Ten hidden gems in France you should visit this summer

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Ten hidden gems in France you should visit this summer

There’s a whole lot more to summer travel in France than the Eiffel Tower, the Riviera, and Mont-Saint-Michel.

By:Nicola Williams/The Local

Travel guide publishers Lonely Planet, whose writer on France, Nicola Williams, has helped uncover some must-see sites that are rarely on the radar of most visitors.
1. Neuf-Brisach, eastern France
No foray into France is complete without a stroll around a citadel. Vauban built a load of them in France, but Neuf-Brisach on the French-German border is the one to target – it’s the country’s least-known Unesco World Heritage Site.
Louis XIV commissioned the fortified town to be built in 1697 to bolster French defenses. Its red sandstone walls were constructed in the shape of an eight-pointed star and the sleepy Alsatian town sits inside.
2. Nernier, eastern France
Lake Geneva is not all Swiss. Much of its southern shoreline is French. And while tourism has made some in-roads – on sunny Sundays Genevans motor to the medieval walled chateau-village of Yvoire for lunch – this lakeside stretch is uncharted tourist territory.
The sweet spot is Nernier, a shoreline village with cobbled streets, a pebble beach, and a quaint port where you can lunch at Restaurant du Lac and set sail on the lake in an old fashioned steamer.
3. Le Brame du Cerf, central France
The autumnal rutting season at Château de Chambord is a fabulous way of rediscovering the most famous Renaissance chateau in the Loire Valley – sans crowds. There is nothing more magical than creeping into the dewy forest at dawn or dusk to watch serenading stags, boars and red deer from hidden watch towers.
The domaine (estate) is Europe’s largest hunting reserve (there for the exclusive use of the French government no less).
Photo: Michal Osmenda
4. Musée d’Art Moderne, Céret, Roussillon
It’s been around since the 1950s, but this outstanding modern art museum in the Pyrenean foothills of south western France is one of those inspirational spaces where you can still lose yourself in a mind-blowing collection stuffed with Chagalls, Braques and Matisses.
Picasso donated 57 works to the museum and the town itself is a compelling mix of sun-blazed old stone and bon vivant living over Catalan sangria and tapas
Photo: Museum’s Facebook page. 
5. Refuge d’Art, Haute-Provence
The French Riviera is a magnet for modern art lovers, but few make it as far as the cinematic limestone ridges, ravines and gorges of the Réserve Géologique de Haute-Provence, a sun-blazed wilderness near Digne-les-Bains in which British artist Andy Goldsworthy exhibits the largest public collection of his work.
His dramatic outdoor works of art – rock hives, cairns, stone sculptures you can sleep in – are dotted along a 150km hiking trail.
Photo: Refuge d’Art
6. Alésia MuséoParc, Alise-Sainte-Reine
This remarkable historical site in Burgundy only opened in recent years and remains undiscovered by the non-French tourist set.
Walking around the rebuilt fortifications in the reconstructed Roman camp of Alésia, it is amazing to think this was the very spot where Julius Caesar thrashed chief of the Gauls Vercingétorix once and for all in 52 BC. The actors dressed up as Roman legions and battle demonstrations are particularly entertaining.
7. Arbois and Pupillin, eastern France
Wine tourism is a big reason to travel in France and this little known twin-set of addresses in the remote Jura region in the east is pure, unadulterated joie du vin.
Alongside a cellar full of regular wines, vineyards around Arbois produce rich nutty Vin Jaune (yellow wine) and Vin de Paille (‘straw wine’), made from grapes laid out to dry on straw mats. End with a tour of the wine cellars in the village of Pupillin, built entirely from yellow stone.
Arbois. Photo: marydoll1952/Flickr
8. Postman Cheval’s Palais Idéal
One of France’s strangest attractions, the Palais Idéal, in the Drôme department is an extraordinary example of architecture and the story behind it is just as astonishing.
The palace was built by postman Ferdinand Cheval, who had the idea after tripping over a stone in 1879. For the next 33 years he collected single stones to construct what he called a Temple of Nature. The palace was finally classified as a historical monument in 1969.

