Come stroll with me ...

... through the streets of Argentan, a small town in Normandy with a big history.  You may be surprised by what we find…

I’m camped here in Argentan.  The campsite is small and very well tended.  It is situated in a discreet corner of the grounds that surround the Lace Museum.  There is also a plan d’eau which is fed by the river Orne which flows along the western edge of the town.  With a population of a little over 13,000, it is the third largest municipality by population in Orne, which is one of the five départements that comprise the region of Normandie.

I’m here to visit places I’ve only previously driven past or through on my way elsewhere.  But I’m also here because of some research that I’ve been doing about the history of this region. As is always the case when I’m strolling through France, lunch will be on the hoof and I’ve already found a number of pâtisseries in town. If you’ve read my blog before you’ll know I have a passion for tarte-au-citron, and that’s today’s choice for lunch.

The campsite is a ten-minute walk from the centre of town but I’ve taken the long way around and here I am at La Désirée, a fabulous shop that sits at one side of place du Général Leclerc.  With my cake bought it’s a steady meander from here along rue E Panthou into the city centre.

As we stroll you will see both old and new buildings.  But the new significantly outnumber the old.  And that’s why I’m here.  Like the whole of the northern and western seaboard of France, Argentan was occupied between 1940 and 1944.  Back then the town showed the character of its very long history.

There has been habitation in this area since Gallo-Roman times.  Those pesky Romans began their incursions between 58 and 51 BC, that’s more than 2,000 years ago.  However, Argentan doesn’t warrant any specific mentions in records until about 1025 and from that period on, initially at least, the town thrived.  The name Argentan comes from the Gaulish words for ‘silver’ and ‘market’ which was probably one reason for the subsequent prosperity.

But, as has been shown in many past histories fortunes can change, and Argentan’s did quite dramatically.  Throughout the Middle Ages, the town was fought over with us Brits occupying the area and being routed several times.  But the town survived and gained in religious and traditional industrial importance.  During the 1914/18 conflict, it became a garrison town for the French 14th Infantry Brigade.

In 1940 the town was occupied until the D-Day landings in June 1944.  It was during the battle for Normandy and the Argentan-Falaise pocket that this place suffered the most.  If you take a right off place Henri 4 – please note the stunning medieval portico that is now the frame for a shoeshop on your right – you will come onto rue E. Denis which takes you into the market place which is dominated by the stunning Église St. Germain.  And that’s where I’m taking you next.

In here, away from the general bustle of the streets, you have a vast haven of peace exerting its dominance over the town and the many past centuries or so it seems.  But take a look at the photos displayed on a wall at the back.  They show the absolute destruction of the town that took place between June and August 1944.  There are information sheets, too.  As I stand here reading the details and looking at the photos I can't take in the extent of the devastation and destruction.  The town was practically flattened.  It took 40 years for the town to recover and for the church to be rebuilt to reflect its original gothic splendour.

Little did I realise, when I wrote these notes in my travel journal, that I would be seeing the same level of devastation happening again in another part of the world.

 

I'm reviewing Someone's Always Watching ...

... by JR Lancaster.  Read on ...

Author J R Lancaster visited the blog on July 4th, and she supplied an exclusive excerpt from her novel, Someone's Always Watching. You can read that post Here.

Having read the extract, I was intrigued and couldn't wait to start reading the whole book for myself.  What a great story it is, too.

Set in a small English village somewhere towards the south coast and Brighton, it has everything it needs to fit into the Cosy Crime genre.  The author prefers to think of her book as a classic mystery and this story also lives up to that description, too.  But, give it a try and make up your own mind.

The central character, Basil, has some personal issues which he is trying to cope with, and one solution is to remain indoors as much as possible.  He has been a recluse for around ten years at the opening of the story.  

But the death of Basil's next-door neighbour comes as a great shock, and it is sufficient to galvanise Basil into some action.  When Dowden Thornhill, the detective in charge of the case, turns up on Basil's doorstep, it becomes even more important for Basil to rejoin society.  There are some striking similarities between the death of Basil's neighbour and that of his mother some ten years previously.

An unusual alliance is formed between Thornhill, Basil and an old school friend, Poppy, that carries the rest of the action forward and the investigation to a satisfying conclusion.

I found the narrative flowed well, and the characters were well-drawn, if a little eccentric at times!  The story has pace and humour, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing.  If you like a classic murder mystery, I would not hesitate to recommend this story to you.  I shall keep a look out for the next in the series because it seems quite clear to me that Basil and Thornhill will be back!

I hope you will be able to join me...

... at Harrogate Library on November 3rd. Read on ...

Promoting Yorkshire Authors, an organisation that was set up to do exactly what it says in the name, runs regular events each month at Harrogate Library, Victoria Avenue, Harrogate HG1 1EG.

November is, of course, the month for writing books.  November is well-known in writing circles as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short).  That's because there is a challenge, for any writer who wishes to take it up, to get 50,000 words of a novel written in 30 days. And that is no mean feat!

