Progress on the Restoration of the Church at La Celle Guenand

The church in La Celle-Guenand is starting to show the benefits of the recent restoration work, so we stopped the other day to take a photo.

This small Romanesque masterpiece has been in a pitiful state for several years. The humidity and weathering on the building, whose oldest parts date back to the 12th century, had caused significant damage and led to the condemnation of the main portal, which was supported by props.

The building, classified as a historic monument in 1908, was nevertheless worth saving, due to its many heritage features, including a western Romanesque façade with blind arches and sculptures of very high quality but unfortunately very eroded. The vaulting displays a variety of architectural forms: half-barrels, round arches, rib vaults. An estimate of the work amounted to €1 700 000 for the total restoration. The municipality then applied for the Stéphane Bern Mission's heritage lottery and were granted €473 000, to which was added a subsidy from the DRAC (Department of Culture). These contributions made it possible to start the emergency work in 2019: the roof and the Romanesque portal.

The restoration was in danger of being interrupted by the Covid19 lockdown but after a short period of stoppage, the work was able to resume whilst observing the public health measures. The roofing work carried out by Frélon was completed and the masons and stonecutters of the Billon Centre company were able to continue the restoration of the north and east facades of the building. The sculptors of Ianek Kocher's team are channeling the medieval craftsmen and succeeding in recreating the precision and techniques of the orginal sculptors to bring back to life the old adornments.

The stained glass windows have been recreated and will soon be able to be installed. The mayor hopes that one day the other sections of the church could be completed and allow a total restoration of the interior of the building, which was once entirely decorated with wall paintings.

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What's Wrong With This Tapestry?

Even I had to look closely. A glance told me there was something slightly off -- it was too bright and it didn't seem right, in comparison to the one next to it, which is part of the same set. But I had to go right up to it and peer to be certain that my suspicions were correct.

The tapestry on the left is actually a photo. The one on the right is real.

The tapestry on the left is actually a high definition photo, hung there in the real tapestry's absence. It is off for conservation work. It will be cleaned and any weak areas invisibly strengthened, using careful hand stitching.

These tapestries are 17th century, made in Brussels, and hang in the Césare de Vendome bedroom at Chenonceau. They are part of a series called the Cycle of Ceres, depicting the changing seasons. They have particularly beautiful fruit and flower garland filled borders, typical of 17th century Brussels tapestries.

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Stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes ready for the oven.

Tomates farcies is a classic French late summer country dish and a staple of workers restaurant menus during the season that big tomatoes are abundant and inexpensive.

Ingredients
6 very large tomatoes
600 g minced pork*
2 tbsp uncooked rice
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Several sprigs of parsley, leaves finely chopped, stems discarded
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 egg
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method

1.  Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Wash the tomatoes, cut out the stem core and slice off the top.
3. Scoop out the seeds and flesh, taking care not to pierce the skin.
4. Sprinkle a little coarse salt on the insides of the tomatoes then stand them upside down on kitchen paper to drain for 20 minutes.
5. Using your hand, mix together the pork mince, rice, onion, garlic, parsley, a dash of olive oil, egg and salt and pepper. 
6. Fill the tomato shells with the meat mixture.
7. Put them in an oiled baking dish that they are a fairly neat fit in.
8. Sit the tomato tops back on the stuffed tomatoes.
9. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil.
10. If you have left over stuffing, put it in an oiled ramekin and bake it with the tomatoes. You can treat it as a mini meatloaf or a terrine. You can also just form it into a pattie and cook it with the tomatoes.
11. Bake for an hour.
12. Serve with plain boiled brown rice.

*Pork mince in France is sold as chair à farci ('flesh for stuffing'). It is often mixed fifty-fifty with veal mince and/or seasoned with garlic and parsley. If it does not contain garlic and parsley it is referred to as nature ('plain').

Yum

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Monitoring the Mummified Cat

In the mid-19th century it was common to place a mummified cat under the floor or in the wall of a new building in Australia, to ward of evil spirits. It was a practice that had emigrated along with the colonisers from Britain. Glengallan Homestead, near Warwick in south-east Queensland, turned out to have such a cat, discovered in the early 21st century when renovations took place.

