Conserving an Historic Moment

It is now 11 years since the combined co-ordinated Bataclan area attacks. In total 130 people were murdered as they sat in cafés with their friends or at the theatre enjoying a heavy metal concert. Hundreds of others involved had their lives changed forever. We were in Paris about a week after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, staying just around the corner from where they took place. Later, we were in Paris about a week before the Bataclan attacks, again staying just around the corner.

Today in the Archives de Paris there are two shelves which are home to the 7689 documents that they collected from the streets after the attacks on 13 November 2015. This collection was the brainchild of a man called Gérôme Truc. He felt it would allow historians and sociologists to have access to another dimension of the event ie how ordinary individuals experience these things and respond to them.

Place de la République, Paris.

 

The documents come from the Bataclan, la Belle Equipe, the Café Bonne Bière, Casa Nostra, the Carillon, the Petit Cambodge and the Comptoir Voltaire. Ten volunteers collected the messages of love from Parisians, French people and foreigners, bit by bit from 17 November.

In addition two archivists and a conservator made 17 visits to the sites. According to them the most affecting was visiting the Bonne Bière because there was a message found there from an intensive care doctor, who apologised for being unable to save a young man.

Tributes placed in Boulevard Richard Lenoir after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

 

The archive staff assessed the condition of the messages, children's drawings and poems. The main problem was plastic pockets. They were useless because the rain quickly got into them and turned the contents to mush.

Back at the Archives, the documents were dried in two sorting rooms. Usually overnight was enough to dry them out. They were then sent to be fumigated to kill mould and other fungi before being left for three weeks to stabilise. Once returned to the Archives, the documents, from metro tickets to A3 in size, were dusted with a microfibre cloth then sorted by place and date before being digitised (thanks to a donation by Arkhênum).

Tributes placed in Boulevard Richard Lenoir after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

 

The archivists didn't look at the documents. They had no time and they needed to maintain a certain distance emotionally. While they worked they tried to be calm and converse normally, even crack jokes.

The Museum of Paris, Carnavalet, conserved all the objects (soft toys, guitars, flags...) but those that didn't carry a meaningful message were thrown away. There was a debate about what to do with the wilted flowers. Gerôme Truc suggested that like in London in 2005, the flowers should be collected, composted and a tree planted in the compost.

Bataclan Theatre.

 

A hundred and fifty documents were recovered from the temporary memorial in the Place de la République. The rest of the messages from this spot were kept by the collective known as 17 Plus Jamais, created the day after the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015.

At the time of the Charlie Hebdo attacks the archival work was not able to be applied to the messages to the murdered cartoonists and they were deposited at various sites. At the time the Mairie de Paris just didn't think of preserving and cataloguing them. Eventually Harvard University launched an appeal to collect the messages after the event, and many of them are now in the US.

Tributes laid at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, after the attack.

The Nice attack happened just after the Archives had finished their digitising project, but despite calls from those involved, the Mairie de Nice did not initiate a similar project and the messages were not collected there.

 

900 of the messages were published by Michel Lafon in Je suis Paris.

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.

A Hospital Visit

On Monday I thought I had a return of the dreaded kidney stones. I was playing nonchalant, but Susan decided that action was needed. She phoned 15, and spoke to an online doctor who agreed with her, made an appointment for me at Loches hospital, and off we trotted.

Dialling 15 is the approved route for getting to Emergency (Urgencies, in French) at a hospital. The idea is that you will be directed to an emergency room that is (a) open, and (b) has the appropriate staff and equipment. She was given a choice between Loches and Tours. We chose Loches, because it's closer, and easier for Susan to visit me if I should happen to be admitted.

Waiting for the scan. Susan wanted me to look wan and unwell. I was uncooperative.

Anyway, I was put in a very empty room on a trolley, and Susan perched on a stool. I had a saline drip attached, and then we waited for the machine to be free. Eventually I had my scan, and the good news was delivered. No stones. I do however have a UTI, which is now being treated with antibiotics.

Picking up the Pieces

On Friday I headed off to work. We had a storm warning for Storm Austen and it was rather wet and windy. I was scheduled to meet Los Angeles based artist Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass and her mother for a guided tour of Azay le Rideau. But I didn't get very far before I had to stop. A tree had come down just outside of Preuilly. Jacques from the organic market garden had been cycling to work (!!) and come across it minutes before me. He and another bloke had just managed to lift the tree off the road. I took care of clearing up the smaller stuff scattered all over the road. Then we all went on our way.

A Glimpse Inside a Restaurant Coldroom

I had lunch at the popular Amboise restaurant Chez Bruno last week. I happened to manage to snap a glimpse of the interior of their coldroom, showing a chilly 5.4 degrees celsius. Mostly I think the contents were cuts of meat.

Reflections

I took this photo on a walk the other day. I don't remember it being this calm.

Since the photo was taken, the level of the Claise has dropped. Moulin de Chanvre are having work done on the weir.

************Weather************

The tempête didn't arrive. 