On November 3rd, I will be talking about NaNoWriMo, the pitfalls, the difficulties, and my tips for making the challenge easier and achievable - because it is doable.  My fellow writer Sue Williams will be there too.  We will be talking about writing, character, and the whole process of getting from the first word to 'The End'.  I'm sure there will be time for questions from the floor as well.  I will also have a small selection of books with me, which will be for sale.

The event will be held in the cafe on the ground floor of the library and will start at 1.30 pm. Entrance to the event is absolutely free.  You can book your free place by telephoning the library on 01609 536658.

I hope you will be able to make it.   When you get to the library, grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea, make yourself comfortable, and join us on November 3rd at 1.30 p.m. It will be great to see you there.

If you are a writer or an aspiring writer with a connection to Yorkshire and would like to join PYA please check out our website Here

You can also follow PYA on Facebook on the Books&BevsBlog or subscribe to our YouTubeChannel

I'm Off My Beaten Track in Abu Simbel ...

... in one of the most famous temples in Egypt for my post from my journal today.  I've taken as my title from something one of my fellow travellers said.  Read on ...

YABTOT

I'm at the temple of the 19th Dynasty Pharaoh Rameses II. His name in ancient Egyptian is Ra Mes Es which means Ra, his son, is here. Rameses was seen as the living embodiment of the sun god Ra. He is reputed to have reigned for 67 years, had a considerable number of wives and fathered an almost endless number of children. Again only part of the temple is left, but the reliefs around the exterior walls depict the Ancients in battle. They used mercenaries and, contrary to popular belief, they did not take slaves. The walls depicted Sardinian and African brigades, all in the pay of the Pharaoh. On the interior walls were further scenes of battle. In one small room, where it had obviously been too dark for the artist to see properly there were mistakes: fudged outlines and drips of paint that had not been cleaned off. Had it been too dark for him to see? Perhaps, because of the constant work in darkness or maybe, his eyesight had been failing? I guess I'll never know the answer.

Eventually, I emerged into the square in front of the temple and promptly sat down.  I was thirsty and ordered a coke from one of the many people who were always buzzing around with cool boxes of water or soft drinks for tourists to buy.  There were no glasses on offer, of course, so no-one would be offended by my drinking out of the bottle.  Refreshed, I was joined by Captain B and his wife on my narrow perch.

"So much to see," said Captain B.  "And it will be the same tomorrow," he said accepting two cokes from the seller.  "YABTOT!"  He said clinking his bottle with the one he'd just given to his wife.

"Excuse me?"

"YABTOT," he said.  "Yet Another Bloody Tomb Or Temple."  He stood up, and then they walked over to where their Taxi driver was waiting.  I had to wait for my fellow travellers to arrive, which they did about ten minutes later.  We found our taxi driver and headed back to the boat.

On this trip we were taken passed the local brick manufacturers.  It was nothing more than the front garden of two adjoining houses.  There was a substantial pile of silt from the river to which the women and children were adding water carried in ewers.  The young boys were treading the water into the silt, and two men were scraping the resulting morass into wooden moulds, tapping them down and then tipping out the fresh bricks onto a large table to dry in the sun.  Work stopped as our driver slowed down so that we could see the work in progress.  Instead, we were greeted by waving grimy hands as grimy faces smiled and shouted a 'hello'.

There might just be room for one more post from my Egyptian journal before I close the blog for the holidays in December.  In the meantime, if you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy my earlier posts about Cairo Giza Solar Sailing Tell-el-Amarna Assiut and Egypt generally - just click the links.

Come and join me ...

 ... at the Autumn Book Fair in York.  Read on for more details ...

On November 18th, there will be a Local Writers' Book Fair in York.

The venue is Clements Hall Community Centre in Nunthorpe, York (YO23 1BW).  This is situated about a 15 to 20 walk from the central rail station in the city.  And, as it's November, the timing is perfect for a little Christmas shopping.

There will be lots of other authors there too.  I will have my Jacques Forêt Mystery stories with me which I'm happy to sign if required.  All six of these books are set in south-central France, with each book featuring a particular cosy crime for readers to solve along with Jacques and his business partner, Didier Duclos.

I will also be bringing all three of the fabulous Miss Moonshine anthologies.  For me, it's great to have the opportunity to write something other than crime for a change.  So, if your taste is for romantic, heart-warming stories, then these collections - created by a group of nine northern writers -  are just what you need!  As it says on the cover of one of the books, once you've met Miss Moonshine, 'life may never be the same again.'  One of these could be the perfect present for that great aunt that is always so difficult to buy for.

Finally, I will have the Seasonal Paths collections on my table, too - I'm back to crime for my stories in these books!.  These three collections of multi-genre stories - Authumn Paths, Winter Paths, and Spring Paths - are put together by a collaboration of nine writers that stretch across the Atlantic Ocean.  I will be able to introduce you to some new writers that perhaps you may not have come across before.  At the time of creating this post, I still do not have a publication date for the third in this series, but I'm fairly confident that, by the day of the fair, I will have supplies of all three.

So, please do come along to the fair, which opens at 9.30am.  It will be great to see you there if you can make it ...