Breaking News: Disaster strikes the Canal de Lalinde

I have often written about the Canal de Lalinde --- a marvellous engineering feat that was built in the 19th century to enable the gabares flat bottomed boats to pass the area of the Dordogne River where there are rapids and it is too shallow for safe navigation.

On 29 January 2006 two of the barrage gates at Tuilieres broke and '5 million cubic meters of water, sediment and mud escaped suddenly from behind a 12 meter high wall, a large body of water mass emptying out in a couple of hours, a tidal wave of two meters which comes down on you, a water flow 100 meters wide washing over the river banks, thousands upon thousands of dead fish, public pathways washed away and all fishing and boating on an important river stopped indefinitely....' It was a huge disaster and there was much concern about where to find the funds to repair the barrage -- and whether the barrage should be repaired at all.

And now, just when the barrage restoration is almost complete and the river is once again starting to look like a strong beautiful river -- rather than the pitiful debris-littered stream of the last two years just above the barrage, another disaster strikes!

There is a serious leak in the Canal de Lalinde --- the canal is, below the Couze locks, at an all-time low and the water continue to stream out through a garden and past a house of a very irate citoyenne of St Capraise de Lalinde. Almost her entire garden is already washed away completely and her house is now in danger of going the same way -- into the river.

If one could get past the dozens of officials standing around trying to fathom what to do about the problem, and the television crews who have set up camp there in the hopes of getting the scoop of a house sliding into the Dordogne, you will be kept up to date with the latest news of the pending disaster.

The explanation given to me by one seriously officious-looking official last night was that the leak probably started as result of foxes digging in the area. ...... If that is the opinion of someone who is responsible for saving Madame's house, methinks we should start collecting now for a comfortable tent for her.....



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How will you celebrate the 1st of May?

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Revolutionary 1st of May - Berlin Kreuzberg 2008

Since more than 20 years the revolutionary 1st of May in the german capital Berlin takes place in the district Kreuzberg. And no state- or police strategy did end this antagonist tradition.


Demonstration at 18 o'clock
Fight together against capitalism and war - for solidarity and social revolution! An association from antifascist, autonomous and internationalist groups calls to join the Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration this year at 18 o'clock in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. The manifestation will start at the subway station "U-Bhf. Kottbusser Tor".

Concert "Beats against fascism"
On May 1st at 14 o'clock the open air concert "Beats against fascism" will start at Kottbusser Tor. The well-known Ska-Band "Banda Bassotti" from Rome (Italy) and "Keny Arkana", a Rap-Formation from Marseille (France) will support the demonstration and will play at the initial manifestation of the Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration at 17 o'clock.

Myfest and Mariannenplatz Fest
Like in the years before there will be a big official open air festival with many concerts in the streets of the district Kreuzberg, called "Myfest". The festival is sponsored by the district, the city and with European money. The so called "Myfest" was developed to stop the political demonstrations in the district, but nevertheless because of this festival the streets are also crowded with people who support any kind of leftwing demonstrations. Like in the last year the Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration will lead directly through the "Myfest”. In the moment, talks with the Myfest Organizers are being held. Like in all the years before the political festival "Mariannenplatzfest" at the Mariannenplatz-square in the district will also take place and like every year you can find political stands of different leftwing and left radical organisations there.

Motto of Demonstration
One main goal of the demonstration this year is the resistance against privatization, gentrification and displacement of the local population from their districts. We are demonstrating against capitalism and also against imperialist wars. Like everywhere in Europe and in the world neoliberalism and globalization have direct effects on the people living in popular districts like here in Berlin in Kreuzberg. They are privatizing the houses to drive away the poor people to the periphery, as they did in France. They did privatize the water and they want to change whole districts into tourist areas. And in the moment many left house-projects are in danger, they want to evict the rests of the alternative antagonist scene. And while the people are getting poorer and poorer, the German state is making more and more propaganda for the imperialist war like in Afghanistan. Anti-war resistance in Germany is confronted with repression.


History
In the year of 1987, the famous uprising in Berlin-Kreuzberg took place. As a protest against the integration of the labour unions and against the 750-years-celebretation of Berlin, visited by the rich people, while homeless people died in the cold winter, and against the population census big riots in the streets and plundering of shops broke out. The years after this event, every year the Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration in Berlin-Kreuzberg was organized. They wanted to stop this tradition e.g. by forbidding it or with brutal police violence, but no method reached its goal. The last years the police and state-bureaucracy wanted to forbid the demonstration route through Kreuzberg and they developed the idea of organizing a state controlled festival (Myfest) to occupy the streets and to split the people between political and non-political and between foreigners and people living in the district. The reaction by parts of the Revolutionary 1st of May Organizers was to make spontanious - "illegal" - demonstrations directly through the Myfest area to show that the people support the Revolutionary 1st of May and that the police cannot stop it. Also because of the mobilization character for the anti-G8 protests, in the last year the organizations of the Revolutionary 1st of May 2007 at 18 o'clock have again been able to organize a big non-illegal Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration directly through the streets of Kreuzberg, with about 8.000 to 10.000 people. In this year we are expecting to march the traditional Kreuzberg Revolutionary 1st of May route directly through all the crowded streets of Kreuzberg.

