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To benefit the Village Dans l’intérèt du Village April 2010 President’s word MH Comes of Age As you can see our new Visitors’ Centre is open. This service to English speakers is the result of discussion with the mayor, Mr. Yves Michel and his adjoints Mme. Fabre de Roussac, and Mme. Demortier. This is a major achievement since until now all tourist information has been provided in French... even though many visitors have English as their first or second language. We are strong advocates of the need to preserve France’s wonderful language, but the demands of commerce require English... we also support the need to help those who visit our lovely village to spend their money here! Let us hope that the economic situation eases, and that people again feel able to travel.Seasonal service providers are dependent on conditions beyond their control... we all hope for a busy summer. When you make your holiday plans I do hope that Marseillan will be high on the list! Patricia Le mot de la Présidente Comme vous pouvez le voir, notre local d’information touristique vient d’ouvrir. Ce service destiné au public anglophone est la suite de discussions avec le Maire, Monsieur Yves Michel et ses adjointes, Mme Fabre de Roussac et Mme Demortier. C’est une importante réalisation puisque jusqu’ici les informations touristiques étaient toutes données en français… même si de nombreux vacanciers parlaient anglais en première ou deuxième langue. Nous sommes les garants de la nécessité de préserver la « merveilleuse » langue française, cependant les demandes concernant le commerce nécessitent l’anglais… Nous soutenons aussi l’idée d’aider ceux qui visitent notre beau village et qui viennent y dépenser leur argent ! Espérons que la situation économique s’améliore et, que les gens veuillent encore voyager. Les saisonniers sont à la merci de conditions indépendantes de leur volonté. Nous escomptons tous un été actif et dynamique. Lorsque vous planifierez vos prochaines vacances d’été, j’espère que Marseillan fera partie de vos premières options. Patricia. Marseillan Historique’s Visitors’ Centre Our Visitors’ Centre is open Tuesdays & Wednesdays 10.00 - 12.00. Saturdays 10.00 - 12.00 & 14.30 - 16.00 Sundays 10.00 - 12.00. Members will find: * Current literature on local events, sites to visit, and up-to-date village information. * Opportunities to exchange information and advice on any issue of concern. * A list of local enterprises with the opportunity to take up references with others who have used them. * Internet access, in English, with a QWERTY keyboard. * A Book eXchange of some 400 titles from which to select. * Filter coffee, English style, for those who just want to take the weight off their feet for a short while. Notes 1. A special Guest Membership will be available to holidaymakers, and people simply passing through. 2. The centre, supported by the Mairie, is in no way part of the Marseillan Tourist Service. The Future Depending upon results it is hoped that the Centre will be able to stay open through the winter - at least on Tuesday mornings (market day). We also very much hope that it will be possible to host events such as exhibitions from time to time. To benefit the Village Bollards Gone! The dreadful bollards that have plagued everybody in the village centre are at last gone! Dans l’intérèt du Village Roads & Regulations There is great concern about road safety - and quite right too ! But are the authorities taking things too far ? We are experiencing ever more control over drivers’ behaviour. Central reservations are appearing everywhere, with vehicles forced into single lanes with no chance to turn, nor to overtake. Dead Bollard No more tripping on them, no more car damage because they can’t be seen from the driver’s seat, no more pedestrians popping out with no warning. They have been replaced with sensible fences, and there is an additional bonus: two extra parking spaces. It may provide safety, but it also creates frustration. And that can lead to foolish behaviour. Crackdown New measures to be introduced with the aim of further reducing road deaths. These will include a further 1,800 porta- ble breath test kits, doubling radar speed checks on stretches with a bad record and requiring the police to carry out 100,000 drug tests (up from 63,500 last year). Those testing positive at the roadside will have to pay for the analysis that follows automatically. Bar owners are to be encouraged to have breath tests available for their clients. Maximum penalties are also being increased and the police are to have more powers to put cars into pounds, and to hold them for up to seven days. Motorbikes, scooters