Your complete source for everything buzzing in YOUR area

Everything you need to know about living here – straight from the people who already do!

Moving to a new area is a big deal at the best of times, but what if you’re upping sticks to a whole new country, with a different language, culture and way of doing things to contend with? We know there’s a lot to think about, and that’s why we’ve put together some great advice blogs – along with some more light-hearted content – to help you settle in!

A chateau in need of love and care

Sunita McDonald | A chateau in need of love and care

The search for our new home started in 2018 when our family landed at Toulouse Airport, full of hope to find our dream property. We saw 15 properties around the area but did not find what we were looking for. A few months later we had a second trip and the first property we viewed was an old château with big rooms, high ceilings, lots of character and nestled in a beautiful spot above a lake.

Alarmed at Being Lockdown Liberated?

Katie Gardner | The Life of Riley

Hooray! I hear you cry as we begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel which might not, this time, turn out to be a train.
So why are so many of us (me included) feeling so anxious?

zoom gloom

Zoom Gloom

Katie Gardner | Life of Riley

Okay, so it seems to me that the whole world, its friends and their dog are currently spending an inordinate amount of time on Zoom (or equivalent) and loving it. Me?  Not so much.  And it brought me to some introspection and to wonder why.  Why is, seemingly, everyone else okay or even ecstatic with it and all I feel is vaguely anxious and disorientated.  Before, during and after!

A Veggie Autumn

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

Here’s my take on a veggie Autumn.  The first year we moved here, we were so surprised by how closely the climate mirrors that of the UK. We might perhaps have imagined an endless summer like you might see in an Agatha Christie film, but instead, we have bluster and grey murky days, despite living in South West France. I blame the mountains!

Just For Fun January 2021

Here you will find the answers to our newsletter quiz. Not subscribing? It’s free and quick to do, just go to www.thelocalbuzzmag.com/subscriptions

Barbie time

Barbie Time!

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

Strangely, we have embraced our new hobby of barbequing very enthusiastically! Monsieur Peskytarian hasn’t been that keen in the past. All that has changed …

Mental Health in These Uncertain Times

Katie Gardner | Life of Riley

We are living in turbo-anxious times. Understanding BEARS can help, as well as eating cake!

food glorious food

Food Glorious Food

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Jennifer Dewar explains how she developed a three-point plan to help cope with all the regular apero and Auberge Espagnol gatherings.

planning a woodland garden

Planning A Woodland Garden by Sue Adams

Sue Adams | Le Jardin Paysan

Charming Lauzerte

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Our recent day trip to the Tarn-et-Garonne, included a stop in the village of Lauzerte, one of France’s Plus Beaux Villages.

plants for free

Plants for Free by Sue Adams

Sue Adams | Ideas for the garden

Winter is the perfect time for taking hardwood cuttings of some garden shrubs. Sue Adams tells us how to have plants for free.

Don’t Leave Those Leaves

Sue Adams | Ideas for the garden

Sue Adams is a keen gardener and gives some useful advice. In this blog she talks about “don’t leave those leaves” and explains what can be done to turn them into a useful garden attribute.

Natural Healing by Jennifer Dewar

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Jennifer recounts her visit to a healer – she was both delighted and surprised by the power of natural healing.

Visiting the Dead

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Jennifer Dewar writes about the tradition of Toussaint here in France

The Quiet Appeal of Moissac

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Mimi Beck Knudsen is getting to know the Tarn-et-Garonne bit by bit.She now has a small list of sites where she has visited and a longer list of places she plans to visit soon. Her most recent trip to this department in south west France included a stop in Moissac, a lovely city in which to spend the day.

bad blood and village feuds

Bad Blood and Village Feuds

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Bad Blood and Village Feuds – can villagers even remember what their feuds are about? Jennifer Dewar poses the question and seeks some answers.

Prehistoric La Roque Saint Christophe

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Having a teenaged houseguest inspires us, on one recent day, to head to La Roque Saint-Christophe, a site near Les-Eyzies in the Dordogne department.

Yoga's Internal Magic

Yoga’s Internal Magic

Dharna Ashar | About Yoga

Yoga’s Internal Magic : Dharna Ashar explains what makes her think twice about how yoga is portrayed.

a visit to perigueux

A Visit to Périgueux

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

The Mimos Festival was our excuse for our most recent trip: a visit to Périgueux. It was hot on the day of our visit, so we only saw a couple of mime-type acts. Instead, we found an ice cream shop and strolled the streets as we became reacquainted with this very pleasant city in the center of the Dordogne department.

