Last week the governor of the bank of France told us not to fret – inflation would be back to a comfortable 2% by the end of the year.  Yet over the last year inflation has reached heights not seen for 40 years in the UK, where it is currently somewhere between 10% & 11%,  Here in France, official figures suggest only half that figure, but that’s for the birds and if you are like me, you are really "feeling the pinch".  Spare a thought therefore for Argentinians whose yearly inflation rate has risen to around 100%.  That's prices doubling every 12 months.  How do Argentinians cope with systematic price hikes?  What does that mean on a day to day basis for the average person living & working in Buenos Aires?  Today we find out as we talk to our colleague Victoria who is currently working in our office in the south of France.

Have you ever wondered how much your childhood and upbringing have influenced the adult you are now? What memories do you carry with you from your youth?  

In this episode, Sasha Gaye uses her senses to recall her childhood in the Parish of Trelawny, Jamaica. The friendship, the games, the food, but also the chores...  

Through the memory of the sometimes arduous daily tasks she had to perform, she explains how this shaped her personality and contributed to her strength and determination. And as she puts it : what doesn't kill us makes us stronger! 

This week marks just over 400 years since the death of probably our most famous playwright William Shakespeare. Curiously we know comparatively little about his life, but his legacy of poetry and plays mean that today he is still very much alive in the words and expressions we use everyday.  And that’s precisely what we are going to hear about today in the company of April and Edward.

Blackouts, power cuts, energy restrictions: from September to November in France, we were told they were likely to happen and we should be prepared. There was a real possibility that we were going to come home in the dark to find the house with no lights, no heating, food melting in the freezer, no telephone, no C-news, no Netflix! But finally nothing really happened; at least here in Provence. For Suzanne, however, in South Africa it was altogether a different story, as you shall hear, as she shares her special guide to surviving regular power cuts.

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about sound with our colleague John who is a professional bass player.  We all love going to concerts of our favourite singers and groups.  But we probably don’t spend much time thinking about the preparation involved in a successful music concert.  John is here today to set us straight. And as you’ll see the process is of clockwork precision and balance.

In this special edition we go to the Emerald Isle, to meet Therese, our colleague who lives in the beautiful city of Baile Átha Cliath or Dublin as it is known in more commonly. She’s going to talk about Saint Patrick’s Day, held annually on March 17, which marks and celebrates the patron Saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.  Therese tells us about what this celebration means for her and no doubt for the many people of Irish origin living around the world, and she tells us what the Irish in Ireland do on that day.

In today’s episode we travel to India with our colleague Anne to hear more about one of the most ancient of Hindu festivals called Holi-the Festival of Colour.  Celebrated this year on March 8th, Holi is a playful rainbow celebration of fun and laughter at the end of winter where happy excited crowds cover each other from head to foot in vividly coloured powders. As you will hear, Holi also possesses deeper symbolic and spiritual meaning.

Many of us dream of relocating to another country.  We imagine the positive impact of starting over in a completely different place.  But how easy is it really to make the change?  In this episode we explore the experience of moving abroad and we hear from our colleague, Sankie, about the challenges and rewards of moving with his family to Portugal to embark on a new chapter in their lives as they settle in a new country with its people, its culture and its language.

In today’s podcast we are curious to learn more about one of the United State’s biggest sporting events of the year. 

In today’s podcast we have been asking colleagues at our office in Provence, in France, what they are looking forward to in 2023.  While some aspirations are common for many of us as we embark on a new year, they are one or two which may surprise you.