How I Ended Up Applying for a Seasonal Job in the Linen Industry

You know that linen is very light and very soft. But did you know that France is the world's leading producer of linen?

Photo by Aki Nakazawa on Unsplash

Did you know that France is the world's leading producer of flax? For centuries, flax has been grown in Normandy, a region in northwestern France bordering the English Channel. I learned this today when I turned on the TV to catch some news.

I was ashamed that I didn't know this, given that I'm French and live in France. At the same time,

Philip Ogley

lives in Normandy and didn't know either. But he has an excuse: his native language isn't French!

And anyway, we learn something new every day, don't we?

Tell me, what did you learn today?

In Normandy, flax is commonly known as “blue gold,” in reference to the delicate blue flax flowers that sway at the end of their long green stems.

To admire the flax in bloom, you have to get your butt to Normandy (in the Eure department) in the first half of June and pay attention to the time.

This is because the flax flower has a special characteristic: it blooms in the morning and wilts in the evening! It's a bit like when your spouse wakes up with a smile and ends the day with a sour face.

In my search for a new job, and since

Ginger Cook (GC)

won't pay me to be his agent or escort (even though I could offer her some sexy, lightweight linen clothes), I looked for job offers in the flax industry.

That's how I came across an agricultural cooperative in Normandy today that is recruiting seasonal workers for the flax harvest, and I sent in my application. I didn't really believe it would work, since it's already July 14, but I was still a little excited and very curious. Plus, this video showing how flax is harvested is fun to watch.

I have absolutely no experience in the agricultural sector, and I'm not sure that growing up next to a farm will work in my favor, nor will the fact that I spent a lot of time as a kid jumping in grain piles with the farmer's son, or running with my dog in the cornfield paths behind our house.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained. That's probably what Philip would say to me. He could teach me how to raise chickens, but I'm not sure that would be of much use to me in my flax career either. Anyway, watch this space!

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