Uggie

Still from 'The Artist'

"What a cheek, just who does THAT Jack Russell think he is?  The role should have been mine, MINE! Snatched from under my very nose, by THAT American upstart! And to add insult to injury it's a French made film, good job it's a silent picture, otherwise he would have never been able to carry it off.  I ask you! What is wrong with these casting directors? Don't they recognise true star quality?"

 "What kind of a name is Uggie anyway? Glad I am not named after an Australian sheepskin boot!"

Don't worry, he will get over it!

Here is Uggie's exclusive interiew for The Guardian...

 Wishing you all a fabulous weekend.

XXX

Henri Eugène Augustin Le Sidaner. II

It's a gloomy, cold January day and  my thoughts are of spring, warm sunny days and eating al fresco.  My blogging life at present is sporadic to say the least, I have a few projects on at the moment which are keeping me occupied, including, learning how to use the sewing machine I have recently acquired. Sewing is not one of my strong points and I have never used a sewing machine in my life, I have thoughts of making all sorts of wonderful things but at the moment I am finding it rather challenging, to say the least, thank God for u tube tutorials!  On top of that I am also trying to teach myself photoshop, with the help of a few manuals, Hmm! Last but not least I am doing the research for a novel, this is proving the easiest and most enjoyable as it's mainly reading books and scribbling notes down. I am trying to fit this all in around daily life, there just is not enough time in the day!

I leave you with some more art from Henri Le Sidaner, this time summery scenes...

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
XXX

Southern France, A Year (or two) in Photos

We have just said goodbye to 2011, I thought I would post some of my favourite snaps of the year, all taken with my compact digital camera, soon I will be in possession of an all singing, all dancing brand new, shiny, digital SLR,  I am hoping my photography will improve, especially my interior shots, I may even really push the boat out and take some photos of people!

Bliss. Peace, quiet and a newspaper, Biarritz, early April

No, not spring lambs, I snapped these bow legged Pyrenean cuties in mid November

Our neighbours house, I have always coveted the daisies growing out of the wall.

My, what big eyes you have!

Nautical, on the street, Sanary.

No collection of pictures would be complete without His Nibbs

Happy New Year

A bit late, I know!  Although here in France New Year celebrations and greetings continue throughout January. Just want to wish you all health and happiness for 2012 and to thank every one of you who read, follow and comment on this blog.

And now for some really good news; remember this post: http://thefrenchsampler.blogspot.com/2010/09/help-free-billy-burton.html 

Well, shortly after Christmas Billy Burton recieved a full pardon by the President of the Philippines and after eighteen years of incarceration in the Philippines, Billy will shortly be returning home to freedom in Britain. A great start to the New Year, for Billy and his family and friends.  And of course a big thank you to his supporters, campaigners and everybody that took the time to sign the petition and send letters, which all helped towards securing Billy's release.  The power of the internet when used in the right way can be a wonderful thing.

Merry Christmas

Some random Christmas Eve shots, from the Provençal Coast, and of course Crusoe is helping with all the festive proceedings! More soon.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

XXX

Sunset over the Mediterranean, Christmas Day.

Fact stranger than fiction or is it the other way round?

Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady, based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Audrey Tautou, Coco before Chanel

More than one thing in common here, don't you think?

Henri Eugène Augustin Le Sidaner

Apologies, this post is light on words as I am still busy trying to catch up with all the chores and Christmas jobs that were put off due to my horrible cold!  I have been a very neglectful blogger and I hope to catch up with all your blogs soon.

I leave you with some wintry scenes from the highly underrated French artist, Henri le Sidaner and I would like to thank Jane Librizzi from The Blue Lantern, for reminding me just why I love his work so much and also providing the source for some of these images.