9. Abbaye de Valmagne, Languedoc
This awe-inspiring abbey in southern France fuels two great French passions: wine and architecture. Built in the 12th century, it was inhabited first by Benedictine monks who cultivated vines on the estate.
With the French Revolution, the abbey church was deconsecrated and sold to Monsieur Granier-Joyeuse, a wine grower who turned the soaring Gothic stone church into a magnificent wine cellar. Never has wine tasting been so good.
10. Ventabren, Provence
The whole point of Provence in the south of France is to laze away inordinate amounts of time lunching – exceedingly well. Enter Ventabren, a drop-dead gorgeous Provencal hilltop village just 14km from tourist-rammed Aix-en-Provence.
After roaming empty golden-stone lanes and chateau ruins, there is only one place to lunch al fresco with a sweeping view: La Table de Ventabren.
Photo: Allie Caulfield
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Wife finds Jokes about Hubby’s Penis humiliating

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Dr. Rod Kunynetz and his wife Valentina leave the College of Physicians and Surgeons at a lunch...

Photo: Toronto Sun

By Brad Hunter/Toronto Sun

The wife of the infamous Dr. Rod said puerile penis puns that accompanied stories about her hubby were “humiliating” and the hardest part of her family’s ordeal.

Former Barrie dermatologist Dr. Rodion “Dr. Rod” Kunynetz is currently in the midst of a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario penalty hearing for sexual impropriety. A number of women have claimed that dermatologist rubbed his penis against them.

Criminal proceedings are also taking place with the doctor facing a number of sexual abuse and gross indecency charges.

Kunynetz’s lawyer has used a unique defence for his client: His stomach is too big and his penis too small for the contact his accusers have suggested.

He was found guilty by the discipline committee of one count of sexual assault and unprofessional conduct.

He denied the allegations and most charges of sexual abuse regarding the penis rubbing were dismissed. Kunynetz has been suspended from practising since October 2015.

Valentina Kunynetz, 63, told the tribunal her husband was dedicated to dermatology and that she, too, played a part in the business, acting as office administrator.

“In December 2015, I was on the way to the dentist and on NewsTalk 1010 they were talking about Rod, mocking him, making fun of him … that his penis was undersized and his belly was enormous,” Valentina said.

That day’s merriment was triggered by a front page Toronto Sun story headlined: Dr. Rod’s wee defence.

“It was the salacious details … friends, family and colleagues were all reading this. It was disrespectful,” she said.

“The children (the couple has three sons) were getting calls from their friends and in the paper, were all the details about the size of his penis. It was terrible.”

Calling the family’s ordeal “demeaning” and “humiliating,” Valentina — dressed in a long dress and sandals — wondered aloud: “How many times do we have to read about the size of Rod’s penis?”

The ordeal cast a pall over the weddings of two of their sons and left Kunynetz’s practice that he had built over 30 years in ruins.

And the allegations left her husband devastated. The couple — married 37 years — stopped socializing and travelling.

“There was no joy in Rod’s life,” she added.

Under cross-examination, she conceded that the stories were accurate but she took exception to their “mocking” nature.

One urologist called as a witness at the hearings examined the doctor and determined that, yes, because of his large stomach and small penis he could not have committed the crime.

Another disagreed.

His lawyer, Matthew Sammon, spent most of the afternoon going over errors in the college’s investigation.

Among his greatest concerns was the length of time the matter has taken and a general abuse of process, pointing to the doctor’s lengthy interim suspension.

The hearing continues Tuesday.

Danish priests marry more gay couples every year

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Danish priests marry more gay couples every year
Danish television doctor Charlotte Bøving (L) and partner Pernille Lok after their church wedding in May. Photo: John Randeris/Scanpix
The number of gay couples marrying in Danish churches has increased on a yearly basis since the law was changed in 2012.

 

416 same-sex couples have exchanged vows in churches around the country since the law change, according to figures from Statistics Denmark.

During 2012, the first year in which same-sex weddings were allowed, 51 couples were married, compared with 105 in 2016.

The total number of same-sex church weddings has increased every year since the law change came into effect.

Lesbian couples form the largest proportion of the weddings, according to the report.

Gay and lesbian couples have been able to marry in civil ceremonies in Denmark since 1989.

