The abbey of Saint-Riquier, just a few kilometres from the
Bay of the Somme, will this month host its 24th classical
music festival.
The programme is wide and varied, with concerts by local
and international choirs. Described as the highlight of the
programme will be Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’
performed by the British company Opera Diva under the
direction of Bryan Evans, followed by a grand ball in front of
the abbey hosted by the Orchestre de cuivres d'Amiens and
choreographed by Les Cavatines.
The abbey, acquired by the département in 1971, is one
of Picardie’s most beautiful medieval buildings.
Hot on the heels of the Rennes-Madrid service launched
last February, Flybe is developing its UK links from
Rennes airport with three new routes.
On top of existing all-year-round flights to Southampton,
Manchester and Exeter, the low-cost airline has now opened
regular weekly services to Edinburgh, Newcastle and Belfast.
The Edinburgh/Rennes flight operates once a week, on
Sundays until October 25, 2008 with fares from €69 one-way.
The Newcastle/Rennes flight also runs once a week on
Sundays until September 27 with fares starting at €51. The
1hour 50 minute Belfast/Rennes flight runs every Saturday
during the summer season with prices from €56.
This is the second new Irish route, with the new Air
Lingus Rennes/Dublin flight started in June, with fares
from €36.
Skirling and ska, festnoz and punk fusion, the Festival de Cornouaille comes highly recommended by Annaliza Davies.
The famous Festival de Cornouaille
has been held in Quimper since
1923 and is one of the liveliest and
most memorable events in Finistère’s
calendar. This year, from July 19 to 27,
Quimper hosts an eclectic mix of
traditional and modern musical styles
represented by Irish, German, Canadian
and Belgian acts, as well as local
Breton talent.
Since June 1, free parking has become a dream of the past in
Dinard. Now, all centre-town parking spots cost €0.50 for 30
minutes with free parking only out of season (October 16 -
March 31), on Sundays and lunchtimes (noon to 2pm).
July kicks off with an ‘Élégance en automobiles’
competition at the Equestrian Centre on July 5. Other July
highlights are a gigantic free fireworks display on Saturday
12, a mini football tournament on the town’s main beach (July
15/16), an exceptional fine arts auction at the Casino on
Thursday 17, ‘Les Noces de Figaro’ (Mozart) – part of
Dinard’s summer opera season (July 24-30) and a free openair
concert by the Rosario Giuliani Quintet at Port-Breton on
Friday July 25 at 8.30pm.
For a complete run down of this summer’s events in Dinard
contact the Office de Tourisme www.ot-dinard.com
Festival hopes cheap tickets and
Sex Pistols lure a Brit invasion.
Organisers of the Côtes-d’Armor Bobital are expecting
hundreds if not thousands of British fans to attend this
year’s rock and pop festival from July 4 to 6, billing such
stars as the Sex Pistols, the Verve, The Pogues, The Subways,
Travis and Mattafix as well as a host of French entertainers.
In search of capital fun this summer?
Just head east, says Jacqueline Karp
This year, the Canal de l’Ourcq celebrates its
bicentenary. After more than a century and a half of
ferrying wood, coal and cereals into Paris, the canal
that Napoléon had built to supply Paris with good-quality
water has been reborn in the past 30 years as a link in the
leisure scene. The Port de la Villette end of the canal now
hosts Paris-Plages II. Along its banks, there is a sizeable lineup
of cultural venues, mostly but not solely at the Parc de la
Villette. Pantin is home to the National Dance School, which
puts on ballet at reasonable prices. Bobigny’s MC-93 theatre,
with its subtitled foreign language performances, draws an
international crowd.
The silly season is upon
us once again. Around
this time, city slickers in
the French capital have
been known to take up
strange pursuits. These
include abandoning most
of their clothes at a pre-fab
beach on the banks of
the Seine, or hitting the
shops on a clothes rampage
as les soldes de l’été get
underway. Carly-Jane
has a few tips.
Be prepared for combat
the summer sales in Paris
aren’t exactly a ball. As
temperatures soar in the
capital, changing rooms go
into meltdown, sales
assistants become even more
obnoxious, and Parisians
squabble over who saw the
last item first, in a desperate
attempt to exert the little
purchasing power that they
have left after months
of repression.
Further to recent articles in French News about women's pensions, the UK Department of Work and Pensions has issued a press release explaining that "women pensioners could boost their state pension or even be in line for a windfall payment under special terms.
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