Cats were linked to witchcraft and in this capacity were thought to prevent evils such as diseases from entering. Typically the animals were positioned on the left hand (sinister) side of the building because that is the side from which evil would naturally approach and attempt to gain entry. 

The cat has probably been deliberately killed and embalmed to preserve it as part of a secretive ritual associated with the builders' trade guild. Now it lies in a controlled atmosphere box with a clear top so visitors can see it and learn about the practice. Humidity, temperature and light are all carefully monitored and controlled with the aid of the large modern apparatus in the corner. Modern heritage conservation at work and allowed to be visible.

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Black Kites

Black Kites Milvus migrans (Fr. Milan noir) are birds I knew quite well before I arrived in France. They are widely distributed in Australia and I have seen them often. Now that we live in central France they are one of the few species we have in common with our old life in Australia.

We spent a happy hour or so watching Black Kites hunting for small mammals, reptiles and grasshoppers in the marsh around Brouage in the Charente-Maritime when we visited in June. The grass was being mown just outside the fort and the ramparts afforded us a great view of the kites aerial agility as they followed the tractor.

Black kites are just as likely to scavenge as actively hunt, and they are usually seen circling on thermals, scanning the ground for anything tasty. They are easy to identify, as although not really black, they are fairly uniformly dark, with a distinctive silhouette, including a forked tail which they twist and adust constantly, and long, bent, fingered, rather narrow wings.

Here in Europe the population comes and goes with the seasons. They will arrive from Africa at the end of winter to breed, and depart again at the end of summer, whereas in Australia you can see them throughout the year. They are one of the many species first described by the great French biologist the Comte de Buffon, and the type species is in the collection of the French National Natural History Museum.

In Australia Black Kites have been observed patrolling the leading edges of grass fires, and even grabbing glowing sticks and moving them into new areas to start new fires which will flush out small prey.

Where you see one Black Kite you are likely to see several others, as they are a gregarious species. They are the most abundant bird of prey in the world, and France has a population of about 25 000 breeding pairs. Charente-Maritime is a hotspot for them, and their population appears to be increasing. Marshes like the area around Brouage are typical and favoured habitat for them.

Black Kites are a protected species in France.

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Graffiti in the Chapel of Chenonceau

Like most chateaux in the Loire Valley Chenonceau has quite a lot of intriguing graffiti. The most famous is in the doorway of the chapel. Rather curiously for a chateau in the heart of France, it is in English, and is supposedly the work of Mary Stuart's Scottish bodyguards. This provenance is probably rubbish, but the two phrases one can see are nonetheless interesting. As is a third panel of graffiti, clearly part of the same set, inside the chapel on the north wall.

There could have been Scots in the chateau in 1543, the date carved alongside the graffiti. It was owned by Francois I at that point, and relations with Scotland were close. But if the date is correct then it wasn't one of Mary Stuart's bodyguards. Mary, aka Mary Queen of Scots, didn't arrive in France until 1548. At the time, Scotland was a staunchly Catholic country, but by the time she returned twelve years later, Protestantism had taken hold.

Ignoring the top line, which is illegible and in a different hand, the wording appears to be 'THE GRACE FORSWCHT OF GOD IS PAYS AND TYIF IN IESU CHRST OVR TORD', dated 1543. I think that translates as something like 'The grace [?] of God is peace and life in Jesus Christ Our Lord'. I initially thought the mystery word might be the German word forscht and could be translated into English in this context as 'sought', so the phrase becomes 'The grace sought of God is peace and life in Jesus Christ Our Lord'. But luckily I know a Scottish medieval historian, and he suggested the word was forsicht, an arcane Scots form of 'forsooth' (which in modern English would be 'in truth' or 'indeed'). So the phrase is possibly a garbled version of a verse from St Paul's letter to the Romans, and should read "Forsooth the grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord".