READ ALSO: Denmark maintains positive record on LGBTI rights

Bishop of Copenhagen Peter Skov-Jakobsen, who was at the forefront of the committee that developed the same-sex marriage ritual for the Danish church, told Ritzau that he was glad to see so many taking advantage of the new law.

Bishop Skov-Jakobsen also criticised the tone of the debate on the issue at the time of the law change.

“The tone was strong sometimes – it also got inappropriately strong – but when we look at the figures we can see that the LGBT community has taken to this opportunity,” he said.

The bishop added that only a minority of Danish priests continued to oppose same-sex church marriages.

 

“Priests that do not wish to conduct this type of marriage can be exempted. But the law is fortunately such that if a priest exempts him or herself, the couple will be referred to another priest that will conduct the ceremony,” he said.

“It is always possible to marry in a parish church. Neither the priest nor the parish council can prevent that,” Skov-Jakobsen added.

The differences between Danish marriage rituals for homosexuals and heterosexuals are subtle – the words for ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ are exchanged for ‘partner’, for example.

Priests are also advised to use a biblical text of their choice as the basis for their wedding sermon, as opposed to the traditional use of the story of creation from the book of Genesis.

Actually, we can buy happiness

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The more you think about it, the stranger the distinction between spending on experiences and buying things begins to seem

Illustration of man with money eyes

Nobody in history bought anything for any reason other than how it made them feel.’ Illustration: Michele Marconi for the Guardian

By:Oliver Burkeman/UK Guardian

You’ll be happier if you spend money on experiences rather than things!” This is the kind of insight you’d expect to see on Richard Branson’s Twitter feed, alongside a photo of the bearded irritant waterskiing in the Caribbean (in a zany manner). But it’s also one of the best-studied findings in happiness research: material goods quickly cease delivering pleasure, whereas we savor the memory of experiences for years.

Or so we thought. A big new Hungarian study has found no significant difference between the two kinds of spending. And in any case, the more you think about it, the stranger the distinction between experiences and things begins to seem. Certain purchases are hard to classify as one or the other: a paperback novel is clearly an object, but you buy it in order to go on a journey of the imagination – so which is it? Yet on closer inspection, this problem turns out to apply to everything.

Consider the standard examples of the materialist who buys a sports car, believing it’ll make him happy, versus the wise appreciator of experience, who spends (much less of) her money on a holiday with friends. Isn’t the car-buyer also really purchasing an experience – namely the thrill he imagines he’ll get whenever he sees, drives or talks about his new ride? Conversely, the vacationer is hardly spurning physical goods. Some she’s renting, like a hotel room or a plane seat, while others, like food and drink, she’s buying – but either way, her experience is dependent on objects. The overarching truth here, as Sam Harris explains in his book Waking Up, is that everything we do is ultimately a way to manipulate our conscious experience. Nobody in history bought anything for any reason other than how it made them feel – whether the experience they were seeking was that of not feeling painfully hungry, or of owning a Fabergé egg.

The reason this matters, in practical terms, is that it helps us see the car-buyer’s true problem: not that he’s prioritizing objects over experience, but that he’s pursuing the wrong kind of experience. He wants to receive a predictable, consistent daily dose of pleasure from owning a car. But that’s not how pleasure works: if the holidaymaker ends up happier, it’ll be because she got to enjoy anticipating the trip, experiencing it, then consigning it to memory, where it can be burnished until it’s perfect (or, if it went terribly, turned into an anecdote that’s even more fun). If our shallow materialist were to use his vehicle to pursue unpredictable, sociable and one-off experiences – like, say, a road trip with friends – he’d stand just as much chance of happiness.

As if to confirm all this, another recent study concludes that it’s psychologically far easier to declutter your home if you first take a photo of anything to which you’re emotionally attached. People are readier to part with such items when they know they can trigger the same old feelings by consulting the picture later. Which raises the question: what if they’d saved their cash and just collected a bunch of photos to begin with?

Tourism is killing Venice, but it’s also the only key to survival for the Italian City

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'Tourism is killing Venice, but it's also the only key to survival'
Throngs of tourists flood the streets of Venice. Photo: Venezia Autentica
By Catherine Edwards/The Local
Venice has topped travellers’ bucket lists for centuries, but in recent years the city has struggled to cope with mass tourism, while tension has grown between visitors and locals.

