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mai 18, 2013

Gerard Thélier

Classé dans : Events,People,Places — Tags :Cluny, Cluny tourist office, Gerard Thélier, Medieval Cluny — Mary @ 13:54

Gerard Thélier

Whilst in the market this morning we happened across Gerard Thélier, a great aficionado of Cluny with a big personality. Originally from St-Cloud, Gerard Thélier travelled the world before coming to settle in Cluny. He has worked as a documentary film maker, photographer and artist, and has written several books on the abolition of slavery and the history of Cluny, notably C’était hier Cluny. Now retired, he organises cultural and historical events and is a consultant for heritage exhibitions.

Gerard is going to be very busy all summer as he is conducting tours around medieval Cluny most Monday and Saturday afternoons at 1.30pm. He will not be hard to spot as he will be dressed as a knight of the 11^th century.

He is also leading tours by torchlight around the nearby Clunisoise villages. It will be the turn of Cortambert on 3^rd July and 25^th August, 8.45pm to 10.15pm. The times and dates of all the walks can be found on the Cluny tourism website www.cluny-tourisme.com.

Also new this year, you can hire a tablet from the Office of Tourism or just download the app that leads you on a tour round medieval Cluny. Call me old fashioned but I would much prefer to go with Gerard! He has such an engaging personality that I am sure his guided walks will be amazing.

mai 10, 2013

The Randonnée des Roses – Cortambert 2nd June

Classé dans : Events,People,Village Life,Weather — Tags :Cortambert, Randonnée des Roses — Mary @ 19:09

We’ve started preparing for the Randonnée des Roses which is to be held on Sunday 2^nd June. There will be three routes of 8.7km, 15km and 25km which start from the foyer rural in Cortambert and head towards Donzy.

The men prepare the panneaux.....

Today’s jobs included preparing a couple of colourful doors that had been decorated for the Cluny 2010 celebrations. They are to be erected at each end of the commune in order to display information about future events, including the Randonnée des Roses. In addition we took all the direction posts out of storage and while the men did the woodworking the ladies were busy decorating them with roses.

while the ladies paint roses

The only thing we need now is to organise some good weather. But whether the weather be good or whether the weather be bad you can be guaranteed good company, excellent refreshments and some stunning views over the countryside.

mai 8, 2013

The 8th of May

Classé dans : Events,Village Life,Weather — Tags :Holidays, Horses, Laizé, Weather — Mary @ 23:33

Today was VE Day, the second of the four jours de fête in May. As it is Ascension Day tomorrow many people manage to make the whole week a holiday.

At the memorial for VE Day

To commemorate VE Day the good folk of Cortambert met at the memorial for a service with the Maire and the pompiers. All were invited back to the Mairie for the vin de l’amitié and some excellent cake, the French savoury kind with ham and olives.

We didn’t stay long though as we were due at the stables at Laizé to help judge the cross country competition. The concours complet is like a three day event with showjumping, dressage and cross country.

The weather was a little unsettled, hot and sunny one minute, cloudy and humid the next with a few spots of rain inbetween. Our friend Axelle came prepared for whatever the weather might be.

Ready for the cold, the rain and the sun

We were posted to watch two obstacles. One was called the Coffin which was a jump down into a dip where there was something akin to an open grave. After this was a steep slope out with a fence at the top. The other jump was the Toboggan which was an obstacle at the top of a steep rise.

Approaching the Coffin

The judging was easy, the afternoon peaceful and a perfect day finished off with a meal with our pony club friends and our instructors in the clubhouse. This time not typical French food like in Lyon on Sunday but a very welcome chilli con carne!

mai 5, 2013

A day out in Lyon

Classé dans : Events,People,Places,Weather — Tags :Croix Rousse, Lyon, Mur des Canots, traboules — Mary @ 22:56

We’ve had a wonderful day in Lyon. Pascale organised an outing and a group of us from Cortambert and Donzy were more than happy to take up the invitation. I think she must have organised the weather too as we enjoyed a cloudless day with warm sunshine.

When I get the chance I’ll describe what we did; the tour of the murals, the lunch at a typical Lyonnaise bouchon where we had silkworkers’ brains, the guided tour through the traboules……

But just for now I’ll talk about the Mur des Canuts, the most impressive mural ever, the biggest trompe-l’oeil in Europe. It was painted in 1987, the first commission for the artists’ cooperative Cité de la Création..

Before

There was an ugly building on the Boulevard des Canuts and the owner wanted to improve the look of it while displaying adverts for his business. The artists decided to paint a scene typical of the area, the Croix Rousse, which was the centre for the silk industry in the 19^th century. It is extraordinarily difficult to believe that you are looking at a flat wall!

After

And here we all are. Don’t you think we are as pretty as a picture ourselves?

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