Chantal Lebret : Voyage into Colour 3 by Ellen Hall 3 One of the pleasures of a visit to Banyuls-sur-Mer is strolling along the promenade with the port on one side and artists’ workshops on…
2 More scandals from the Roussillon, otherwise known as “Le Far West de la Politique” (“The Wild West of Politics”) 2 Basil Howitt reports on a new twist in the notorious Saint-Cyprien saga. He also…
Pigs’ Cheeks, Paso Dobles and Seamed Stockings “Y per mults anys!” (“Many happy returns!”) Basil Howitt relives a magnificent soirée in Banyuls-sur-Mer celebrating a revered Catalan musician’s 85th birthday. I have become an ardent…
If you head west on the D117 from the Catalan border town of Estagel, with the unforgettable 10th century fortress of Quéribus towering above you on your right, you soon come to Maury, the first village along this route in Le Fenouillèdes, or the Land of Fennel – or even Fenolheda in Occitan-speak. Le Fenouillèdes is part of Occitan Languedoc, whose inhabitants are rather scornfully referred to by Catalans as “les gabatx” or foreigners. Skirmishes between the “gabatx” of Maury and the youths of Estagel are still not unknown.