The township of Cygnet and the Huon region in which it lies were both named by French explorers in the 18th century, so it seems an appropriate place for a Frenchwoman to have settled down in. Catherine moved here 9 years ago with her husband and the area bears many similar features in common with her birthplace in Normandy - the apple orchards and cider, the cows in green paddocks and even the bird sounds all reminded her of her childhood. Although she has lived in Australia since the 90s and Tasmania for 9 years, at first she was shocked by some of the cultural differences such as seeing women drinking cold beer directly out of a bottle - not the done thing in sophisticated France at all.
After a tumultuous youth growing up with the backdrop of the French Algerian war which sparked disturbances in Paris, Catherine developed a sense of responsibility early in life as well as what was to prove a lifelong devotion to yoga, Many years later, her Australian husband, Bob, would credit the yoga for her surviving a dangerous brush with cancer, an experience which Catherine describes in more detail in this episode.
Catherine also talks about her Moroccan roots through her father's line and her grandfather and father's role in French Resistance during the Second World War and how this impacted her father's life in Paris afterwards.
