Springtime in Toulouse

Ben's mum Jennnifer is here, and this afternoon we were in Toulouse together, to get a feel for the city in the springtime. It's an ancient brick city, full of surprising views whenever you find a gap between the brick buildings. In the bakers' shops, window displays are given over to Easter chocolates. We particularly liked this under the sea display - if you remember our chocolate fish ('Bloups, le poisson') from a few days ago, you'll know that fish are quite popular at Easter in France.

This jeweller's shop had a lovely Easter display... But there were no prices on the jewellery, which we always think is a bad sign. And here was the real sweet shop we were looking for!Lots of very traditional French Easter goodies with a very vintage feel, and in the other window, the traditional Touluse violet goodies.

Here's the outside of the wonderful shop:

And the collection of vintage chocolate tins inside:So, Happy Easter from Toulouse!

A peep inside...

...the bag of goodies Son 1 brought back from school last week: It's full of:

Which basically means Fair Trade Chocolate. My dream...
The bag tells you what it's all about - it's a fund-raising effort for parents' associations, a bit like the somewhat dreaded Webb-Ivory Catalogue back in the UK but not yet so over-used.

I just love the way that collective groups in France have teamed up with producers' collectives in the developing world, to the clear advantage of both. I always try to get Fairly Traded chocolate when I can, because it's the only label which is really certain to avoid child slave labour, and to provide product development, good working conditions and fair wages to the groups of farmers. I don't want to enjoy a snack at the expense of someone else's kid.

Up until now, I've found many delicious bars of FT chocolate in France, but NEVER any Easter eggs -it's been something of a crisis.

Actually, of course, being France, it doesn't have to be eggs...

Here is a wonderful Fair Trade bell, because as those of you who have read 'Chocolat', by Joanne Harris, may remember:

'She used to say that on the eve of Good Friday the bells leave their steeples and church towers in the secret of the night and fly with magical wings to Rome...

'And the Pope blesses them, every one, far into the night, the thousands of France's steeples waiting empty for their return, silent until Easter morning...

'And the blessings turn into chocolates of all shapes and kinds, and the bells turn upside-down to carry them home. All through the night they fly, and when they reach their towers and steeples they turn over and begin swinging to peal out their joy...

'And the chocolates fly out across the fields and towns. They fall through the air as the bells sound. Some of them hit the ground and shatter. But the children make nests and place them high in the trees to catch the falling eggs and pralines and chocolate hens and rabbits and guimaves and almonds...

(Editor's note: And FISH!..)

'And that's the story of why you get chocolates at Easter.'

Thank you to Joanne Harris for that magical account!

I like to get organic, and preferably FT, bananas for the same sort of reasons as the chocolate:So here's a bunch of fairly traded products I found in the supermarket and our kitchen today!

Getting ready for a Happy Fair Trade Easter...