 

By the 17th century, a trip to Venice had become a rite of passage for upper class northern Europeans, who flocked to the lagoon city as part of the Italian Grand Tour. Writers and artists drank in inspiration from the city where imposing architecture was reflected in glittering waters and Venice became a symbol for Italian romance.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and the city is groaning under the weight of tourism.

Cheap flights, huge cruise ships, and the city’s Instagram appeal attract so many travellers that on a given day, there are more visitors than residents in the Veneto capital. It’s the type of tourism as much as the sheer amount that causes problems: the majority of visitors don’t stay overnight in the city, meaning most of them spend their time and their money in the same small areas.

Small businesses and artisans’ craft shops have been replaced by identikit souvenir stalls and fast food restaurants to cater to day-tripping bargain hunters. In recent years, Venetians have staged frequent protests against the mass tourism which has pushed up rents and forced many families out of their hometown.

But could the visitors hold the key to Venice’s survival?

“Venice is a one-industry city; it relies on tourism, like our bodies rely on food to survive,” says local resident Sebastian Fagarazzi.

“But in order to thrive, you need to have the right kind of food; the right kind of tourism. The wrong kind can mean death.”

Sebastian Fagarazzi’s family had to close down its textiles shop due to the pressure created by mass tourism; he says all his friends have left the city. Photo: Venezia Autentica

Fagarazzi and his partner, France-born Valeria Duflot, have launched Venezia Autentica, a social enterprise with the aim of promoting responsible tourism and supporting local business in the city.

Frustration with visitors has grown to the point that last summer, angry locals plastered the city with flyers reading ‘Tourists go away! You are destroying this city’, but the couple believe not only that tourists could help save Venice, but that a large number of them want to do so, and would if they were given the tools.

“Tourism is the problem, but it’s also the only solution,” Fagarazzi tells The Local. “Everyone protests [against excessive tourism], but no one has done much to try to have an immediate positive effect.”


Crowds mass at the Rialto Bridge. Photo: Venezia Autentica

Duflot met her partner on a visit to Venice before later making the city her home and remembers the difficulty she had in finding out about the real side to Venice, beyond the tourist hotspots and gondoliers.

“When I spoke to locals and met Sebastian, I learnt a lot about the city and enjoyed my time there much more. But at the start,it’s very hard to get that information and to know how to have a positive impact,” she says.

The 30-year-old came up with the idea for Venezia Autentica when walking down the city’s main street one day. To one side, she saw a crowd of cruise ship tourists; to the other, a group of young Venetians, carrying flags and singing local songs.

“In a flash, I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could get these two groups to understand each other? I know other people care about the impact they have on Venice, and if just a small proportion of the visitors thinks like that, then we can have a huge impact, particularly as the Venetians now are so few,” Duflot explains.


Valeria Duflot first came to Venice in 2014 and now calls the city her home. Photo: Venezia Autentica

The pair are sceptical about recent measures introduced by city authorities aimed at protecting the city’s heritage, including bans on new hotels and takeaway food joints in the historic centre.

“They’ve basically closed the stable door after the horse has bolted,” says Fagarazzi. “It should be the city authorities who regulate tourism – you can’t expect visitors to do in depth research; after a 40-hour working week, you come on holiday to relax! But it’s meaningless political manouevring. The bans only apply to new establishments when there are hundreds already, and there will be exceptions when it suits the authorities.”

One thing missing from the new measures is any concrete proposal of support for Venetian-run businesses or local residents, such as tax exemptions for entrepreneurs or housing support for young people.

The two Venetians hope their business will offer some support to local entrepreneurs and artisans by highlighting their shops to visitors and educating tourists on the expertise and long hours that go into making a typical mask, for example.


A Venetian artisan works on a mask while a young girl watches. Photo: Venezia Autentica

Fagarazzi is acutely aware of the pressures local businesses face: in 2015, his family was forced to close its popular clothing shop in the city centre, after facing increasing pressure linked to the effects of mass tourism.

At the age of 32, he says the majority of his friends have been forced to leave because they can no longer make a life in Venice – “and it’s my generation that makes babies!”

“People worry that Venice could disappear because of flooding, but it actually could disappear much sooner,” Fagarazzi comments. “Without the Venetians, it’s not Venice. Time is running out.”

