Just over half an hour south from Dijon is a great natural park with fun activities for the whole family.
Free, easy parking
Adults €6
Children (3-15 years) €4
Children under 3 years Free
Family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) €16
Fun for the whole family, with 6 lifeguards on duty. Large (30m x 32m) pool with 2 diving boards (1 and 3 metres), water slide and wading pond. Aqua fitness classes and paddle boat for children 4-10 years all included.
Bring your own picnic, or get reasonably priced snacks from the on site restaurant. . Côte Resto has a nice sun terrace with parasols and is open 11am-7pm.
Tracey Emin has received a damehood for her services to British art. She was appointed a CBE in 2012 and made a freewoman of Margate in 2022.
Tracey Emin with her exhibit My Bed 1998
There is nothing like a dame go the words of the song written by Rogers & Hammerstein and there are certainly few like Tracey Emin. In this day and age, Royal honours might seem outdated but they still mean something when awarded to artists of all genres.
“It’s really cool,” she says. “I don’t think there’s ever been a Dame Tracey before.”
The Tent 1963
The Tent – also known as Everyone I Have Ever Slept With was another controversial piece of art that challenged some observers. The work was not simply the names of people she had been in sexual relationships with, but people she had been intimate with more generally. The 102 names included her grandmother and two foetuses.
Tracey Emin was born in Croydon on 3rd July 1963 and brought up in Margate, Kent. She has survived bladder cancer and set up the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR). She converted the old public baths in Margate into artists’ studios, where 10 students get rent-free for 18 months.
She has led a full life and like many of our generation, perhaps fuller than was good for us. Edgy might be how would be describe her today. Years ago she was considered anti establishment.
Her work says a lot about her childhood and upbringing. Much is written about her early life including rape and relationship difficulties so we won’t go into that here. If you want to find out more about Tracey Emin, this YouTube interview is interesting > HERE
What is art?
Art is down to personal taste and conceptual art in particular can draw criticism from audiences. I remember the ridicule of Tracey Emin’s – My Bed when it went on show in 1999 at the Tate Modern. Many people simply dismissed it as rubbish and deplored its placing in the museum.
If we stop and study a piece of art and try to understand its meaning, we engage our brain and find the hidden meaning in the work. This is an important part of our development and helps us grow mentally and understand people from all walks of life.
If we encourage our children to be curious about the world around them, they will grow up to be more rounded, knowledgeable and understanding.
I’d like to know your opinion about conceptual art, please get in touch HERE
In the past, some people criticised the work of Matisse and Warhol for not being proper art. However, that was because they were unconventional and breaking new ground in the art world.
Much more than a recipe book, this is a culinary history of Italy region by region. Written by a man who loved his homeland and enjoyed good food.
Antonio Carluccio
This book stays on the coffee table when not in use in the kitchen. The superb photography and stories of life in Italy through the centuries make it a fascinating read and reference item.
Sometimes described as the Godfather of Italian cooking, Antonio Carluccio was one of the great Italian cooks who made London his home from home. He inspired many young chefs and home cooks.
For more information about the man and his journey through life, go to the website HERE
Sunday Times Best Selling Author – Cathy Rentzenbrink’s latest novel – Ordinary Time is out now.
I devoured it on Audible in one sitting. Great story dealing with love and relationships, the writing is full of wonderful descriptions and characterizations.
Cathy Rentzenbrink
Cathy Rentzenbrink tells the story of a woman married to a vicar, living a rather dull and boring existence. A chance meeting with a man who almost becomes her lover and the mixed emotions of new exciting romance and her loyalties to her husband.
First person narrative, the story sounds part memoir and part fiction. Moments of sadness and joy, this is primarily a woman’s read, but I enjoyed the writing and found it a welcome break from my normal crime thriller selections.
Recommended… The Last Act Of Love where the author shares the experience of losing a loved one to a hit and run accident. This really is a wonderful memoir that will make you weep and admire the courage of a family dealing with unthinkable pain. HERE
I’ve just finished reading Where The Crawdads Sing and what a treat. It lived up to the reviews and I couldn’t put it down. Looking forward to Harlen Coben’s Caught this week.
Crawdads came from a recommendation in the book club. Please get in touch if you have a good read to share. CLICK HERE
Top 3 – All Time Favourites in BOOK CLUB
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
The Little Friend – Donna Tartt
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption – Stephen King
New on Netflix is Where The Crawdads Sing.
Did you know?
The 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption is based on the novella by Stephen King – Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption .
The first of The James Bond novels – Casino Royale was published in 1953 and the literary franchise as it is often referred to is one of the most successful the mid 20th century.
The protagonist codenamed 007 with a license to kill fetches up in exotic locations, fighting off ruthless villains and bedding beautiful women.
Only 4,750 copies were printed and one lucky woman found a copy in a car boot sale for £1. She went on to auction the book for more than £10,000. The woman said she had no idea of the value of the book and only bought it because of the love hearts design on the cover.
Ian Fleming (1908 to 1964)
A heavy smoker and drinker, Ian Fleming died of heart disease aged just 56 in 1964.
Although he didn’t do well academically at Eton, he excelled at athletics and edited a school magazine. His lifestyle led to conflict with his housemaster, E. V. Slater, who disapproved of Fleming’s attitude, his hair oil, his ownership of a car and his relations with women. He left Eton early to go to Sandhurst Royal Military College. He spent less than a year there, leaving in 1927 without gaining a commission, after contracting gonorrhea.
Ian Fleming bought this typewriter after finishing the first Bond novel. He wrote a letter to his wife saying he hoped it would ‘write golden words, as it was made of gold’. As we all know, that came to pass and Fleming made pots of gold with the James Bond adventure stories.
The Golden typewriter was sold in London in 1990 for £55,750 ($86,750). Today that would be equivalent to around £100,00 ($137,000).
He went on to write Goldfinger, The Man With The Golden Gun and lived in a house in Jamaica called Goldeneye.
A fascinating autobiography told with great honesty and integrity. Short chapters (approx 6 pages each) and printed in 14pt, this is an easy read. Smokey Robinson explains the realities of life at Motown in an enjoyable and entertaining style.
HEAL 