The Viaduc de Monts

We have published pictures of the viaduct visible from the Chateau of Candé before. 

The Viaduc de Monts is a significantly big railway bridge that allows the "classic" Paris to Bordeaux-Saint-Jean line to cross the Indre River near the Domaine de Candé. Constructed between 1845 and 1848, it was one of the longest bridges in France at that time. These days most of the TGVs use the almost parallel Line Grand Vitesse which opened in 2016.

The viaduct is reported as either 708 or 751 meters long, depending on the source (I can't work out which measurement is the correct one) and comprises 59 arches. It's built from stone, with its core made of limestone rubble sourced from a quarry in Joué-lès-Tours. The facing is constructed from ashlar stone from Chauvigny, known for its aesthetic qualities.

The construction of the viaduct was overseen by engineer M. Morandière. The project faced challenges, including delays caused by floods of the Indre in 1845 and 1846, several strikes by workers demanding better working conditions, and the dismissal of Belgian workers hired alongside them. The viaduct was inaugurated on July 1, 1851, by Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, although the line had been operational up to Poitiers for several weeks prior.

We were at Candé on Tuesday for the launch of the annual list of nature walks and events in Centre Val de Loire. Or rather, Susan was. I was having an unsuccessful shopping foray. I was only at Candé long enough to take the photo of the viaduct in winter.

**********************

As an aside... What is the French equivalent of Maplin? That's what I was looking for.

Preparing for the Arrival of the Wolf

 

This poster is on the town hall noticeboard in Yzeures sur Creuse. It says:

Preparing for the Arrival of the Wolf

What to do

You are a grazier wanting to protect against attacks:

• bring all your animals in to a closed building at night if possible, or gather them into an electric fenced enclosure (4 strands minimum).
• check on your animals regularly in order to: discern any abnormal behaviour; do a head count.

You suspect a wolf in proximity to your herd:

• contact the OFB* with any sightings of any animal ressembling a wolf.
• leave a message with your name, phone number, address, where the animal was sighted and any other information you think is pertinant.

Your herd has just been attacked and you suspect a wolf is responsible:

• you must immediately phone or email the OFB.

• immediately email the DDT*, giving them your name, phone number, address and name of the place where the attack happened, the number of animals injured and/or killed, and any other information you consider relevant.

While waiting for the case officer touch nothing.

• note where all the bodies are.
• protect the bodies from scavengers without moving them (cover them with sacks, tarpaulins, rocks, etc).
• avoid walking around the site to preserve possible tracks and signs left by the predator.
• if necessary call your vet for possible care of injured animals and ask them for a detailed bill. The vet must under no circumstances complete the damages statement. Only the case officer can do this.
• record the full identification number of each of the killed or injured animals along with their characteristics (age, weight, status in the herd).
• wait for the case officer to complete the report before calling the knacker.

A report by the case officer will be produced within 48 hours of the attack being declared. The livestock owner must also adhere to this time frame.

In the case of an attack not being confirmed as a wolf [by the OFB] you can apply to the DDT for a review.

The map at the bottom shows that graziers in Indre et Loire could be eligible for State aide to protect their flocks with guardian dogs, and have access to an advisor.

*OFB - Office Français de la Biodiversité; DDT - Direction départemental des territoires.

Look Out for Bee Flies in the Touraine Loire Valley

Along with the early emerging bee species in the spring, we get the early emerging bee flies in the Touraine Loire Valley. The bee flies time their emergence to coincide with the bees because they are parasites of the ground nesting bees. This makes them sound like the bad guys, but in fact, it is an indication that your population of solitary bees is healthy and can support a bit of natural predation. 

The bee fly you will see most often in the spring is the Dark-edged Bee Fly Bombylius major (Fr. Grand bombyle). It is the most important pollinator of Primroses Primula vulgaris (Fr. Primavere), and it loves other early wild flowers such as lungwort.

They are fascinating to watch, with their long tongue which cannot be retracted, their long spindly legs, which they use like stilts to steady themselves on flowers, and their fluffy bottoms, which they coat with sand in order to better control the eggs they are throwing in to mining bee nests. Watch them in action for even just 10 minutes and you will be as captivated as I am.

Prostate Cancer II

Six weeks after my operation in June I had a blood test and follow up appointment with the surgeon. He apologized, but said it was bad news. As I suspected, my PSA was way too high (5•95) which means they didn't get all the cancer with the operation. That was a real blow - I was sick to my stomach.