Meet the bloggers

Never Give Up

Kate Webber | Never Give UP

Sometimes we find ourselves in an inconvenient position we hadn’t planned or. When control of your life has been taken out of your hands it is at best inconvenient and at worse can result in you becoming very depressed at the new position you find yourself in. This is Kate Webber’s inspirational story of Never Give Up

St Emilion - The Quiz

Saint Emilion – The Quiz

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Something different from Mimi Back Knudsen this time: Saint Emilion – The Quiz

A Peskytarian Christmas

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

A few ideas for some fabulous Christmas recipes from the PeskyTarian

Walking the Dog in SW France

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

I first noticed the culture difference when I was walking the dog in the local village …….I was the only one. Some dogs are chained up, some are just left to wander, but it’s very rare to see a French person walking a dog in the countryside. In fact it’s rare to see a French person going for a walk, unless it’s in an organised group following an official footpath.

Summer in SW France

Lesley Ashburner

May, here in SW France, is, of course, the month of les jours des fériérs and les jour des ponts. What should be a single day suddenly becomes three days of festive fun, with shops closing early, or not opening at all, and the local boulangerie running out of bread by 11 am.

Course Landaise, an event for all ages

Rosemary Droxler | Out and About in Gers

The Course Landaise is a tribute to both young men and women who dare to stand in the sight of a charging “vache”; usually a bullock or heifer that has had their horns taped.

D-Day Dordogne France. Mouleydier remembers June 1944

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

With the 75th anniversary of D-Day this June, many people will be focused on the heroic events that took place in Normandy. In the weeks that followed the landing of the Allied troops on France’s northern coast, fierce battles with the Nazis were fought. But the battles were not limited to Normandy. The village of Mouleydier in the Dordogne department suffered its own tragedy.

Potager Envy

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

When we first arrived in the Gers eight years ago, we were always blown away by how generous are neighbours were. What could we give back? Would an orchard solve our problems?

Are You Being Phubbed?

Katie Gardner | Lifestyle

Heard of phubbing? Maybe you haven’t come out of your phone long enough to find out? Katie Gardner, a fully-qualified CBT Counsellor, explains the phenomenon and highlights how it can change relationships.

The Scallop Shell Symbol Was A Sign in More Ways Than One

Colleen Sims | The Way of Saint James

A scallop shell gave the sign that Colleen Sims needed to know that she was going to walk the Camino de Santiago. This is her story

Tarn et Garonne to Santiago de Compostela

Catherine Finch | A Sense of Place

Catherine talks about her incredible walk on the Camino de Santiago

Flower Markets in France are in Bloom

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Now is the time of year to visit all those beautiful flower markets.

Chicken and Egg Situation in France

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Emma wasn’t quite as prepared as she thought when she decided she wanted chickens.

A Gers Recipe to Tempt your Summer Guests

Rosemary Droxler | Out and About in Gers

Rosemary lives near Nogaro in the Gers and explains about the Course Landaise – as well as her favourite Tex-Mex recipe using local magret de canard.

French Wardrobe Malfunction

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Emma takes a look at how her wardrobe has changed since her move to France – and how she is still hanging onto favourite items.

A Sense of Place – Local Settings Inspire Writing

Catherine Finch | A Sense of Place

Published author, Catherine Finch, has taken inspiration from local towns, villages and scenes. She tells us how her writing has evolved now that she lives in France.

Seeing is Believing

Sue Jones | Health

Macular Degeneration can be seriously debilitating but France can help.

Come Rain or Shine

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Winter, spring and summer – when do your shutters open and close?

Culture Shock in France and how to deal with it

Katie Gardner | Lifestyle

Feeling like a fish out of water or overwhelmed with life in France? You are not alone and help is at hand.

