From October onwards you’ll see ‘Rifles’ advertised everywhere you go in the P-O! No need to duck unless you’re talking “two little ones”! It’s bingo! In fact, all non profit making associations are allowed to…
The olive tree was first noted, growing wild, more than 14,000 years ago and fossilised leaves going back as early as 8,00BC have been found in Roquevaire.
The bright and varied colours of many of the houses in coastal Catalan fishing towns and villages (Collioure, Port Vendres…) began with the fishermen using up paint left over from decorating their colourful Catalan ‘barques’.…
Grub-ada The Catalan tradition for an “-ada” or ‘ade’ in French, denoting a collective meal for many, and based mainly around a single ingredient, often creates some highly unusual, charming and community spirited festivals where…
The expression ’Llevant de taula’ literally means ’dessert’ – that which is placed on the table last, then taken away. During a ’festa major’, the Llevant de taula” is the means by which a village…
Aie aie aie! It is believed by some that “God Save the Queen” or ‘Grand Dieu Sauve le Roi’, originated in France! The British national anthem, it is said, was in fact written by Jean-Baptiste…
Love ’em or hate ’em, everyone should know a little bit about scorpions shouldn’t they? And the news is better than you would expect. Apparently, the black ones which look quite mean are not actually…
No one expects the Medieval Inquisition! The Cathars (believed to be derived from the Greek katharos, meaning perfect) were a breakaway religious sect, who spread their doctrine throughout the region in the eleventh century,…
And they bite! Commonly known as millipedes, ‘scolopendres’ are unpleasant little beasties to all but the ardent entomologist, made up of several segments, with twenty-one pairs of feet, four pairs of eyes,…
Many people of ‘a certain age’ will remember all the fuss about the banning of Serge Gainsborough’s ‘Je t’aime (moi non plus)’, which only served to make it so much more popular.
