Britain was blessed with many natural spas. Epsom, Buxton, Bath, Leamington Spa, almost an A to Z from Ashbourne to Woodhall Spa, twenty-two in all. People flocked to them from all over the world to ‘take a cure’. When sea-bathing gained in popularity, spas declined and faded away. In France ‘taking the waters’ has continued to be part of the culture. The different mineral waters were studied and seen to aid many complaints. A 2001 study by Dutch doctors showed that the effects of a three-week cure lasted for 9 months. A ‘cure’ can be had on prescription for anything from high cholesterol levels and heavy legs to ear, nose and throat problems. The mineral water at Vichy is even made into mint sweets that are ‘good for the digestion’. When I see things like that, I just wish the UK had more entrepreneurial spirit and made Buxton Spring Mints or Bath Mineral Pastilles. Oh, and another brilliant idea is that at Vichy they evaporate the spring water to leave just a tiny amount of the dry mineral salts, then it is sent to health spas round the world where it is rehydrated with local water and sold as ‘the genuine Vichy Spa experience’! In the UK, there is unfortunately, no shop in Epsom dedicated to sell Epsom Spa products such as the famous Epsom salts. (See SOAP). Whereas, a French spa at Castéra-Verduzan in the Gers has a range of tooth gels and mouth sprays because the water is reputed to be good for mouth and tooth problems. There must be hundreds of ways in which the UK could also exploit its spas and their products once again. For example, acid rain used to deposit sulphur on British gardens, but clearer atmosphere’s have left soils deficient in sulphur. In Epsom salts there is both sulphur, and another essential plant nutrient, magnesium. Sprinkled over the ground following the directions on the packet, it will give higher yields of tastier, more nutritious crops. Hurrah for Epsom salts!

The French word for soup gave us the root of the word ‘supper’ – ‘souper’.  French people often have soup as the last meal of the day, as they have generally dined well at dinner time. When I told someone that we often ate soup for lunch, they were visibly shocked. In our local frozen food shop, I can buy Brighton Soup. I wonder if the people of Brighton know that they are famous for their carrot potage in France.

British people have a tendency to apologise for everything they do. If we bump into someone we say, ‘sorry’ even if it is not our fault. We say ‘sorry’ when we sneeze and ‘sorry’ when we are late and start conversations with, ‘sorry to bother you!’  We can even be heard to say, ‘sorry for the rain’! One English friend noted that French people are less likely to take responsibility when things go wrong or to accept that people fail sometimes – so are far less likely to say, ‘sorry’.

Has the UK got a national type of soap? In France ‘Savon de Marseille’ is everywhere. It comes in shampoos, washing powders and cosmetics. First made 600 years ago, it should be made with olive oil. I watched a TV programme about it that went to one of the few remaining soap factories in Marseilles. The owner of the company said he used nothing else on his body as it was good for washing hair as well. He said his skin was as smooth as a baby’s and he hadn’t got a grey hair. The presenter stroked his outstretched arm and agreed that his skin was beautifully soft and free from wrinkles. I was convinced. But, the programme warned, there were plenty of imitations and only 5% of products labelled as ‘Savon de Marseille’ are the genuine article. I shopped carefully in my local organic shop and chose a 500g cube as it might take some time to return my skin to the softness that I was born with. As it was so big, I needed to cut it into pieces. Unfortunately, it had a texture like shale and each slice fell into small shards. Bathing with it was therefore problematic and also the smell was not at all pleasant. As for using it on my hair, the feel and smell was more industrial and coarser than I had been led to believe. Sorry, ‘Savon de Marseille’, I was a convert, but I would rather use the national soap of England – when someone has produced and marketed it! (While researching SPAS I found that Epsom Salt soap and Epsom Salt shampoo can be bought from Epsom Salts.co.uk!)

The first snowfall of winter is always exciting. I love walking in newly fallen snow that crackles and glistens. In France it brings with it responsibilities. Each householder must clear the path in front of their house and salt it. My neighbour, even though he was in his 90’s, was always out with his snow shovel early in the morning. It was a race to complete the job, because if I did not get out there early enough, he would do, not only his part of the path, but mine and the next neighbour’s as well. In the UK we have been foolishly prevented from doing what is normal and natural by the threat of litigation. In our French town magazine, it states clearly that ‘en cas d’accident, votre responsabilité sera engagée’ = ‘you will be responsible if there is an accident’. In other words, you will be responsible if someone slips on the un-cleared pavement. Not only that, it is also your responsibility to sweep up fallen leaves on the path if they come from your trees and to pull out weeds that pop up on the path or in the gutter!

French people expect to take off their shoes when they come into your house. Given the state of the pavements and the amount of dog poo, it is probably wise to let them.

One of my adult students told me that she enjoyed going into the countryside to collect snails to eat. When I tell my nephews and nieces that French people eat snails their reaction is ‘Yuck’. No other activity is more likely to widen the gap between two nations than this. I ate one as a type of initiation ceremony. The garlic and butter sauce around it was pleasant, but who wants to chew a piece of rubber? I picked up a leaflet in the doctor’s surgery which told me that Magnesium is a mineral that helps in more than 300 chemical reactions in our bodies. There followed a list of magnesium rich foods. Number 3 on the list was ‘les escargots’, 50g of which give 128mg of magnesium. I think I will stick to numbers 4 and 5 on the list, cashew nuts and dark chocolate!

French people have a will of iron with regard to refusing a little taste of something between meals. Only Brits buy an ice-cream and eat it while walking down the road. A native would sit on one of the seats provided and eat the dessert with a spoon.

More people smoke in France than in the UK, a staggering 20% more. Throat, mouth and lung cancer kill 78,000 people a year. A possible factor is that French people don’t like to be told what to do. When the government decided to put warnings on cigarette packets, a fashion house brought out jolly covers to slip over the cartons. Smoking ruins the status of France as a healthy country. Cigarettes are only available in a Bar Tabac and not in a supermarket or corner shop. One of my students gave up smoking because she hated having to go into one to buy her weekly supplies.

It is almost obligatory to go skiing in February in France. The school holidays are staggered so that your two weeks on the slopes are not over-crowded. The country is divided into three regions.  Zone A takes their half-term holiday a week earlier than the second region. Zone C only starts its half-term when the first region is on their way home from the slopes. It is all carefully designed to keep ski chalet owners and mountainside restaurants in business.