October PDF version - Etcetera

Katie Goodchild
To Degree or Not To Degree
Katie divides her time between the Vienne
and the UK. This month she is back in the
UK and tells us about her new job in Marco
Pierre White’s The Angel Hotel.
Most people go to university knowing what
they want to do as a future career. Or, if they
don’t know when they arrive, they most
certainly know once they’ve graduated. Not
me.
For the past three years I’ve been studying
Fashion Journalism in Surrey. I loved my
course and living so close to London; I
thought I had the rest of my life planned out,
writing for the country’s favourite fashion
magazines. Yet when it came to the dreaded
job hunt it became apparent that journalism
wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore.
Undecided on a career path and in
desperate need of money I chose to apply
for a selection of waitressing jobs.
I was confident I would be offered a job in
waiting, due to previous experience and
sheer cockiness from myself. In the end I
was lucky enough to choose from numerous
great job offers, one of which was for Le
Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Raymond Blanc’s
stunning 2** Michelin restaurant in
Oxfordshire.
Mid-September I signed a contract with
Marco Pierre White’s The Angel Hotel, in
Suffolk, as Restaurant Supervisor, with a
new career plan to establish myself in the
hospitality industry. I want to be top of the
game in the country’s, or even the world’s,
best restaurants and hotels.
As any parents would, mine worry I’ve
chosen the wrong path and have wasted my
time at university now that I’ve opted for
different career. I beg to differ. Studying
journalism taught me many skills, the three
years living away from home made me
grown up and taught me life’s lessons. I met
some amazing people, who I hope I’ll be
friends with for many more years to come.
It’s safe to say university was the best years
of my life.
I may have turned my back on fashion
journalism for now, but that doesn’t mean I’ll
never return to writing as a career in the
future. I understand why my mother is
worried about me (especially considering the
mounting student loans that need paying)
and why she pushes me to carry on writing
when I’m not working, but I can safety say:
university wasn’t a waste, my degree has
and will continue to be relevant to my
careers, and I most definitely do not regret
my decision to work in hospitality.
Lastly, to all those parents worrying about
their own children’s future: it may not plan out
just as you or they thought it would, but we
have it under control. However, a gentle
nudge every now and then from our mum’s is
always appreciated, even if we don’t show it.
To view past or current editions
of both magazines
go to www.etceteraonline.org
La Chasse
with Gayle
Last year, I wrote an article on
hunting. I don’t like to repeat
myself, and I prefer to write
things that are of a more lighthearted
nature, but the chasse
is part of our country lives
again until February next year.
Love it or hate it, when you move to the
countryside here in France, you have to
accept that hunting is a way of life for many.
To hunt legally in France, you must have a
licence. These are organised through the
Office National de Chasse et de la Faune
Sauvage (ONCFS). To obtain this licence
you must attend training courses to prepare
you for the exams. The exams test you on
your knowledge of hunting, wildlife, arms and
munitions, rules and laws. Once you you
have passed the theory test there is a 3-part
practical exam. This involves a simulation of
hunting (using blanks), a target shooting
practice and shooting a moving target.
So, while those who partake in hunting
should be fully aware of procedures and
rules, sadly, accidents do occur in such
activities.
So, what happened in the last
season here in France? It is
reported there were 42
deaths in the 2011-2012
hunting season. The highest
amount was in October, at 14.
It’s not pleasant to read through the list of
accidents. Particularly when you read of the
12 year old boy who was killed by a shot in
the head from a hunter. The boy was on a
quad bike with his father on the 22nd January
this year, the bullet went straight through his
helmet.
Many accidents occur to the hunters
themselves, with bullets ricocheting off trees,
guns accidentally going off, missing targets
and hitting fellow huntsman. There appears
to be a fair amount of heart attacks,
drownings, one man died from hypothermia
after trying to retrieve a duck he had shot
from a lake.
One of the most bizarre ones I’ve read was
of a Dordogne man who was hunting deer
and his dog accidentally pulled the trigger of
his shot gun. He was hunting recently with
his 3 dogs, the 2 eldest ran off after the deer,
the youngest stayed behind. He jumped up
to him in the affectionate way dogs to do their
owners and accidentally fired the gun,
shooting him in the right hand. The damage
was too severe and the man had to have his
hand amputated.
But it’s the accidents that involve the nonhunters
that concern me. Walkers, joggers
(gulp), cyclists, motorists, mushroom
pickers…. There was even an incident in a
family home as shots went through their
dining room window into the house.
These accidents are rare, but they can
happen. If you know or can hear the chasse
are close to you or your home, perhaps
consider staying indoors, as well as bringing
in your pets. And don’t go walking down
chemins and fields in your faux fur coat, at
least not for another 5 months or so.
20
The dangers of brocantes!
By Caroline Judson
Our first experience of a brocante was at our
local village of St Pierre de Maille. Every year
it is held on 15 August and is a big local event.
We had just moved in to Chenevaux a couple
of weeks earlier and everything was new and
exciting, so we set out to have a look round
with great interest and greater expectation
which soon turned to astonishment and
bemusement! Never
before had we seen the
like of the items set out for
sale – everything from the
metal discs from the top
of champagne corks to
huge pieces of furniture!
Needless to say we found
a whole treasure trove of
things that we couldn’t live
without as well. Hand
embroidered table linen, tapestries of strutting
cockerels, an easel for Mark’s studio ….the
car was well and truly loaded up by the time
we had finished!
This was 7 years ago, and over the years we
been to well over 50 brocantes by now and
nearly every time something catches our eye.
First we had the gite to furnish, the studio to
kit out, the garden to embellish and the house
with space for newly found treasures. We also
have several barns and old animal sheds
which made it very easy to find storage space
for all of those purchases that just need a “little
bit of doing up” before they can be made use
of.
Anyway, earlier this year we were trying to find
something or another in our “recycling shed”
– this is where all of those things that may
have a second life are stored, such as jam
jars, newspapers, plastic buckets, boxes etc
etc – and as we were rummaging
unsuccessfully amongst all of this clutter I
decided enough was enough, a good clear-out
was needed.
So this year we were on the other side of the
brocante table. One full car of junk had
already been taken down to the recycling
centre in the village. A second and third car
load of items were set out for sale. The whole
objective was to get rid so nothing was more
than a couple of euros but this was when we
discovered how haggling is really done! I
thought that 1€ each for 3 per una t shirts was
a bargain but in the face of an expert
brocanter ended up parting with them all for
2€! I hope she enjoys her bargains. One
couple debated the value of a bottle opener
for over 5 minutes, then walked away, the
husband grumbling under his breath that he
thought it would be useful, so I called him back
and gave it to him. At the end of the day we
still had a few bits left and I really didn’t want
to take them home so we collared a local chap
and asked him if he wanted a laundry basket
full of pots and pans – his wife didn’t look
entirely convinced but at the mention of the
word free they nodded and then proceeded to
buy a “retro” style biscuit barrel and a painted
plant pot, with a battery powered tv game
added to the pile. So having had a sort out I
can now spend some time reading a few of
the 150 paperbacks we’ve bought……
www.chenevaux.blogspot.com
www.markjudsonart.com