French traditions under threat
One of the joys of renting a property in some parts of rural France was always the prospect of a little welcoming glass of the patron's home brew - often something so unfamiliar and powerful if was bound to encourage good Franco-Brittanique entente cordiale. For me it was a homemade Pineau des Charentes near Saintes (Charente, Poitou-Charentes) - a blend of unfermented grape juice and neat Cognac made in the Cognac region, The first glass of this totally unknown beverage was drunk with a mixture of trepidation and politeness - served from an unlabelled bottle straight out of the fridge. The second glass was miraculously welcomed as an old friend, and the third was drunk merely to prove to the host that we were not merely being polite. Unfortunately we then discovered that the property we were staying in was still a few kilometres drive away along what roads that seemed anything but straight at the time - although the following morning the curves seemed to have been an illusion,
Hence a certain dismay at another piece of French life under threat as the Guardian (10 Dec 07) reports that this tradition is under threat.
Eau-de-vie, the fiery homemade fruit brandy which has been a staple of French rural hospitality for centuries, could be under threat by a new law to be enforced on January 1.In France, making homemade alcohol is a tightly regulated - and taxed - process. But nearly 300,000 fruit growers and their offspring, thanks to a law dating back to the 1920s, can make up to 10 litres of pure eau-de-vie, or 20 litres of 50% alcohol, tax-free.
I do somehow have my doubts that this ruling will be strictly adhered to in the backwaters of rural France, although you should never underestimate the French customs authorities (les douaniers) who are regarded with grudging respect in France - so the bottle may stay in the fridge in future!
Charles Bremner in the Times (10 Dec 07) reports that another romantic icon of France with echoes of the 1930s is also disappearing - the Wagon-Lits sleeping cars which ran overnight from Paris to the Riviera are no more! The advent of the TGV and the ticket prices have rendered this serene and elegant mode of travel obsolete - Le Train Bleu as it was known was gleaming, polished and luxurious - a far cry from today's preference for speed and utility. It does seem to me that modern travel termini such as all airports and many railway stations (with the exception of the new St Pancras International in London) are designed to rob travellers of any sense of anticipation or excitement for the thrill of the journey and turn it into an ordeal to be endured.
Now you'll have to eat at the Train Bleu Restaurant in Paris to get an impression of the stylish decor and style (see image above) or really blow the budget with a trip on the Orient Express from Paris to Venice!
