Highlights this month -
- Member of the Month - Susan Durst
- Book Club - An extract from - Old Filth by Jane Gardam
- Gardening - Chris's November update - Autumn Colour
- An extraordinary story celebrating Jennifer de Chabaneix life. on the CLUB page of this website
Message from our President
Bienvenue!
Welcome to the website of the Dordogne Ladies Club International. We are a vibrant and enthusiastic community of women of all ages and nationalities (with English as the lingua franca) who have settled across a wide area of the Dordogne. The DLCI was formed almost 35 years ago with the original aim of cultural exchange and providing mutual support for new lives in another country and we remain true to that today. There are many opportunities to meet regularly, both informally and through more structured events, which are designed both to entertain and inform. We enjoy exploring the beautiful countryside through our guided walks. We are also very proud to acknowledge that we raise significant funds for local charities. Some of our members work and many, though retired, are active on a voluntary basis in our local communes. Some of us have been in France for many years and others have only just arrived. Whatever your situation, you will find a warm welcome from the DLCI. I hope I have whetted your appetite and that after you have browsed our website, you will get in touch! I feel very privileged to belong to such an active and friendly association and I look forward to meeting you in the near future. Cordialement Kathy John |
Book Club Passage
The Dordogne Ladies Book Club
Thank you Sue for this months passage.. "Old Filth by Jane Gardam" ‘Old Filth’ (Failed in London Try Hong Kong) a.k.a Edward Feathers, at a turning point in his life, in London in 1947. (Clerc of the Chambers: ) ‘I’ve got a you a Brief. It’s a big one. Four hundred on the Brief and forty a day. Likely to last two weeks’ ‘Whoever -?’ ‘Don’t ask me. It’s Hong Kong. It’s a Chinese dwarf.’ Eddie ran into the Clerk’s room, where Albert Loss was seated on the sagging purple sofa playing Patience. Coleridge!’ God in heaven, Coleridge. But you’re dead. The Japanese killed you.’ Colombo didn’t fall. You are an amnesiac. There were initial raids. And then they left us alone. You should have stayed. I found my uncle. Several of them. All attorneys. And so I became one too.’ ‘This is the most wonderful.... How ever did you find me?’ ‘Law Lists, my dear old chum. Top of the Law Lists. Thanks to me. I directed you, you will remember, towards the Law. And now I am Briefing you. My practice is largely in Hong Kong. I hope you have no serious family ties?’ "Not a tie. Not a thread. Not a cobweb – Coleridge!’ ‘Good. Then you can fly to Hong Kong next week? First class, of course. We must not lose face before the clients. We’ll put you up in the Peninsular’ I’ll have to read the papers.’ ‘Nonsense, Fevvers. You’ll do it all in your head. On the plane. Open and shut Case, and I taught you Poker. You can think. I’m flying back myself tomorrow.’ This is a dream. You’re exactly the same. You haven’t aged. By the way, what happened to my watch?’ ‘Ah, that had to be sacrificed in the avuncular search. But you have aged, Fevvers. You have been aged by your Wartime experiences, no doubt?’ You could say that, Coleridge, come on! Let’s go out. Where are you staying?’ ‘The Dorchester, of course.’ Monthly Book Club meetings are taking place in Monpazier, St Foy and Bergerac. There are always a lots of books to discuss as you can imagine and its great to be able to share the reviews of the book each group has chosen to read. Everyone's feedback about what they had been reading and enjoying is shared over a coffee and the next book to read is chosen.
The events Page shows details of when our next meetings are scheduled Keep an eye on the DLCI book club facebook page for updates. The book club page on Facebook has the reviews of the books the group has read and we encourage all members to share their reading experiences with us. To join the Book Club or for more information please contact sue.morrison.france@gmail.com Once you join you will receive a copy of our book list and have access to our Facebook page There are now three DLCI monthly Book Club Meetings – Bergerac, Monpazier and Sainte Foy |
Gardening Column
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Member of the Month -November 2021 Susan Durst
It seems like only yesterday that I was leaving my home on Tyneside to study French at university. At seventeen it was the first time I had ever been anywhere south of Newcastle ! I could never have imagined back then that many years later I would be spending my retirement happily tucked away in the Périgord countryside. Life is full of surprises …
I was always drawn to foreign languages and cultures, particularly French, and took to student life like a fish to water. During my thesis year at Grenoble University I also happened to meet Hervé, my husband-to-be ! After graduating it seemed only natural to move to Paris and use my bi-lingual skills professionally. We enjoyed Paris so much that we ended up staying for over thirty years … When I first arrived at the Gare du Nord – aged 21 and lugging a large suitcase - I had no set career plan, but I did know I wanted a communication-oriented job that would involve international travel. I started off in advertising and worked in European coordination on both the media and agency side of the business. It wasn’t long before I found a sector that suited me perfectly – international travel and tourism – and was offered a job as Marketing Director at American Express. After nine fulfilling years there I moved on to various senior management positions in international marketing – Pan Am, Europcar and Le Méridien Hotels. I was lucky enough to travel all over the world, stay in the best hotels, dine in the finest restaurants and actually get paid for it ! I hasten to add I also worked very hard and had to constantly juggle to keep my family life and career simultaneously ticking over. Needless to say my professional environment in those days was very much male-dominated, but I saw no reason why I shouldn’t do as well as my colleagues in the dark suits and ties … I thought of myself first and foremost as a professional, not a victim of male oppression ! During those hectic years in Paris we also brought up our two wonderful sons, William and Alex. When the boys left home my husband and I decided the time was ripe to change lifestyle, although initially we were not quite sure how. Then one summer we happened to be driving through the Dordogne and fell in love with a beautiful property (albeit in dire need of renovation) near Bergerac. On the spur of the moment we bought it and moved here in 2004. At first it was a culture shock to leave the big city lifestyle behind, but over the years we made a new life for ourselves and have never looked back. I joined the DLCI shortly after our arrival as a way to meet other women in the area, and the club soon became an integral part of my life. I served on the committee for five years, first as Events coordinator and then as President, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My retirement so far has been busier than expected ! I run a gîte on our property in summer, teach English on a voluntary basis and go walking regularly in a valiant attempt to keep fit … I’ve also finally found time to write – something I always wanted to do. My first novel, The Time Mosaic, was published a couple of years ago and I’ve just completed the second. Last but not least I have two adorable grandchildren too and try to spend time with them and the rest of the family as often as possible. |
Members on the MapYou are never far away from another member; we are in total - over 100 members across the region. Everyone who comes along to a lunch will be given a badge. Each badge includes a small dot in different colours. This indicates members who live in similar areas so if you spot someone with the same colour take the opportunity to say hello. Pink dots - Bergerac and surrounding area Green dots - South East Blue dots - South West Yellow dots - North East Red dots - North West Events are held in different parts of the region so you will have the opportunity to join activities close by. Our previous 6 months of Members of the Month articles - Click on the members name to read the members stories October 2021 - Carolyn Nagel September 2021 - Sue Heyes August 2021 - Julie Goatham July 2021- Sue Morrison June 2021 - Gillian Beattie May 2021 - Juliet Acland |
Charities
The Dordogne Ladies Club International was founded to provide friendship and support as well as to raise money for local charities. We aim to do this in a way that is sustainable and maintains the beautiful environment in which we live. We look after our planet the way she looks after us.
We are proud that in the last five years we have given in excess of 25,000 euros in donations to local charities chosen by our members. Each year the members will nominate and choose new charities to receive the donations.
We are proud that in the last five years we have given in excess of 25,000 euros in donations to local charities chosen by our members. Each year the members will nominate and choose new charities to receive the donations.
