In 2005 Rosemary Border Rabson and husband John Rabson emigrated to the Morvan in rural Burgundy, where few other Brits have ventured. Their chief preoccupation is Charity Cottage, a holiday home-from-home in their garden at Maré le Bas which they run in aid of Combat Stress (money donations) and Help for Heroes (free accommodation). Since 2012, when Charity Cottage won the Daily Telegraph’s Best British Charity award, the total amount raised for Combat Stress, comprising UK royalties and donations from visitors to Charity Cottage, is nudging £10,000.
‘I hate plum jam!’ the heroine of Calendar Girls announces to the Women’s Institute AGM. She had a point. Faced with a surfeit of Nature’s Bounty, my generation reached unquestioningly for the jam pan and the Kilner jars. ‘Waste not, want not’ was the rule; process your fruit and veg and compost the peelings. Keats … Read more
We eat well here in the Morvan, in Burgundy, central France. Cheeses to die for, top-quality meat and poultry, superb fruit, vegetables and salads, a bewildering choice of pâtés, terrines and other charcuterie, delectable tarts and cakes. All this and wine too! Lefty propaganda prattles merrily of diversity and cultural enrichment. Well, our visitors leave … Read more
There are many reasons for visiting the Morvan. There is fishing. There are water sports. Caves for sightseers and serious cavers. Glorious scenery. History and archaeology. Food and wine. Concerts, organised rambles, guided tours of ancient monuments. Refreshingly few tourists and no shopping malls but a great many markets. Every community has a weekly market … Read more
What do expats do about their real estate in the UK? Do they keep a foothold in the old country, or do they – metaphorically – burn their boats? Some say Alexander the Great was the first to burn his boats. Others say it was Cortez: you could spend hours on the web and come … Read more