Rosemary George was lured into the wine trade by a glass of the Wine Society’s champagne at a job interview and subsequently became one of the first women to become a Master of Wine, back in 1979. She has been a freelance wine writer since 1981 and is the author of eleven books. Both her first and last books were both about Chablis. Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois, published in 2007, charts the changes in the region since her first book 25 years earlier. Others include The Wines of New Zealand, two books on Tuscany, the most recent being Treading Grapes; Walking through the Vineyards of Tuscany, as well as The Wines of the South of France which covers the vineyards between from Banyuls and Bellet, from the Spanish to the Italian border, and also Corsica. She also contributes to various magazines such as Decanter, India Sommelier, www.zesterdaily.com and writes a blog on the Languedoc: wwwtastelanguedoc.blogspot.com
Bassie (Lynda) Scott has had a passion for cooking since her Mother handed her a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon at the age of 5. Bassie started a catering business with a friend in London called, 'Book the Cooks', providing canapés and buffets for PR companies such as Lynne Franks, Harrods, Garrards and HR Owen. Spotting a gap in the market in the mid '80's, she started a sandwich business called 'Go Bananas'. At its height, it produced some 9,000 sandwiches a day serving, amongst others, the BBC, the Cabinet Office and all the London museums. During this time she developed some 1800 different varieties of sandwich and won 'Innovative Sandwich Maker of the year' three years running. After marrying, Bassie and her husband ran a 10 bedroomed hotel, where she organised and catered for wedding receptions. Once all of their children had flown the nest, they decided to realise their dream of living in France. oday, they live in Gabian where Bassie delights in discovering local produce and runs a company called Bon Appetit. She is currently using many of her friends as guinea pigs and tasters for new and innovative recipes for the Herault Times, for which they are eternally grateful!
Born and educated in New York City (vintage ’41). As a child Apicius was extremely fortunate to be taken to restaurants from an early age. And, of course, N.Y. being N.Y that meant the exotic as well as the commonplace. It was an extraordinary learning process in how to enjoy what the world had to offer.
As a result, he has spent most of his life traveling and living abroad, the last six in this lovely region of France. He has also been able to sample the best of restaurants throughout the world. He has worked a variety of jobs: clothing manufacturer, copy- writer, ad salesman, and finally educator. It was not so much that his work allowed him to travel, as the idea of traveling was his business.
For Apicius the journey is often more important than the destination, which is not to say that he has become blasé. As a kid there were certain names that set his mind racing as they tripped over his tongue. They still do.
Before moving to the Languedoc permanently in 1998, Gill Pound had been visiting the region for many years. She set up a small plant nursery (La Petite Pépinière de Caunes), as well as establishing a garden on a hectare of ground in Caunes-Minervois. Her horticultural activities have developed to include running gardening courses, lecturing, garden consultancy and project management. She is particularly interested in low water use gardens & in plants which cope with the local climate.
Colin retired 11 years ago and came to live in Languedoc with Bobbie, my wife. He has two daughters both living in London with their partners/ husbands. The first half of his career was spent in the wine trade culminating in being head of the School of wine in London. The second half was spent in the Brewing and Hotel industry in marketing and then corporate planning.
Most of his journalism is connected with wine, Harpers, Decanter etc. Nature is a hobby along with cricket !
David Abse was born in London in December 1958 and went to Art School in Wolverhampton in the 1980s.
Despite these disadvantages, between then and now he has done a diverse range of things to make a living and to make a mark on the world. This includes painting, drawing and printmaking, and exhibiting all over the world.
Currently David lives in Les Matelles in the south of France with his wife daughter, 2 cats and a dog.
His son lives in London and has got a proper job. David sometimes wears a hat and doesn’t allow golf in his studio.
Stuart Turpie retired to Herault 6 years ago.
He was a teacher in London secondary schools.
Interests, art and sport;
Stuart played basketball for Great Britain and for 12 years in the first division.
The Herault Times is proud to have so many accomplished writers who are knowledgeable and passionate in their respective fields.
Meet the regulars......
After a happy and successful career making documentaries and drama films for the BBC and Thames Television through the 1970's and 80's, Tim King moved to France in 1989 to write fiction. For 7 years he wrote a monthly column on French politics and other local customs for the British political magazine Prospect, as well as longer articles on Le Pen père et fille, hunting, corruption in France and the first major article on Nicolas Sarkozy published outside France. He also writes for the Aspen Institute and, when asked nicely, gives his opinion on French radio. Among many pieces for Courrier International, he was commissioned to write special supplements on Montpellier and Georges Frêche, illustrated by Martyn Turner.
François Truffaut said the women of Montpellier are the most beautiful in France (thus obviously the world) and Tim is married to one of them. They have one son.
Daphne Foulkes –Associate Partner with The Spectrum IFA Group
Daphne began her career in financial services in 1975 initially in the UK. Her final post before coming to France was with the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, where she was responsible for advising staff from all States of the European Union on the subject of retirement planning. Since 2008, she has been providing individual financial planning advice to clients in France. She has detailed knowledge of European Social Security rules, together with international product providers and tax-efficient structures that can assist in asset building, asset protection and, ultimately, retirement and estate planning, ensuring that her clients’ needs are met in a tax-efficient way.
With many years in education, both abroad and in the UK, Laura Smith has a BA (Hons) in English and a background which includes nannying, running ‘arts’ groups for children, supporting early readers, teaching English as a foreign language in Spanish and Italian schools and examining children for the Cambridge Examining Board.
Sue Hicks decided to learn some French history through street names when staying in a Place Gambetta and wondering who s/he was. Having worked in probation, child protection and adoption in the UK, retiring to sit in the sun was not enough. Sue started a monthly bi-lingual reading group in the Pezenas library which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, helped with an after school homework club and joined the team of Blablablah in organising distribution throughout the Hérault. Persuading a teacher of French to run a weekly history course was inadvertently great preparation for writing ‘What's in a Name’.
COLIN TRICKETT
Tim King
Maggie Minter is a highly experienced and enthusiastic Personal and Business Coach who believes in helping people become more self-aware and to find their own inner strengths and capabilities.
She has coached individuals and people in business, highlighting the importance of working effectively and efficiently whilst maintaining their personal values which are essential for personal growth and development. On a personal level, she helps people reach their full potential, through raising their self-awareness, self-belief and self-esteem.
Maggie is also a qualified Cognitive Hypnotherapist. She is British, French speaking and currently lives in France.
Simon Coulshaw is the owner of Domaine des Trinites.
Passionate about wine, good food and rugby Simon is a rare type of man who is happy to say what he thinks and be open when asked probing questions about the wine trade.
Simon lives with his wife and daughter in the Hérault.
Aude Times - Laurence Turetti is a historian who has a ph.D. from the University of Metz. Born in the Aude into a family of vignerons, she returned to her home more than ten years ago. Head of a wine boutique in the centre of Limoux, l’Atelier des Vignerons, she continues her search of discovery across Languedoc-Roussillon for the pearls of the vineyards.
