Derelict

Around much of rural France you see a large number of derelict or semi-derelict buildings as young people continue to move to larger towns and cities in search of work.  They are no longer interested in rural or small town occupations.  As a result the towns and villages have fewer amenities to offer, and the outward flow continues. 

In the picture above you can see a typical old property, left to go into ruin.  The situation may have  been worsened by the French inheritance laws which insist that no property can be sold without the agreement of all offspring of the owner.

Judging by the stacks of roof tiles outside, this house is going to be renovated.  Typically, this will be done by foreigners, or by Parisians looking for a holiday home.  Some small towns are almost completely closed up during the winter months, when no visitors are there.  Alternatively, houses for renovation are bought by British (mainly) people looking to make a new life in another country.  There are some places where there are few French people left.

It's quite a problem.  It must be preferable to have buildings maintained, but the influx of holiday home owners or non-French people does change the character of a place completely.  It's not a problem confined to France.  Parts of Wales and south west England have similar situations.

Go to Small Town Snapshot Sunday to join in and find more small town shots.

Madonna and child

Ten points to ponder

1. What does the adoption of one child do for the good of Africa?
2. Why a four year old who will have made relationships?
   
3. Is a celebrity lifestyle going to give any child a balanced life?
4. How often will this child realistically be able to return to Malawi to keep contact with relatives?
5. How soon will she find it hard to relate to those relatives and her country of birth?
6. What sort of an impression does a celebrity give by flying into a country, with full entourage and press coverage, expecting to fly out again with the baby of choice?
7. How many children could be helped to live with their relatives if the time, energy and money had been spent in different ways?
8. How many mothers could have life-saving medical attention so that there were fewer babies without mothers?
9. How many families could be kept together if they had access to some microfinance?
10. Is any of the focus of attention on Malawi’s needs rather than on the celebrity’s?

Am I alone in wondering about these points?

Garden jewels

Pearls - my favourite.

By her who in June was born
No gem save pearls shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity.

Amethyst.

The February born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they, the amethyst will wear.

The glowing Ruby should adorn
Those who in warm July are born,
Then will they be exempt and free
From love's doubt and anxiety

I'm loving the start of the seasons of flowers, but also the start of the annual dilemma. Should I cut the flowers and bring them into the house to have some garden indoors, or leave them in the garden where they will last longer? Ideally there would be enough for both, but it never seems to work out that way.

And has anyone ever noticed that tulips continue to grow after being cut? Whenever I cut them all to a similar length and pop them in a jug, the next day I find without fail that one or two will be longer than the rest. It seems to happen only with tulips.

The focal point

A local small town centre, taken early last summer.  It may be an exaggeration to call it a town.   Note the one size fits all establishment on the left - bar, tobacconist, hotel, restaurant, grocery store, with the added attraction of having the only signpost right outside.

Go to Small Town Snapshot Sunday to join in and find more small town shots.

Bourges - the cathedral

I had intended this post to be about the medieval city of Bourges, but to do either the cathedral or the rest of the city justice, it had to be split into two posts.  And there are rather a lot of pictures, so I hope not too slow to load.

I have wanted to see Bourges properly ever since, years ago, my son swam in a swimming competition there.  We dashed in, watched and cheered as required, and dashed out again, but I always felt we had missed an opportunity, and we had.

The Cathédrale Saint-Etienne is listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.  The listing says it was "built between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, is one of the great masterpieces of Gothic art and is admired for its proportions and the unity of its design. The tympanum, sculptures and stained-glass windows are particularly striking. Apart from the beauty of the architecture, it attests to the power of Christianity in medieval France."

The east end

I had to look up the definition of "tympanum", the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance , but it turns out I had already noticed they were stunning:

The southernmost of the five main entrances.

The entrance on the southern side.

Inside was a huge open area, with double aisles on each side.

 The height was breathtaking.

Most of the stained glass dates from the 13th century.

It's possible to go to the top of the north tower, but they do warn you there are 396 steps.  I can do that!

I don't deny, it was an effort!  And then when I reached the top, I was horrified.

Nothing to hold me there.  That parapet looked downright flimsy!  I approached with great caution and the view was amazing. Clinging on for dear life, I took some pictures.

The higgledy-piggledy houses in the old city, with the modern city further in the distance.

Towards the east.

After visiting the cathedral, it was time to see the rest of the medieval centre, but that will have to wait for another post.  To be continued....

More about Bourges.

Spam-a-lot ..... the interval

Photo from Flickr/StarrGazr

Comment moderation has been added again.  I'm sorry to my regular and faithful visitors, but yesterday felt like a near disaster as a certain Chinese person attempted to leave his mark all over my blog.  All in Chinese, so incomprehensible to us but I think the idea was for his huge lists of links to be followed by Google's spiders.  At the moment I know of no other way to combat spam, so I'll leave it in place for a while.