One of the statistics we found particularly interesting:In 2008 there were 34 deaths recorded in Preuilly-sur-Claise. 24 of the deceased lived in the Maison de Retraite (Retirement Home) at the time of their deaths. And since I've given you the 'despatched' figures, I might as well tell you that there were 4 marriages and 5 births in the the same period.
The average age in Preuilly-sur-Claise is over 6o, I believe, and aging. Presumably as a consequence, the local nursing home is getting a large extension built, and the crane is so huge you can see it from everywhere in town.
Susan
9 comments:
Maybe the crane's jib is long enough to overfly the house and help Simon with the project's big lifts.
Is the town council debating how they should be actively promoting more births, or would that be too "Clochemerle"?
One of our former neighbours in le Grand Pressigny was 103 when she went to the retirement home. I wonder if the Touraine diet, air and way of life promote longer living. (I loathe the term "lifestyle" for some reason.)
HP – unfortunately the wrong end of town, but maybe we can arrange to borrow it later?
Autolycus: Must read Clochemerle one day...Anyway, given the age of the population, it might take a bit more than Council involvement!
Anon: France has an amazing 20K centenarians. Something about French genes and way of life must be the reason.
I can also appreciate the "Etat civil". And even if you don't do Genealogy, it gives you a feel for the demography of your village.
It really says something about a population when construction in going on to extend a nursing home ( which I'm sure was badly needed) than build an extention to a school/ a new school itself.
A lot of rural areas in France have this aging population, which I've seen elsewhere too.
Susan, I have a copy of The Scandals of Clochemerle that you can borrow whenever you want. See you over the next few months.
Barbara: Indeed, an aging rural population is not just a feature of France, it's just about global I think. Preuilly does seem to be well served on the school front too though – I guess because it services quite a large area, and not just the town.
Ken: That's very kind of you. It sounds well worth reading. Your copy is in French I assume? You won't see me for a few months, btw, but you might see Simon. I'm off to Australia next week (temperature in Sydney is in the 20s – yippee!) and it's the aged parents' 50th wedding anniversary.
Hi Susan, best regards and congratulations to your parents.
Have a nice and safe trip. How long are you going to stay in Australia?
I'll probably be in St-Aignan in mid June. Will you be in Preuilly at that time?
CHM: I should be in Preuilly in June, and I would be delighted to see you at that time, either in Preuilly or St-Aignan :-)
I will pass on your message to my parents, although they may read it here.
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