23 au 29 septembre: La Fête de la Gastronomie, les artistes ouvrent leurs portes et des Superheros.

We’re still not used to the hectic programme of activities in the town. Every weekend seems to have involved an event in the main square and other things around and about the place.

The Fete de la Gastronomie started on Friday, 23rd . We’re keen to participate in anything involving food and drink so signed up to a progressive dinner: a walk led by David, our entertaining and knowledgeable guide, with stops at three places for food. It was sobering to stand at the end of the Place d’Armes, surrounded by smart shops in modern buildings, and learn that the reason for its newness was that bombs in the Second World War had started a fire, so large that the residents had no option but to let it burn itself out for twelve days. The rue des Anges is so-called because an epidemic killed many young children who now look down as angels. 

The sombre mood brightened with the first stop: our "local," the Tandem. The theme for the evening was the Renaissance, so we had a Triple Secret des Moines beer and a very Renaissance tear-and-share pizza-thing. The beer helped people to relax a bit and we were soon yelling at each other over the sound of minstrels playing sackbuts and viols, poorly disguised as a band playing the Friday night gig.

The next stop was a wine bar with an Art Deco interior near the centre. The chicken breast with vegetables was good and we were very interested to learn that the better wines can be bought by the glass there. Definitely worth visiting to improve my understanding of French produce.

More history, though my memory is less clear on these later details for some reason, then we headed off to a familiar patisserie for coffee or tea and a cake. The shop sells leftover stock at half price after closing time so we all came home with the unusual souvenir of a loaf of bread each.

Listening to David while we wait for our cakes.

We had to wait until the following Thursday for the next event we'd booked: “Your guest is our guest”, otherwise known as BOGOF. The three-course menu was restricted and, as happens in France, the wine cost as much as the food, but even with that it was a good night out for less than usual.. It’s only two minutes’ walk away from home so we’ll be back.

We squeezed in a walk over to the Place d'Armes to look at the motorbikes in the Harley-Davidson rally on 24th. Though I've only been on a motorbike once, it was good to see the range of bikes and be amazed at the amount of polish that must have been used on them. The noise as they set off was impressive and I understood how Evelyn Glennie (a deaf percussionist) can feel the pitch of notes.

Not made for people my height!

On 30th September, artists opened their doors. Of those I wanted to see, two seemed to be sulking and their doors were firmly shut but I did find several in a converted workshop building. I was pleasantly surprised when I found it also had an exhibition by an artist (whose name I’ve forgotten). 

 A lot, if not all, her work was made of paper. I thought it might not be a good plan to touch it and see if it would squash. 

I liked a huge work that was two “tunnels” with a different view from each end.

The view of the table

The view of the radiator.

 

Upstairs were artists’ workshops, each busy with a school group. I tagged onto one and tried not to look too conspicuous in amongst a dozen fourteen year-olds. I'm not sur ei was successful. The artist was keen to show them how she worked and the reasoning behind it, much of it linked to the area’s mining past.

Another open door across town took me to an art group, very relaxed and with a wide range of styles. Anyone’s welcome, so I’ll be going along soon, remembering that I don’t have to be “good” to enjoy it.

On my way home, I saw Spiderman and Superman crossing the road. They were too busy being superheroes (but still being careful near roads) to let me have time to take a photo. I had a chat with a friend later about it. We were unsure if Batman might have changed identity but think not. He seems to be around more often, as I've seen him three times since we arrived.

 

Wilf and I went across the road to the convent on the Sunday (now there’s something you won’t hear often) and saw a couple more artists’ studios and a pottery workshop. All a bit too arty-farty for us, really, but the fund-raising fabrics from Africa and other places did provide a couple of batik pieces to fill some spaces on our still-empty walls.

Time for a breather before next weekend, I think.

J’ai vu Batman dans la rue de Mons (17 mai, 2016)

I saw Batman in the Rue de Mons,
Hurrying and slightly overweight.
Heading into town to save the world.

Somehow, all he needed
Was a small bag and a baguette
To make him a real French superhero.

Jeudi, 15 au mardi 20 septembre

Encore une visite et la Fete de la Patrimoine 

Judy managed to get to Valenciennes without major incident on Thursday and was happy to

take it fairly easy so we spent Friday seeing the sights, which left us plenty of time for coffee and cake though that’s surprisingly difficult over here. We managed to find a place which had cakes we fancied but were careful to eat early as I’d booked in at La Cantine de Josephine, which provides training for people who might find it difficult to get employment.. Wilf and I had enjoyed it when we went in June and the food was as good this time round.

For me, though, the best part was that we were served by the same young woman as on our first visit. Then she had been just an observer, very much a trainee, having everything explained and demonstrated. Josephine had done most of the work and, with thirty-five clients, must have gone home exhausted. This time the young woman was working independently: pleasant, confident and so much more self-assured. I’m sorry I didn’t have a picture of our dessert, café gourmand, coffee served with apple tart, chocolate mousse, crème caramel and strawberries and cream. There is an answer to that, of course. It’s not for nothing that some people know me as Jan “Two Puds” Burke.

