I went to Arles and discovered an artist

 As you wander the streets of Arles, echoes of the past are with you always. It's like no other place I've ever been. Like much of France it has a frayed beauty. Everywhere you look there is something interesting. A feast for the eyes. A crinkly smile comes to me as you look up at a quant building.

Van Gogh fell in love with the place; it's not hard to understand why. It's packed full of Roman and mediaeval architecture. So centre ville won't have changed that much since his time. There is a photograph around every corner, and I've probably taken that many. Here are a selection:

Nowhere man

 It's over a year now since moving to France. For a number of reasons it's not been an easy ride but it has been a necessary one. I consider myself a refugee. A Brexit refugee. Someone who has fled the rain, the disappointment and the gross stupidity that is England. I feel that the country of my birth birth has rejected me and my ilk. I certainly don't feel that I have rejected my country. The country that I knew and loved no longer exists; ruined by racists and other assorted morons. It is a country firmly in self destruct mode. It will not improve until it rejoins the EU. I can't imagine I'll live to see that day.

If I'm honest I don't feel totally at home here, but I've no desire to go back. I feel like I'm living in a nomansland. I am a nowhere man treading water. Don't get me wrong, I live in a lovely place and the people are very friendly here. I'm the problem. I don't really fit. But then I don't really fit anywhere now.

All hail the Christmas tortoise

When the festivities begin do you ever think about the Christmas tortoise?

This time last year we were in France. In total we spent 87 days there, which is just inside the 90 day maximum restriction that the fucking idiot Brexit voters imposed upon us. We were there from early December 2021 until the end of February 2022 and we had a great time. We spent the first 6 weeks in a place called Lézignan-Corbières, a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in southern France. We really liked Lézignan-Corbières, it’s small but has most things you need. It’s bigger than a village but smaller than a town. Even though it’s not that big it definitely punches above its weight. They also like to celebrate Christmas, and thankfully these things don’t start as ridiculously early as they do in the UK. The high street had a Christmas market which came alive in the evening. A tannoy system in the centre played Christmas flavoured songs. Sitting out on a cold winter's evening, wrapped up warm, drinking Alsatian beer and eating a pretzel was a very enjoyable experience. The town was lit up with lights and there were extra illuminated Christmassy things in front of the Marie. Behind the high street was a park which had been decorated with lights in the trees and bushes along with various festive models and structures to form a Village de Noel. In amongst the Father Christmases, reindeer, penguins, igloos, slays and snowmen was an illuminated giant tortoise. The Christmas tortoise? How have I got to my late sixties without knowing about the Christmas tortoise? What is the meaning of the Christmas tortoise? Does anyone care?

We don’t really celebrate Christmas, but for me, knowing about the Christmas tortoise has enriched my life, and it will always have a special place in my heart. Seasons greetings all, however you spend your time.

Birthday girl

I can't believe that I haven't come across Catherine Ringer until this year. What a talent. A polymath in every sense of the word. A national treasure of France. I would so love to see her live. Today is her birthday. Born on this day in 1957. Her music and her performances are phenomenal. A true star. Check her out. You won't regret it.

So impressed I wrote about her for my French homework a few weeks ago. This is what I wrote:

I first became aware of Catherine Ringer as a member of the group Les Rita Mitsouko. I heard a song of theirs played on a French radio station and thought wow! Born in France, Catherine is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is also an actress and a dancer, plus has many other talents. Difficult to categorise, her music is a mix of styles and influences from around the world. Her catchy songs and ballads are often curious or bizarre. Much of her work is quite surreal. An accomplished performer, she can still enthrall an audience, as an appearance earlier this year on French television singing one of her Les Rita hits, C'est Comme Ça, shows.

J'ai découvert Catherine Ringer pour la première fois en tant que membre du groupe Les Rita Mitsouko. J'ai entendu une de leur chanson jouée sur une station de radio française et j'ai pensé wow! Née en France, Catherine est chanteuse, compositrice et multi-instrumentiste. Elle est aussi actrice et danseuse, et possède de nombreux autres talents. Difficile à catégoriser, sa musique est un mélange de styles et d'influences du monde entier. Ses chansons et ballades entraînantes sont souvent curieuses ou bizarres. Une grande partie de son travail est assez surréaliste. Interprète accomplie, elle peut encore captiver un public, comme une apparition plus tôt cette année à la télévision française en chantant l'un de ses tubes Les Rita, C'est Comme Ça, le montre.