So there I was, lying in bed and trying to get to sleep and all of a sudden….

This thought popped into my head!

And that, I have to say….

Is a rare occurence!

“What we need” I thought to myself….

“Is another limerick competition!”

“I’d have to get the dates and timings all correct this time” I decided…

“Otherwise that missey (don’t worry, I’m not going to mention her name) from Montpellier (they’re a funny lot, that lot from Montpellier, aren’t they?) would only complain!

“But, a Limerick about what?” I pondered…

“It would have to be something pretty French” I thought…

“And pretty tasty as well!”

In a flash the answer came to me!

“Pig’s blood sausages! That’s what we’ll have as a subject” I cried!

And so here it is….

There’s a prize of a special mention and a link to your blog (if you have one) on the sidebar here at A Taste of Garlic….

And more fame and adoration than you can imagine!

And all you have to do is write an winning limerick about that famous French delicacy…

The Boudin Noir!

Oh, by the way, the photo at the top isn’t of me (just in case you were wondering…)

It’s Kelsey from “un(e)-americain(e)” in france and comes from her post… Wine and Meat in Le Mans

Would you believe that that it was the only photo I could find from any of your blogs showing one of you brave enough to eat a pig’s blood sausage?

Shame on you!

Bravo Kelsey!

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Ladies and Gentlemen…

After loads of deliberation, much studying of all the entries and maybe just a couple of little glasses of wine…

I am happy to announce that we have decided on a winner for the Pig’s Bottom Sausage Challenge!

The winner of which will receive a copy of George East’s latest masterpiece….

French Impressions – Brittany as a prize!

I have put put the book on www.BooksAboutFrance.com and you can read more about it there.

There were a total of 42 entries from….

Jacqui – Special Places in France – 8

Sarah – St. Bloggie de Riviere – 8

Katie Mac – The Teapot Perspective – 8

Richard Brown – No blog as yet (get yer finger out, Mr Brown!) – 7

Marie Rouge – No blog – 4

Me – BretonDiary – 4

Mrs A Taste of Garlic – LaMaisondesFleurs.com – 1

Adrian – Special Places in France – 1

Sue – No blog – 1

Richard Brown suggested that a site be created to run these sort of competitions all the time. I’m working on it Mr B! Watch this space!

Marilyn from The Website of Author Marilyn Z Thomas suggested that Jacqui was unbeatable…

And Virginia from Paris Through My Lens was brave enough to say… “Keith Darlin,
Forgive me but French sausage scares me to death. I just don’t go there.”

She should see what I get up to with Pig’s Trotters!

And now…

With no further ado….

Let’s see who won!

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Just to let you all know….

I have just poured Mrs A Taste of Garlic a tiny wee little glass of wine and…

Asked her to judge this week’s Limerick Lunacy competition (she’s been wanting to do that for ages)…

Where the lucky winner…

Will win a copy of George East‘s latest brilliant book about Brittany!

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Following on from all the fun and excitement about the competition to win a copy of Norman’s Folly by Clare Norman, I have decided to run another competition.

And that most wonderful of authors, the great George East, has agreed to donate a copy of his latest book French Impressions – Brittany as a prize!

I have put put the book on www.BooksAboutFrance.com and you can read more about it there.

Without further ado, I am happy to announce that a free copy of French Impressions – Brittany by George East will be awarded to whoever wins today’s cunning creative competition!

All you have to do is write a simple limerick about life in France.

It can be funny, it can be sad, it doesn’t even have to mention Citroen 2CVs!

You can even enter as many times as you like!

There is just one proviso though…

The limerick must mention (or allude to) that greatest of French Culinary Delights…..

The Andouille (or Pig’s Bottom Sausage!)

The entries should be posted as as comments on this post and the deadline is midnight Friday the 4th of March!

May the best limerick writer win!

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Well, the chance of winning a copy of Norman’s Folly by Clare Norman certainly seemed to excite a few people out of their winter slumber!

There were over 100 comments on the original post, some of them even rhymed!

