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Monday, 26 November 2007 |
HOME FROM HOME:
Do you miss items from home?
We make regular visits to the
UK and can supply you with
what you want and miss, from
food produce to paint and
building materials. contact us:
05 53 75 17 08
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223-70 |
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Friday, 23 November 2007 |
The transport strike is over but the battle for reform still rages. As the editor of the newspaper 'Libération', no friend of the government, agreed, it is a success for the “méthode Sarkozy”. The president's team has pushed through the reform of the special regimes which have defied successive governments for 50 years. The war to change attitudes in France is not over but it is more than a battle which has been won. The unions have accepted the result of the ballot box, although a minority of the workers have not. It has been suggested that the strike was unnecessary.
In fact it has been far from pointless. The union leaders must have realised that this reform was inevitable when Nicolas Sarakozy promised to put it through before he was elected. To convince their members and the majority of the workers in the transport industry of this it was necessary to take on the government. The striking workers have now seen for themselves that 60% at least of the public wanted the government to stand firm. They must be aware of their growing unpopularity and reputation for selfishness.
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Thursday, 22 November 2007 |
This summer, whilst staying with a friend in Cambridge, I visited Granchester where I was reminded of Rupert Brooke and his immortal lines. During November we will be together in such corners of foreign fields when we meet at La Doua and St Germain au Mont d’Or.
November is the time for Remembrance and like us, in many other “corners”, both at home and abroad, people will remember the dead of many conflicts and honour them. “Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.”
Sadly, however, those who were left damaged by these conflicts have to live out the remainder of their lives. Even if unscathed at the time, those who have served become old and in many cases acquire problems for which they need assistance.
The remit of RBL is to reach out and assist where relief is required, be it on the grand scale, where a soldier has been severely wounded and handicapped, or merely an aged pensioner who appreciates a friendly visit. Remembering in a practical way by giving to the Poppy Appeal helps this admirable work.
It would be remiss of me not to point out that RAFA, in its turn, also provides various forms of welfare support.
We are continually reminded in the press of the casualties incurred by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We do not know the numbers of those coming home seriously wounded, but it is an acknowledged fact that modern medicine saves the lives of many who would have died in the past. What lives! The call for our compassion does not diminish.
“At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”
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Wednesday, 21 November 2007 |
Gignac, France, early evening November 1357. Two guards stand atop their tower watching westward for the ever encroaching English invaders. The rest of the Gignacois below are already gathered around their hearths, shutters drawn closed against the cold, and the enemy.
Six hundred and fifty years later and the Gignacois are again gathered in the square gazing up as the very same tower, under English control for almost five years, is set ablaze. But things have changed, and there is no joy, no freedom, no victory. On this night we all lose.
French and English stood arm in arm, sharing tears, as fire ripped though the two houses and tower in Gignac village centre on the evening of Monday November 12. A wiring failure in the house of Yann Ourcival was probably the cause, but the result was misfortune on a huge scale for both Tom Hanauer and his neighbour whose house was the first to descend.
The firemen came and the flames were subdued, the insurance men came and the homes will be rebuilt, and while some part of history will be forever lost, let’s hope we will see a new history developing. Not one of war nor one of ‘tolerance’ but one of genuine appreciation, and of symbiosis. The people of Gignac wear their hearts on their sleeves for their new-found friend Tom the Englishman who came to live and not to conquer. And the Englishman in New Gignac could not think of a better place to have such a bad day.
You see, progress isn’t all bad!
PS Nothing is left of the two ancient houses. Yann is now staying at his parents' house in the same village but all Tom's relatives live in England. Friends have rallied round, offering clothes, food and lodging.
by Tom Hanauer and Clémence Schilling
French News is happy to act as a go-between if anyone in the area of Gignac can help Tom out in one form or another. Email
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, labelling your email "Gignac".
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Wednesday, 21 November 2007 |
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http://peterwoodarts.com
http://artanglingbreaks.com/
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