As usual, the snow-clearing teams got to work early. By the time I walked to the village at 8.30 this morning, all roads were clear, even the main square. When I saw three diggers there  clearing the last remaining snow, I wished I had brought my camera. The first bloggers’ rule must surely be “Take thy camera wherever thou goest”!

Long may this snow last! It gives life to the winter sports centres at la Colmiane (downhill skiiing) and le Boreon (Nordic skiing), which are just a quarter of an hour’s drive away.

Covered by snow, and shrouded in clouds, Venanson to the south looks very beautiful.

Venanson from afar, in snow

Venanson close-up, covered by snow

Is it no surprise that less than 10% of the population have been vaccinated, only 5 million, forcing the French government to sell much of their stock of 94 million doses? Perhaps many people got swine flu before their invitation, which they then ignored.

I think I caught swine flu from my daughter – way before I received my invitation – so that I did not bother with the vaccination. If swine flu is what I had, luckily it was not at all bad.

For more information, see the BBC article France sells off surplus swine flu vaccine.

When our local nurse Jacques pointed out that seasonal flu (grippe saisonnière) is much more dangerous than swine flu, as it kills some 5000 poeple in France a year, I rushed to the village pharmacy to buy vaccinations for all the family.

In France the nurse will visit your home, which is a great boon for busy people. No prescription is needed, just 6.25 euros plus the cost of the nurse’s visit to administer them. You can do it yourself, but… The injection was not too painful, and none of us suffered any after-effects.

Luckily I am not today in Cumbria, having to be rescued from floods. (See for example Cockermouth flood diary.)

With such unseasonably warm weather, with temperatures several degrees above normal, and almost constant sunshine, it is a shame  that I see few people visiting St Martin Vésubie and walking around to make the most of the beautiful surroundings.

I am not looking forward to the rain forecast for Sunday afternoon and Monday! And no doubt in a few weeks, the winter snow will return and the surrounding mountain peaks – mostly still clear – will be white again.

My daughter is ill but not too ill to be bored. So this afternoon I went to our local médiathèque (library) to get some books and DVDs for her. Our St Martin Vésubie médiathèque is a marvel, a médiathèque départmentale, with 500m² of space and a vast range of books to surely tempt even reluctant readers. It has revolutionized St Martinois cultural life since opening.

There another parent told me that one of the teachers had called her this afternoon to say that it had now been decided to close the whole school for the week, not just one class. With almost a hundred children in the school, this will put a lot of pressure on local families, especially those where one parent will have to look after their child rather than work.

The Académie de Nice publishes a list of classes closed on account of flu, with their dates of reopening.

Edible dormouse glis glis

Last night S. caught a dormouse, the edible dormouse glis glis, known in French as a loir. It was grey, with a distinctive bushy tail (see photo), more like a squirrel’s, quite unlike the thin tail of a mouse or rat.

Distinctive tail of a dormouse

In England the dormouse is rare, but here – quite honestly – it is a pest. With the dormouse’s favourite food being hazelnuts and hazel growing in the Vésubie in abundance, largely wild, dormice thrive here.

Where better to hibernate, through winter temperatures often -10 degrees, than warm buildings? Unfortunately the dormice make a mess, damage wood and chew wires. In my previous house here, a couple of miles up towards Le Boreon, they slept under the eaves. It is not the hibernating which is a nuisance, but their preparation in autumn. While the dormice shelter under the roof, they eat nuts to build up their fat for the long winter. As they do, the occasional hazelnut or walnut rolls down the roof, just as you try to sleep.

Am now waiting for the next British Week – but as I am not there every week, I may miss it. So I thought “if only Lidl had an email list…” so I would know in advance – and found Subscribe to Lidl’s newsletter.

Their Italian Week starts on 18 November, with interesting pasta: lasagne, canneloni, fusili bucati lunghi (long wavy pasta, a Naples speciality), trottole tricolore (plain, tomato and spinach flavoured spring-shaped spirals). Also with olive oils, Arborio risotto rice and salami. Ciao!

The myth has grown up that drinking wine made from le framboise makes you mad. In spite of the taste of Concord wine (foxy and often sweet), I am certain it is OK to drink. Perhaps this has arisen as the grape is frowned upon by the French authorities. Similar folk wisdom says that that absinthe makes you mad.

Nor do I like the grapes, but I am rather partial to the spicy grape jelly my wife makes with them.

Hearing a couple speaking German, I asked them about their visit to St Martin.  They were from Dortmund, staying a week in St Jeannet nearer the coast, and up here for the day. From St Martin they were going to Le Boreon, to see the lake.

Just then, our mayor, Gaston Franco, passed by and greeted me. I introduced him to our visitors and was pleased to be able to say that he is also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).  For more information on him, see the  European parliament’s website. As a UMP member, he is a member of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats).

We then stopped off at Sandrine Rogieri’s cheese shop, a shrine to her farmhouse cheeses from Roure in the nearby Tinée valley. While buying a selection for some friends in Paris (could not resist buying some for ourselves too!), we chatted to Pierrot Fiorucci, a local mountain guide, about his recent climb to the top of Mont Blanc in -20 degree winds. Our friend Mel Jones of Space Between Walking and Adventure Holidays, had already told us of this trip with his clients.

Most winters, the road up the gorge, between Plan du Var and St Jean la Rivière has some roadworks (like securing the slopes, straightening a bend, or improving parapets), so this winter is no exception.

Today the Télécentre of St Martin Vésubie advised that:

The RD2565 will be closed to traffic from 9 am to 11.45 am, then from 1.30 pm to 4.45 pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 21 - Friday 23 October 2009
Thursday 5 - Friday 6 November 2009
Monday 9 - Tuesday 10 November 2009
Thursday 12 - Friday 13 November 2009
Monday 16 - Friday 20 November 2009
Monday 23 - Friday 27 November 2009.

Traffic directions will alternate over lunchtime. A diversion will be in place via the RD19 (Duranus) and the RD 20 (Levens) to rejoin the RD 6202. Heavy vehicles are recommended to take the RD 2205 via Valdeblore/La Colmiane (i.e. via the Tinée valley).

Normal circulation will be reinstated every evening from 4.45pm to 9.00 am the next morning, as well as at week-ends and bank holidays (1st and 11th November 2009) and during the Christmas period from 4.45 pm on 8 December 2009 to 9 am on Monday 4 January 2010.

Since roadwork schedules do change, make sure you check before your journey. While writing this, I checked the Conseil General website for roadworks myself (http://www.inforoutes06.fr/) but found no mention yet of these roadworks. At least be warned!

On the whole, cheddar does not figure in French supermarkets. When it does, it is either the plainest of cheddars or horribly expensive. To get my fix, I have often resorted to asking visitors from Britain to bring some.

Hatherwood Vintage Mature Cheddar from Lidl

Last week, in the nearest Lidl to the Vésubie (at Gattières/Carros), I was surprised and delighted to find packs of 15-month matured cheddar cheese, as part of their Hatherwood range of British food. Excellent value, at 2.99 euros for 400g, probably no more expensive than in England. The back label shows that the supplier is Adams Foods.

Perhaps today’s announcement that a Marks and Spencer store will open in Marbella in Spain (home to many British expats) is a sign they may even return here. The Riviera does have lots of Brits.

Am now waiting for Marmite… (Though the French never appreciate it, but that’s another story…)