La Félibrée à Beaumont du Périgord : An ancient festival

Every year, in a different town in the Dordogne, on the first Sunday of July, a festival which is called Félibrée in French, or Felibrejada in Occitan, is held, and 2009 will be no different. This year, on 4 and 5 July, the Félibrée will be held in Beaumont, a beautiful bastide town only abotu 10 kilometres from Lainde.

La Félibrée is the festival to celebrate the language of the Oc -- Occitan, la Langue d’Oc et des félibres, as well as the earth, the region, and the traditions of the Perigorde. The day includes the age-old custom of troubadours singing in the same way and the same songs they did in the courts of Europe since the beginning of time, everyone dressing up in the traditional costumes, dancing in the streets, music played on traditional instruments and the enjoyment of traditional food.








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Feasts and festivals in the Perigord Dordogne.

A While back I posted this article about the traditional festival in Cales, a village close to Chateau Lalinde. As it is time again for the feasts and festivals to start soon, and as the annual Felibree is happening in Beaumont this year -- another lovely bastide town close to Lalinde, I thought I would refresh your memory on some of the many wonderful reasons why life in this part of the world is such a pleasure.


Driving into the hills this afternoon, I visited the biennial celebration of traditional arts and crafts in the tiny hamlet of Cales. Lace making, pewter work, flint stone tools, paper making, pottery, basket weaving, musical instruments, farming, honey cultivation, porcelain painting, corn threshing, wood carving, vat making, wine making, (the best crepes in the world ever!) cider and sausages, ironmongery, --- you name the art or craft, and there was someone there demonstrating it.
The streets of the hamlet were decked out in all its finery -- a million intricate and detailed paper flowers adorned the buildings and formed blazingly colourful vaulted ceilings above. Again the powerfully strong Perigourdine music echoed through the hills and the dancers seem to be tireless in their whirls and twirls and complicated steps -- executed in their beautiful traditional costumes and their cumbersome clogs seeming to take on the lightness of silk ballet shoes.



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Two ways of looking at the same...

You can say anything you want, but it's the words that sing, they soar and descend...I bow to them...I love them, I cling to them, I run them down, I bite into them, I melt them down...I love words so much...The unexpected ones...The ones I wait for greedily or stalk until, suddenly, they drop...




---Pablo Neruda
born July 12 1904, Parral, Chile
died September 23 1973, Santiago


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Dordogne ........the beautiful river.........

Sing me the legends of the river.
Tell me a story of the sky.

Because I want to grow.
Because I want to know.
Because I want to understand.

In the river is the model of creation.
Our lives like the river to the sea.

Paint me a picture of the landscape.
Dance me the dance of the waves.
Sing me of the legends of the river.
Tell me the story of the sky.



--author unknown





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Who is joining me this year to help make that difference? Lights out, Everyone!

From the Green Dream Team blog

Last year a big group of forty intrepid people who care about our world, came together at the Chateau Lalinde with their picnic baskets and ideas to see what we can do to make a difference to the state of our environment. A very productive day had everyone leaving with enthusiasm and renewed hope and the knowledge that, if every person makes a little effort, we CAN change the world for the better.


This year I am making an appeal to all my readers to make two tiny sacrifices -- a small effort which will make a huge difference. --- (And by all means let us know whether you did -- and how that made you feel!)


Earth Hour 2009

On March 28, at 8:30 pm local time, one billion people will go dark for Earth Hour. World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.

Already hundreds of icons and landmarks around the world have signed up to turn their lights off for Earth Hour 2009 including - the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney Opera House, Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens and The London Eye, among many others.

So -- what about you? Do YOU think you can make this small sacrifice for this giant cause?

And ----

March 22 is World Water Day

World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people around the world that lack access to clean, safe drinking water.



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Yet another good reason to visit France this year! -- Pompidou Centre in Paris opens year-long show on women in art

“La Femme”, 1966 (excerpt),
by Jacques Villeglé (image: Centre Pompidou)

Expatica.com reports that the Pompidou modern art museum will dedicate almost half of its floor space to 500 works by 200 women artists from around the world.

