Botany Outing to Seligny

On Saturday 9 April the Association de botanique et de mycologie had an outing to Séligny. Here are some of the things we saw.

Green-winged Orchid Anacamptis morio (Fr. Orchis buffon).

Green-winged Orchid.

A male Saint Mark's Fly Bibio marci (Fr. Bibion).

Two marvellous botanists, Jean P and Jean B, with Laurent and André. I'm lucky to know these people.

Green-winged Orchid.

Botanists getting together.

Red Roof Moss Ceratodon purpureus, which grows where vine prunings have been burnt.

Part of the site we visited is a vineyard.

Part of the site is an orchard.

Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana (Fr. Violette de Rivin) -- spur paler than petals and notched at the end, strong 'landing pad' striations for pollinators.

Agile Frog Rana dalmatina (Fr. Grenouille agile).

Spotted on the Road

We were going to the supermarket last week when we saw this car headed toward the fuel pumps. Naturally, we stopped for a chat.

The car is a Salmson VAL 3 from 1925 belonging to a man who has his workshop near la Roche Posay. He collects pre-war cycle cars, and although this tiny car is just that - tiny - I would have one. We may actually have seen this car - or one of the owner's other cars - at an event around the area. I would have to check through thousands of photos to be sure.

Salmson is a French engineering company founded as a pump manufacturer in 1890. In 1896 it started building internal combustion engines and turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing. They built their last car in 1957.

Holiday Booked

Yesterday we sent off the deposit for our apartment rental for this summer's long break. That means that for a week breakfast will look like this:

Yup. We're off to Cauterets again for a week in July. We have rented the same apartment as last year because we really enjoyed being in the middle of a bustling but not too loud town, and we know the setup. We will once again be walking slightly ambitious distances (mainly downhill) and getting excited about seeing vultures.

It does seem slightly odd to be returning to somewhere we have already visited when there is still so much of France we haven't yet explored, but Cauterets was really good to us after over a year of lockdown and stress. Besides - we have to visit places like this and walk while we are still able to.

Goats don't eat Orchids

And it appears they aren't too keen on cowslips, either. I took this photo yesterday afternoon.

What is a Chateau?

We are often asked "what is a chateau?" The answer is always slightly complicated, and never completely satisfactory.

Any country building substantial enough that the owners feel comfortable telling someone else it's a chateau seems to qualify. It could be a chateau fort (fortress or castle in English) a chateau ferme (fortified farm), a palace, a 19th century retreat, a renaissance fantasy hunting lodge (like Chambord). No building style defines a chateau, nor does the presence (or absence) of towers, fortifications, a moat or a long driveway. Most chateaux in France were built between the late 10th and early 20th century, but I am sure there are some outliers.

Of course not all chateaux are actually in the countryside. If it's a castle (in the English sense) it could be in the middle of town (Langeais, Tours), looming over a town (Amboise, Chinon) or surrounding a town (Carcasonne). Other chateaux may have been built on the outskirts of town, or even in the countryside, and the town grown to absorb them (too many to mention).

This, for instance, is a chateau.

We know it's a chateau, because there is a sign.

Chateau Fromage is here. We have driven past it many times and never realised it.

(If you think this blog post was written just so I could post pictures of Chateau Fromage, you're correct.)

The Prison at Fontevraud

In 1804, the former Abbey of Fontevraud was transformed into a prison. It took ten years for the work converting the complex and it was not until 1814 that the first 200 prisoners arrived: men, women and children. In 1850, the women were transferred to the prison of Rennes while the children went to Roiffé. 

At its peak the prison of Fontevraud held 2700 prisoners overseen by 48 guards.  The notorious facility, considered the second worst in France, closed in 1963.

Graffiti on a prison cell door done by a member of the Resistance in the Second World War.

Some inmates left traces of their time in the prison of Fontevraud, probably to remind those who came after who they were (sometimes military, sometimes craftsmen, for example).

Lanterne des morts, Fontevraud

The lanterne des morts in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye emerges as a thin octagonal tower from the centre of a funerary chapel that was once in the middle of cemetery. It is topped by a lantern which was lit when someone died, and every evening to light the small medieval cemetery that surrounded the chapel.

It has been privately owned since the end of the 18th century and can be found near to the parish church, outside the famous Abbey. The chapel was built in the first quarter of the 13th century, from grey limestone, having been commissioned by Alix de Bourbon, the Abbess of Fontevraud.

