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This front page was first published on 20th June 2009.
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Just in case this is your first June in France, or just in
case you have forgotten where you were this time last year, 21st
June (besides being the summer solstice) is music night in France
and St. Céré will do their bit to keep the tradition
going. Tradition? you ask
Well Music Night is one of those brand new "traditions"
that everyone in France has taken to. Introduced by the French Culture
Minister Jack Lang, some 25 years ago, it basically allows anyone
with a musical bent, to set up on 21 June and play music in the
streets, without having to have a licence (permis). Big deal we
hear you say? Well, in a country that is ruled by bureaucrats and
in a paper-constricted society, where just to cut somebody's grass
needs reams of paperwork, yes... sans-permis ANYTHING is a big deal
in France!
Beware though, as because the 21st is a Sunday (and nothing
ever happens on a Sunday night) Music Night this year in
Saint Céré is on Saturday Night, 20th June.
Le 5Cere, Place de la République, will feature
a jazz band which is scheduled to start playing around 19h.30
Le Passé Simple, Rue de la République, will
have a group called "1 Bruit Kikour", which will start
to,play about 21h.00
Bar Commerce, Rue de la République, will throb to
the sound of bongo drums, Mauritius style
See you in town - ed
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R.A.F. Typhoons in action, Normandy June
1944
from a painting by Robert Taylor
We attended the St Céré war memorial and the
Remembrance parade on May 8th and, moving as it was, it was difficult
to suppress a gasp when, in one of the speeches, General Charles
De Gaulle was thanked for liberating France!
Having only just got over that re-writing of history, there followed
the extraordinary French snub to the British at the 65th Anniversary
of D-Day in Normandy - a "Franco-American affair" according
to the French Government.
Enough is enough, so at the risk of being contentious, we would
like to put the record a little bit straighter. Some 160,000 American,
British, Canadian and other Commonwealth troops dropped into, or
came ashore in Normandy on 6th June 1944, but we can only find mention
of around 200 Free French Commandos and assorted spooks and Special
Forces involved in D-Day. It was not until August 1st that any significant
number of French regular Forces landed on the now peaceful beaches
of Normandy. By the time of the Allied breakout from from the beachhead,
around 250,000 Allied Soldiers became casualties, of which some
50,000 died. And yet, when it came to "liberating" Paris
(declared an open city by the German (Regular Army) Commandant,
in defiance of Hitler), on 24th August 1944, 'Free French Forces'
led the parade!
That said, D-Day triggered the movement of the Das Reich SS Panzer
Division, based at Montauban, mobilised to counterattack the Allies
at the Normandy beachhead.
Thanks to some very brave sabotage by SNCF employees, guided by
the British SOE, the railway flat cars that were earmarked for their
tanks, artillery and Panzer-Grenadier transport were put out of
action and the whole division, some 20,000 SS soldiers, took to
the highways and byways of rural Lot, Dordogne and Limousin.
The rest, as they say, is history. Locally, pitched battles took
place at the bridges in Bretenoux and Beaulieu as the (mostly communist)
French resistance and British Special Forces attempted to slow down
the German advance on Normandy. They succeeded so well, that the
Das Reich division was largely ineffectual in the Normandy campaign,
although they went on to wreak havoc in the Battle of the Bulge.
The fairly "green" German SS troops, asked by the local
Wermacht garrison, (who feared an attack by the uncoordinated, under-armed
marquis) to give the locals a bit of a lesson, did just that. Killing
and burning, the Das Reich left a trail of death and destruction
in their wake, climaxing in the hanging of 99 civilians in Tulle
and the slaughter of 640 men, women and children at Oradour-sur-Glane.
As the various elements of this vast movement of men and machinery
swept through South West France, the SS soldiers turned on the civilian
population and St. Céré suffered as many towns and
villages did. Below, are some local photos commemorating those dreadful
days, which tell the story better than any words we can write. Click
on an image below, to view a larger version.
