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Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
Véronique Minozzo meets the musical medic who masterminds Auch’s choral festival
For three weeks in June, Auch, the
historical capital of Gascony, will
live to the beat of the 11th Éclats
de Voix festival, the only choral event in
France to offer such a varied repertoire,
ranging from medieval to modern, this
year including Finnish, Latin, English
and American influences.
Éclats de Voix is spread over three
weekends and run by around 50
volunteers who commit time and
enthusiasm to the choral festival. The
‘conductor/mentor’ is Patrick de Chirée,
who is not only the artistic director but
also a doctor in Auch’s general hospital.
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Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
No finer honour can be
bestowed in Pézenas
than to be made a Chevalier
of the Petit Pâté de Pézenas.
Nikki Quist, who founded
the local magazine
‘Blablablah’ was honoured
last month at a ceremony in
the town’s museum. Nikki
knows a bit about moving
around and why a good mag
is important: she was born in
Bexley Heath, educated in
New York and has lived in
Florida and Paris. It was in
Paris that Nikki tried out the
concept of a medium to
bring together Anglophones
and the French with a
website. A printed journal
started when she and her
husband moved to Pézenas
four years ago.
‘Blablablah’ has grown
from a monthly 500 copies
of just four pages in black
and white to the quality
28-page colour magazine
produced today, with an
estimated 20,000 readers.
“We are fortunate to have
such a ‘can do’ person who
has driven the magazine to
its present prominence,” was
the tribute Jean-Luc Beguile
paid to Nikki’s work with
the community, which
includes the local Occitan
language school in Pézenas
and the other successful fairs
including the Château
Cassan Christmas Fair.
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Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
It is not often that a potholer
can put a town on the
map – but that is the
achievement of Gabriel
Rodriguez.
His discovery of a maze
of underground rivers and
passages led to the discovery
of a 7,000-year-old
civilisation around, or rather
under, the town of Saint-
Pons-de-Thomières. His
enthusiasm for his findings
developed into a fascination
with archeology and the
founding of a local society.
Now the treasures and
history, after years in lessthan-
excellent buildings, are
presented in a bright modern
building near the town’s
fine cathedral.
Atmospheric ‘theatre’ displays fibreglass copies of the regions standing stones in Saint-Pons new museum
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Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
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Work has begun to take the
road back from the edge of
the 10-mile stretch of
unspoilt Sète/Marseillan
beach. Soon the sea will no
longer nibble away at the
road as it has done most
winters, and holiday makers
won’t have to cross a busy
road to get to the sea. The
plan involves diverting the
entire route to run alongside
the railway. Work from the
Sète end is well advanced
but the project is enormous
and may take years.
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Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
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A fibre optic line will run
alongside the A75 to speed
up computer connections in
the south. Nearly half of the
€4.2 million is being funded
by the EU with contributions
from the state and half a
million from the region.
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