Saturday was, of course, market day. Off to buy veg before breakfast when my estimated (but very accurate) time for hitting the front of the queue was fifty minutes. The few of us queuing round the corner were quite sociable and discussed the produce, weather, the UK, learning foreign languages at school and how easy it is to forget them, while various members of our respective families went to other stalls to buy other necessities. It seems quite a good plan and two of the women gave us a very cheery greeting a couple of days later.

It was also the weekend of the Fête de la Patrimoine, Doors Open Day. We set off to have a look at one place but got side-tracked in the Place d’Armes by a cycling event. There were

“odd” bikes to try: a three-seater, and off-set bike, a “kangaroo” bike, among many others. I tried out a scooter with big wheels and it felt quite fast, though I noticed in time that there was only a front brake.

We went from there to look at a maison scaldienne, (a house from the area of the river Scheldt). There are only seven left, three in Valenciennes, and one is being restored so we could visit the ground floor and cellar. Their scarcity is due to them being made mostly of wood so fires in the towns easily put an end to them. It had been home to a linen weaver, the dampness in the cellar being good for keeping the fibre pliable and a bonus as the cloth was sold by weight.

We went next door on Sunday. It turns out it’s the oldest building in Valenciennes built as living accommodation. Again, it’s being restored but it was interesting to see and add a little more to our local knowledge. The guide was very upset about the "monstrosity" next door and I felt quite guilty that we were living there.

We’d had enough of buildings so went for a more open-air event in the afternoon: a walk across town to Le Vignoble, so called because there used to be a vineyard here. It fell into disuse but has recently been restarted and is now tended by adults who might find it difficult to find employment. We were shown the vines, felt sad that rabbits only seemed to like the grapes for white wine, then went to the “cave” where we could have a talk, given by one of the trainees and a glass each of red and white to try. Five of the trainees have now got a diploma in wine-making and were very enthusiastic. Unfortunately, because the north or France is not recognised as a wine-growing area, they are not allowed to sell the wine. You can, though, become a sponsor and as a thank you they will give you some wine. Luckily, it comes in 50cl bottles or Wilf might not have managed to carry it all home. We might have been forced to drink some on the way. Sponsors are invited to help with the harvest and pruning, so we’ll be looking forward to that.

Monday was another meander around town, with the aim of getting to Le Camel à Leon by lunchtime. It had been recommended by a friend but only serves food at lunchtime in the week. The food was lovely: a real “home-made” feel to it and the Petit-beurre aux prunes (a plum tart with a biscuit base) was great. I remarked to the woman (cook, waitress, barista) that my husband would like the tart and that he couldn’t join us because he was at work (after working all night – long story!). She offered a piece for me to bring back for him. He was here when we got back and the tart didn’t last long.

Judy got the train back the next day and I spent the next two days recovering. We now have a non-visitor gap in the diary until Christmas. It will feel very quiet.

Vendredi, 9 a lundi, 12 septembre

Le weekend de la braderie

The “Braderie” started on 9^th. As far as we could make out, it’s a sort of glorified tidy jumble sale when the stores sell off things at even cheaper prices than they were in the sale that finished five weeks earlier. This year, because of security issues, the event wasn’t held in the Place d’Armes but around the town.

I nipped out to get some milk from the supermarket and it started immediately: rails of clothing out on the pavements, boxes of other stock, shoes, small items of furniture. I did a few slight detours but didn’t have time for much browsing as Wilf’s brother Mike and his wife Helen, were coming for a few days. 

Samedi, 10 septembre was spent looking round the market and town, followed by a meal at La Maison in the evening. That’s the name of the restaurant not what we call our dining room. It’s just round the corner and out of the way enough for it to be promising. The food was lovely but we waited a long time for the dessert, so Wilf and I will be trying it again sometime to check that. At least they were apologetic and gave us a discount.

Dimanche, 11 septembre we all went to Arras, famous to most Brits for being a town where tapestries were made for hiding behind in Shakespeare plays and whose name gave rise to a certain amount of sniggering to teenagers.  It’s a lovely town, the main attraction being two large arcaded squares, though unfortunately one is now home to a very large car park. The other,

Place des Héros, was the place to relax, enjoy a drink in the sun and admire the buildings. There was an art exhibition, with a DIY painting where everyone could add as much or as little paint at they wished. 

After a drink and a cake to refuel, we set off back, stopping at a war cemetery on the way. There was no planning: we just stopped at the first one we noticed. It contained 1103 graves, soldiers from Britain, India, Canada, beautifully maintained. A few miles further on, I remarked that I’d seen another three cemeteries. Wilf said there had been more, but I’d not seen the signs. All a sobering thought. We haven’t yet “done” the First or Second World War places but I suspect that even with a gentle introduction like this we will still be shocked.

Mike and Helen left on the Monday, leaving a couple of days for us to get ready for Judy, our next visitor, due on Thursday 15^th.