Patricia Sands

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What a wonderful world …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

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We live on a magnificent planet. Today and every day we all have an obligation to do our part to help it survive. Today is Earth Day ~ Le Jour de la Terre 2016 … in many parts of the world.

Leaders from 160 countries will officially sign the Paris Climate Agreement which carries with it the hope it will help to stem global warming.

This photo of mine celebrates the land, sea and sky of the stunning Côte d’Azur. It reminds me of my good fortune to be able to spend time there. I know there are countless places in the world of breathtaking beauty … we all have our definitions of that. Think of what part of the world inspires you and share it with us. It might well be your own back yard!

Let’s appreciate the whole of this worldt-earthpledge2_evolvefish-com and take an Earth Day pledge such as this one shared in children’s classrooms.

Young people are our hope for the future of our planet.

The primary goal for Earth Day this year is tree planting. Join Canada’s #Rooting4Trees campaign by clicking right here.

Earth Day began in 1970 as a day to celebrate the planet and encourage people to be more environmentally friendly. The first Earth Day celebration was held in the US in 1970 after a devastating oil spill. That event is widely regarded as the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

The focus of the day is on planting trees, increasing awareness about recycling, becoming involved in green projects, and reducing energy consumption.

Let’s commit to making every day Earth Day!

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#IAF16 ~ Opening Line Competition

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imagesHave you entered? Have some fun!

How Can I enter or Vote in the Opening Line Competition?

The International Rubery Book Award LogoAs well as the speaker giveaways, we’re also hosting an Opening Line competition, sponsored by The International Rubery Book Award.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE INFO ON HOW TO ATTEND ALL THE SESSIONS.

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Indie Author Fringe ~#IAF16~self-publishing experts

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INDIE-AUTHOR-FRINGEWhat’s this all about?

If you are an indie author, read on and get excited.

The focus of Indie Author Fringe is to empower indie authors to make informed decisions about the myriad of self-publishing paths available to them.

Each author’s self-publishing journey is unique and individual but there are also seven clearly defined steps to success that are shared by all.

069e47cc1ed73ef7d7914605c6853b6aOur Indie Author Fringe events will take authors through this multi-stage journey, from inspiration through publication, all the way to licensing publishing rights overseas and in other formats like film and TV.

Whether you’re a newcomer to self-publishing, or are already selling thousands of box-sets through multiple retailers, you will learn and benefit.

Each event will be a 24-hour continual stream of invaluable information, scheduled to include you in the action of three of the major international Book Fair events — from the comfort of your home.

We’ll have cover and first-line competitions, interviews, panel sessions, presentations and debates and a resource pack to take away. Best of all, thanks to the unwavering support of ALLi’s generous sponsors, all our Indie Author Fringe events are FREE TO ATTEND.

This year the event will spread across three days:

April 15               May 14               October 22

There’s an amazing line up for the first Online Indie Author Fringe Event of 2016 that kicks off at 10am on Friday April 15th (London Time). There are simply too many great names to list here. Bonus ~ there are links beside each name to give you even more information.

I don’t believe there has ever been a more impressive list. Seriously.

Take a look by clicking right here. You will find a sign up link right there too … what could be easier? Just do it!

If you don’t have time to look through all the presenters right now, but you know you want to go … click right here to register.

To add to the fun, please enter the Opening Lineimages contest!

Just submit the first line of your book or story (the first full sentence ONLY) to enter. You also have the option of entering a link to your book on the retailer of your choice.

The Opening Line competition opens at Midnight London time on the 16th March, and ends at 8am London Time on the 16th April 2016

The 10 entries that have the most votes at the close of the competition, will be submitted to our sponsor (The International Rubery Book Award) who will select one competition winner.

The winner will be announced at 10am London Time on the 16th April.

PRIZE FOR THIS COMPETITION: A Cash prize of £150 is being provided.

Never leave home  

You can go in your pjs

Will I see you there? Please share this, thanks! #IAF16

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If it’s Friday, it must be Finland …

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If it’s Friday, it must be Finland …

That’s it! I’ve decided not to write about France any more. I’m sure I’ve said more than enough about it these past few years. I don’t want to bore you. It’s time to move on.

Finland seems like an interesting and beautiful country for us to explore. I hope you’ll enjoy our change of scene as much as I will.

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APRIL FOOLS! As if you hadn’t already guessed! As lovely as Finland might be, you know I’m addicted to France.

And so we’ll carry on … like this …

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I never get tired of sharing scenes like this with you and I hope you feel the same way.

As I wrote in a blog post last year, April 1st is celebrated in an altogether different way in France.

Imagine my surprise the first time I saw childrenimages sticking paper fish on each other’s back, whispering and giggling, and then hollering, “Poisson d’Avril!”

Excusez-moi? Fish?

As Wikipedia explains: “In Italy, France and Belgium, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other’s back as a trick and shout “April fish!” in their local languages (pesce d’aprile!, poisson d’avril! and aprilvis! in Italian, French and Flemish, respectively). Such fish feature prominently on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools’ Day postcards.

April-Fools-vintage-Image-TheGraphicsFairy.com

April-Fools-vintage-Image-TheGraphicsFairy.com

I had no idea where the tradition began and, after a bit of searching, found this explanation on France Travel Guide.

“Although the origin of April Fools is obscure and debated, the most widely accepted explanation actually credits the “holiday” as starting in France. The most popular theory about the origin of April Fool’s Day involves the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century.

The theory goes like this: In 1564 King Charles XIV of France reformed the calendar, moving the start of the year from the end of March to January 1.

However, in a time without trains, a reliable post system or the internet, news often traveled slow and the uneducated, lower class people in rural France were the last to hear of and accept the new calendar. Those who failed to keep up with the change or who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th and April 1st, had jokes played on them.

Pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were thus called Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish—which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools—and so the tradition was born.”

poisson d'avril

poisson d’avril

Boulangeries and patisseries deliciously get into the spirit with fish-shaped goodies. Oh … and did I mention the chocolatiers? Schools of fish of all sizes fill shop windows, the larger ones often filled with smaller treats. To a chocoholic, fish never tasted so good!

Since Easter usually falls around the same time, fish feature predominantly in shop windows through that holiday as well.

Maybe we should adopt a symbol for April Fool’s Day in North America, so there would be a good excuse to buy special chocolates on that day over here. Not that we ever really need an excuse for chocolate …

Wherever you are, have fun on April 1st and enjoy some chocolate.

Are you a prankster on April 1st or do you just grit your teeth and hope the day will pass quickly? Is there one April Fool’s Day joke in particular that you will never forget?

On  The Good Life France   (amazing photography and articles ~ you know I’m a huge fan!), there’s an article by Margo Lestz on this same topic.  Margo writes great articles, as well as entertaining books about some of the quirky history and traditions of France.  Click here and enjoy!