Quite something -- and not all of it completely silly either..........

As for me, I would much rather go for a beautiful walk along the Lalinde canal in this glorious weather we are experiencing, and on my way back pick a small bunch of Muguet -- or Lily of the Valley, the symbol of spring, love and happiness..

The tradition to offer lily of the valley or muguet on May 1 in a small amulet goes right back to before the Middle Ages.

I trust you too will receive a little bunch of Muguet today!



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Problems with blogging

I have had a number of queries about the lack of new posts on the Chateau Lalinde blog and wish to explain that after having been away for a considerable time, first for a family get-together in South Africa and then walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostella (see http://caminoforterrie.travellerspoint.com)I have come back to a desktop that has resigned from all duties due to old age and ill health and a laptop which seems to have joined the PC Union while I was away and has decided to put its 'rights' to the test and has gone on strike. It tells me I have exceeded my quota of photographs -- both on the hard drive as well as the blog and is kicking its heels in about everything -- and the rest.

Be assured, all my regular and loyal readers, I will be back online again with frequent posts and interesting stories about life as seen from the Chateau window -- exciting and enjoyable and fun as ever!




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Recently seen at Chateau Lalinde

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USA losing stature with Bordeaux wine producers

AFP reports that fewer US buyers than usual turned up in Bordeaux this week for wine primeur week but producers surprisingly are not too concerned. This is the week when buyers and critics taste the latest wine harvest. However, surprisingly, producers are not too concerned.

"America is not the world, it is a bit bigger than that. Europe is a significant market, as is Asia, " said Patrick Maroteaux, president of the Union des Grands Cru de Bordeaux, organiser of the annual primeur tastings, which take place six months after the harvest and two years before bottling.

Going one step beyond their oft repeated complaint that Americans only buy primeurs in top quality speculative years, so more for profit than drinking, producers now happily say they are no longer dependant on the US market.

"It has happened in about the last two years, on the good side people realised there were new customers from Asia, Russia and India," said Didier Marcelis a Bordeaux producer at a tasting in St Emilion on Monday. And on the other side there has been the euro dollar problem. So we started realizing we shouldn't rely on the Americans," said Marcelis, who spent 20 years working for IBM and Cisco before buying Chateau Serilhan in Bordeaux's St Estephe region in 2003. "It is not complicated though, it is just Darwinism."

Dramatic changes in consumption patterns are clear in emerging markets.

In 2007, Bordeaux exported 43,000 hectolitres to China, 82 percent more than in 2006. That volume was worth 45 million euros (70 million dollars), an increase of 158 percent.

One Chinese buyer at the Monday tasting, Steven Lu, said he would be buying about double what he bought last year, of both un-bottled primeurs for stock,and bottled wine for the Olympics. Lu, who has a small import business selling to upmarket hotels and restaurants, as well as private clients, says his customer list has doubled in the last two years.

In 2007, Bordeaux also exported 38,500 hectolitres to South Korea, an increase of 40 percent for a value of 29 million euros, up 66 percent, while Singapore got 15,000 hectolitres, a 94 percent increase, worth 23.5 million euro, up 33 percent.

By comparison wine exports to America in 2007 were down nine percent in value, albeit for a more significant sum of 196 million euros.

The US market is driven by point scores though, so a lot will depend on those of US critic Robert Parker, who is in Bordeaux this week to taste both the 2007 vintage, and re-taste the now bottled 2005s.

"If I get a good Parker score, which makes it so easy to sell my wines, that is great," said Marcelis. However if he gets a bad one, or none, sales to the US are very difficult.

Parker's points will not be available for two to three months, and the majority of Bordeaux primeur producers will wait till after their publication to release their prices. So although the Bordelaise may talk about America not being a make or break market any more, it would be unimaginable for them to release prices before the make or break scores of this particular American are published.

As the figures show though, emerging markets on their own will not replace America, which is set to overtake France as the world's number one consumers of wine, per person per head, in the next year or two. So hopes are also high for European and domestic French buyers, particularly those from the supermarkets.

Fabrice Matysiak, a buyer for Auchan, one of France's top three supermarkets, described 2007 as interesting. "We came with lead boots to find,yes some bad wines, but some good ones too," he said. "But they will have to lower their prices from the 2006 vintage," he said, admitting freely that this was inevitably round one of negotiations.

There are producers of course who have welcomed US buyers already this week, and they prefer to say that in 2007, as in 2004 and 2001, all less than great vintages, one sees fewer but better buyers. Asked his opinion about US markets this year, US-born Bordeaux-based wine merchant Jeffrey Davies put it more straightforwardly. "Frankly, I would imagine that in America people will be reaching for the vodka, rather than the Lafite right now," he said.

AFP




Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France