In a world first, the Pompidou modern art museum in Paris on Tuesday announced a major year-long show on women in art in the 20th and 21st century featuring works from Europe's biggest collection.

Drawing from its more than 50,000 works, one of the planet's two largest modern and contemporary art collections, the museum from 27 May is dedicating almost half of its floor space to 500 works by 200 women artists from around the world.

"No museum has ever done this before," said Alfred Pacquement, director of the centre's modern art collections.

Gathering pioneering artists such as Frida Khalo, Sonia Delaunay or Joan Mitchell, the show also includes contemporary players Sophie Calle or Louise Bourgeois as well as photographers Gisele Freund, Diane Arbus or Susan Meiselas, and designer-architects from Eileen Gray to Zaha Hadid.

"We aim to help see the world differently, broach social issues," added Alain Seban, who heads the Pompidou Centre.



Currently, women artists represent only 17 percent of artists in the Pompidou collection.

Along with the expo, the centre plans to bring leading feminist writers and philosophers to Paris for talks and to produce a series of films on the exhibition.

AFP / Expatica




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The view from my window today at sunset: So much beauty

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Spring has sprung in the Dordogne!

Be it the modest delicate pear trees in their soft wisps of cloud-like white blossom on the banks of the canal, or the bold and daring splashes of bombastic yellow of the forsythia, or the tufts of candyfloss pink of the cherries and the plums, nature's palette is alive with the colours of spring in the Dordogne. Crisp cold starlit nights and balmy sunny days -- now is the time to be here!


The plant taxonomy of border forsythias is Forsythia x intermedia. They are a hybrid of greenstem forsythias (Forsythia viridissima) and weeping forsythias (Forsythia suspensa). This plant profile deals with Forsythia x intermedia. Forsythia plants are sometimes given the common name, "golden bells." Note: forsythia is often misspelled as either "forsynthia" or "forcynthia."





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The Bergerac Carnival!

Saturday 15 March is yet another spectacular carnival in Bergerac!
The theme this year is "The world of toys" and promises to be even more impressive

Everything happens on Saturday -- and it all happens in the centre of the town -- around the Place de la République.

The floats and parade begins at:

. 13h30 - Centre Social Rive Gauche et Centre social de la Brunetière
. 14h00 - Centre Social Jean Moulin

. 15h00 - The giant floats, musicians, dancers will all be going down the rue de la Résistance -- and confetti will be in abundance!

From 14h00 there will be:

Make-up and mask workshops
. Ateliers maquillage et masques,
. stands of games and inflatable figures
. pony rides
. sitters for children
. Dragons ......
. Magicians...
. Houdini...
. Musical theatre
. small thirsts and big hungers catered for....

Information: Call the Carnival office: 05.53.74.66.21

See you there!





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Women's Day and Barbie : What is wrong with this picture?

Yesterday and today thousands gathered in public squares from Bangalore to Kinshasa to the capitals of Europe, drawing attention to discrimination and fears facing women in their respective countries. It seems no matter what we do, women still have miles to go before we have solved the serious issues of the most basic of equal rights-- which includes unrepresentation in politics, the big issue of violence against women -- especially domestic violence as well as the growing poverty in the global economic crisis.

But what possible chance do we stand when we celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday on the same day as Women's Day???

Out with this Fake Travesty ....

I could cry in despair today when I read everything I could on how Women's Day was being celebrated around the world and then I found in the major paper China Beat the following two paragraphs the one below the other:

1) Xinhua reports on the increasing services for victims of domestic violence in China, following new regulations on police response to domestic violence calls implemented today:
Yu Xiuli, a victim of domestic violence, can turn to police for help if her husband continues to beat her thanks to a regulation which came into effect on Sunday.

The 40-year-old woman in eastern Shandong Province has been bearing the cursing and beating of her husband for years, but has never thought of asking police for help.