Grace is a tricky thing, especially at this point in history, and it seems that the person who scratched this on the wall has been influenced by the new Reformist ideas being secretly disseminated all over Western Europe. I think if you wrote this and were caught you might be subjected to some frightening and uncomfortable questioning. The phrase following this in the Wycliffe Bible, the most popular Reformist text, talks about how the soul serves God's law, but the flesh gives itself over to sin -- a core Reformist concept. But if the graffiti is Reformist it could be one explanation of the somewhat peculiar English.

The phrase may look like English, but it seems likely it was not written by someone for whom it was their mother tongue (and that would include Scots at this time). If they were repeating a phrase from a Reformist text they had read or heard, then they were probably reading or hearing it in English, and perhaps not from a native speaker either. Switzerland at this point was a haven for Protestant activists and they had printing presses. Much of what they were printing and distributing was in English, as a lingua franca to reach and influence the maximum number of people. So our graffiti writer might not have quite remembered English grammar or spelling correctly.

This early Protestant Scot, if that is who is responsible for the graffiti, might not have owned a copy of the Reformist Bible himself -- that would be too dangerous. Instead, he might have heard these words spoken and memorised them. There might be a sort of Chinese whispers effect going on, where the words are passed on orally and not always repeated accurately.

But to be honest, the real mystery is why the graffiti is still there. Two decades after it was inscribed the chapel was refurbished by Catherine de Medici. Why was the graffiti left there and not erased? It would have been the work of minutes to simply rasp it off with a traditional block smoothing tool. And why did all of those subsequent owners, every one of them Catholic, leave it there if it expressed a Protestant idea? 

My medieval historian friend suggests that after the Council of Trent in 1545 - 1565, during which the Roman Catholic Church developed and laid out its response to Protestantism, even Catholics might have been queasy about erasing a religious text, no matter what its origin.

Many thanks to Niall Duthie who condensed a very challenging religious concept into a few easy to digest paragraphs, and made very helpful suggestions regarding the Scottish aspect of this mystery.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

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Notice Something Missing at Chambray?

On Monday we drove through Chambray lès Tours for the first time in months, and realised that a certain landmark was missing. Set high up on a mound in the median strip of the D910 was a historic signalling device called a Chappe telegraph, part of a type of military semaphore system. It was removed for restoration in December (which just goes to show how long it is since we went to Tours!).

The Chappe Telegraph in Chambray lès Tours, photographed several years ago.

The signalling device in the middle of the road was in fact a replica. Claude Chappe put his original communication system in place during the Revolution, in 1794. Initially adopted by the military, the Chappe telegraph was a network of articulated semaphore arms set about 15 kilometres apart. The number of possible combinations of arm positions gave messengers the use of 8464 encoded words. 

The one at Chambray was erected in 1822 as part of the Paris-Bordeaux-Bayonne network. It was placed on a pyramidal tower and observers used telescopes to read it from Montbazon in one direction and Tours in the other. In Montbazon the semaphore was placed on top of the castle keep. In Chambray the area around the device is known as Le Télégraphe and there is a street named after it.

The invention of the electric telegraph in 1845 meant the end of the Chappe telegraph. Today the modern equivalent is the mobile phone mast erected on the site of the former Le Télégraphe water tower.

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The Chenonceau Chapel Windows

The Chenonceau Chapel windows, although stained glass, are not particularly old. The five tall narrow lancet window bays that curve around the apse date from the 16th century, but the stained glass they hold dates from 1954.

The saint on the left is clearly George, but I haven't worked out who is on the right.

When Marguerite Pelouze was the owner in the 19th century she had two smaller paired windows added, between the original windows and the gallery. They were based on drawings by the artist Louis Charles Auguste Steinheil, who specialised in medieval art and had contributed to the 19th century restoration of La Sainte Chapelle in Paris.

