La Galette des Rois

The final celebration of the Christmas season is ‘la Fête des Rois', Feast of the Kings, on the last of the twelve days of Christmas. On this day a special cake is baked called La Galette des Rois, which contains a small ‘fève', a charm inside it. The person who finds the charm is crowned King or Queen for the day. We, along with a few hundred other people, were invited by the Maire and le Conseil Municipal, "a partager la galette des rois" tonight in the foyer, the village hall. The cakes, either a brioche filled with candied fruit or a warm flaky pastry filled with almond paste, are provided out of village funds and this get together is one of the traditions that we so enjoy in our village. William gave his annual address regarding village events of the past 12 months and outlined some continuing issues and problems still to be resolved (like the sewage works, but don't worry and in case you can't sleep at night, I'll keep you informed as things progress). By the way, I found a porcelain fève, but had to eat several pieces of cake to find it. Nobody crowned me King, but somebody will get a bill for the cracked tooth!

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I find France a fascinating country and not the least the behaviour of its people. In some ways it is also a frustrating country and, as you know, I rant on about this from time to time. This article, by a BBC Paris correspondent, is interesting and goes some way to start to explain certain French characteristics.