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Welcome to Brave Seeds - The Voice of Platform 13
December 2025 - Unlocked Stories
Soulstice Immersions - The work of Platform 13
Soulstice Immersions are two-week, women-only experiences, designed to help us come home to ourselves - through courage, creativity and connection. The quiet clarity that emerges when life finally gives us space to breathe. We created Soulstice because so many of us women reach a moment in our lives where we feel ready for something more, but aren’t sure what “more” looks like. Perhaps the chance to tell the story of "us", with our whole heart. Maybe to explore the willingnes
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Festive Markets - The Hosts of Christmas Present.
Generally, the French go at Christmas less hard than elsewhere it is celebrated. They don't post a shopping day countdown, or fall out of bars wearing reindeer horns from mid-November. France (mercifully) lacks the pub culture that brings the English "together". Nor, might I add, do they have TV programs of a necessary standard to keep people at home on the sofa. I cannot think of a single French TV show, where a Christmas Special wouldn't be acutely painful. Instead, the Fr
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Gentle Reflections - What’s in your Glass?
There’s a funny comedian who asked this of the audience “who here is a glass half empty person?” Half the audience raises their hands. “Show of hands for the half full?” The rest go up. Now that everyone had defined and labeled themselves, he delivers the punchline. “Has anyone ever asked what’s in the glass?” The room erupts in laughter. Because if it’s filled with sh**, you bet I’m a glass half empty guy!” To prove that all things are not black and white, he asks in a moc
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December 2025 - New Member Stories
How the French do things at Christmas.
France is famous the world over for its attention to mealtime detail. None more so than the Christmas Eve celebration of “Le Réveillon de Noël”.
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Field Notes - The Bourgeois - A humble history.
Once a simple word for a regular townsfellow, the term " bourgeois" has travelled through centuries of revolution, ridicule, and refinement. Its journey from common noun to common mirror, reflects our own uneasy juggle with progress and social aspiration. It is neither really a word of belonging, but perhaps more one that suggests "becoming". The hapless work of the sausage roll that wants to be a "Pork Wellington". Long before bourgeois became a petty insult, it was a mar
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Chef Wiet Wauters - Christmas Meringue Roll
Hello again dear Platform 13 readers. Is it December already? Wow. . where did the year go? Christmas ... Some, like my husband Kris, just don't like it, but most people love that dark period of the year where lights and candles shine and give us a special feeling. Our eldest son especially loves this time of the year, just because of the lights everywhere. On the streets, in the gardens strung around the house … For me Christmas always has been a family thing. Being togethe
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At the table - The Advention of Christmas
Every year, I hear someone say "It just keeps getting earlier "... referencing the sudden appearance of Christmas in late September. Like it matters. For me, any season that is associated with joy, giving and connection to loved ones can start its shift as early as it damn well pleases. Many do not share my view here and I fully respect that. For some, the hoildays are strongly linked to sadness, stress, depression and anxiety, for which I am profoundly sorry. That must suck.
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The art of relocating - Part II - "Legitimacy".
A note on some feelings which recently surfaced, when Vanessa and I ran into a couple we hadn't seen for a while, and what began as a pleasant enough conversational exchange, soon had us on the back foot, in a sort of panicked display of what can only be described as "anxious over-explaining". It was very aparent that this was a central tenet to our personal sense of being in the right place. If our sense of belonging relates to the emotional landscape of moving to France, t
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Choices - The Psychology of "too much".
French supermarkets at Christmas-time are irresistibly mesmerising. Perhaps it’s the seasonal theatre of it all - quarries of oysters; gentlemanly rows of sincere-looking Champagnes, serious wines that require a quick chat before being chosen. Stockpiles of chocolate logs arranged like artillary ordanance. Or maybe it’s simply the Star Wars scale of the Hypermarché itself, which in December feels less like a shop and more like an obstacle course in Oz. "It's ok, I've got thi
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Brave Seeds - The Living Library
Articles By Category
Field Notes
Observations from the ground up - living seasons, the countryside and the beauty in the everyday.
At the Table
Food as memory and connection - French flavors, simple recipes and stories from the kitchen.
The French Connection
A love letter to French Life - culture, language and moments that make this place endlessly fascinating
The Spirit Level
Where beauty meets balance - reflections and essays on the inner journey.
A Sense of Place
Stories of home, design and character of life in the French countryside
Guest Appearances
Voices from the wider Platform 13 community - shared stories, perspectives and lived wisdom
Brave Seeds Member's Library
Brave Seeds - The Living Library
All Stories
Soulstice Immersions - The work of Platform 13
Soulstice Immersions are two-week, women-only experiences, designed to help us come home to ourselves - through courage, creativity and connection. The quiet clarity that emerges when life finally gives us space to breathe. We created Soulstice because so many of us women reach a moment in our lives where we feel ready for something more, but aren’t sure what “more” looks like. Perhaps the chance to tell the story of "us", with our whole heart. Maybe to explore the willingnes
-
How the French do things at Christmas.
