Lavender Path Languages

25/09/2026

Breton, the language of Brittany was forbidden to be spoken at the end of the 19th century, children were punished if they spoke it in order to unify France. A whole culture being lost through its language.
But there's a revival, there are bilingual schools called école Diwan where Breton is taught.
Everywhere in Brittany the signposts are in French and Breton but will they ever be able to revive totally?
To me, a language isn't just a language, it's deeply entwined with the culture and the mindset of the nation. I hope they do manage to save Le Breton, the Bretons are NOT French and they consider themselves apart from the rest of the country.
(Btw les Bretons fought against the government not to have péages in a Bretagne and they won. You don't pay for to use motorways in Brittany!)

What do you think?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc51hg7RAML/?stkn=MWIwcnplbTdma2MxYg==

23/09/2026

How has France changed you? If you live/lived in France, how has France changed you as a person? Not just the way of life but how you look at life, and yourself?

23/09/2026

What if these rings were part of an immersive cultural and creativive experience in Nantes?
Les Anneaux de Buren, are on the Ile de Nantes and are one of the permanent structures from the Voyage à Nantes (see previous post on this). They stand on the edge of the Loire , in front of "Hangar à Bananes", a collection of bars and restaurants built on the sites of the old banana storage hangars, where bananas were shipped form the Caribbean and linked to the Slave Trade, something that Nantes has publicly apologised and has opened the wound on its shameful pat (and created W touching memorial to commemorate the lost lives from the thousands of ships).
Imagine on a creative language retreat, after having lunch overlooking the Loire, taking photos of these rings, in creative ways using them to frame the city seen through them, or of yourself within them, then writing words you know in French to describe the photo or using the ring to represent the limits you put on yourself.

In 2027 I'll be running retreats in Nantes where you'll be immersed not only in the culture but also the creativity and using that to take you on a journey back to you. With the language being sprinkled in there too. Not just language, not just Creativity. The retreats are about YOU seen through the language, the culture and the arts.

You don't need to be fluent in French.
You don't need any creative experience
You don't need to want to live in France.

You just need curiosity and a desire to finally come back to YOU.
Through France.

23/09/2026

I've just returned from a holiday in Cornwall, and while I was there I visited the Museum of the History of Cornwall.

I went in expecting to see traditional dress, references to Cornish culture, the things that make Cornwall distinctly Cornish.

But there was... nothing.

Nothing that made me think: THIS is the heart of Cornish culture.

I expected to see the Cornish language written around Cornwall. I wanted to be able to feel the culture, not just read about its history.

But where was it?

The Celts were pushed westwards by the Romans, into what became Wales and Cornwall, and some later crossed the Channel to what is now Brittany.

And when you look at Brittany, the culture is everywhere.

The music.
The traditional costumes.
The festivals.
The food.
The crafts.
The architecture.

You see Breton and French on the road signs. There are bilingual schools working to keep the Breton language alive.

You don't have to go looking for Breton culture.

You feel it.

And that's one of the things I absolutely love about France.

Whether you're in Brittany, Normandy, Languedoc, Alsace or Bourgogne, each region has its own identity. You can taste it in the food, see it in the architecture, hear it in the music, and encounter it in the festivals and traditions.

The culture hasn't just been put in a museum.

It's still part of everyday life.

So it got me wondering...

Where did it go in Cornwall?

And perhaps more importantly...

What happens to a culture when it stops being something you live and becomes something you have to go looking for?

"Instagram post" (https://www.instagram.com/p/DdTOAi9DE2G/?img_index=7&stkn=anh3bngxaWFvMWFZ5)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdTOAi9DE2G/?img_index=7&stkn=anh3bngxaWFvMWZ5

22/09/2026

Why DO British move to France? What is the underlying pull?

22/09/2026

You may be wondering, why do I talk about Nantes so much? Am I a tour guide?! 😂

I spent 20 years of my life living and working there, and it holds a very special place in my heart. But I don't think it was by chance that I ended up there.

You see, when I was 12, I walked into a French art gallery and declared that one day, I would make art in France.

And I did.