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French Soldiers
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British SOE
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French Civilians
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The full story of these dark days can be read in Max Hastings incredibly
detailed book, Das Reich. You can still find this book at Amazon.
Just click the image below.
Das Reich, by Max Hastings
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Brownie is up for adoption - click image
for details
Everyone likes a shaggy dog story, but could you like a real
shaggy dog enough to give it a home? The dog refuge at Figeac are
desperately seeking good homes for several of their rescued dogs,
including Brownie above.
They have given us details of two more appealing mutts that are
up for adoption and you can see these by visiting the Dog
Refuge's sponsored page on this website, by clicking this link.
Also on their sponsored page are full details how you can contact
Nicci Halton, at the refuge.
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June 20th - June 23 2009
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This Sunday 22nd June (10h.00 - 19h.00), you can walk off
your Fête de Musique hangover by visiting the Fête du
Bois in Latouille-Lentillac. An annual favourite, yet hard to explain
exactly what it is all about. Wood, yes... mostly, but there is
a lot else to see and do as well. And, of course, there will be
ice-cold beer and hot snacks for the faint of heart or head!
Crêperie Py goes musical - see their summer concert dates
- click
the image or this link.
The programme for the new Summer Season (27th July to 15th August,
is now available around town and we will be publishing our own guide
to the events and free happenings soon.
click this link
for details of other forthcoming events in St. Céré
area and around
River Bave, St. Céré
St Céré, is in the beautiful Dordogne river valley
region of the Lot (département 46), Midi-Pyrénées,
South West France.
Lot is deep in the heart of France, with the départements
of Dordogne to the West, Corrèze to the North, Aveyron and Cantal
to the South and East respectively.
To
view maps of where in France to find St. Céré - please
click this link
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Spotted occupying the whole car-park in Autoire
- imagine being behind that lot! The occasion? The owners were having
lunch at the Auberge de la Fontaine - wise move. If you haven't
eaten there - give it a go.
Auberge de la Fontaine Autoire - a great
place for lunch or dinner
Talking of motorhomes, there is one for sale locally-
see our classified section by clicking
this link.
The riding school held their annual fête day
last week and the kids put on a great show. Their new location at
Donat Haut (off the St. Céré/Gramat road) is progressing
well, with the new stable block nearing completion.
We will be meeting on Friday 5th June at the Café Voyageurs,
as usual, to put the world to rights and for a drink or three.
If you are out and about...
join us.
Café Voyageurs, Place de la République, St. Céré
- venue for anyone who wants to speak English to other English speakers
- at least once a month!
Don't forget, if you can capture a French friend who is trying
to learn English, there can be no better way for them to practise,
than to join us.
See you there?
In this section we provide links to current local
and national news items, which may well affect you if you either
live near St. Céré or, as expats anywhere in
France.
The scroller above will halt as your mouse hovers
over it. Then just click on a brief news item link that is of interest,
and a fuller version will open in a new window.
If you have a local news item you would like to see
aired, please let us know. Use the e-mail form accessed by clicking
the link below to send us your new item.
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Not far from St. Céré. Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne is just
over the border in the Corrèze. For
more information about Beaulieu, please click this link
St Céré is surrounded by countryside of great beauty,
liberally sprinkled with historic sites and villages.
There are no less than five of the officially designated Plus Beaux
Villages de France (the most beautiful villages in France) within
20 minutes drive of St. Céré
Click this link to view photos and
information of some of the great places to visit near St. Céré
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To find out what the weather is like today in St. Céré
and for a 3 day forecast - click the image above.
Protect you computer - How? Click
the image above or here to visit Danny the PC Doctor's sponsored
page.
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WiFi connections in St Céré are available at the
music bar, Au Passé Simple in Rue de la République
and at the Café 5Cere, Hotel Touring, Place de la République.
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If you have a local news item (or even one of national interest),
you feel deserves an airing; have been Out and About and know a
snippet of local information - somebody new in town/some local info;
or if you have a local event to publicise free, let us know by clicking
the appropriate link below.
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