The Mighty River Seine

We all have to start somewhere, and in the case of the River Seine it's near Châtillon sur Seine. It's that dry bit of roughly mown meadow in the middle of the photo. This photo was taken during the golden hour, after dinner, in August.

And just to prove it is the Seine, here's one I took earlier in the evening.

**************Weather Alert*************

It's supposed to be very windy tonight, with gusts up to 90 km/h. Of course, this advice may change.

Jabbed!

Last Friday Susan and I had our COVID and Flu vaccination. The recommended schedule for the flu jab has been brought forward slightly because flu season has already started. I had my COVID jab in the left arm and flu into the right. I was hoping I was going to get both in the same arm, but they don't do that any more.

I don't look impressed. I don't know why, it didn't hurt.

Field Mushrooms and Their 'Friends'

Just about the only edible mushroom that has popped up this autumn so far is the Field Mushroom Agaricus campestris (Fr. Rosé-des-prés). It's a close relative of the button mushrooms you can buy in the supermarket (Agaricus bisporus), and like many Agaricus species, is good to eat. You do have to be careful though, as the most abundant Agaricus in the Touraine is the toxic lookalike, the Yellow Stainer A. xanthodermus (Fr. Agaric jaunissant).

Field Mushroom in the grass verge of one of the carparks in the Foret de Preuilly.

Agaricus species in general are easy to recognise as they have salmon pink gills, which turn brown with age. This means you should be able to avoid poisoning yourself with any of the much more dangerous pale capped white gilled mushrooms even with beginner skills. The worst that will happen is a trip to hospital with severe gastric problems if you mistakenly eat pink or brown gilled Yellow Stainers. Painful and deeply unpleasant, but you will recover. On the other hand, my advice is never eat a white gilled mushroom. Some of them can kill you.

Young Field Mushroom. Note lack of staining except for a very faint blush on the stem or where the flesh has been broken.

There are nearly a hundred species of Agaricus in France, they all look very similar, and some of them are toxic, so unfortunately it isn't just a matter of merrily eating any mushroom with a pale cap and flesh, and pink gills. The Yellow Stainer is responsible for the most poisonings of any mushroom in France, because of its resemblance to Field Mushrooms and because foragers often don't check diligently enough. Usually the telltale yellowing will quickly appear on any part of the mushroom if you scratch a Yellow Stainer, but sometimes the yellow staining is only present in the base of the stem, which is a bit that inexperienced foragers often leave in the ground. Yellow Stainers don't smell nice and mushroomy like Field Mushrooms either. They smell of phenol or iodine, and it should be obvious when you cook them, even if it wasn't in the field.

Field Mushrooms in perfect condition. Note pointed stem and salmon pink gills on the inverted one, and the silky white cap of the one still in the ground.

It is worth remembering that while most other species of Agaricus are not toxic, Yellow Stainers are not the only Field Mushroom lookalike that you need to beware of. Field Mushrooms are by no means as easy to accurately identify as many foragers believe.

Field Mushroom.

As the name suggests Field Mushrooms grow in fields, gardens, pastures and grasslands in lowland France, especially those where cattle or horses graze. But so does their toxic lookalike. The caps of Field Mushrooms are whitish, between 4 and 10 centimetres across. They start off hemispherical, and stay convex for several days then become flat after a time. With age the entire mushroom goes browner. The stem is white and tapers to a point. There is a stem ring but it is fragile and may disintegrate quite quickly. Where you find one Field Mushroom you will normally find others as they grow together in small groups. The species is present worldwide. Its main growing period is August to November, but you can sometimes find them in the spring.

Field Mushroom.

There are four important criteria for determining Agaricus species: 

• Cap - what does it look or feel like eg smooth? scaly?
• Stem ring - fragile? thin? thick? skirt-like? tooth-edged? 
• Stem shape - bulbous? coming to a point? cylindrical?
• Odour - mushroom? aniseed? bitter almonds? phenol? iodine?

Field Mushroom. Note the thin broken stem ring.

If your mushroom does not meet every one of the characters required (smooth capped, fragile stem ring, stem that comes to a point, mushroom odour) then it is not a Field Mushroom but one of the other Agaricus species. For example, Yellow Stainers have smooth white caps, but their stem ring is persistent and a bit fluffy and flappy, their stem is tree trunk shaped and tends to flare out at the bottom and their odour is an off-putting phenol smell.

Scaly Wood Mushroom Agaricus langei (Fr. Psalliote sanguinolente). Note the strong blush where I've deliberately scraped the stem, the brown scales on the cap, the columnar stem and the more robust stem ring. Grows near hedgerows and on the edges of woodlands. It's not toxic, but not worth eating.

The Field Mushrooms shown in these photos, taken by me last week, were growing with another lookalike species, White Dapperling Leucocoprinus leucothites (Fr. Lepiote pudique). From the top they look just the same and it wasn't until I picked a couple and saw the white gills I realised they were different. In this case the lookalike is not toxic, but they are not tasty enough to bother eating, and in any case, belong to a group of mushrooms that I am very wary of in general.

Yellow Stainer.

