Le 14 juillet
Bonjour to you all from a very sunny and hot South West of France.
Today is a French national holiday, known in France as la Fête nationale or le 14 juillet. It is often referred to as Bastille Day by English speaking countries but not really here in France. What does this mean? I am sure you all know but in brief, it commemorates the storming of the Bastille in Paris on July 14th 1789, which preceded the French Revolution. Many events led to this uprising, including food shortages and raised taxes following wars, all while watching King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette continue their extravagant lifestyles. The Bastille was built as a military fortress, storing gunpowder and other supplies, but had also become a prison and was seen as a symbol of royal tyranny.
Nowadays this day is celebrated nationwide with fireworks, parades and parties. There is a large military parade down the Champs Elysées in Paris, one of the oldest, having taken place annually since 14th July 1880. Our village, like most in France, holds a service at our monument aux morts (memorial to the dead) and children attending lay flowers in memory of those who have died for France. This year’s speech by our Mayor included a little about the history of this fête nationale as well as the motto Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (“liberty, equality and fraternity”) and of course singing La Marseillaise (the French National Anthem), which along with the French tricolour flag all have their origins in the days of the French Revolution. La Marseillaise was written in 1792 by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg, originally as a war song but later adopted as the national anthem. After the service in the village, we celebrated with a vin d’honneur (an aperitif) and a moment to catch up with each other’s news. We live across the valley from our village, so don’t tend to see people in passing, unless they are on a long walk and pop in!
This morning the temperature had dropped quite significantly, so it was quite cool for once but it didn’t last. The day was set to be very hot for ‘le 14 juillet’, and it didn’t disappoint, hitting 35°C. We had plans for time by the pool after various jobs had been ticked off the list, and enjoyed a slightly more refreshing swim as the water temperature had dropped from 30°C to a mere 28°C! Before going to the village this morning we did a spot of fig picking that we had promised our neighbour we would do, as she has damaged her leg! No rest for the wicked, but we did come away with a vast quantity of white figs – delicious. Chutney, compôte and fig cake or tart beckon.
After the busy week with the family, this week has been one of laundry and battling through the backlog of washing up. We have a problem with one of our ‘fosse toutes eaux’ (septic tanks) so cannot run too much water in one go. What a time for that to happen with a houseful, but of course that is exactly when it would happen! Someone came to have a look at the weekend and I have booked a vidange (septic tank emptying) for both ‘fosses’ which will take place next Thursday. Neither tank is very accessible so there has been much measuring of distances to see how far the truck can come down the drive and if their hose will reach. All good – 50 metres is the longest distance and they have 60 metres of pipe. It doesn’t really bear thinking about too much, especially as one will have to pass through the hall to the rear terrace, but c’est la vie!
An update on the rescued Little Owl from last week – all seems to be well and spending the day in the chimney doesn’t seem to have done it any harm. We spent a lovely breakfast time (rather longer than planned) watching it in training with one of its parents. I was a little worried for a while as it stayed on the ground rather longer than was possibly safe, albeit under the very watchful eye of its parent. The cats were out and about so we also stayed to keep a watch on things – just in case a further rescue was required! I think I mentioned that we also have Barn Owls nesting again in our pigeonnier. While my sister was here we took her up to the belvedere as she wanted to see everything in the house, it being her first visit. We were very quiet so as not to disturb the owls, but were lucky enough to find a couple of gorgeous feathers as a memento of our special owl guests. We regularly pop out as night falls to see if we can get a glimpse of them. One evening I saw an adult and a young one sitting on the ledge of the lucarne (the lovingly reconstructed window to the pigeonnier – our roofer was a huge owl fan). Last night we got to see one take off from there into the night. They are so white and stand out magnificently against the dark sky, a breath-taking moment and a real treat.
A relatively quiet week for us so I will leave you to enjoy the weekend. See you again next week I hope.
A bientôt
Ali xx