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My tips for bird nesting season in south-west France
Some species begin building nests as early as February, including collared doves, mistle thrushes and song thrushes
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What I miss about France after moving back to UK
Columnist Gillian Harvey, who returned to the UK in 2024, explains what she misses – and what she has gained in the process
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Auvergne region is neglected by government
Government agencies and the SNCF shun the area 'time and time again', says reader
Passport farce: Part II
RE: the letter headlined “Passport Post Farce” (February edition, see here). A couple of years back, we had to renew our children’s passports with HM Passport Office.
The registration process worked well but it all fell apart with courier company DHL. One passport was shoved in our letterbox, ignoring the requirement for the end user’s signature, and on the second occasion the DHL courier forged my signature, then it too was put in our letterbox.
On both occasions we were in the house but it seems their driver could not be bothered to ring our doorbell! I was informed that DHL get given three chances per year but on the whole they do a good job.
The system of delivery by HMPO was certainly not fit for purpose then and it seems that not much has changed since.
Simon Severne, by email
