Rosemary Border Rabson

In 2005 Rosemary Border Rabson and husband John Rabson emigrated to the Morvan in rural Burgundy, where few other Brits have ventured. Their chief preoccupation is Charity Cottage, a holiday home-from-home in their garden at Maré le Bas which they run in aid of Combat Stress (money donations) and Help for Heroes (free accommodation). Since 2012, when Charity Cottage won the Daily Telegraph’s Best British Charity award, the total amount raised for Combat Stress, comprising UK royalties and donations from visitors to Charity Cottage, is nudging £10,000.

February in the Morvan

We love Cervon! We have lived at Maré le Bas in the commune of Cervon since 2005. This magnificent poster (pictured above) celebrating Cervon recently appeared on our local notice boards. I hope it will encourage some of you to

A Christmas Story

I am typing this on 2nd January 2021, and there is good news and bad news. Let’s leave it to the media to discuss the bad news. Among the good news here in France is that we are no longer

December In The Morvan

Type CHRISTMAS into your search box and you will see that what we call Christmas today is essentially a pagan midwinter festival, which was adopted by the early Christians to coincide with the (supposed) birth of Jesus. In December, Jews

November In The Morvan

I am typing this on October 30th 2020. I have just looked up my earlier November effusions. Those were the days! At 8 pm last night, President Macron announced the reimposition of lockdown – le confinement. So, once again, we

Heritage Days

We always look forward to the Journées du Patrimoine – European Heritage Days – during the third weekend in September. You can visit the European Heritage Days website here. European Heritage Days enable us to visit public and private buildings,

September In The Morvan

Another free library The free library in Corbigny, which I featured in my August effusion, prompted John’s brother, David, to send this picture of the one in his village in the West Country. He wrote: “I am sure that you

Book Exchange

Chris in Calgary emailed me with a picture of what she called a little free library. Well, the same idea has caught on in Corbigny and there is a larger version in the shopping mall at Avallon. In the lockdown,

The Morvan Under Lockdown

Here in the Morvan we have all been labouring under lockdown. The Mairie has issued us all with washable face masks. It is advised, but not obligatory, to wear masks in situations such as shops. There is a wealth of

Lockdown In The Morvan

Here in the Morvan we have all been labouring under lockdown, although I have yet to hear of a single case of the virus in our neighbourhood. Last week les pompiers rushed our friend Anne to hospital in Nevers with

Locked Down

The Rabsons are sociable souls, who in an ideal world would be planning a party to celebrate 15 glorious years in the Morvan. Our 10th anniversary bash was a triumph. In normal circumstances the invitations would be in the post