Faux Pas

Well, we're coming up to Toussaint or All Saints day for us Brits and it reminded me of a slight foot in mouth experience I had when I first moved to France. Beware!

Invited out by some French friends in the village and being slightly unsure of the form, we hit upon the old standby of some flowers, as a gift.

And as it was the same sort of time of year and French shops, you may have noticed are at the moment rife with chrysanthemums, so our choice was easily made.

The colours are fabulous and the choice extensive, all in their own pots too.

I do recall a slight wistfulness on our host's face as I handed the flowers over, I wasn't sure whether it was because I had only gone for the single bisou on the cheek, not two as it should be here in the Haute Savoie (3 in the south of france - must be the heat) or for some other unknown reason.

Anyway passing a graveyard a year later, I realised what we had perpetrated, for there festooning every grave in the place was a myriad of the self same blooms.

It's obvious now, designed to commemorate the dead they don't go down too well with the not

Miles Jefferson
www.chaletdoctors.com
For all your property needs in the French alps