Two years of silence.....

I was shocked to see how long it has been since I last posted.  So much has changed since 2012.  
I grew increasingly fed up with teaching English.  The historical hang-ups that French people have about speaking English drove me nuts.  I can not count the number of times I have heard "Je suis nul en anglais", only to hear the person speak English with only the occasional mistake.  The French generally want to speak English but find any excuse not to.  So I began to find myself dreading lessons and sinking into deep depression before every lesson.  Not good for my family, my students or me.  I decided to try my hand at translating.  Over the years I have been asked to translate various documents.  The advantage is I can work from home and look after my kids.  For the moment this activity has not completely replaced teaching, although telling people I am a translator, rather than a teacher, seems to lead to opportunities.At the same time I have immersed myself in Permaculture.  In my own garden I built an herb spiral and designed a Mandala garden, both doing well.  I have three beehives in a sympathetic neighbour's garden, where I also practice Permaculture techniques.I attended a Permaculture course in the South of France.  This was an interesting experience; an eclectic mix of people staying in a run down silkworm farm.  The farm was owned by Dutch people who had initially created an artists community that fell apart.  The farm was currently looked after by an old, recovering alcoholic, ex- hippie who had travelled throughout Asia.  There was no heating and only one hot water boiler.  In the winter the caretaker barricaded himself into one room with a wood-burning stove.  The compost toilets were plastic bins with wooden seats.  They had to be regularly emptied onto a compost heap, that threatened to avalanche onto ones feet.  Most of the course participants slept on the dance room floor, however there were also caravans and several of us slept in tents.Our trainer was English; he played on his accent and English humour to capture his audience.  The course was interesting but lacked practical elements.On my return to my village I began to promote the idea of transition.  I organised two screenings of the Transition movie (http://www.intransitionmovie.com/).  Then with a small group of people we set up a system to exchange services.  Another group set up a collective beekeeping project.  We have also organised an annual litter pick in the village.Then at the beginning of this year I was invited to join the "Conseil municipal", and we were elected in March.  We have a meeting every month to vote on issues affecting the village, then there are other meetings to work on specific issues such as urbanise and communication.  I chose to be on the Communication and Development Durable commissions.  Unfortunately communication is not our strong point,  it seems that a quarterly magazine and a luminous sign in the village is enough for my fellow elected representatives.  There is a plan to revamp our dismal website but nothing will happen any time soon.  As for Development Durable it seems that lip service is paid to the concept but nobody takes it seriously.  What I have discovered is that many of the decisions that affect our lives are taken at a higher level, regionally or at the Community of Communes.  We have to simply rubber stamp these decisions and sell them to our electors.  But it is early days so I am trying to keep an open and positive mind.  
Meanwhile I push forward with my Permaculture projects.  Patience being my watchword.