All of the glass, both 16th and 19th century, was destroyed on 7 July 1944, when an American plane bombed the chateau. After the War the renowned 20th century French master stained glass artist Max Ingrand was commissioned by the Menier family, owners since 1913, to create new windows for the chapel. I think these are his own design, rather than working as usual with the designer Jean Gourmelin (many thanks to my friend Pierre who phoned Gourmelin's widow to check the details of his collaboration with Ingrand.) Ingrand and Gourmelin worked together after the War on the windows of the chapel of Saint Hubert at the Chateau of Amboise. To recognise Gourmelin's work, look for the little dog with the curly tail, who is his personal 'signature', and I will have to visit both chateau to check for it.

The windows are a great example of modern heritage conservation practice. They are clearly modern and no attempt has been made to create 16th century lookalikes. This is considered the appropriate solution when there is no possibility of repairing the original fabric of a building, and an element must be replaced. Best practice is to create the best possible work that is contemporary to your own time, so that the buildings timeline is respected and the visitor is not deceived. Modern additions must respect the aesthetic and spirit of the building, but should be identifiable as dating from the period they were made.

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The Galerie des Domes, Chenonceau

The Galerie des Dômes at Chenonceau is the long grand building you see to your right as you come into the entrance courtyard. It is a service building, originally consisting of stables, wine cellar and apothecary. It still has all of those things but the stables have been converted to a cafe and toilets have been added in modern times. In addition it now houses a reconstruction of the World War One hospital that was on site between 1914 and 1918. It is a fairly early addition to the famous chateau estate, having been constructed during Catherine de Medici's ownership in the third quarter of the 16th century.

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Lentil and Kohlrabi Salad

The underused root vegetable kohlrabi, with its mild mustardy crunchiness, goes well with lentils, with their mealy earthiness.

Lentil and kohlrabi salad.

Ingredients
1 cup lentils
2 cups water
A shallot, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
A kohlrabi
A couple of handfuls of walnuts, broken up into pieces and gently toasted
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Simmer the lentils and shallot in the water for 25 minutes with the lid on. The lentils will absorb the water.
2. Season the lentils with salt.
3. Peel the kohlrabi and cut into small dice.
4. Put the kohlrabi and walnuts in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and cumin, then dress with a couple of glugs of oil and vinegar. Toss.
5. Add the lentils and toss again.

 Pink lentils from the Berry.

This salad is simple and satisfying.  I used pink lentils from the Berry, just to our east, but you could use any green, brown, blonde or black whole lentils. Just don't go for those that have been skinned and split, like red lentils.

Kohlrabi.

If you can't get kohlrabi then cucumber or carrot could be substituted. Cut cucumber or kohlrabi into 1 cm dice, carrot into 5 mm dice. If walnuts are a problem, substitute sunflower seeds.

Homegrown walnuts.

Sesame oil could be used instead of walnut oil, and sherry vinegar instead of cider vinegar. 

Yum

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Red Cedar Staircase

This sweeping staircase is in Glengallan homestead, in the Southern Downs region of Queensland, Australia. It is made of Australian Red Cedar Toona ciliata, a now rare native sub-tropical rainforest hardwood in the mahogany family, much prized for joinery in the 19th century in Australia. The staircase dates from 1867. The wood most likely did not come from very far away, but I doubt you would find a wild living tree nearby now. The land all around was cleared long ago for cattle and crops. Australian Red Cedar is now hard to come by, but not impossible. It is grown commercially on a limited scale in Brazil, and trees are still harvested from the wild in northern Queensland and New Guinea. Cedar interiors in colonial style properties and furniture is highly sought after in Australia.

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Aestivating Escargots

Throughout much of southern, western and northern France, when the weather is dry, you may notice tiny snails strung around plants and posts like pearl necklaces. They are particularly abundant at the coast, but also inland up the Loire Valley. They are Striped Snails Cernuella virgata (Fr. Caragouille globeuse) and they are aestivating, choosing tall plants like the big umbellifers and teasels or wooden fence posts.

Striped Snails (mostly) on a post on Ile de Ré.

When it rains a thin film of algae grows on the plant stems or fence posts. The snails, which up to this point have been lurking about at ground level, climb up to feast on the algae, but once the sun comes out and dries everything out they are trapped. In order to survive and not dessicate they produce a papery seal of mucus and stick themselves to the stem to wait out the dry spell. Being elevated from the ground makes a significant difference to the temperature they have to deal with too, with the ground being hotter than up on a plant. Once it rains again they can move on, restore their moisture levels and get back to grazing and gaining weight.