France is famous the world over for its attention to mealtime detail. None more so than the Christmas Eve celebration of “Le Réveillon de Noël”.
-
Field Notes - The Bourgeois - A humble history.
Once a simple word for a regular townsfellow, the term " bourgeois" has travelled through centuries of revolution, ridicule, and refinement. Its journey from common noun to common mirror, reflects our own uneasy juggle with progress and social aspiration. It is neither really a word of belonging, but perhaps more one that suggests "becoming". The hapless work of the sausage roll that wants to be a "Pork Wellington". Long before bourgeois became a petty insult, it was a mar
-
Festive Markets - The Hosts of Christmas Present.
Generally, the French go at Christmas less hard than elsewhere it is celebrated. They don't post a shopping day countdown, or fall out of bars wearing reindeer horns from mid-November. France (mercifully) lacks the pub culture that brings the English "together". Nor, might I add, do they have TV programs of a necessary standard to keep people at home on the sofa. I cannot think of a single French TV show, where a Christmas Special wouldn't be acutely painful. Instead, the Fr
-
Gentle Reflections - What’s in your Glass?
There’s a funny comedian who asked this of the audience “who here is a glass half empty person?” Half the audience raises their hands. “Show of hands for the half full?” The rest go up. Now that everyone had defined and labeled themselves, he delivers the punchline. “Has anyone ever asked what’s in the glass?” The room erupts in laughter. Because if it’s filled with sh**, you bet I’m a glass half empty guy!” To prove that all things are not black and white, he asks in a moc
-
Chef Wiet Wauters - Christmas Meringue Roll
Hello again dear Platform 13 readers. Is it December already? Wow. . where did the year go? Christmas ... Some, like my husband Kris, just don't like it, but most people love that dark period of the year where lights and candles shine and give us a special feeling. Our eldest son especially loves this time of the year, just because of the lights everywhere. On the streets, in the gardens strung around the house … For me Christmas always has been a family thing. Being togethe
-
At the table - The Advention of Christmas
Every year, I hear someone say "It just keeps getting earlier "... referencing the sudden appearance of Christmas in late September. Like it matters. For me, any season that is associated with joy, giving and connection to loved ones can start its shift as early as it damn well pleases. Many do not share my view here and I fully respect that. For some, the hoildays are strongly linked to sadness, stress, depression and anxiety, for which I am profoundly sorry. That must suck.
-
The art of relocating - Part II - "Legitimacy".
A note on some feelings which recently surfaced, when Vanessa and I ran into a couple we hadn't seen for a while, and what began as a pleasant enough conversational exchange, soon had us on the back foot, in a sort of panicked display of what can only be described as "anxious over-explaining". It was very aparent that this was a central tenet to our personal sense of being in the right place. If our sense of belonging relates to the emotional landscape of moving to France, t
-
Choices - The Psychology of "too much".
French supermarkets at Christmas-time are irresistibly mesmerising. Perhaps it’s the seasonal theatre of it all - quarries of oysters; gentlemanly rows of sincere-looking Champagnes, serious wines that require a quick chat before being chosen. Stockpiles of chocolate logs arranged like artillary ordanance. Or maybe it’s simply the Star Wars scale of the Hypermarché itself, which in December feels less like a shop and more like an obstacle course in Oz. "It's ok, I've got thi
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The Spirit Level - Gratitude - The Ultimate Superpower
We all hear of superfoods - Goji berries, chia seeds… the list goes on and changes like the seasons. Fortunately, emotions don’t follow these trends, but as we head into the season of gratitude, let me highlight why it is your Superpower and why it’s the ingredient you’ll want in your morning mental smoothie. November is the month of gratitude. Being American, I used to celebrate Thanksgiving, and as an American in France, if there’s one of us within 100kms, we tend to gather
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Speaking from the Heart: A Holiday Guide to Graceful Connection
"We have two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak". - Eptictetus. -
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The art of relocating - Part I - Being who we are.
I know... some of you will not see relocating as an "art" . Perhaps viewing it more of an extremely daunting prospect, a discomfort to be avoided, or just something that other people do. Particularly, of course if it involves not a mere change of post code, but a move that crosses time zones and international date lines. We benefit from a built-in bias around the beauty of staying put. Home is where our friends are, or the kids live, or the climate suits. It's where we "belon
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