Will They, Won't They?.... When?

New Airport... the Plot Thickens
Quite obviously stung into action by our comments on the last edition of this website, regarding the much awaited opening of the new Brive airport at Cressensac, the Syndicat responsible have managed to update their website. Sort of. It doesn't work properly and it still does not answer the key questions. Mind you, we notice that they are trying to recruit a Marketing Communications "assistant", so maybe there is hope yet!

Instead we turned to Dépêche. In response to our No. 1 question... "When will the airport open"?, the news is that, apparently, the inaugural flight will take place on 15th June 2010, with the airport itself being commissioned on July 9th.

Which Airlines Will Fly There?
Well, this still seems shrouded in some secrecy. All we know is, that the existing Paris Orly commuter airline, Airlinear, will move its operations to Brive-Souillac from its existing base at Brive Laroche. OK, so where does that leave us regarding flights to the UK? All we can get out of anyone, is that negotiations are taking place between the Syndicat, Ryanair and Flybe. But, then, Airfrance and BMI have also been mentioned recently.

In trying to cut our way through this fog of non-information, we have turned to the possible candidate airlines for information and have e-mailed the Press Offices of Ryanair, easyJet, BMI, BMIbaby, Jet2.com, Flybe and Air France. So far, only BMI and BMIbaby have responded and... no, they have "no-plans" to fly into Brive Souillac. As soon as we get a response from any of the other airlines, we'll let you know... make sure you subscribe to our free Newsletter, for the latest news on this and other issues affecting St. Céré.

Mind you, if you don't mind trekking down to Toulouse-Blagnac, Jet2.com have got some really cheap flights going AND you get to take a suitcase with you, for no extra charge! Jet2.com fly direct to Leeds/Bradford, Edinburgh and Belfast International.

Talking of Suitcases...

Trunki Suitcases - Luggage for Little People
Yep, believe it or not, this is a suitcase. It's also a seat and a ride-on. This could be the end of "My feet hurt" whinges as you make your way down to Gate 619 at Gatwick!

Check this innovative product out at the official Trunki website, where you can buy this and other great travel gear ideas for kids, online.

Festival Summer Season

St. Céré Music Festival - Dates Announced
With St. Céré Music Festival (Winter Season) taking a break until May, news reaches us that the Summer Festival organisers have announced the dates and programme for the Summer.

A programme of events, is available from the tourist office and we will publish a guide, in English, shortly. In the meantime, the dates are:

20th July to 14th August

Further information: Opera Éclat - www.opera-eclate.com

These Two Are Still Missing

Melinda and Andrew Thompson - Have You Seen Them?
Interpol are assisting the Australian Police in trying to trace this little boy, who was abducted and removed from Australian jurisprudence.

Without trying to take sides, the fact remains that the Australian authorities believe that Andrew is at risk and that his mother (Melinda Thompson aka Melinda Stratton) may be suffering from a mental disorder. The advice is not to approach her if seen, but to contact the Gendarmerie or the search website: http://www.findandrew.com/

How Fast Are You?

Test Your Speed
We are very conscious that many of the things we publish here, require you to have some sort of broadband or fast connection to the internet.

For those of you who do not (we are not French bashing here - getting a decent internet connection in rural Wales can be just as difficult as rural France), we apologise, but so much of the web demands a decent download speed these days. We have had no complaints, so we presume you are all coping OK with accessing the content on this website.

However, do you really know how fast your connection is?

Click the website image above, or the image below, to find out how fast your connection really is.

La Marseillaise

We've noticed from our visitor statistics, that there have been a great many searches for our archived article on La Marseillaise.

Many of you have downloaded the words to the French national anthem in English, have watched the famous Marseillaise film clip from Casablanca and have sung along with the Mareille Mathieu video clip.

So, to make it easier for those of you searching for information and the English words to La Marsellaise, here is a convenient permanent link: click the flag

Click the French flag to view all we know about the French National Anthem -
La Maseillaise

Music, music, music...

Passé Simple Goes Live
After hibernating somewhat during the winter, Didier and Francoise at the Piano Bar has begun to put on live music again, as the weather turns warmer and thoughts of the summer season come to the fore.

