Sharing News
Village Life
11/27/20255 min read
I've never really enjoyed gossip. It is often cruel and malicious, and even worse if one is on the receiving end. Better to accept people as you find them, not as they are described to you, and certainly not join in the gossip yourself. Easy enough, if you live in an isolated spot , as we do. But of course, we' re only human, and at times , sharing a bit of gossip, and rubbing along with our neighbours is essential. If we don't , how will we ever learn about what is going on? Thankfully, we now have an e mail information sheet, telling us about village events. When we recently returned from our holiday, it told us that a real-life local drama had been going on. But more of this later. First let me tell you a little about our neighbours, past and present.
When we came here twenty four years ago, I suppose to some villagers we were foreigners, interlopers even. But one local man, Monsieur R. , went out of his way to welcome us. He was elderly and looked very frail, but this didn't prevent him from cycling from his part of the village up into the forest to see us. He liked to gather strange leaves in spring from the forest floor for salads. One day he turned up with some for us. He made us feel welcome; that we belonged. Monsieur R. liked to discuss current world events, of which he was well informed. He owned different plots of land around the place, and was responsible for planting the stand of walnut trees beside the maison forestière. Sadly, they were devastated by the storms of 2015 which swept down the Primelle valley. He kept the keys to the village church, of which he felt duly proud, and urged us to visit it . Sadly, many years ago now, he was taken ill suddenly, while ringing the church bells.and died. But he is not forgotten. We will always remember him as our first friend who felt obliged to welcome us and introduce us to life in France. "Why do you come all this way to visit us?"we once asked. "Well of course I must," he replied. "You're my neighbour."
Another village octogenarian of long standing was Monsieur C. He lived in the adjacent hamlet of Aubaygues, beneath the old chateau. Just like Monsieur R., he owned and farmed small "parcelles' or plots of land around the village. We often walked his way, and saw him gardening in his 'potager' where he grew wonderful vegetables. Nearby he owned a garden where, many years previously , he had planted a wonderful variety of trees , such as a magnolia and special pines. An old broken swing still stands there , from the time when he had a young family and later grandchildren. He too liked to engage with us when we walked that way. He made us feel welcome. One day, as we were passing, he popped up from behind his stone wall clutching a 'brin de muguet' ( a sprig of lily of the valley.) Oh how sweet it smelled. It was May Ist, and thanks to him we learned that it was a French custom to give this to 'one's love' on this day. We have since discovered a cache of these shy flowers in our own garden. True to form, they only unfurl fully on the first of May. Quite uncanny!
But of course new family members take their place, and we have since got to know the daughter of Monsieur C. She still lives in Aubaygues to this day. We often pass in the forest , as she takes her tiny white 'pooch' for a walk, and if we haven't seen her for a while we grow concerned. "Brr " she exclaims dramatically in winter ," il fait froid " (how cold it is. ) In summer she complains of the heat instead, fanning herself with grand gestures. Little else is exchanged as we each go our separate ways, but it is contact, and important to both of us.
Then there is Roland, the olive grower, whom I have already written about. He is the son of the old Monsieur R.,and a very useful source of village news. Last weekend we had arranged to drop in on him to purchase our yearly supply of his very special olive oil. It was Sunday , and we had just completed the circuit around Gourgas, and were feeling very cold. He offered us a drink to warm us up, so we all sat around his kitchen table . We learned that the olive harvest had been completed earlier than usual this year, and that the yield was much higher than the previous one. He told us about his new battery operated means of harvesting olives, and of how he had replaced some ailing cerisiers (cherry trees) with almondiers( almonds.) Like all good farmers , he is thinking of the future, when his son in law will take over. And did we know that there had been a huge landslide on the Cirque du Bout du Monde.? Someone who had heard it said it sounded like a lorry tipping a load of stone. Now one of the footpaths around the cliff has been closed.