I'm an artist. I'm creative. And I've always believed that creativity isn't simply about making something beautiful to put on a wall. It's a way of connecting with ourselves. It can open something up in us, give us space to explore, and support our wellbeing.

And this is one of the reasons Nantes feels so significant to me.

It's an incredibly creative city. Art is woven into everyday life, accessible around almost every corner. It's a place that invites you to look, explore, experiment and see things differently.

I also believe creativity has a fascinating connection with language learning. When we move beyond simply memorising words and begin engaging with language creatively and intuitively, we experience it differently.

And perhaps this is where everything comes together for me.

I don't see French as an isolated subject.

I'm interested in the whole experience.

What happens when you learn another language.
What happens when you immerse yourself in another culture.
What happens when you leave the familiar behind.
What happens when you give yourself space to create, explore and discover who you are.

Because perhaps that yearning you feel to live in France isn't only about France.

Perhaps something deeper is calling you.

And that's why I'm planning immersive retreats in Nantes for 2027.

Not retreats hidden away in the countryside.

We'll be out experiencing Nantes, its culture and creativity, using French along the way, while creating space to discover more about you.

French - France.
Creativity - Culture
Awaken - Align
Come back to you.

I'm really excited about where this is going.

Watch this space. 🇫🇷

If this speaks to you, leave me a 🇫🇷 or 🎨 in the comments.

22/09/2026

A skeleton of a serpent that appears at low tide is one of the crazy works of art that are installed Nantes and around la région Nantaise for the Voyage à Nantes. The VAN as it's locally known is a parcour of sculptures and works of art hors du norme, original, weird and wonderful that appear during the summer, some are temporary while 33 right now are permanent. You just follow the green line painted on the streets of Nantes which take you to the sites.
A final and creative way to visit the city.

Depuis le coeur de ville, de Nantes ou de Saint-Nazaire, le parcours Estuaire invite à découvrir l’estuaire de la Loire et les 33 œuvres d’une collection permanente qui n’existe nulle part ailleurs.
À Nantes, Saint-Nazaire et sur les 60 km de rives qui les relient, Estuaire emmène – par la route, à vélo ou en bateau – à connaître un territoire fascinant, ses richesses environnementales et patrimoniales.
A l’embouchure du fleuve, surgit l’immense Serpent d’océan de Huang Yong Ping, posé sur une plage de Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, la ligne de ses vertèbres joue avec la courbe du pont de Saint-Nazaire.
Pour réserver une croisière : https://bit.ly/CroisiereEstuaireLVAN

📷© Franck Tomps _ LVAN

21/09/2026

The thing about moving country whether its to France or back to the UK, it opens you up. Not just in your mind, it opens you up to your fears, insecurites, strengths.
It makes you vulnerable, it makes you courageous.
And gives you time.
Now what will you do wiwth that time?
Some will spend it sitting by the pool, drinking un verre de rouge, others with spend time gardening or DIYing.

And others will finally stare into the abyss that time presents you.

The abyss of yourself.
You think you came to retire, to live the qiet life but what you are deeply searching for, isn't time, it's yourself.
You escaped the rat race, you sit and ponder life.
But some, a few will ponder the meaning of life.

Time gives you breathing space to find you.
But will you answer the call?

21/09/2026

France changes you, it brings you back to you so much deeper, though we never intentionally expect that to happen.

I certainly didn't go to France looking for myself, I went because it felt like home.
I remember at the age of 12 , walking into a french art gallery and saying " I want to make art in France'. That never left me.

And somewhere along the way, I found me there.

Living in France changed me. Being surrounded by another language, another culture and a different way of living opened something in me. I became more curious, more creative, more independent. I felt more like myself.

For the first time, I understood what it felt like to live in a way that felt truly aligned with who I was and perhaps that's why France has never really left me. It's part of who I am. it isn't jsut a language, a culture, a country.

Maybe we're not simply being called to a place.
Maybe we're being called back to a part of ourselves.

That's what I'm exploring now through French, creativity, culture and the experiences I create, because I believe there are parts of us waiting to be discovered when we step outside the life we already know.

And perhaps France can be the place that helps you find them.