The local population has dropped below 55,000, less than half the figure of 40 years ago, as Venetians find themselves priced out of their hometown. What’s more, it has one of Italy’s oldest populations; despite the fact Veneto is the country’s second wealthiest region, youth unemployment is extremely high.

The couple hope that by supporting local artisans, they can help them stay in business and create opportunities for young Venetians to continue living in the city and carve out rewarding careers.


A lace-maker sits at work outside her shop. Photo: Venezia Autentica

On their website, they offer information about the city, guidelines for responsible tourism, and a selection of local restaurants and artisan shops that have the ‘Authentic Venice’ seal of approval. All have been personally tried and tested by the couple, their family and friends; as Fagarazzi says, “we need to be sure that it’s a consistently good experience -a business which makes Venice proud”.

Aside from following the online guide, there are a few clues tourists can look out for when hunting down a true Venetian experience. Duflot explains that there is no particular neighbourhood to go to for artisan shops, but there are some red flags to look out for.

“If you see someone standing outside a restaurant beckoning you in, or menus with pictures and flags of different countries, walk in the other direction!” she warns. “And in ‘artisan shops’, if you see any kind of massive sale or very cheap products, it won’t be good quality – which can be dangerous too.”

On the other hand, a true artisan shop will likely have a clear specialization in one kind of product; a craftsman at work – or signs that they’ve been working; and prices that reflect the fact that the simplest mask, for example, takes around seven hours to create.

“But the best litmus test is always to ask the salesperson about the craft. A seller of mass-produced souvenirs might badger you to buy things or repeat the same catchwords like ‘Murano glass’; an artisan will be able to tell you everything about what they do. Their eyes will light up,” says Duflot.


A mask-maker shows off her creations. Photo: Venezia Autentica

The pair say they hope that would-be visitors aren’t scared off Venice by the stories of anti-tourist sentiment, but also that they will take more time to learn about the city.

“It’s not a theme park to tick off your bucket list; it’s a real, living city with people and struggles which visitors should appreciate,” says Fagarazzi.

To get a glimpse of Venetian life and better understand the city, he advises visitors to venture off the well-trodden tourist trail and explore side streets and quieter piazzas. Not only does this ease the pressure on the city’s main thoroughfares, it’s also more likely to lead to a unique shop or experience.

“As a Venetian I’m envious, because I don’t get to experience the magic of getting lost and finding that incredible shop you’ll never find again. It’s like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter – sometimes you stumble across the very thing you’re looking for, totally at random,” he says.

“Venice has always been very welcoming to all kinds of people,” adds Duflot. “Here, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from – just treat Venetians and their city well.”

 

Thirteen sure-fire ways to lose your French friends

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Thirteen sure-fire ways to lose your French friendsPhoto: nullplus /Depositphotos