Toute Sourire
If you like a bit of brass with your music, then you are going to love Toute Sourire - live at the Piano Bar, Rue de la République, Saturday 3rd April at 22h.00

Live Music
With one more live music night left in March, this Friday, Café 5Céré, Place de la République has three further live music nights to tempt you into town this April.

Friday 26th March:
Hélène Adam
Brel, Piaf, Vian... "piano bar" style cabaret comes to LeCafé5Céré this night in the person of Hélène Adam. Now that's my kind of evening - Ed

Friday 2nd April:
Samedi au Soleil
If you are a bit of a saxophone addict, then make sure you book your seat, as with a tenor (alto and soprano are promised too) sax adding its weight to the piano/synthesizer and accordion of this trio, jazz comes again to the Café 5Céré.

Friday 9th April:
Philippe Rigal Duo
Tonight, the Café 5Céré have two guitarists to entertain you to their own brand of Swing manouche and Afro-American jazz.

Friday 23rd April:
Musique Indienne
In a great departure from their usual fare, the Café 5Céré are travelling to the orient this night, with a duo playing traditional Indian music. Will they serve curry? Better ask... give them a call.

Café 5Céré,
Place de la République
Reservations: 05 65 10 67 29

Next First Friday...
2nd April

Spring is in the air, and it's high time to shake out your lighter clothes, put away your snow boots and get out of the house to enjoy some good company and a natter in your own language... not to mention one or two glasses of Spring cheer.

So... see you next Friday?

Café Voyageurs
Place de la République
17h.30 - 19h.30
1st Friday of the month

What's First Friday?
For further information - click here

Where in France
Is St. Céré?

Les Halles, St. Céré

St Céré, is in the beautiful Dordogne river valley region of the Lot (département 46), Midi-Pyrénées, South West France.

Lot is deep in the heart of France, with the départements of Dordogne to the West, Corrèze to the North, Aveyron and Cantal to the South and East respectively.

To view maps of where in France to find St. Céré - please click this link

WiFi in St. Céré

WiFi connections in St Céré are available at the music bar, Au Passé Simple in Rue de la République and at the Café 5Cere, Hotel Touring, Place de la République.

Pop-ups
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Archives

If you have just found us and missed previous front pages, fear not. You can catch-up with past issues by clicking this link to our archive section.

Out and About

Magnolia Blossom Time
If any of you still have doubts, the St. Céré Magnolias definitely think that it is Spring.

Will this warm weather last? Check with Meteo France - click the weather link below.

Househunting?
Looking for a village house? Don't fancy doing any renovation? Then you should take a look at this totally renovated (to a very high standard) house in Miers.

Click here to go to the Dordogne Valley Property Search sponsored page on this website, for full details of this stunning property.

Price Watch

Canon
10 million megapixel
digital camera

Leclerc Price:
€539.00

Amazon Price:
see below

Leclerc - TV Out of Stock?
If you set your heart on the Philips TV featured in the Leclerc Promo Leaflet, fear not. Because Amazon.fr have them in stock at the same price including delivery. See below:

A Damned Good Read
Just read The Time Traveller's Wife... it's different and thoroughly good entertainment. Don't take our word for it... it has generated over 1,000 reader reviews on the Amazon site.

Check it out...

News

In this section we provide links to current local and national news items, which may well affect you if you either live near St. Céré or, as expats anywhere in France.

The scroller above will halt as your mouse hovers over it. Then just click on a brief news item link that is of interest, and a fuller version will open in a new window.

If you have a local news item you would like to see aired, please let us know. Use the e-mail form accessed by clicking the link below to send us your new item.

Latest Post on the Blog

French Foreign legionnaires can only become French when they leave. But real French can't leave (the country) until they prove they are French!

“Passport Please?
So, when is a Frenchmen not a Frenchman? It doesn't get much madder than this...

Leave a Comment
It's easy to leave comments to any post you see on the St. Céré blog just click here to read blog posts and to comment

Weather

What's the weather like
in St. Céré?
To find out what the weather is like today in St. Céré and for a 3 day forecast - click the image above.

Recognise the logo?
Yes? looks like you might be a Caravan connoisseur, as Dethleffs are generally acknowledged to be one of the best European makers of caravans... and there is one for sale second-hand in the classified section.

Click here to view the details.