Today, the first of May is a bank holiday in France. It's officially "le fête du travail", or Labour day. The French aren't into organising their bank holidays on handy days like Monday, if the 1st falls on a Tuesday, then Tuesday it is.
This means two things, random days off in the middle of the week, and - for those that can take an extra day off, a ruddy long holiday weekend, known as a "pont", or bridge. If the holiday is a Wednesday, this can create a "viaduc"- I'm sure you can guess what this means.
The first of May is also traditionally the day to offer lily of the Valley to loved ones. They are found in the woods as well as garden centres, and people, especially youngsters, collect them to sell in the street, in front of boulangeries, to raise a bit of extra cash.
Why boulangeries you ask? Because the staple food of the French must be available fresh every morning, so they are open come what may, Christmas, Armegeddon, 13th December 2012, etc.
As a family we go into the woods to look for our own, they've been about for a few weeks now;
but the recent awful weather spell means they've not flowered as early as they sometimes do;
Which means, as is often the case, my husband ends up buying some from the kids when he goes to fetch breakfast;
Oh, and by the way, the French word for lily of the valley "mûguet", is also the translation of thrush, and I don't mean the garden bird, so do be careful what you are offering to loved ones, they might not be that grateful.