The property is not open to the public.

Progress report - la Tour de Marmande

We wrote quite extensively about the restoration works of the Chateau de la Tour de Marmande in October 2020.

Susan was back in the area on Saturday and took this photo of the newly restored tower, sans scaffolding. There is still work happening on what we assume is the donjon (keep).

From this angle (and viewpoint) it really does look like a chateau rather than just a mysterious tower - which is how we always thought of it. There are echoes of le Grand Pressigny in the tower, which is unusual in this area.

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You may have noticed that there was no blog posts over the weekend. We were busy last week, and they just didn't happen

Supporting Ukraine

As soon as the Russians invaded Ukraine, local Ukrainians got organised. In Tours a new charity called Touraine-Ukraine was set up within days. They networked with the Préfecture, created several depots where people could leave donations and organised collections of clothes, food and medical supplies, which they then delivered to Poland or Ukraine. On the return journeys they bring back refugees, almost all women and children. Local people stepped up and offered accommodation both short and long term.

Near us the village of Chambon has been particularly active, with residents driving vanloads of supplies to Ukraine on three occasions, and now we have a number of Ukrainian families living in the area. The city of Bourges, which is twinned with Kharkiv, sent two buses to pick up refugees and bring them back to safety in central France. The village of Bossay sur Claise organised a fundraising concert and one of 'our' Ukrainian refugees, who is a piano and flute teacher, led a singalong of Ukrainian folk songs as part of the programme.

The kids at the primary school in Preuilly have wrapped the symbolic Tree of Secularism in front of the school in blue and yellow as a gesture of support.

Christ Comes Out of the Attic

The parish church of Fontevraud l'Abbaye village, outside the famous Abbey.

The church of Saint Michel was built about 1170 at the request of the Abbess Audeburge of Fontevraud Abbey and paid for in part by Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is in the village, outside of the famous Abbey.

The most remarkable object in the parish church at Fontevraud is this polychrome wooden sculpture of Christ on the cross. It was carved in the 15th century but discovered in the attic of the presbytery in 1952. The body is tortured, but the face peaceful. His fingers are extended in a gesture of benefaction.

The Fontevraud parish church crucifix, which is in the village, not the Abbey.

Compare it to this much cruder crucifix from Ligueil, with its agonised and despairing Christ who is nonetheless in the same tradition, and was also found tucked away out of sight in an attic.

The Ligueil pulpit crucifix is a piece of folk art. The artist and date are unknown, there was nothing written about it in the past, but it is clearly a piece of French heritage. The artist obviously felt free to express himself and the work does not fit any particular tradition.

The Ligueil crucifix.

A pulpit crucifix is a liturgical object intended to hang on the wall of the nave of a church, opposite the pulpit. This one from Ligueil was probably made by an itinerant sculptor in the 16th or 17th century, perhaps copying a much older version judging by some archaic traits.

This sculpture was discovered about nine years ago in the roof space of the church in Ligueil. It cannot always have been kept in this church and could have come from one of the former churches in the town. It's not documented, but it is likely that at some point prior to the Revolution it was decided that the sculpture was too uncouth and it was replaced by a more modern crucifix. This relegation would have enabled it to escape the acts of vandalism that swept the region in 1784.

There is an old repair to the back, perhaps by a blacksmith, which is testimony to long use and public affection for this object before its banishment to the attic. Rich in meaning, highly individual yet at the same time representative of rustic works which reveal the thinking of the humble artists who carve wood. It is no wonder it was listed as an historic monument in its own right in 2014. 

Farewell to the Former Mayor

Mayor Gilles Bertucelli, officiating at the marriage of our friends Jean-Michel and Martine.

Last week the inhabitants of our small town were shocked and saddened to learn that our former mayor, Gilles Bertucelli, had died. He had lived all his life here and everyone knew him. Here is a translation of his obituary in the local paper.

 

Mayor Gilles Bertucelli officiating at the town New Year's best wishes ceremony. Also present a government Minister, a member of parliament and the President of the Communauté des communes (super shire).

"Gilles Bertucelli, former mayor of Preuilly-sur-Claise, is no more. He died of pleural cancer on Saturday, March 26, perhaps due in part to the asbestos he often handled professionally in his youth, at a time when the harmfulness of the material was not known. He was 69 years old.

