大象传媒

Perhaps you watched Esther Rantzen, Marcus Brigstocke and Ron Atkinson attempt to learn French as part of 大象传媒2's series 'Excuse My French' - well, while the stars were soaking up the language in Provence, 大象传媒 Radio Kent and Southern Counties Radio were broadcasting a week of programmes live from Normandy.

The Cinq Jours En Juillet team

Each show combined a slice of language, history and leisure with a helping of local food and drink. Click on the links below to listen again.

Day 1

DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Heather takes the first of her French lessons with Madame Jacky; listen to 3 tracks from the French top 10; we talk to David Miller, captain of P&O ferry 'Pride of Kent'; we go on a guided tour of Le Torp Mesnil, the Normandy village that was to be out base for 8 days; meet Patrick and Carly, two thirty-somethings from Sussex who have bought a holiday home near Dieppe - we gate crash their BBQ!

Day 2

DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Hear what the people of Hastings think of the French; Heather's task for the day was to hire a bicycle and ride to Paris; there's music from Dieppe-based band Pulsington; we sample a local fish dish - the 'Marmite Dieppoise'; we learn about the delights of the Seine Maritime region; there's the story of expat John Lambert, who commutes to Kent from France; Robert reports on the importance of learning French - for work and play.

Day 3

DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS: As part of her language mission, Heather has to buy a teddy bear; we visit a local cider farm; we learn all about Martello towers and about Napoleon's threat to England; could Harold have beaten William at Hastings in 1066?; Robert reports on the heat wave in France and on the rush to buy property in France; there's a postcard from a Kent expat, living in Calais.

Day 4

DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS: There's 3 songs from F茅camp-based traditional musicians Marais de Paradis; Heather has to get her nails and hair done; we speak to a British estate agent working in France about what to look out for when buying abroad; Robert reports from the battlefield of Agincourt and uncovers its link to a school in New Romney in Kent; Heather speaks to the 大象传媒's Paris Correspondent Caroline Wyatt.

Day 5

DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS: Heather goes on a tour of the market in Eu; there are 3 tracks from cross-Channel funky folk band The Reign Parade; Robert is taken round three differently priced farmhouses in the Calvados region in Normandy to see what Brits can get for their money; we look at how French is taught in schools in England.