About Julia McLean
I should be well into a quiet retirement by now but life is too interesting. My excuse for travelling around is to perfect my research for the articles I write for a local magazine about the Normans and their conquests and their beautiful county. I also write for a local English newspaper about customs, food and places to see in Normandy for the immigrant Brits who cannot speak French. I am trying to get a book on Normandy published and while I am waiting I am planning a cute cookbook with my paintings as illustrations.
Before ending up in Normandy 30 years ago, I took a degree in foreign languages and became a teacher. I have taught French in Great Britain and Canada, and English as a Foreign Language in France. Good communication is important to international understanding!
I have written and painted since I was very young. My mother used to save my melodramatic radio plays to read out to dinner guests who would burst into peals of laughter at my innocent accounts of dastardly deeds below stairs. My father painted as a hobby and taught me some basics but my painting took more the form of interior design especially when we were renovating the six houses we lived in over the years – the first in Toronto’s Cabbagetown.
We live between Honfleur and Lisieux, places where I persuaded local artisans to teach me bakery and charcuterie. With this superior knowledge, I ran a cooking school for three to four years in the 17th-century farmhouse we renovated. We have just finished another cottage on the property where we will live and continue to brew cider, keep Black Balwen Sheep and ‘cultiver notre jardin’.
Old Dog – New Pavlovian tricks
I am always enchanted by Eric Brad’s articles on dog training at the same time as I feel a bit of a failure because I have never been able to train Morwen. I have always had Border Collies so have had a relatively easy life as they are very … Read more →
The Herd Instinct
It’s that time of the year again – lambs gambolling in the fields but this year between my cataracts and wonky wrist I am just not prepared. In addition, they are a week earlier than usual. This is how it came about. Last year when I put the cat … Read more →
Luke Skywalker and the Desert Fox – Part Two
The oases of Tozeur and Nefta were a revelation. There was so much undergrowth of other fruits beneath the huge date palms: there were bananas, almonds, plums and apricots and all this on the edge of the Salt pans and the desert. We traversed the … Read more →
The Desert Fox – Part One
Our recent trip to Tunisia was not an outstanding success for us. True there was a small but pleasant group of people and as a quick all round insight into Tunisian life, the trip was quite satisfactory but the guide, not being an archaeologist, was … Read more →
Kingdom of the Fungi: Part Two
From Bread to Delicate Omelettes and Immunosuppressive Drugs. Julia McLean takes us on a journey through the UK, France, Italy as she explores the many uses of mold and fungi.
Act of Remembrance
Through the filter of a preschooler, Julia McLean’s memories of World War II are an impressionable part of her childhood
Forays in the Kingdom of the Fungi – Part One
Julia McLean provides a humorous snapshot of mushroom hunting in Normandy.
Back to basics: A Moving Experience
While sorting through the accumulated clutter in her house, Julia McLean sifts through memories.
Camembert: A Legend
Julia McLean writes about a cheese – the soft, smooth texture and the rich, creamy taste. Camembert, the history, the legend and a bit of advice on how to enjoy it
Television: A Window on the World
Julia McLean expresses her opinion about changes over the decades in television programming.
