February sees John Lewis-Stempel solve his lack of transport by purchasing a Citroën Berlingo–the French farmer’s vehicle of choice
I’VE become a white-van man. Or, I suppose I should say, now we’re here in the Charente, un homme camionette blanche. We needed some farm transport. Lately, the skies have been the sheen and the colour of boiled fish-eye and the polishedfor-sale Citroën Berlingo on the forecourt of the village garage matched.
The van fitted the purchasing mood of the day, then I drove it around and found it fitted some more. A little white van is the French farmer’s vehicle of choice. Everybody locally assumes the driver of a 10-yearold Berlingo is local, so I was continually hailed down for a chat. On finding I was l’Anglais, the only Englishman in the village, they then introduced themselves. New acquaintance was made. The Berlingo has been social integration on wheels.
Apart from being a mobile introduction bureau, the van’s other job is carrying the posts and wire for thevineyard. I romantically imagined such kit would be purchased from a specialist emporium in the claret capital, Bordeaux.M. Gobinau, the local winemaker, smiled and directed me to the establishment he used himself: Bricomarché, the French equivalent of Homebase.
Odd, the things you can buy in Bricomarché. As well as vine equipment, I’ve come away with chickens, Marans mostly. I suppose about a quarter of the village (population 311, according to the noticeboard outside the mairie) keeps fowl. The morning alarm call is the competitive crowing of cockerels, a sound now almost gone from English villages.
Denne historien er fra February 13, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra February 13, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
