Does anyone remember cricket when:-
Players managed to continue batting without having to touch gloves after every boundary and every over?
When the game was played in silence with a little gentle clapping when a boundary was scored?
When spectators were not transvestites and didn’t see the necessity of dressing in ridiculous clothing,encouraged by the BBC.?David Lloyd  at [...]

If anyone thinks this is an unexciting little   backwater,may I direct you to the www.heraultwhatson.info website which gives details of the major events in the area  every month?August/September is a feast of activities sporting,cultural,gastronomic,musical, and just fun! The real problem is choosing between them, added to which those poor souls who can only holiday [...]

A few kilometres from the town of Clermont l’Hérault lies the huge Lake Salagou,extending to 750 hectares.Created between 1964 and 1969,this artificial lake set in magnificent countryside  provides the setting for any number of watersports,sailing,windsurfing,parasailing,kayaking,and of course swimming.Even in the height of summer the numerous creeks around the lake are uncrowded and provide perfect picnic [...]

Living surrounded by vineyards,the temptations are limitless.A little chilled rosé  on the terrace at lunchtime, sheltered from the searing heat, slips down all too easily and  before you know it the rest of the day has passed in a soporific haze.
However François and Vincent Pugibet of the Domaine  la Colombette just outside Béziers have come [...]

Summer has at last arrived,a little late this year,and it is hot, hot.Friends with holiday homes here arrive,grey and exhausted from their hectic lives in England,to recharge their batteries.The summer routine quickly establishes itself, a few friends over for lunch  after a quick dip in the pool,now 25°C which is just about ideal:soon it may [...]

To the  Chateau de Cassan to watch a performance by the celebrated Russian pianist Nataliya Morozowa playing works by  Bach,Chopin,Borodine,Liszt and Balakirev.Nataliya plays with great skill,passion,and spirit,an electrifying performance.She has that star quality which is a combination,of beauty,elegance,and huge stage presence.We are indeed lucky that every summer she returns  to our little corner of paradise [...]

To Paris with some friends(4 comfortable hours on the TGV from Béziers through the huge and beautiful farm that is France), where the Champs Elysées itself had been turned into a farm with grass,various crops, cows and other farm animals.What an amazing idea and what flair the French have!However unfortunately the entire population of Paris [...]

I went to the village Post Office yesterday and a neighbour greeted me with the words”Bonjour, M.Premier Ministre”!
With David Cameron now in Downing Street I should be in a good position to offer Peerages or Knighthoods to anyone interested, for a modest consideration of course.Alternatively for an even more modest commission I  can find you [...]

Last week I went to see this amazing film about the rounding up of the Jews in Paris in 1942  by the French police under orders from the Gestapo and their temporary incarceration in the Vélodrome in Paris, prior to being sent by rail  to a concentration camp. The film is  exquisitely acted particularly by [...]

On some house hunting business to Marseillan, a small harbour on the Etang de Thau where the oysters are grown to the delight of all those who like feasting on this mollusc(not me!).As I sat in a café on the harbour  I reflected on how lucky we are to be able to jump into a car [...]