If the prize (a lovely virgin copy of Norman’s Folly by Clare Norman) were to awarded to the most persistent competitor then Paul (husband of poor Roz at An English Rose in France) , with 30 Limericks, would have won!

In second place we would have seen Sarah from St. Bloggie de Riviere with a massive 25 entries!

Katie Mac (better know for The Teapot Perspective) would have grabbed third place with an impressive 19 goes!

And Jacqui (from The French Village Diaries) managed 10 limericks (perhaps another was snuck in in her hubby’s name?) which I thought was very respectable bearing in mind that it’s the school holidays!

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What I had anticipated would be a quiet, refined and gentle battle of the wits….

Has turned, instead, into the most competitive event I’ve witnessed in a long time!

But, at long last, the competition is over and my fellow judges (who can’t be named for contractual reasons) will be deliberating for most of today in order to determine a worthy winner.

1). We have already decided that the quantity of entries submitted by any particular competitor will have no bearing on our final decision.

2). We have also made our mind up to disregard postal costs when considering the merits (or otherwise) of each individual limerick. Thus, competitors who may happen to live just down the lane will be at no special advantage.

3). And finally, we would, once again, like to make clear that none of the judging committee is going to take any notice of the offers of back massages, holiday by the seaside or gifts of meals out that have been flooding in! We are, unusually, incorruptible and none of this blatant bribery and corruption will divert us in our deliberations.

The results of this competition will be placed on line at 7am tomorrow morning.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for entering (all of you who did) and may the…..

Best limerick win!

All the best

If you like a Taste of Garlic, why not share it with your friends on Facebook

Another day, another competition!

And this has got to be the heaviest competition so far!

This book weighs a ton!

And I’m giving it away!

There is a catch, of course…

I’ll want the lucky winner of the competition to write a short (250-500) words review of the book that we can publish on www.BooksAboutFrance.com

For some photos and competition details, read on….

Why is the country cooking of France so compelling, and why does it exert such fascination and evoke so much respect? The answer lies in the terroir of its pays (regions), the fresh produce and specialty foods that are unique to each area and are then transformed into such traditional favourites as Soupeau Pistou and Choucroute Alsacienne. Anne Willan is well known for her highly respected cooking school in France, La Varenne, founded thirty years ago, as well as her many best-selling cookbooks. She combines her years of experience writing about French cuisine with extensive research, hands-on experience, and a deep appreciation of the current culinary trends in France to create this classic cookbook.

For more information, or if you wish to purchase…

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It’s turning into a book warehouse here!

It really is!

I’ve just received a copy of the fascinating book, Au Contraire by Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron.

Now, you can see details of this book at www.BooksAboutFrance.com but, if you fancy getting your hands on a copy of this book for Free, just read on…

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I had a pleasant surprise the other day when the postie delivered a review copy of a fascinating new book called Mademoiselle London.

Now, I’ve added the book to the list of great books about France on www.BooksAboutFrance.com and you can read all the blurb at Mademoiselle London on Books About France.

I thought I tell you a little about the book here though, as well.

Mademoiselle London is a collection of poetry, in English as well as in French, beautifully detailed  with quirky and interesting illustrations.

This is a book for people who love Paris!

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The exceedingly talented Marilyn Z. Tomlins (who I had the great pleasure to interview yesterday) has very kindly offered to send a signed copy of her book, Die in Paris to the winners of a mini competition that we have devised.

Being around the Halloween time of year I was initially tempted to suggest that we pick a competition winner from any visitor to this site who was brave enough to send in a photograph of themselves wearing a carved pumpkin on their head, in a public place whilst carrying a blood stained axe (preferably still dripping with blood!)

However, upon reflection,  I rather suspected that this would, once again, attract the more disreputable elements of the readership (for whom this is rather normal behaviour) and so I decided to do something more sensible instead.

I do apologise to any of the visitors to A Taste of Garlic who have been getting desperate for an excuse to roam the streets of Paris carrying a blood stained axe!.

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