The punts engage
This weekend saw the annual jousting competition. It was held on a purpose built lake by the River Grosne on the outskirts of Cluny. It’s a new sport to me and I was amazed to find not only that there were so many clubs devoted to jousting but that there would be so many affectionados that the event would take most of the weekend.
There are two motorised punts, a red one and a blue one. A team piles in and the jouster stands on the platform at the back struggling with a very unwieldy ‘lance’. The two boats pass each other at full speed and the idea is to knock the opponent off and into the water. So that the participants don’t get hurt they wear padded trousers and square cushions on their chests. It still looks quite painful though as some of the boys ended up clutching themselves with tears in their eyes.
The loser is pulled out of the water
Another event this weekend was the annual brochante at Donzy-le-Pertuis. Donzy nestles on the other side of the hill from us and is as pretty as a postcard. It seemed as if the whole village took part to make it a huge success. The stalls meandered through the streets and there was an excellent buvette. There was lots of very interesting items to look at and this time the prices weren’t quite so silly. We were pleased to add a nice mountain bike to our motley collection. Well done Donzy!
Fresh from the breadoven at Blanot
It is beautiful sunny weather once more so we set off early to Blanot to visit one of the most popular local brocantes/vide greniers. At brocantes dealers are allowed which usually means better stuff and antiques are for sale. But disappointingly there was the same old truc for the same old prices. Goodness knows why everything second hand is so expensive in France. To my mind if you have a lot of unwanted junk it’s better to sell it at bargain prices so you don’t have to pack it all away again at the end of the day. The prices people ask are just silly so you show interest, ask the price then go home empty handed.
However there were some items which caught our attention which you would never see at the average car boot sale – shotguns and extremely large knives, ‘Napoleon’s’ hat, gin traps, a mirror set in a carthorse collar…. But nothing that we couldn’t live without!
The winepress at St Gengoux le Scisse
As usual when coming home we meandered round to look at the views from the hills and do a bit of sightseeing. This morning we stopped to have a walk round St Gengoux le Scisse, a pretty wine village with a popular cave set amongst the vineyards. We came across this enormous wine press from 1869, by far the oldest and biggest we have ever seen. And we thought they just used to tread the grapes!
Vide grenier
We’ve been following with interest David Cameron’s proposal of a ‘Big Society’ in Britain. His vision is that people should work together to help build amenities like schools and take part in projects to improve their local environment.
At this time of reduced Government funding this vision has been mocked for simply being a scheme to try and save the Government money. Taxes are already paid to highly paid officials so why should people do it for free? Cash-strapped voluntary organisations say that recent cutbacks in funding do not allow them to take on any more projects.
I think David Cameron has a mountain to move to persuade ordinary people that they must take responsibility for their own street or town. It’ll be very difficult in estates with a ‘council house culture’ where folk expect the council to do absolutely everything from minor repairs to their houses to clearing up their litter.
Also the councils would have to relinquish some of their power. In Hackney, a run down part of London, a group of people set to and cleared up their local park and planted new trees. The council weren’t at all appreciative but charged the group for public liability insurance. Where we lived in Leeds everybody used to cut the grass verges outside their own houses. Officially this was not allowed as it was council property.
GF demonstrating his wares
This is one of the reasons we prefer life in France. The Mairie oversees the commune but everyone is given free rein to make it a good place to be.
The Foyer Rural is the centre of village life in France and its success depends on the energy and hard work of the local people. It has to be completely self sufficient as it receives no funding except for that raised by the activities and events organised by the Committee. Whenever there is a rallye, a randonée or a visiting theatre the Foyer Rural organises a buvette. This year there is plenty of scope to set up buvettes in Cluny on weekends when there are the illuminations and spectacles for the Cluny 2010 celebrations.
Yesterday was the annual vide grenier. It was a long day for a willing band of volunteers that set up at the crack of dawn and manned the buvette and the indoor stalls until packing up in the evening. In true village style however everyone sat down for a banquet of leftovers and worked on emptying the beer cooler. So they were not completely unrewarded!
Seller at the Brocante
Another sign of spring is the return of the brocantes and the vide greniers. Most Sunday fairs are a mixture of both, the professional sellers and the families just trying to earn a few euros selling old books and the usual household stuff. Stalls are set up around the market place of villages, interspersed with buvettes where you can sit awhile and try the local wines.
This Sunday there was a large fair in Azé, which is a large wine village to the southeast of Cormatin. The sellers were having a hard time today as the weather has turned cold and rainy, but for the hardy buyer there was a treasure trove to discover. I rather wish I was setting up a country pub as there was an amazing collection of horse collars and farming tools.
Sometimes, though, you doubt that anyone sells anything all day because the prices asked are sometimes ridiculously high. Especially for the cracked plates and useless junk that you or I would have thrown away years ago. But, you never know, it’s worth looking as there just might be something you can’t live without.
But these fairs bring life to the village and become social events where friends and neighbours meet up and sit down round a table together (today to get out of the rain!). Some of the vendeurs are real characters. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this chap with his eclectic wares
 "The chateau at Pierreclos")