If you want to keep your French friends, then DO NOT do anything on this list.
There’s a myriad of irritating things you could do to put off potential friends pretty much anywhere, like ordering the most expensive thing on the menu and asking to split the bill, or retelling that one story no one laughed at in the first place.
But there are some that might particularly get on the nerves of French people and are best avoided, unless of course your aim is to use this list to intentionally annoy your French coworkers, friends or partner (which we’re not condoning).
Do all of these and you’ll be on track to being the least popular Anglo at the soirée.
1. Get sloshed at an apéro
Photo: contrabland/ Flickr
Although “le binge-drinking” is alive and well in France, apéro culture is a whole different ball game. Don’t mistake this for a house party, at the apéro (short for apéritif), the nibbles aren’t just there to help you absorb the alcohol, and you’re actually meant to have a civilised conversation.
Downing liqueurs like shots and dancing on the tables might firmly cross you off the guest list for next time.
2. Sit inside at a café, meaning they can’t smoke
Photo: razvanphoto/ Deposit photos
Every season is terrasse season in France. When it comes to siting to eat or drink outside while having a smoke or watching people go by, the French become impervious to the elements.
Your French friends might not appreciate making them move inside, so make like the locals, wrap yourself up in a big scarf and find a spot near the heater if you can.
3. Insist bien cuit is the proper way to eat steak
Photo: Michael Stern/ Flickr
It might physically pain a French person to cook a steak until it’s bien cuit or “well done”. In France, it’s the bloodier the better, and asking for steak beyond à point (rare to medium rare) is only for tourists who ‘”ruin” the flavours.
If you really want to lose their respect, ask for très bien cuit, we dare you.
4. Refuse to go and watch French films in the cinema
France is proud of their cinematic heritage, so watch your popularity plummet as you decline their invitation to go see the latest French art house film saying you’d rather go watch Die Hard on DVD at home.
Photo: wavebreakmedia/ Deposit Photos
5. Laugh at their French accent
We might think the French accent is sexy and cute, but the French can be quite sensitive about it.
They tend to mock each other for having imperfect English accents, so what you might have meant as a light teasing could go sour.
6. Think it’s funny to say ‘sacre bleu’, ‘zut alors’, ‘mon dieu’ 
Photo: kues/ Depositphotos
French people really love when you say hackneyed phrases no one really uses to them. Try it out and see how many eye rolls you get from your French pals.
7. Break with cheese etiquette
Photo: Reddit/Facebook
Having cheese as a starter, asking if they have any crackers, cutting the cheese however the hell you like. All big no-no’s according to French norms on cheese eating and could provoke the ire of purists, like when one French mum broke with convention on Camembert cutting (pictured above).
8. Say you love France (when you only mean Paris)
Photo: tsyganek/ Deposit photos
Little will rile non-Parisian friends more than equating the capital with the whole of France, they might snap back at you with the old phrase “Paris is not France and France is not Paris“.
9. Say the bread at the supermarket and boulangerie tastes the same
Photo: grafvision/ Deposit photos
There’s a reason the fresh bread section of the supermarket is so small, strictly for emergencies and convenience only.
Bread from supermarkets like Carrefour is not to be compared with “the real thing” from the numerous local bakeries.
10. Say you’re envious of their ‘easy’ 35-hour work week
Photo: AFP
Everyone knows the 35-hour week is a myth, the average French person puts in 39 a week and certainly won’t thank you for bringing out the old “French workers are lazy” stereotype.
11. Turn your nose up at French cuisine 
French people, by and large, will tell you they’re proud of their country’s cuisine, so wrinkling your nose at a boeuf bourguignon and asking if you could go get sushi or tacos instead won’t make you many pals.
12. Tell them you’re a vegetarian (or worse, a vegan)
Photo: p.studio66/ Deposit photos
Meat free diets are gaining in popularity in France, especially in bigger cities, but in the wrong crowd, telling French people you can’t share their planche mixte might get you some concerned looks.
13. Make jokes about them going on strike all the time 
“Hey if you don’t like it, why don’t you strike about it! Because you’re French…get it?”
Your French friends are unlikely to be impressed by your spot on observational humour. Unless they work in the transport sector, they’ve probably never been on strike in their lives. Save the jokes for friends who work in SNCF or AirFrance where they might at least hit the mark.
By Rose Trigg

Volvo reveals plans to go all electric… and it’s going to happen sooner than you think

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Volvo reveals plans to go all electric... and it's going to happen sooner than you think

Volvo chief executive Håkan Samuelsson. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

All new Volvo cars will be equipped with an electric motor from 2019, making it the first of the world’s traditional car makers to pull the plug on cars powered only by a combustion engine.

“This is about the customer,” said Volvo Cars president and chief executive Håkan Samuelsson in a statement. “People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”

Volvo said it would launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, as well as petrol and diesel plug-in hybrids and so-called “mild-hybrid cars”, cars with a small petrol engine and large battery.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Samuelsson. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of one million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”

Volvo Car Group is owned by Chinese Geely Holding. It is headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg, and has a factory there as well as in Ghent, Belgium, and Chengdu, China.

European car makers have been racing to develop electric vehicles.

German car giant Volkswagen is championing electric models in a bid to clean its tarnished reputation, after it admitted in September to installing emissions cheating software in 11 million diesel-powered cars worldwide.

Higher-end manufacturers like BMW and Daimler, which owns Mercedes, are also jostling for a share of the electric vehicle market, but face a challenge from newcomers like Tesla, which has had a head start in autonomous driving as well as electric power.\

The Local