,but an unveiling “à la française”.

A marquee had been set up in the Tramway maintenance area, tables piled high with glasses of course, and a crowd of several hundred people assembled around 11.a.m as stated on the invitation.This being the Midi,nothing actually happened until 12 noon,when a paper curtain was torn down covering the entrance to the maintenance depot and the new tram emerged to be greeted  by music (of an indeterminate nature), water fountains installed specially for the occasion,fireworks, flashes of flame and multi-coloured smoke,and a final explosion of streamers and confetti! The French do this with such  style  and panache.

And this was not to launch the opening of the new line which doesn’t happen until April.The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in London had better be good!

We discovered an excellent prize winning red wine at the local supermarket for €3.29 a bottle and decided to order several cases to share out amongst friends.I went to the “Customer Service” desk (note the name!) , and a charming young lady took down my name,telephone number, and details of the wine, and said she would order it.” When will it come in ?” I asked.”Either next Tuesday or Thursday” she replied.” Perhaps you could telephone me to let me know when it has arrived”,not an unreasonable request one would of thought.”No”she replied with a nice smile”It is not customary”.

What I love about our local xxxxxmarché is that there is a total absence of any concept whatsoever of customer service!

The mimosa is almost over,the cherry trees are in full bloom,and April is painting the department with the fresh,clean, colours of Spring.

On the 17th April,the incomparable Hérault Tourist Authority is having a “Plaisirs d’Hérault” day at the Domaine d’O in Montpellier where all the local tourist offices and  organisers of leisure activities will be proudly exhibiting the attractions of their region and the huge range of opportunities that the department offers to have fun.While this is primarily aimed at hoteliers and owners of holiday accomodation etc.,it is open to the public,and the wealth of high quality literature on any possible enterprise that  is available will be almost overwhelming.The Domaine d’O,which is located on the outskirts of Montpellier, is well worth a visit in its own right.Full details are available on herault-tourisme.com

Every year about the middle of February the village of Roquebrun, a picturesque location clinging to the side of the hill overlooking the river Orb, holds its mimosa festival.The main street is lined with stalls selling all manner of local products,food,and  very questionable technicolour sweets.Usually the weather is fine enough to buy a picnic,a bottle of wine from the local Cave Co-opérative, and enjoy a relaxing hour or two beside the river with friends.This year the weather was less kind but it didn’t spoil the occasion, and there were large crowds from neighbouring towns and villages. At about 3pm there is a parade of floats but the weather and the lure of the Ireland-France rugby match was too strong, so one must look forward  to seeing it next year.

The mimosa is always a very welcome sight,flowering in  the rather dull month of February,a sure sign that Spring is just over the horizon.

Each year in January an important event in the village is the public meeting where the mayor announces his plans for the coming year-”Les voeux”.

Although of course  mayors are all important in the affairs of the village,their hands are tied to a large extent by the limited funds available to carry out any project. Indeed the first item on the agenda for any project whatsoever is the extent to which a subsidy  or”subvention” can be extracted from the local authority,department ,state,or even European funds.Without a ” subvention” nothing much happens.

In our village the big issues are water and sewerage.There has been no significant building in the village for the past 6 years because there is insufficient water to supply additional houses.This is somewhat bizarre  as water rushes down the hillside throughout the year from the mountains above in great quantities into the  river Orb which runs along the valley.This problem has now apparently been solved by piping water back up the valley from a source  20 km. away. So now plans can go ahead to build a few more house which we all hope will not change the character of our village.

Some 5 years ago Béziers airport had a short runway only suitable for light aircraft.This year,the runway having been extended to take airliners, it will handle 130,000 passengers and the target for 2012 is 200,000. The expansion has been carried out steadily and intelligently,the facilities growing as the number of passengers has grown,but it still has all the advantages of a small airport with car parking a few yards from the terminal building, and aircraft parked a similar distance away,so there is no lengthy hike to board.

Both Ryanair and Flybe provide flights to and from London (Luton), Dusseldorf (Weeze), Stockholm (Skavsta), Oslo (Rygge), and Southampton will be added in the Spring with connecting flights to Belfast,Edinburgh,Glasgow,Manchester,Newcastle,Jersey ,and Guernsey With 50 km of beaches,the outstanding landscapes of the Haut Languedoc regional nature reserve,historic towns and villages,the largest wine-growing area in the world now producing some top quality wines at  very attractive prices, and of course local seafood,locally produced “charcuterie”,fruits and vegetables,it is not hard to imagine that the friendly gateway to the REAL South of France will continue to grow with all the benefits that this will bring to the region and its inhabitants.