In September 1952 his father Norbert came to settle as an electrician plumber in the municipality, where Gilles was born on 7 October. After Grade 10, he entered the family business as an apprentice and then acquired a master craftsman qualification.

In 1976 he married Françoise, and two children were born, Romain and Marie. In 1985, the couple took over his father's company, which had six employees, and continued its development. Gilles was passionate about innovation and invested in new technologies: renewable energies, geothermal energy, biomass, heat pumps. In 2014, when he reached retirement age, it was one of the principal employers in the municipality, with 43 employees.

Gilles Bertucelli was also been involved in the development of the town for thirty-seven years, as a municipal councillor from 1982 to 2008, including a term as deputy mayor and as mayor from 2008 to 2020. He participated in the development of leisure, sports and culture. In 1983, as a young councillor, he and some friends created the MCJ (Maison communale de jeunes -- Community Youth Centre), whose activities are still flourishing forty years later.

Among the main achievements of his mandates are the housing estate of La Saulaie, the heating of the communal buildings, the renovation of the town hall square, and the guinguette (outdoor dinner dance space). A strong defender of small village life, he helped the installation and maintenance of local businesses in the center of the village.

Several Preuillaciens recall with emotion a council meeting where the mayor impressed by his courage. In 2015, sensitized to the fate of migrants perishing in the Mediterranean, he had imagined making available vacant housing in the municipality. At this relatively stormy meeting, with a large audience, partly unfavorable, the mayor managed to turn the opinion around. In response to a mistrustful question, he replied, "I was moved by the terrible images seen on television and I am ready to welcome suffering human beings, regardless of race or religion." The public was won over and embraced the mayor's humanitarian approach."

Mayor Gilles Bertucelli officiating at the memorial ceremony for the World War Two deportees.

You can read the original in French here [link].

The police were controlling traffic because of the large crowd at the church for the funeral.

Gilles Bertucelli dancing in the street during a village festival.

Walking from Lesigny

 Here are some photos I took on a 6 kilometre walk from Lésigny on Monday 28 March.

Lésigny.

The Second World War memorial in Lésigny.

This garden appears to have an underground bunker.

No, me neither...

Crosswort Cruciata laevipes (Fr. Gaillet croisette) will make the whole area smell of honey on a hot day when it is flowering.

Walking through some forest.

This old bloke came out to chat with us as we passed through this hamlet.

The dog's name is Goldie and we've met him before. He is super friendly and cute.

Goldie regretfully watching us go.

The fly Graphomyia maculata (Fr. Graphomyie tachée), a male, on Albanian Spurge Euphorbia characias ssp wulfenii.

Sun Spurge Euphorbia helioscopia (Fr. Euphorbe réveille-matin).

If your name is Pauline, look away now.

While we were in Tours last week we saw this mighty machine on sale at Auchan supermarket. It's an "E-Pauline", built by IMF in France. It's a 45km/h electric vehicle that seats two, and has a range of 70km (or 120km if you have two batteries). It costs 7000€ and can be had in blue, grey, or red. More information - if you need it - is here.

Yes, it really is that small.

We're not in Paris

We weren't in Paris last weekend, either.

Usually at about this time of year we visit Paris to go to Retromobile. The past two years it was cancelled due to the plague, and this year it was held a month later than normal. We didn't go, because we were working that weekend, but I am not sure we would have gone even if we hadn't had that excuse.

In fact, it's two and a half years since we were last in Paris. The biggest city we have been to since then is Tours. We have plans to visit Lyon in July, so let's hope we don't get scared by the idea of a big city.

In the meantime a photo of the Elvis Presley inspired gargoyle at the Église Saint-Séverin in Paris' 5th arr.

Botanists at Work

I had to put together a choice of photos to go with some text for a community magazine who requested some info on the Association de botanique et de mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine. I'm on the committee and one of the people in charge of communications (mainly because I've got lots of pictures -- someone else provides the words in French). So here we are in action over the course of a few years.

Surveying mosses in the Forest of Chinon.

Surveying damp grassland flora on a Loire River flood meadow near Langeais.

Surveying ferns in a wooded limestone valley near Mareuil sur Cher.

Looking at a sedge during a survey of a dry sandy site on the banks of the Loire near Cande Saint Martin.

Looking at a wood fern Dryopteris sp whilst surveying ferns in a privately owned forest parcel near Chambourg sur Indre.

Looking at a Military Orchid Orchis militaris (Fr. Orchis militaire) on a roadside bank in the Claise Valley.