Autumn 2022

Last
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LOCAL KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST
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French philosopher Albert Camus once said, ‘autumn is like a second spring when
every leaf is a flower.’ And as I walk the dogs along the narrow roads in my little
corner of rural France, the hedges are festooned with plum-hued berries and plump
rose hips, and the leaves of the trees are turning every colour of the autumnal
rainbow – from chartreuse to flamboyant fiery crimson and burnished copper…
Mushrooms flourish, sprouting from tree trunks and forest floors, and lurking under
hedges. Wandering through the woods, we encounter basket-carrying neighbours,
foraging for fungi – chestnut coloured, flashy yellow and coral and polka-dotted
like something out of a fairy tale, girolles, chanterelles and cèpes.
If any are not sure whether their haul is safe to sauté, there are plenty of experts in
the village. Paul, who is a noted mushroom specialist, Stefan who claims to be one,
or the local pharmacy.
The only time I have foraged was with a friend. We went to Stefan as we knew no
better. He held up our bounty and compared the varieties to barely legible, badly
drawn images in a book published in 1896.
“Yep, they’re all good, delicious cooked in butter” and he kissed his fingers and
closed his eyes, enraptured at the thought.
Just to be sure, we popped to the pharmacy. The chemist put on his little round
glasses and examined the piles in our baskets. He picked each mushroom up,
popped some to one side and placed others back in the basket. At the end, he’d
put all the mushrooms in the basket except for our prize jumbo-sized, pointy hatted
specimen
“Are you married” he asked. We nodded.
“Happily married?” he said.
“Yes” we assured him “why do you ask?”
“Well, if you love your husbands, you should not feed them this one”
“Would it kill my husband if I had given him that one” asked my friend, turning a
ghostly shade of pale at the thought of it.
“No” said the pharmacist snickered, “but he would shit for a week!”
Janine
Janine Marsh lives in France with her husband and 72 animals. Her latest book,
Toujours la France: Living the Dream in Rural France, is out now on Amazon
and all good book shops.
118 | The Good Life France
EXCLUSIVE
Provençal Style
Drôme €695,000
Ref: A14811 - Beautiful 4 bedroom villa
with excellent view, garden and pool.
Agency fees paid by seller.
Mayenne €249,000
Ref: A15134 - Former 1868 presbytery
with scope to expand.
Agency fees paid by seller.
EXCLUSIVE
Sought after Location
Maine-et-Loire €149,875
Ref: A14058 - Pretty 18th century 2
bedroom cottage with garden, in a village.
9% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Vienne €199,800
Ref: A14112 - Pretty 4 bedroom maison
de maître surrounded by fields.
8% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
EXCLUSIVE
Superb Property
Morbihan €230,050
Ref: A15421 - 3 Bedroom house with
gardens and room for a granny annexe.
7% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Paris 75010 €549,000
Ref: A13934 - 2 Bedroom 55m² apartment
with a 10m² terrace.
Agency fees paid by seller.
EXCLUSIVE
Ideal Holiday Home
Haute-Vienne €149,000
Ref: A14008 - Partially renovated 3
bedroom 3 bathroom town property.
8% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Lot €275,000
Ref: A14025 - 4 Bedroom house and barn
on the edge of the Quercy regional park.
5% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
EXCLUSIVE
Sitting Pretty
Creuse €125,350
Ref: A07373 - 3 Bedroom traditional
cottage with pool, in a quaint village.
9% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Start your property search today!
+33 (0)5 53 60 84 88 leggettfrance.com info@leggett.fr
The Good Life France | 119