Way back in May 2007 I posted this little article:
1 May: The Chelsea Flower Show comes to Lalinde!
I have always associated the First of May with Labour Day, the Day of the Workers, red flags with hammers and sickles, soldiers goose marching through the Red Square in the Kremlin, fist brandishing and banner waving demonstrations in the Place de la Bastille, calls to arms and passionate orators.
And then I moved to Lalinde, a gorgeous little village on the banks of the Dordogne River in the Southwest of France........
We do it differently here. On the First of May we have a flower market in the square opposite the mayor's office. The only red you will see is not the hammer and sickle flag, but the bright red of the geraniums and the verbenas. The only marching you will see is the row upon row of basil and rosemary and mint and oregano. The workers will be there – but preparing delicious plates with salad and charcuterie for the sellers and the buyers, and the only passionate oration you will hear is the discussion on whether Pierre's new yellow Impatience is as spectacular as Jean-Luc's new purple rose.
Oh! I do love living in the country!
And yes! I reiterate those sentiments now in May 2009! Yesterday, once again the lovely open area amongst the trees in front of the Lalinde mairie came alive with every kind of plant and flower of the region and the gardeners of the Dordogne came to look for the new and interesting and gloriously beautiful with which to adorn their lovely gardens.
Interestingly the market was substantially smaller than previous years -- and the words mexicaine, grippe, flu, have you heard..... were often heard amongst the plant-carrying customers. Not that a scary flu is going to halve an annual flower market, of course, but the worldwide financial crisis might -- as the people of the beautiful Dordogne Perigord, where the local economy is heavily reliant on tourism and visitors to the region, are most definitely starting to feel the pinch in more ways than one.
But --- we will survive -- and where better to survive than in this most wonderful corner of our beautiful planet!
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Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event