and mopeds accounted for 28% of the road deaths in 2009 and they will become the focus of special efforts to cut this figure. In particular the tendancy of owners to upgrade the power of their motors. In the second year after purchase of a scooter or moped it will have to undergo a Contrôle Technique (MOT). Travellers New fences in the village centre It is now a requirement that all communes provide temporary accommodation for travelling folk. Excellent - except that some are taking things to extremes. Agde, for example, has changed a charming vineyard lane into a two lane highway, for our convenience ! Last issue we alerted readers to the new road signs that warn drivers of the danger posed by deer running loose in our vineyards. Actually we think that a new road sign is indeed needed - as our suggestion on the right. Beware the Gitane smoker! Deer/des cerfs Habitat: grassland, forest, mountains & moorland; most numerous on moorland. Quality deer habitat includes a mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses and other plants such as fungi and sedges. Certain plants within each of these categories benefit deer more than others. Desirable plants should be well interspersed throughout an area, the whole area functions as deer habitat.Some type of water source should be available every mile or so. Enough area with appropriate plants should be available to support a viable population. The most important aspect of deer habitat is an adequate abundance and diversity of forbs and woody plants. Forbs are softstemmed, broad-leaved, flowering plants and include most flowering plants spe- La fois dernière, nous avertissions nos lecteurs de la mise en place d’un panneau de signalisation alertant les conducteurs du danger causé par des cerfs errant dans nos vignes. En fait, nous pensons qu’un panneau de plus devrait être installé – comme nous le suggérons ci-contre : Attention au gitan fumeur ! cies. Of the plants eaten, forbs generally are more digestible and have more protein than woody plants and grasses. Legumes are probably the most important family of forbs in deer diets. So one can see that within our locality we should be actively aware of the danger posed by these animals ! To benefit the Village Dans l’intérèt du Village Carrefour Market Marseillan has lost a popular store, but gained a better one. Our very own Carrefour Market opened on March 17 to a minimum of promotion. Not for the French the British Grand Opening. No coupon offers, no celebrity. Instead the store just quietly opened its doors and got on with trade. Pragmatic the French! By all accounts the store was packed throughout the day, and it has certainly been busy since. Not surprisingly it also has 24 hour fuel supply (and for the HGV’s also) - and a car wash. We wait to see what will open in the other buildings under construction Carrefour have adopted the Market brand for their superstores - they have yet to emulate Tesco with Metro sites, but they have long been operating autoroute filling stations. Worth pulling in if there is a choice since they sell at supermarket prices, well below the usual autoroute pricing. The old store, incidentally, is lying empty. There are many opinions as to what store may open - but nobody actually knows what will come next. We bide ourselves in patience. Regional facts The Rhone-Sète Canal Connects the river Rhone with Sète and, unlike the Canal du Midi, is an active commercial waterway. * It is 97km long. * Carries 315,000 tonnes of mercha dise each year. (Equivalent to 11,400 lorry loads.) 80million euros will be invested in maineanance in the five years to 2013. Michelin Stars Four regional restaurants have been given Michelin stars. The nearest to us is La Réserve Rimbaud in Montpellier. Thus we now have four Michelin starred restaurants reasonably close: Le Jardin des Sens (2*) in Montpellier and L’Octopus & L’Ambassade in Béziers. Tourism languedoc Roussillon now ranks fourth in the tourism league. Only the Ile de France (Paris!), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Rhône-Alpes are in front. 103 millions of nights were racked up in Languedoc-Roussillon in 2009… up from only 6 millions in 2004. 