Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts

Monday, July 07, 2014

Weird and Wonderful

Exceptional sites this weekend:

We live next to the ‘Mairie’, town hall and if there is a wedding on a Saturday afternoon we usually hear and see some of it.


This Saturday was different. I heard the sound of bagpipes coming up the road. Fortunately I was in my office which is upstairs and when I looked out of the window I saw this little band coming towards the house.


They are a traditional Breton band of musicians so the bagpipes are in fact cornemuses. Isn’t it interesting that one of the men is wearing what looks very like a kilt? Must be the Celtic blood.



Afterwards they went into the town hall garden and played to the newlyweds and guests.

Last night I was closing the shutters upstairs before going to bed just before 11.30 and saw a row of lights. At first I thought that they were cinders from a fire floating through the sky. I ran downstairs to get my phone and was lucky enough to take some pictures. My phone is just a humble Samsung with no smart bits.


I was facing the East and the lights were moving from North to South. They were a reddish colour and seemed to flicker like flames. Very beautiful and I didn’t feel threatened of frightened by them. In the picture they are just above the streetlight. I didn’t count them, but there must have been around ten of them. I’ve always wanted to see a UFO so I feel very privileged.



The sun sets at around 10 o’clock here so I wondered if perhaps it could be the reflection of the sunset on a flock of swans flying over. A bit late for that perhaps. Do swans fly at night?

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter


Happy Easter to everyone, whether your eggs are delivered by a giant rabbit, Snoopy or the bells; I hope that you receive the ones you want.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

It's a gas...



Today is a holiday here in France.  Traditionally everyone visits the graves of their loved ones with chrysanthemums.  As Rob has a job  in the tourist industry he’s at work today which means I am too.  Anyway I’ve finished for today.

Yesterday was quite active.  We had the yearly check up of the gas heater.  All is fine;  a little part needs replacing but nothing dangerous or vital for the moment.  During the afternoon, there was no gas at all.  Problems with the heating are not what anyone needs with the cold weather approaching. It turned out to be builders working on some new houses to be accidently broke a gas main.  It was fixed within a couple of hours.  The best bit was that the gas men came round checking that everyone was back in action and they even offered to turn my heater on again.  Thank goodness they did, it took a while to ignite.  If I’d have done it I’d have panicked. 

 I only knew electricity growing up so I don’t trust gas (though it makes great scrambled eggs!).  When I was in my early teens I remember the police arriving outside our classroom to fetch one of the girls, her mum had been injured when a heater exploded.  I seem to remember it was gas.
Today has been wet and mild – don’t really need the heating much yet.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Halloween

Before you roll your eyes and stop reading. I thought I’d tell you about how Halloween has changed in the little part of France I live in the past 20 years or so. When the children were small the big dressing up and asking for treats day was Mardi Gras. There would be knocks at the door all day if it fell in the school holidays.

Then Halloween started up and little by little grew and took over from Mardi Gras. We even organised a big Halloween party for the children in the village, with prizes for the best costumes. When I was an English assistant in Primary and secondary schools it provided and excellent lesson in Anglo Saxon culture, followed a few days later by the story of Guy Falkes

Now both Mardi Gras and Halloween seem to have been forgotten by the children for some reason. Despite half hearted attempts to sell costumes, wigs and masks in some of the shops.

November 1st is All Saints Day and is a holiday in France. Traditionally people visit the graves of their loved ones and leave chrysanthemums. It’s a good moment for a family get together. It’s lovely going shopping at this time of the year, the shops are full of pots of Chrysanthemums.

What do you do in your country?