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The View From a Balcony in Chenonceau

Lovely views are to be obtained from any window or balcony in Chenonceau.

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From the Cedar to the Chateau

A photo of Chenonceau taken in June, from under the big Atlas Cedar that grows at the end of the stable block. The tower in front is part of the older medieval structure that was on the site, and behind it the iconic early renaissance chateau, which sits in the River Cher and crosses from one bank to the other.

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Swimming in the Anglin

Obscured by the trees is a prehistoric site of international significance.

There are lots of places to go 'wild' swimming around where we live. Most of the rivers have designated swimming spots. The Loire itself is a rather dangerous river to swim in, but many of its tributaries and rivers in the Loire catchment have wide deep calm sections that are very appealing.

Old stone cistern on the side of the river.

A week ago, just as the heatwave was coming to an end we were invited by Ingrid to go swimming in the Anglin. She had to go back to the Netherlands a couple of days later, so it was our last chance to be introduced to her favourite spot. 

We were told that these stones in the shallows were an old fish trap.

It could date from anytime between twenty thousand years ago and a hundred years ago.

The Anglin has a wonderful public swimming spot in Angles sur l'Anglin, just by the bridge, very popular with locals and tourists alike. You can picnic there and canoe as well as splash around or even swim seriously -- it's big enough and deep enough to offer something for everyone. But Ingrid's spot is accessed via private property, and far enough out of town that visitors don't often make it there. A number of locals swim there every day, even during winter, and the owner is happy for them to do so.

Rocks in the river bed coloured by minerals.

We were absolutely bowled over by what a great swimming spot it is, with deep water for more than half a kilometre, so you can really swim. Along one side is high limestone cliffs and the other side is cattle pasture. The water the day we swam was warm, except where there are springs (and there are quite a few of them). There wasn't much current so swimming against the current wasn't much different to swimming with it. In total we swam about a kilometre, but it felt like more because you have to swim all the time, unlike in a pool, where you can stop at the end of the lane and can use the pool edge to provide impulsion every 25 metres. Huub went up and back five times to our once, so he swam five kilometres.

The walk in.

As for most wild swimming, you need footwear suitable for walking in the water, as there are places in the river you need to cross on foot. I also chose to wear a cap, to keep my hair out of my eyes, and goggles. Simon chose to keep his sunglasses on and eschewed goggles, Ingrid tied her hair in a topknot and wore goggles. Huub wore goggles too and did serious ploughing up and down while the rest of us pootled our way upstream doing a random mixture of strokes and mostly chatting and looking out for kingfishers.

Simon and Huub heading for the swimming hole.

The water must be full of minerals because Simon ended up with a yellowish tide mark on his beard, and Huub's hair got stained too. Later we saw many river stones coated in either red, which we assume is iron, or green, which we suspect is copper. Near where we swam is a ford and signs of old industrial activity. Although we couldn't see it because of the trees, there is a major archaeological site on the cliffs, where carvings dating from twelve to twenty thousand years ago were found.

A large worked rock in the river, evidence of industrial activity, 

probably in the 19th or early 20th century.

Photos are limited because we only had our little pocket camera with us, we want to be discreet about the location, and we were mostly swimming. It was a really wonderful experience, which we hope to repeat.

Public recreation area on the Anglin near the bridge at Angles sur l'Anglin

 (photo taken in August last year).

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Taking the Test

Antibody tests for Covid19 are now easily available in France at your pharmacy. They cost €18 and you don't get reimbursed, but you don't need a prescription either. Claire the pharmacist explained that the test was for people who had symptoms at least two weeks earlier. The test checks for two types of antibody, so will pick up if you currently have it, or if you have had it in the past. However, it is a bit quick and dirty, involving just a pinprick to get blood, which is then put on a reactive scale. If you test positive you are advised to have a full laboratory test, either a full blood test or the dreaded swab up the nose test.

