Up and about early- well, ok earlier than I have been! Switched on the television. There was a programme on called La Maison Des Maternelles talking about all things babies, birth and boobs- literally! What a great programme. Completely dedicated to that subject. Upbeat and modern with 4 presenters, one of whom was a man. Excellent! I just wish I could have understood a bit more of what they were saying because at one point one of the women (I think she was a midwife) took a leaf off a large cabbage and covered her boob with it! Interesting. I must look that one up!
I set off to Bayeux in lovely sunshine. It’s an hour and a half’s drive away. I really enjoyed it and was accompanied on my journey by another of my favourite podcasts- Off Menu, hosted by Ed Gamble and the wonderful James Acaster. Dynamo was an interesting guest as he has Crohn’s disease. He sounds just like Mark Owen from Take That.
Parked easily in Bayeux (hurrah!) and it was just a short walk to the building that houses the Bayeux Tapestry. It was amazing to see it in real life. It is so very long and so detailed. I don’t usually do audio guides but it was useful as it talked you through each section of the “story” and then, when that had finished, I went right back to the beginning to have another, more detailed look. There must be hours and hours of work in it. Hats off to the people (one assumes women) who created it. A staggering feat.
I got talking to two lovely elderly ladies from Australia whilst there. One of them had bought a tapestry kit of a section of the original and we were discussing the stitches used. It looks very complicated but actually, called the Bayeux stitch, it is made up of just 3 different elements. For sewing nerds like me I’ve added a photo! The other lady had been in Keighley last week paying an “every 20 years” visit to her nephew and his family. Imagine that! Small world!
They asked me about Brexit and how that might affect my travels. I said I had no idea and wasn’t going to think about it until if/when I have to. I made it clear what I feel about Brexit and that the situation is an absolute farce. I said “the whole world must be laughing at us” and one of the ladies replied “yes they are” Wow! For me to say that is one thing but then for someone to confirm it- what a mess!!
Her comment stayed with me for the rest of the day. Particularly as the beautiful town of Bayeux was trimmed with flags from the D Day anniversary celebrations and the Union Jack was side by side with flags from other nations everywhere I turned. Also lots of shop windows were painted with images of soldiers and airmen and people from that time and everywhere it said “thank you, thank you, thank you”. I’m not a political person and my decision to vote to stay in Europe came therefore mainly from my heart. Seeing what I saw in Bayeux just reinforced this. It spoke of unity and security and friendship, whatever the days and months and years may bring and whatever language you may speak. Together has got to be better. Surely?
So, lunch next (quiche Lorraine salad and chips) and I finally managed to publish the first bit of my blog! Internet wonderful! Hurrah! My apologies if it’s not very polished (and I’d also managed to lose some of it!) but it can only get better I guess!
Next, the Cathedral. A stunning building inside and out and with some outward features similar to those of Notre Dame in Paris. I lit another candle- the votive had a picture of a poppy on the front.
There was a relatively modern black and white photograph on the wall in one of the side chapels of a lady wearing a hat and it said underneath “Sainte Thérèse-Bénédicte de La Croix (née Edith Stein)” I was curious to know more about her and I found that she was born in Poland, was Jewish but became an atheist in her teenage years. She went to university, became a philosopher, converted to Catholicism and became a nun, but then died in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942 aged 51 years. She was canonised as a Saint in 1998. What a lady.
If you should ever find yourself in Bayeux then you must go to the MAHB museum. It is a walk through the centuries which is beautifully displayed and is so interesting. An absolute must.
I am officially in love with Bayeux. It is a beautiful town. It’s almost like stepping back in time. It is easy too to evoke images of the war as seen in films depicting that period. You can almost hear the marching feet and see the Nazi flags. We owe the people of that time so much.
I went to the war cemetery on the edge of the town to pay my respects. I didn’t expect to be quite as affected by it as I was. It was very emotional. Rows and rows of gravestones- all standing silently to attention. Such young people. It made me think of the young people I know and love and, as a Mum, how terrible it must have been been in both wars, and indeed in today’s conflicts, to see your child go off into a dangerous unknown.
The graves that affected me in particular were those of unknown soldiers and sailors- the headstone simply saying “a soldier of the 1939-1945 war” and at the foot of the stone “known unto God” So terribly sad. I wished I had taken flowers.
On a lighter note my exit from the car park at the end of the day was eventful. The problem of being a lone traveller in a right hand drive car in France is that the ticket machines are of course always on the left. So one has to get out of the car, walk around to the machine then get back in the car and continue on. On my return to the almost empty car park I paid my money at the pay point, got in my car, drove to the ticket machine which raises the barrier, got out of my car, tried to put my ticket in the machine but it wouldn’t accept it! I tried several times- at one point the ticket went in but wasn’t “swallowed” by the machine so then I had to use my (thankfully) long nails to tease it out again!! So I thought I had better move my car away from the barrier in case anyone else wanted to exit the car park. I was starting to panic at this point- I had visions of having to stay there overnight! I parked up, went back to the machine, offered up my ticket, it went in easy as you like and the blooming barrier sprang up!!! I ran to my car (I thought the barrier might come down again if I wasn’t quick enough!) jumped in and off I went, laughing with relief and wondering if I’ll be featuring on the French version of Candid Camera sometime soon!!!
A very rainy journey back to Dol. A lovely day had. Very tired and very happy 🙂
Jane’s Tour de Force 