theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Mind the sheep
Posted on November 17, 2023
The back road up through Chansigaud can be a handy short cut sometimes, depending on where we’re off to. Sometimes, though, the best-laid plans can be thwarted if the local farmer happens to be moving one of his flocks to a new pasture at the same time…
The street market
Posted on October 27, 2023
Our local village traditionally holds a ‘vide grenier’ (literally ’empty the barn’ – in other words a car boot or yard sale) on the first Sunday in October.
In past years this has been held on a patch of grass known as ‘Le Camping’, although nobody’s ever actually camped there. Given the time of year, this has often been churned up into a quagmire and it has rained throughout..
More recently, though, the practice has been to close off the main street and hold it ‘en bourg’. This year, the weather was kind and there was a big turnout. Still mostly tat on sale, though.
And yes, there’s a beer tent.
Smell the roses
Posted on September 2, 2023
This is the road that runs through the Cotswold village of Hook Norton, not far from where our son and his family live.
And that’s our grand-daughter smelling the roses outside that spectacularly floribund house.
Under occupation (Part 2)
Posted on July 5, 2023
Last week we saw the front of the World War II coin that we dug up in our fields. Now, in line with Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, here is the reverse side.
Dated 1943, this two franc coin actually wasn’t worth much at all. During the war, the franc was a satellite currency of the German Reichsmark, so this was the equivalent of 10 pfennigs, or 25 US cents at the time.
The legend (reads – in English- ‘Work. Family, Fatherland’. Although this dated from the Nazi occupation of France, don’t read too much into the word ‘Fatherland’: it also appears in the first line of the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’.
Under occupation
Posted on June 27, 2023
As you will undoubtedly be aware, France was occupied by Nazi Germany for much of the Second World War.
We discovered this coin, struck from cheap base metal, while digging over some ground to establish a potager (vegetable patch). It dates from that period and displays the symbols of fascism – the fasces (bundles of sticks) and the double-headed axe.
Posted for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, which calls for an image of the front of any one item. Next week Cee will be looking for images of the back of any item. Any guesses?
Stretching Away….
Posted on May 12, 2023
Although the local sheep market is a relatively small affair, it’s still possible to get a perspective of the sheep pens disappearing into the distance.
The Sheep Market
Posted on May 1, 2023
All-Day Ovine Buffet
Posted on April 2, 2023
The commune in which we live consists mostly of agricultural land, principally for pasture and mainly for sheep. This particular field is adjacent to the village recycling point.
Sunflowers
Posted on February 8, 2023
Like arable farmers everywhere, the locals practice crop rotation. A couple of years ago our friend Jean-Claude gave over one of his fields to cultivating sunflowers.
Misty morning
Posted on January 19, 2023
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