Letter from France: June 2013 part 1

Château de ChantillyOnly June 22: Musical Night at the Château de Chantilly
Next Saturday from 6pm to midnight, the gardens of the magnificent Chantilly Castle will host a musical night of about fifty short classical music concerts that will be played in a dozen stages throughout the park. Thousands of candles on the ground will create [...]

In the footsteps of Jean Cocteau

One of the appeals of Menton on the French Riviera is the largest museum dedicated to the works of Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), a famous French artist who died fifty years ago. Frederic exolores the museum and the three towns forever linked with his work

HM Revenue and Customs

From the website:

“HMRC’s purpose is to make sure that the money is available to fund the UK’s public services. We also help families and individuals with targeted financial support”

A long weekend in Lake Annecy: high thrills and haute cuisine


Catherine Henderson enjoys high thrills and haute cuisine in Lake Annecy – arguably one of France’s most beautiful areas

National chocolate week: sssh! Don’t tell the dentist

Not that we need an excuse but Monday marks the start of National Chocolate Week. For all those with a sweet tooth, VisitEngland has put together a list of the top five chocolate experiences in the country. Just don’t tell the dentist!

FINALLY! Britain is learning to say ni hao to Chinese visitors

So Home Secretary, Theresa May, has pledged to improve the visa system in an attempt to attract more Chinese visitors – both for business travellers and tourists – to Britain

Competition: Adventure Travel Live Tickets

This time it is for Adventure Travel Live which starts at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London at 6pm next Friday and then continues over the weekend. This is the place to go if you fancy off the beaten track holidays, energy filled breaks like skydiving or white water rafting. Or just plain old fashioned getting away from it all holidays with a bit of polar exploration or gap year experience. It isn’t just for the singles and young; far from it. There will be family holiday ideas as well as well as for those who are young-at-heart.
To win one of the ten pairs all you have to do is the usual thing. Send an e-mail to emily@escapeevents.com and put Adventure Travel Live in the subject line.