46,000 people are directly employed in tourism… 6.8% of all salaried employment in the region. These visitors to our region spent some 6.9 billion euros whilst they were here. Elections Georges Frêche has been re-elected as President. The Regional Assembly is now made up of pro-status-quo 54.2%; change 26.43% and Front National 19.38%. It can be difficult to make a purchase! Me: Je voudrais acheter un véhicule dans lequel je pourrais transporter un fauteuil roulant électrique. I should like to buy a vehicle in which to carry an electric wheelchair. Dealer One: Nous ne vendons pas de fauteuil roulant. We don’t sell wheelchairs. Dealer Two: Nous n’avons pas des fauteil. We don’t have wheelchairs. Dealer Three: Nous n’avons pas de voitures électriques. We don’t have electric cars. Snippits Chimp to captain Davis Cup team This announcement caused outrage across middle England as no one could understand what outgoing coach and former centre court pin-up David Lloyd had done wrong, apart from lose to Lithuania. In any case why does the British team need a captain in the first place. They are perfectly capable of losing to Lithuania on their own. In the end the chimp was never required to don the team tracksuit and sit courtside because animal rights activists argued that this amounted to animal cruelty (not dressing the chimp up - making it watch the British team play). Apparently there were further concerns for the chimp’s freedom after a 30-minute practice session immediately revealed that he was far better at tennis than any of the team. Nature lovers argued that it would only be a matter of time before LTA officials coached the natural flair out of his game. Read more: http://www.mailonsunday. co.uk/sport/article-1263064/THAT-WASTHE-SPORTING-WEEK Feminine logic? Wife: Are you going to the kitchen Husband: Yes. Wife Please switch on the heater in the bedroom. Did you see... That, according to the BBC Text Service Sky is to be forced to reduce the prices it charged other broadcasters to draw from Sky Sports One & Two ? Did you also notice the price the BBC quoted as the new figure ? It was £10.63! They missed out p.p., shame! Contact President: Patricia Worsam Secretary: Nicolas Ghorra Treasurer: Mike Worsam Translation: Laetitia Hadji BP29, 34340 Marseillan, Hérault, France. +33 4 67 77 38 64 [email protected] www.marseillanhistorique.info European Union Quiz There are 27 countries within the European Union (with others waiting to join). How much do you know about them? Test your knowledge (test your research skills) and win one of these Grand Prizes. 1. Plateau of Coquilage for two at the Restaurant le Glacier. 2. Meal for two at the Boulevard Restaurant. 3. Lunch for two at the Delicatessen Restaurant. 4. Meal for two at the Délices d’Oc Restaurant. 5. Voucher for 20€ at Sancho Pizza. To enter: 1. Select 12 EU countries. 2. Answer the questions about the chosen countries. 3. Send your answer, with personal details to [email protected] before 19.00 on Friday, May 7. Prize draw & presentation: 12.00, Sunday, May 9 at the Grill (by the Marianne) Winners and answers will be displayed at MH’s Visitor Centre and placed on the website.. Austria What is the Tiergarten Schönbrunn? ........................ Belgium Over 800 kinds of what are made in Belgium? ........................ Bulgaria Which sea is the eastern border? ........................ Cyprus The highest point on the island is......? ........................ Czech rep Czech people are the world’s largest consumers of ...... ? .......................... Denmark Denmark has how many named islands? .......................... Estonia What is the currency? Finland Finalnd has how many inhabitants per km ? .......................... France When was La Marseillaise composed? ......................... Germany The first country to introduce Daylight Saving Time. When? .......................... Greece The Cretan lyra is a ...... ? .......................... Hungary What divides the country almost in half? .......................... Ireland An evening of Irish music and dancing is a...... ? .......................... Italy Has three active volcanos. Etna, Vesuvius and ......? .......................... Latvia Is famous for which type of gemstone? .......................... Lithuania The flag is yellow, green and ...... ? .......................... .......................... 2 Luxemburg What is the mother tongue? .......................... Malta .......................... The three Maltest islands are: Malta, Gozo and ...... ? NetherlandsJenever, invented in the 16th century is today known as......? .......................... Poland Who is the only Nobel laureate in two different sciences? .......................... Portugal Has how many rivers ? .......................... Romania The country has ...... land boundaries ? .......................... Spain Is the Costa Brava north or south of the Costa Blanca? .......................... Slovakia Which pop artist is of Slovak descent? .......................... Slovenia The national flower is? .......................... Sweden Why would you visit the Nordstan? .......................... UK Great Britain is England, Scotland and ....... ? ...........................