 

Simon wanted to be tested because he had a virus in February that we wondered if it was actually Covid19, so I made an appointment with Claire. She explained how the test worked and set up the patient consultation room for him. The chair and desk were disinfected and a perspex screen put across the table to protect Simon from Claire and vice versa. Both were wearing masks too.

She pricked his finger and dabbed the reactive strip with his blood. Then we had to sit around twiddling our thumbs and making slightly awkward conversation for 10 minutes to make sure the reaction had time to become visible. Claire pointed out that she knew the test was working properly because there was a control reaction at the top.

Anyway after the time was up there was no sign of a reaction, so Simon has tested negative for Covid19. Claire gave us the test strip and filled out a form to confirm he had the test and that the result was negative. 

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Blackbird Pudding

This isn't a traditional local recipe but I felt it was a nice creative use of local ingredients. One of our local bakeries makes 'aperitif sticks', which are baton shaped breads impregnated with either dried fruit, or chorizo. Every now and then I end up with leftovers. The chorizo ones can be cut up and frozen, ready to be used as croutons in soup. And it turns out the dried fruit ones make excellent bread and butter pudding.

Buttered bread in a lasagne dish.

Ingredients
500 g mirabelles (small yellow plums), stoned, halved
125 g sugar (plus a generous tablespoon extra for the plums)
2 dried fruit aperitif sticks, sliced
Soften butter
Vanilla extract
200 ml cream
500 ml milk
5 eggs

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C.
2. Spread the plums out in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with sugar.
3. Bake the plums for 20 minutes then turn the oven off, remove the plums and set aside to cool.
4. Butter a lasagne dish.
5. Thinly spread butter on both cut sides of the bread stick pieces.
6. Spread the bread out on the base of the lasagne dish.
7. Top the bread with the plums, including any juice.
8. Whisk together the eggs and sugar together, then whisk in the cream, milk and vanilla.
9. Pour the custard mixture carefully over the bread and fruit.
10. Heat the oven to 160C.
11. While the oven heats set the pudding aside to let the bread soak up some custard and soften.
12. Bake for 40 minutes.
13. Serves 6, warm or cold.

Plums added to bread.

This works equally well with chunks of stale panettone. Any nice tart plum works well, as do nectarines.

Soaking before baking.

The plums for this particular version came from my friend Jean, who writes Baking in Franglais and who had a glut in the summer of 2019 and kindly gave me some for the freezer.

Eggs and dairy, as usual, came from my local dairy farm who deliver.

The bakery that the aperitif sticks come from is owned and run by Sophie and Aurélien Merle. In English they would be Mr and Mrs Blackbird.

Yum

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Sailing on Lake Burley Griffin

 

Lake Burley Griffin divides the city centre of Canberra from the Parliamentary Triangle. It was created by damming the Molonglo River. Although it is named after him, what was built was not the lake Walter Burley Griffin had designed, but it is still the centre piece of Canberra's landscape.

These photos were taken on Lake Ginninderra, which was Canberra's second man-made lake. Simon used to sail on Lake Burley Griffin in the 1970's, before the new lake was built, but that was in the day of film cameras. We only have one photo of that and it's a bit of a blurry mess.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

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Brouage

The village of Brouage was top of our list of places to visit when we spent a few days in the Charente-Maritime in June. It is a village entirely contained within a 17th century Vauban designed star fort. It was once a port on the sea, but the water has receded so that today Brouage sits in a marsh. The star fort was the attraction for us, but what we hadn't realised that the village is full of artists' workshops and the battlements are the place from which to watch storks feeding in the marshes.

Between Rochefort and the Ile d'Oléron, and once right on the Atlantic Ocean, the village is one of the official 'plus beaux villages de France' ('most beautiful villages in France'). Now it nestles in the heart of a 3000 hectare marsh, and has some of the best all year round pleasant weather in France. One of the major attractions is birdwatching from the town walls or along the signposted local walking trails. You will see herons, ducks, waders such as spotted redshank or northern lapwing, as well as the white storks which have been on the site since the end of the 1970s.