Bellevue OZO Service Station

 As I was leaving a family rolled up in a lovely Wartburg to do photos. This East German coupe was manufactured from 1956 to 1965.

Sitting alongside the Nationale 10 this service station has been designated as 'Remarkable Architecture', and has been much photographed over the years. The building is an iconic mid-twentieth century American influenced structure, especially with the sweeping, soaring spire at the front, like a totem, bearing the OZO name. It opened in the spring of 1956. Following the merger of OZO and Total in 1964, the service station changed names to become the 'Relais Charles Martel'. But with the opening of the A10 Autoroute between Tours and Poitiers in 1977, the traffic along the N10 inexorably diminished, and the relais closed in 1984.

 

Plan for the service station.

Like a number of decommissioned service stations, the building found a second life as the sales office for a second-hand car dealership. The spire served as an ensign for the roadhouse next door, l'Etoile du Sud. At the end of the 1990s, after the closure of the restaurant, the surroundings deteriorated little by little but the service station stayed proudly upright on the side of the road, waiting for someone to take an interest again. That happened in 2011, when the municipality of Sainte Maure de Touraine realised what a characterful heritage building they had in their territory and decided to protect it within their local Urban Plan. Interest in the former service station grew until in 2016 the Départementale Architecture and Heritage Unit (part of the Ministry of Culture) decided to award it the label 'Patrimoine du XXième siècle' (20th century heritage), which has since become 'Architecture contemporaine remarquarble' (Notable contemporary architecture).  

 

 Front elevation plan.

Initially the work to restore the structure was to deal the deterioration brought about by the weather over the years. Following that there was the desire to restore it to its original state and make it a recognisable icon of the heritage along the former Route Nationale 10. It sits in the heart of the Touraine, mid-way between Paris and Hendaye, so ideally situated. Since 2021 the Association Nostal'10 has regularly organised classic car meets here. At the beginning of the 21st century, when mobility is resolutely oriented towards 'green energy', it is necessary to preserve this element of the previous century's heritage, just like we preserve former stage coaching inns. The Relais Charles Martel is the incarnation of the 'Trentes Glorieuses', a testament to a bygone era that should be preserved.

 

 Side elevation plan.

If you are interested in staying up to date with activities at Bellevue OZO Service Station, the Association Nostal'10 has a Facebook page. It has become a tradition to stop to take a photo of your car under the canopy and post it on the FB page. https://www.facebook.com/p/Nostal10-100057312614789/

 

The petrol pumps are being recreated in concrete. I was told that it was because it was 'less risky'. I'm not sure whether that means in terms of vintage pumps being stolen or real pumps being a safety hazard.

We have participated in this event several times.

Why not go and join the fun tomorrow? Everyone is welcome. Simon is thinking of going in Claudette. I'll be working in Chinon though.

The River's Down

The Claise is a very controlled river. For instance, between Bossay and Humeau - a distance of about 7km - there are 4 sets of weirs, and there were more.

This means that if any work needs to be done on the river's infrastructure the water levels can change overnight. 

And that is what happened this past week. This is the river last Friday

And here it is on Monday.

No Blog Today

We've got stuff happening: various car based things  (taking them for a service and what have you) to do yesterday and today, and my walking continued yesterday with the furthest I have walked since I went into hospital 12 weeks ago.

At least there were no medical appointments!

Walking

After a break of far too long I am walking again. Not far, and certainly nowhere near the challenging distances or altitudes I was attempting last year before the diagnosis, but it's at least something.

So far the walks have been restricted to wandering at a leisurely pace around the village, but it's better than nothing.

Yesterday our doctor (médecin traitant - GP) suggested we get a dog to encourage us to get out of the house. I'm not sure I'm ready for that level of responsibility yet.

Pulses in France

In France, whilst pulses only take up 4% of cultivated land surface, nearly half are grown organically. Pulses are really popular here and a wide variety are grown.

 

Mogettes (dried white beans) from the Vendée in the Western Loire.

In the North and Brittany there are green beans eaten fresh, green beans called flageolets eaten shelled and dried, and the white dried beans known as mogettes and cocos blancs de Paimpol.

In the Centre and North-East it is traditionally green lentils which are grown, but there are also garden peas and split peas.

 

 Cocos blancs (navy beans).

In Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes they are famous for their green Puy lentils and white cocos beans.

In the Midi-Pyrénées and the South-East there is strong production of chickpeas and blond lentils.

 

Rose lentils from the Berry, to our east.

In the Western Loire they produce chickpeas and flageolets.

Down in Occitanie they are the leaders in production of green lentils, chickpeas and big white dried beans named for the town of Tarbe.

 

 Lingots (dried white beans).

Nouvelle-Aquitaine specialises in dried white beans (mogettes and lingots), peas and broad beans.

Pulses play an essential role in sustainable agriculture. They are a green manure, enriching the soil and vital in crop rotation schemes.

For those of you who have stood before the dried beans in the supermarket and wondered about which was which: lingots are the same as mogettes, but grown outside the Vendée, and both are what in English you would call cannellini beans; cocos are smaller, and in English are navy beans.

Further reading: My blog post on mogettes https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2022/10/mogettes-de-vendee.html

 

A Faster Air Ambulance Service

Back in January a very clever gadget was installed on a post at the football field by the council. It's called H.I.S (Helicopter Engineering System) and it's an automatic lighting system connected to 4G and containing a box with a weather station, anemometer, lighting relay and camera.

Historically, the SAMU helicopter (helicopter ambulance) from Trousseau hospital landed on the football pitch. During the day that wasn't a serious problem, but at night the hospital had to call whoever was on duty in Preuilly to switch on the lights. 

The new system gives the hospital (and I assume the pilot) a remote view of the area and real-time weather conditions. The hospital now turns on the lighting which can save a lot of time.

We intended writing about this at the time, but didn't have a photo. We're gradually catching up.