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History in this part of France – part 9.

My village, St.Just-Luzac, is split in to two halves. There is the St Just side and the Luzac side.  Traditionally the Luzac side is Protestant and the St Just side Roman Catholic.  Indeed, on the Protestant side there is a small Protestant church, called une temple in French, and the St Just side boasts a […]

Posted 12 years ago

History in France, part 4: Vercingetorix 82-46 BCE.

When I was a child growing up on the French South Pacific island of New Caledonia (my book “French Sand” is set there), the ancient Gaul leader, Vercingetorix, was the subject of a history lesson one day at school. I have never liked the Romans because of what they did to him – much to […]

Posted 12 years ago

History in France, part 3: Royan.

Royan is a holiday resort sitting on the Gironde Estuary, about half way down the Atlantic coast of France.  When we first came here, over twenty years ago, Royan was very much “an old folks’ town”, with a few elderly people enjoying the sun in the summer months and utterly devoid of any signs of […]

Posted 12 years ago

Frangi-pangi

I have fond memories of playing, with my little sister, in a frangi-pangi tree in Nigeria when I was a little girl.  The tree was in the middle of the front lawn of our house in Ibadan, and my sister and I played – incredibly – “house” in the tree. I suppose the tree must […]

Posted 12 years ago

History in France, part 2: Tonnay Boutonne

We used to live just outside Tonnay Boutonne, so I know it well.  It is (with the best will in the world) just a stoney village with a main road blasting through the middle of it.  I haven’t been for several years now and I have heard that it has been spruced-up and modernized, which […]

Posted 12 years ago

Holiday rentals in France: the Chateau and cottages of Rochebonne

  www.seasidefrance.com The Chateau is for 12-15 people, private grounds and private pool, private on site parking.   www.seasidefrance.com The cottages have a big shared pool, private parking, games room, individual gardens with BBQ and big shared grounds. Full details are on http:// www.seasidefrance.com or phone Sarah 07840161831 (Chateau farmhouse kitchen)     www.seasidefrance.com Click here […]

Posted 12 years ago

History in France, part 1. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England.

Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of my favourite characters. She was Duchess of Aquitaine, the part of France where I live. She was undoubtedly the most powerful, wealthy, eligible and charismatic woman of her time. Eleanor (often spelt Alienor in French) was born probably in Poitiers, but it may have been Bordeaux or nearby, in 1122. […]

Posted 12 years ago

The first signs of spring …..

I am too jet-lagged (just flew in from Belize – what a lovely place!) to do a blog.  The first few signs of spring here in England. For more bird pictures click here or here or here   Catherine Broughton is a novelist, a poet and an artist.  She is widely travelled and writes regularly […]

Posted 12 years ago

Winter …..

Cheerio for now lovely Belize !  Heading back to Europe ……… brrrr! Catherine Broughton is a novelist, a poet and an artist.  She is widely travelled and writes regularly for magazines and blog sites.  Her sketches are on her web site http://turquoisemoon.co.uk .  Her books are available from Amazon and on Kindle, or can be ordered […]

Posted 12 years ago

The Man With Green Fingers – UK best seller

I have received a fair few messages recently, asking me what made me think of “The Man with Green Fingers” and how in the world I came up with the plot. Well, first of all, all my books are set in expat situations, simply because it is a life that I know, having almost always […]

Posted 12 years ago

Books now available on Amazon:

A Call From France
French Sand
Kefani: An African Childhood
The Man With Green Fingers
Saying Nothing