Calendar Season

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

A look at one of France’s traditions – the seasonal agenda

A Peskytarian Christmas

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

A few ideas for some fabulous Christmas recipes from the PeskyTarian

Balancing the Books

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

A trip to the local farm shop reminds Emma why she is here in France

The Pesky Tarian

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

Our Pesky Tarian is finding out where and when to eat out

Time is on your Side

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Jennifer Dewar explains how she came to the realisation that time really is on your side here in South West France

Discover Cahuzac’s hidden frescoes

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Cahuzac in the Lot-in-Garonne is a surprisingly pretty little village

Stroll among abbey ruins in the Entre-deux-Mers

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Handy Pesky Tarian Guide

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

Home made veggie “bacon” sandwiches!

All’s Well That Ends Well

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

Finding a filled in well leads to an excavation full of surprises.`

Blue cheese, coke and breast cancer

Sue Jones | Health

This is a straightforward, honest account of my breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care here in France. I hope it helps others to know what happens, to know that they are in safe hands and, most importantly, to trust and believe in the specialists that are treating them.

The Pesky Tarian

Rebecca Shields | The Pesky Tarian

On the boat coming over to France, right in the middle of the sea, I felt my first wave of doubt about our move rolling over me. What if we couldn’t find anything to eat in deepest Gers?

Measuring the quality of your day

Katie Gardner | Lifestyle

As you crawl into bed, thump your pillow to make the perfect little cave for your head to rest in, pull the covers up tight under your chin, and let go of that big sigh that indicates the day is finished, how do you look back on the waking hours you just experienced? How do you measure the quality of your day?

All hail the prune harvest

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

It’s nearly prune harvest time again, and in the Lot-et-Garonne, this is serious business! France averages 40,000 tons of prunes each year, with nearly all coming from the Agen area.

Gardening with goats

Jennifer Dewar | Discovering La France Profonde

When we first bought our house, as well as having a huge renovation project on our hands, there was also the land – tough weeds and a large part covered in brambles. Someone mentioned goats as being a great solution to our problem – maybe it was a joke….one of the drawbacks of living in a foreign language.

Grottes to love about Brantôme

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

Tourism promoters call Brantôme “The Venice of Périgord,” a moniker attributed to French president Raymond Poincaré, who visited the village in 1913. And while I wouldn’t go quite that far, this lovely village, 25km north of Périgueux, is one of the most beautiful villages in the region.

Medieval or Renaissance?

Mimi Beck Knudsen | Places & Faces

How do you prefer your castles — medieval or Renaissance? Visitors to Bourdeilles in the Dordogne don’t have to choose.

Going to Hospital: The Rendezvous

Sue Jones | Health

Going to see a specialist at a hospital in France involves a carefully choreographed dance to the tune of computer printouts and the rustling of paperwork. In part one of our ‘Going to Hospital’ series, we look at the always-joyful rendevous!

Going to hospital: the forms

Sue Jones | Health

Going to see a specialist at a hospital in France involves a carefully choreographed dance to the tune of computer printouts and the rustling of paperwork. In part two of our ‘Going to Hospital’ series, we look at the pleasures of filling in forms!

Going to hospital: preparing for admission

Sue Jones | Health

Going to see a specialist at a hospital in France involves a carefully choreographed dance to the tune of computer printouts and the rustling of paperwork. In this next piece in our ‘Going to Hospital’ series, we look at how you should prepare for your admission.

Going to hospital: admission

Sue Jones | Health

Going to see a specialist at a hospital in France involves a carefully choreographed dance to the tune of computer printouts and the rustling of paperwork. In part four of our ‘Going to Hospital’ series, we look at what happens when you’re admitted.

Going to hospital: the day of the op

Sue Jones | Health

Going to see a specialist at a hospital in France involves a carefully choreographed dance to the tune of computer printouts and the rustling of paperwork. In part five of our ‘Going to Hospital’ series, we look at what happens on the day of the op.

The day I visited a faith healer

Sue Jones | Health

This is France and there are treatments that you won’t necessarily find down at the corner surgery in rural England. When I had shingles, the doctor prescribed a visit to a faith healer!  Before you ask, no, this was not covered by the health system!

The Life of Riley?

Katie Gardner | Lifestyle

So you’ve achieved your long-held dream, retired or semi-retired and moved to France. So here you are, living the life of Riley. Or are you? And if not, why not?

Working towards a waste-free life

Julie Wackrill | Health & Beauty

Converting to a waste-free life doesn’t happen overnight and so should you. I think that if you try to do something life-changing overnight then it probably won’t last so, lots of small changes are needed to ‘shake your world’.