"I believed it was not the business of police to stop domestic violence so I has never thought of alerting police," said Yu.

But from Sunday women like Yu could alert police if they fall victim to domestic violence according to a regulation of the province that came into effect Sunday.

Many provinces in China have set up police centres to handle household violence after a national regulation that was issued in September last year requiring police to be dispatched whenever they receive a 110 emergency call regarding household violence.

2) That controversial symbol of femininity, the Barbie Doll, has acquired a new residence in Shanghai, the House of Barbie, where shoppers can not only purchase Barbie merchandise but also sip Barbie cocktails (at NPR, by Louisa Lim):
The lure of the China market was one reason that Mattel chose Shanghai for its first House of Barbie. It's aggressively pursuing developing markets, such as Eastern Europe, Russia and India, which aren't already Barbie-saturated. But when deciding where to place the House of Barbie, Shanghai beat other contenders — including London, Paris, Milan, New York and Los Angeles — because of its strong cross-generation reaction to the doll and the brand.

"There was an amazing connection to Barbie's values," Dickson said. "Barbie in this culture represented a world of possibilities for girls and for women. She's had amazing careers, she has the cars, she has the plane, she has the boyfriend — and she looks fantastic doing it."
Tibetan Barbies have also taken up posts at the Lhasa airport, reports Shanghaiist: “The plastic princesses are part of a line of special edition ‘ethnic’ dolls meant to represent the minority groups of China.”

Barbie's values?? Barbie's values? Did I see correctly?
Barbie who, if she were real, would not have been able to stay alive -- because there is no room in that torso for more than half a normal liver -- nor is there room in there for any of the other vital organs, her neck is a third longer than a normal person's and could not possibly carry the weight of her head, her feet are malformed and have to have extraordinarily high heels because they cannot walk flat on the floor; in fact, not even one in a million women looks like Barbie of will ever look like her unless they underwent extreme plastic surgery -- and had a death wish.

Victoria Shortle, whose small family-run chain of doll shops in Leeds and York deals in collectable Barbies – rare ones can sell for thousands of pounds – says, 'Barbie is Barbie in any language. She is the princess; she is just the dream.’

Yes Women of the world, she is just a dream; a very, very bad dream. Throw her in the bin and let's get serious about letting women out there know they do not need to make themselves available to be abused.

And in with beautiful REAL women!


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Eurostar special offer: NOW is the time to make plans to visit the Dordogne!

Eurostar and The London Times have teamed up to make an amazing offer for the perfect opportunity to get away. "With this super offer, you will be able to take a quick trip on one of Eurostar’s stylish, high-speed trains, and arrive in the heart of Paris, Lille or Brussels or even venture along to any other Belgian city from Brussels at no extra cost. Why not nip to Paris for lunch, explore the delights of Brussels or relax in Lille. Whether it’s art, romance, food or shopping you’re after, you’ll find it all in these vibrant and historical cities.

To take advantage of this fantastic offer, simply collect 4 passwords, which will be printed in The Times and The Sunday Times from March 7 to March 15 inclusive. Submit them on the following page in the newspaper and you will be directed through to the Eurostar booking page.

Bookings must be made between March 10 and April 10, 2009 and travel for this offer must take place between March 24 and August 8, 2009. Bookings can be made up to 120 days in advance of travel -- so do not miss it!

From Paris the TGV takes you down to Libourne or to Bordeaux and from there you take a connecting train which brings you directly to the doorstep of Chateau Lalinde!

Promotional fare chart

Day Trip
Lille : £90
Brussels : £90
Paris : £90
Short Break (Mon –Thurs Travel)
Lille : £90
Brussels : £90
Paris : £90
Short Break (Fri –Sun Travel)
Lille : £90
Brussels : £100
Paris : £110


With these kinds of offers, a lovely break in the Beautiful Dordogne becomes possible for everyone -- even in these financially dismal times!

And don't forget the Special Offer at Chateau Lalinde as well!





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