Remembering Those Who Served

This is what 38 years of French military service, in the Marines and the Engineering Corps, looks like. The wearer of these medals reached the rank of Colonel, and was in the Army in the 1990s and 2000s.Two of his sons are now in the Army.

Foraging by the Saints Days

Foraging for food in the wild is an ancient practice, and from the introduction of Christianity in the 6th century in France many of the traditional foraging targets have become associated with Saints Days.

Green walnuts steeping to make liqueur.

You should harvest green walnuts on Saint John's Day, 23 June. At this time the woody shell won't have developed and you can chop them up to steep in sugar and alcohol to make liqueur de noix.

Summer Ceps found in a woodland.

Ceps start appearing at Michaelmas and the Feast of Saint Michael, so 28-29 September. 

And Trompettes de la mort pop up in the forests at Toussaint, 2 November.

Ramsons in a damp patch in the forest.

A medieval housewife would likely advise foraging for Ramsons on Saint Marks Day, 25 April.

Trompettes de la mort in the forest.

What we need to remember in modern times that these handy reference dates need to be pushed forward because the calendar has changed. And equinoxes and solstices are important in these folkloric reminders about the rhythm of food gathering tasks and celebrations. Prior to Christianity I have no doubt that the summer solstice was the reference for gathering green walnuts, and the autumn equinox was when you searched for ceps.

A Lack of Blogs

You may have noticed a paucity of blog posts recently. This is because despite claiming I'm OK, the problem (and you'll thank me for leaving it unspecified) hasn't gone away. It's uncomfortable, potentially embarassing, and means that I can't actually go anywhere.

One I'm doing stuff again, posting will continue. Meanwhile, a 3 year old photo taken in the Alps.

Time Spent in the Forest

I try to walk in the Forest of Preuilly three times a week. I never take the same path. Sometimes I will do a couple of kilometres, sometimes I'll do six. Sometimes I meet no one, sometimes I run into someone and have a long chat. 

Magpie Inkcap Coprinopsis picacea (Fr. Coprin pie) in the Foret de Preuilly.

The other day I spent three hours in the forest and took 353 photos, mostly of fungi. I also met quite a few people. 

There was a retired widowed Spanish engineer who lives in a nearby street to me and uses a stick to walk. He used to work for Elf and was based in the Congo and Marseille. I'm slowly learning his life story as we amble along together.

There was a pair of elderly women with a wicker basket, not gathering mushrooms as I had assumed but chestnuts. They heard my accent and asked me if I was Romanian! And they complained that the chestnuts are small, poor quality and not very numerous this year, due to the drought.

There was Jane and Chris with their rescued Spanish Galgos (like lurchers). Yet another British couple I've never encountered before. We conversed in French until Chris finally asked me where I was from as he could hear my accent. I could hear theirs as well and twigged that they were probably British, but it turns out they've lived here 13 years and properly got to grips with the language. I must get them to say Pressigny and Preuilly one day and see how they go...(IYKYK).

There was a French couple who love to walk in the forest for their mental and physical health. As with all the people I encounter, we discussed the management of the forest and its biodiversity. I'm a walking outreach resource for biodiversity surveying, and most people stop to talk to me because I've got my bum in the air photographing a fungus.

And there was Edouard, who lives three doors down. He has a new dog, a basset type called Max, who is lovely but needs lead training. Edouard and his wife walk in the forest nearly every day even though they are in their 80s. 

Chrysanthemums at Toussaint

Why do French families put chrysanthemums on their graves at Toussaint (All Saints, 1 November)?

 

The cemetery in Preuilly sur Claise at Toussaint, taken from our spare room window.

Chrysanthemums are a symbol of vitality and longevity in Asia, where they originate, but they have become the essential symbol of mourning  in France. In Australia they are associated with Mothers Day. The species behind all the cultivars we see today is Chrysanthemum morifolium.

It is a relatively recent practice, encouraged by Georges Clemenceau in the aftermath of the First World War. Chrysanthemums are robust, and most importantly, covered in flowers at Toussaint. Clemenceau wanted the nation to decorate the memorials to the War dead and their graves. Chrysanthemums were ideal. By 1920 the practice had captured the public imagination and chrysanthemums were placed on any and all graves at Toussaint, effectively by accident.

 

The florist in Preuilly sur Claise at Toussaint.

Prior to this they were barely known, and certainly not fashionable garden plants. The tradition in the 19th century was to place candles on graves on All Souls Day (2 November).

 

A village cemetery at Toussaint (Saint Rémy sur Creuse).

Four million households will buy plants and flowers at Toussaint, of which 60% are 20 million pots of chrysanthemums. The City of Paris will cultivate 75 000 chrysanthemums to be placed in municipal flower beds and cemeteries. These days the plant is more associated with brightening up the dreary November streetscapes, so they can also be seen on balconies and terraces, not just associated with remembrance and sorrow.

I'm OK Thanks

After Monday's excitement I've had a couple of quiet days, playing some piano, and doing some dozing. The rest has been doing me good, but my body has reacted quite violently to the antibiotics.

As long as they stay in long enough, I think they'll do me some good.