He sketched out the path for treatment: another trip through the atomic donut to try find the source of the cancer then 7 weeks of radiotherapy treatment 5 days a week. While we were waiting for that to start I was put on anti testosterone injections, one a month for 6 months. They go straight into the belly - very slowly - and sit there in a lump, gradually diffusing. They're painful, ugly, and cause mood swings and hot flushes. I know they're keeping me alive, but I approached every fourth Monday with trepidation. They are accompanied by massive daily doses of calcium and vitamin D to try avoid osteoporosis.

In mid-September I had my scintigraph in Tours. We arrived 10 minutes early and then had to sit around for about an hour because they had run out of "product" and were awaiting more from the lab. Whether the "product" they were talking about was saline drip or the atomic isotope I don't know.

Anyway... After a long wait I was called into the room, a vein in my arm was found, and the catheter inserted. I was attached to two bags of liquid and left for about 10 minutes. Then the technician reappeared with a metal canister that looked like a high tech - but small - teapot. She hid behind a screen, attached the capsule to my catheter and turned in on using a long stick thing. Remember - she was hiding from it, yet it was going into me.

A couple of weeks later, and a month after my first injection, I had a blood test, and almost celebrations. My PSA was way down to 0•09. I was pleased, but aware that it should be zero.

Then the hospital rang, with an appointment with an oncologist, who said my blood test result was "very good but not excellent". He prescribed a second set of hormone treatment, this time daily tablets in addition to the monthly injections. He also increased the already unfeasible daily dose of calcium and vitamin D.

He also gave us a window to visit Australia. By this time I was spending a fair bit of each day in a fog. I wasn't sleeping properly, just napping for two hours at a time, getting horrendous migraine like headaches, and struggling to think.

Once we returned from our hectic time away, in December I had a blood test, and more almost celebrations. My PSA was <0•03, which is basically within the margin of error of zero. 

In late January I had another blood test, and once again my PSA was <0•03. I also had another scintigraph, which showed the areas of concern were disappearing and there was no metastasis. We saw the oncologist, who said the results were excellent and changed my injections to one every six months, still taking the daily tablets and calcium and vitamin D. He also made me an appointment with a physiotherapist, who has given me some very effective exercises and techniques for dealing with the damage done by the operation.

We see the surgeon on Friday, for a post op follow-up. Not quite sure why...

But in short: I'm getting there, even though it has been absolutely no fun. The bladder control isn't all it could be, especially when I'm stressed or tired. I will still have to have the seven weeks of radiotherapy, and it could be I'm on the six monthly injections for years to come. Sometimes I feel like the side effects of the treatment are worse than the illness, but I'm guessing that's only because it was diagnosed before the symptoms appeared.

Part 1 of this story is here

Free WiFi in Australia

Here's a handy money saving hint for when you're in Australia. Since 2021 Telstra phone boxes in Australia have allowed anyone to make unlimited local and national calls, as well as call mobile numbers for free.

In addition to free calls, most (if not all by now) Telstra phone booths are also WiFi hotspots. You can connect to "Telstra Air" without needing a Telstra account, making it convenient for people like us who need internet access on the go, but are confused by the multitude of offers available. This was particularly useful for us when I had phone issues last year. Some boxes even do phone charging, although I'd make sure you had your own charging cables that didn't do data transfer.

Unless your accommodation is within 20 metres of a phone box I doubt if it would replace having your own SIM card and data, but it is a great excuse for stopping for a rest if there's a bench (or cafe, or ice cream parlour) nearby.

The free WiFi at the Steyne Hotel in Manly.

We used the service a couple of times last year, including a couple of times whilst sitting in the car. It's very handy in a big country where mobile phone coverage can be sketchy once you're outside urban areas. There are phone boxes in all sorts of unlikely remote places.

One common urban myth is that calls were made free because coin boxes were frequently raided for loose change. With the decline in payphone usage it probably ended up being more expensive to pay people to collect coins than the value of coins collected.

In contrast, France mainland probably now has no public call boxes, although there are always rumours that one has survived.

The 19th Annual Cowslip

We saw our first coucou (cowslip) on Monday as we were on our way to Tours for (surprise surprise) a medical appointment. We didn't stop, but yesterday we took this photo.

They're not out in profusion yet, that's probably six weeks away. Cowslips were my Mum's favourite flower.