The association Amis of Patrick O’Brian based in Collioure, O’Brian’s home during the most prolific years of his writing life, has been entrusted with the contents of his writing space. The donation includes O’Brian’s books and papers as well as his writing desk, pens and ink.

Where a Bank holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, many small businesses will ‘faire le pont’ (make a bridge) and take Friday or Monday off too to ;make a long weekend. This rarely applies to large shops, supermarkets etc, many of whom no longer close for most of the public holidays.

The Pyrénées Orientales are a mountain Biking paradise – and one of the best-kept secrets in the mountain bike world.
For those of us in the know there is an unfathomable amount of mountain biking potential here. Between the summits and the sea you can ride to your heart’s content on trails suited to all abilities, thousands of kilometres of waymarked and non-waymarked trails.

We love publishing your reviews. They’re honest (mostly!) objective, (hopefully) unrelated to advertising (bien sûr!) and cover a wide range of tastes, prices, and places. You might not always agree, the chef might be having a bad day, your standards might be higher….or lower – but they give you an idea of what’s available.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a major bombshell on Tuesday morning when she announced the intention to hold a snap election on June 8th. The news sent shockwaves through the currency market and sent the pound to a succession of multi-week and multi-month highs.

If you are interested in music, or a musician yourself, this museum is not to be missed. Housed in the former St. Pierre Hospital, next to La Capelleta, Céret’s Museum of Instruments and Music is an extensive and fascinating collection of all imaginable types of musical instrument.

The French tax year extends from 1st January to 31st December.
It is up to you to complete your own tax return (la déclaration des impots) and hand it in for the deadline, usually on or around 31st May. Failure to meet the deadline could mean a fine of up to 10% of your unpaid tax bill, and the French tax officials are not known for their charitable acts!