An Agaricus I never managed to identify to species level. Not a Field Mushroom anyway, but one of the other species. Obviously you should not eat a Agaricus when you are not of its identity.

This Agaricus may be a Snowy Mushroom A. osecanus, known as the Boule de neige in French. But again, don't eat it if you are not confident of the identification.

Yellow Stainers.

Yellow Stainers. Note the bright yellow appearing where the cap has been deliberately cut, and where the stem has been handled.

Yellow Stainer. Note the bright yellow where the cap has been deliberately cut.

My dear friend and mushroom guru Jean holding an Agaricus sp and regaling us with a story of spending a night on the toilet after having eaten an Agaricus that looked just like this, when he was young and reckless.

Wood Mushroom Agaricus silvicola (Fr. Agaric des bois) is a good edible species. Found in woodland, you need to check it for its strong aniseed scent.

Now Thats What I Call a Door!

This is the main door to Wartburg Schloss, the castle above Eisenach. Susan and I like old doors.

Lunch at l'Image

On Tuesday I went walking with Dotty: just a gentle stroll around town. It was pretty warm, but trying to drizzle. Consequently, it was sweaty - very nasty. 

We called into l'Image for a coffee (and a couple of glasses of water) and I realised that Susan and I hadn't eaten at l'Image for ages. I called her up, and twenty minutes later she joined me.

A meal is always accompanied by bread

Oysters. Something I don't eat often enough

Sausages and crushed and pan crisped potatoes 

Apricot cheesecake 

As ever, the food was excellent. I came home and may have had a little sleep.

 

Roofers at the Abbaye

For a while now, the roof over a side chapel of the Abbey has been letting the rain in.

Work is now happening to fix the problem.

The Annual Sausage Walk

The annual Sausage Walk was in Paris on Sunday 4 October. I made it for the tail end. The event raises money for Dachshund (Fr. Teckel) welfare. There was merch, so I bought some. The exorbitant price (25 euros for a printed canvas bag) means that lots goes to the dogs charities. I used to be godmother to a pair of mini dachshunds so I am very fond of the breed.

For the first time it was held along the Champs Elysee, which is pedestrianised on the first Sunday of the month. Anyone can attend and profits go to l'Association Teckels sans doux foyer (Dachshunds without a loving home). The charity takes care of abandoned or mistreated dachshunds.

Everyone attending is warned that they may be photographed, so don't go if you are allergic to social media.

How to Cook Fresh Wild Mushrooms

Foraging for wild mushrooms is madly popular in France. You are allowed to gather 5 kg per person per day, for personal use and if you have the landowner's permission. Most people who gather this sort of quantity these days have a dehydrator and process most of their mushrooms this way. Note that the law forbids you from giving any of your mushrooms away (in case you inadvertently poison a friend), and you are certainly not allowed to sell any that are excess to requirements directly, although you may, in some circumstances pass them on to a licenced forager. I don't gather anywhere near this quantity, but I like to have a couple of foraging outings in a season, to keep my eye in. I don't gather more than a kilo over a season. I don't own a dehydrator and cook my mushroom bounty fresh as an occasional treat. 

 

Hedgehog mushrooms (Fr. Pieds de moutons) and a few Ashen Chanterelles (Fr. Chanterelles cendrées), foraged in the Foret de Preuilly.

There are relatively few mushrooms in the forest which are both edible, and worth eating. Make sure you can accurately identify them, because it's fairly easy to make yourself sick, even if you manage to avoid killing yourself. To be able to safely identify the edibles you need to be able to confidently identify their toxic lookalikes too. Make sure your basket is not full of a mixture of crumbling mushroom species. That's a common way of accidentally poisoning yourself, when there is a small piece of something highly toxic mixed in with your edibles.

 

Hedgehog mushrooms prepared for cooking.

 

These instructions are good for ceps (porcini), chanterelles, girolles, black trumpets, hedgehog mushrooms, oysters and wood blewits.

 

The liquid produced in the first cooking, ready to be drained off.

 

1. Only choose mushrooms in perfect condition. Any mushroom may become toxic with age, so don't eat any that are past their best. Prepare and cook wild mushrooms within hours of foraging, and no longer than 24 hours after picking.
   
2. Cut off the dirty stem ends and discard.
3. Brush the tops and check for invertebrates and dirt underneath, brush delicately if necessary. Be thorough because gritty mushrooms aren't nice.
   
4. For ceps and hedgehogs gently rub off the sponge (ceps) or needles (hedgehogs).
5. Slice or chop the mushrooms as desired.
6. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and add the mushrooms.
7. Cook on medium high heat for 2 minutes, stirring and turning occasionally. The mushrooms will release a lot of liquid.
8. Carefully pour off the liquid.
9. Add some more butter to the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring and turning, for a further 5 minutes.
10. Serve immediately.

 

Giving the mushrooms their second cooking after draining the liquid.

Don't feed wild mushrooms to children under seven years old, and don't eat them yourself more than once a week. This is to avoid over exposure to either natural toxins or toxins the mushrooms may sequester or accumulate.

 

 Wild mushrooms served with white fish and potatoes.