Le Sacre du Printemps

Springtime musings on a Lenten fast from Instagram coming to a close, The Rite of Spring and the French protests, foraging and cold water infusions.

I’m nearing the end of my Lenten fast from Instagram, an attempt to quieten down the external stimulus, a time of interior renewal, moderation in lifestyle as a sincere effort to reflect deeply, renew my heart, be humble and resist temptation…

The side effects have been a decrease in irritability and I have ironed some clothes. This was my new years resolution for 2022, inspired by a lady I’d seen at the market with an ironed t-shirt. She just looked so elegant, like she had it all together. Ironing was such a pleasant activity, I made the effort to bring the ironing board upstairs and had created a pile, the children chatted to me and marvelled at this contraption they usually only see their father use, why did I wait so long? Will it take that long again? Reader it’s highly probable. I didn’t see a reduction in my workload, in fact I’ve more new clients so clearly instagram is not needed to promote my work. I’ve continued to search for the connection I crave where it is already, with family and friends.

I’ve not seen a great deal of change in other areas of my life, I have not read more books, or become more productive, I have fallen down the scrolling wormhole, selling clothes and searching for bargains on another app called Vinted (a second hand platform to sell and buy unwanted items) and broken my no spend year six months in. Jeans, mules, a jumper and silk pyjamas. I am slightly disappointed in myself at my inability to remain disciplined. But then it’s not something I get overly invested in or feel interrupted from by my actual life.

I love what Lenten fasts bring to the table for me, shining a mirror on my flaws and learning to navigate them with humility and grace. Now do I go back on the no clothes buying wagon or stop self flagellating and just buy the silk skirt and it’s matching top I’ve been coveting in Pézenas. Is this really problematic, or am I searching for problems to solve in myself having reached a near state of nirvana in this beautiful corner of the world? Am I addicted to fixing myself I am wondering.

Watch this space.

The Rite of Spring

Spring has fully sprung here, meaning the wisteria is beginning to bloom and now is the perfect time for you to listen to Stravinsky, Le scare du Printemps, the linked is 15 minute piece. Make your self a cup of tea and sit and listen and soak it up, or if you’ve got 45 minutes you can watch the ballet. A little warning, one of the children said it hurt his ears. When this ballet was first performed audience members were so outraged that they hurled objects at the stage, started fights and were arrested. First performed 110 years ago in Paris, to scenes not too dissimilar from the current protests around pension reforms and climate concerns.

I think there is also a quieter more peaceful revolution happening here as individuals explore these concerns by turning towards simplifying their lifestyles, to be more deliberate and careful, and aiming to be less dependent on central government systems and their inevitable corruption.

"La France est un paradis peuplé de gens qui se croient en enfer." Sylvain Tesson

France is a part of paradise populated by people who believe they’re in hell a quote from the French adventurer and writer Sylvain Tesson, I’ll probably come back to this another time, there’s more to be said.

Foraging & Cold Water Infusions

The weather is clear and bright and unfortunately this week we’ve had the terrible freezing seasonal winds that mean the temperature can be anywhere between 1°C and 18°C. All of the tree pollen is blown about and we wake up with puffy eyes and snotty noses, this has been the first year it’s not made my eyes and the roof of my mouth itchy so I think I might be acclimatising.

One of the things I have been dedicating my time to since we made the move to France is foraging, learning about the local plants and herbs. It began with an interest in how honey has been studied for its properties in supporting seasonal allergies, based on the approach of immunology. I began of course with honey on toast and have progressed to eating and drinking locally found wild plants. Foraging has played a huge part in my feeling integrated into the culture here. I’ve learned mainly via local friends, what is available, when and their medicinal properties as well as how to make a good omelette or soup. You’ll not get through the village with your bouquet of foraged items without someone commenting “Oh ca va faire une belle omelette”. The picture above is some of my bounty, wild leeks, asparagus, nettles, spinach and broccoli and some plantain which I am drying to create a skin balm for cuts.

A simpler plant to find at the moment around the world is the cleaver pictured above, also known as sticky willy (will never not laugh internally at this). It’s the plant you may have played with as a child, it sticks to your clothes, my daughter enjoys wearing it as a broach. Be sensible about where you pick it from and place it in cold water overnight to drink first thing in the morning. When soaked in this way it creates a mineral and vitamin rich water that supposedly supports the immune system and has diuretic, antispasmodic, and anti-inflammatory effects. I like the taste as it’s slightly earthy and grassy. I’ll have it an hour before having a coffee so my body gets a gentler start to the day.

I then crank it up a notch when the children have left for school with a three shot coffee with lashings of cream. That deserves to be savoured and fuels a morning clean up operation in a three storey house.

After one coffee high I put away my winter jumpers, airing them and leaving them in the sun for a few hours before storing them on a shelf in an old leather suitcase I found on Vinted. I am now slightly regretting this decision since those winds have arrived, I’ll stagger putting them away next year.

I’ll leave you with those ramblings from our corner of France, if there are any topics you’d like me to cover about life in France please leave them below. Let me know what you thought of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps and if you have found any plants to use in cold water infusions. If you’re interested in my clinical work I’ve a free Wellbeing Invitation for April, an Occupational Therapy based prescription of activities to promote, um, wellbeing. My monthly newsletter has also been posted out. Better dash I’ve volunteered to run an English class for the school and I’ve forgotten where I’ve left all the bits and pieces, of course I’ve left it to the last few minutes to find them. They’re somewhere really safe.