Photoshoot, take one, take two

Enjoying the Marais Poitevin photo credit ©S.Bonnet

As I hinted in my last post, the week of our twentieth anniversary of arriving in France, was a busy week, even by our standards, but one full of fun and laughter too.

 

When I think ‘model’, images of long-legged beauties, immaculately made up, not a hair out of place and coordinated couture, come to mind. I certainly don’t think model when I catch a glimpse of myself in my sweaty cycling gear and helmet hair. It’s as much as surprise to me as anyone, that not once, but twice this summer I have been filmed and photographed cycling on the local bike routes.

 

Take one

My first experience of pretend modelling was back in June. This mission was to produce promotional material for the Vélidéale, the new cycle route that starts on the Atlantic coast in Saint-Nazaire, before crossing the departments of the Vendée, the Deux-Sèvres, the Charente, the Haute-Vienne and finishing up in the Creuse, at Lac Vassivière in central France. 

La Vélidéale

This journey also takes it through five regional parks, as well as passing right outside the Château de Javarzay. When the Deux-Sèvres department put out a call on social media looking for volunteers to be photographed along the section that passes from Niort to the Château de Javarzay, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I might not be that comfortable being photographed but will do all I can to help promote this area, and especially to fellow cyclo-tourists. One of the most important things I’ve learned in the last twenty years is that saying yes to things that initially seem outside of my comfort zone, often leads to fabulous experiences.

Photoshoot, take one, Niort

 

At half past eight one June morning, in the carpark of the Château, our long day of filming began with introductions, instructions on how to ride the e-bikes we had been provided with for the day, and a bag of pastries from the local boulangerie to tuck into. The Vélidéale had employed a photographer to visit all the departments and take a mix of stills, video and drone footage to highlight the sights the cycle tourists will see over the six hundred and sixty-five kilometres. Our day consisted of lots of short rides up to or past châteaux, churches, an abbey and a silver mine, where we’d stop, look up or around us, laugh, smile, and then repeat, until the photographer was happy. This was interspersed with driving between locations and lots of waiting around for the clouds to clear and the sun to shine (June wasn’t the best month for good weather this year). I probably pedalled less than two kilometres over the eleven hours we were out, but it was still as exhausting as it was fun, as well as being a fascinating behind the scenes glimpse into how tourist brochures are put together.

 

 

Take two

At the beginning of August, I received a phone call from the lady who works for the promotion of tourist sites in the Deux-Sèvres department, and who had accompanied us on our June day out. They were looking for a couple to cycle the twenty kilometres between Niort and Coulon on the Vélo Francette, for a social media campaign, and would we be interested. This well-established long-distance route from the ferry point in Ouistreham in Normandy to La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast, just happens to be one of our favourites, especially this section that passes through the Marais Poitevin, so how could I refuse. 

 

The bronze dragons of Niort

It was a totally different day out to the first one, but even more fun. We met up in the centre of Niort and our first task was to cycle through Place de la Brèche, somewhere that has changed dramatically in the last twenty years, before passing the famous bronze dragons and taking a pause at the market halles. Recently voted the best market in France, I am ashamed to admit that this was our first visit, my lame excuse being it is only open in the mornings and is over an hour from home. While our bikes were guarded, we were filmed wandering from stall to stall, admiring the fresh produce before stopping underneath the nine-hundred-year-old Donjon, once home to Alienor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and then of England in the 1100’s.

 

The real cycling began as we left Niort and followed the meandering Sèvre Niortais river towards the Atlantic. This is where things got a bit tricky. We are both in our fifties and were on our Bromptons (small wheeled, folding bikes, powered by legs). Our ‘film crew’ were on e-bikes and the girl whose project it was, was younger than Ed, but as we set off with her filming from behind, it soon became apparent, she couldn’t keep up with us. I am taking this as a middle-aged win!

 

Once we’d got into a comfortable rhythm for everyone, we made good progress, stopping at various points for extra shots/close ups and action clips. One of these was on the chain ferry that is a self-operated, floating bridge to get up to five people (or two and two bikes) from one bank to the other and was yet another first for us and great fun. 

Getting the best shot

 

As we relaxed into having the cameras follow us, we laughed, pulled silly faces when asked to hold hands for a touch of romance, and enjoyed the looks we got from passers-by no doubt wondering who this odd couple were being filmed crossing the pretty bridge in Magné, dangling their feet over the jetty in Coulon and sitting at the terrace of the Hôtel au Marais. 

 

To give the impression of it being a mini-break to Coulon by bike, we also enjoyed a delicious two-course meal at L’Atelier Gourmand and a special visit to the Maison du Marais Poitevin museum in Coulon, another first for us and somewhere that has been on my wish list for a while. What a treat it was learning all about the history of the marshland that goes back hundreds of years, and the people who lived and worked here. I certainly recommend a visit, especially as there is an English headset available to accompany the film that explains the various projects that have reclaimed the land from the sea.

 

Before we returned to Niort, there was just enough time for a few photos back at the Hotel au Marais, including a sneaky kiss on the balcony of the best room. We have promised ourselves that we will return for a real night away, and hopefully we can book ‘our’ room with the balcony.

 

Hotel au Marais, Coulon photo credit ©S.Bonnet

As if this wasn’t enough, we were not only welcomed by Parc Naturel Régional du Marais Poitevin (who kept our bikes safe as we wandered) but they also gave us a book of watercolour images from the Baie de l’Aiguillon, the muddy estuary where the Sèvre Niortais joins the Atlantic. We might not have gone that far today, but in 2022 when we followed the river from its source in Sepvret, near Melle, to Niort and through the Marais Poitevin, we dipped our wheels in the shallows of the bay as we neared the end of the second day of our cycle tour. Luckily for me, Adrian was happy to squeeze a large hardback book into the bike bag on the front of his Brompton for the final twenty kilometres, isn’t he a star. 

 

At the end of the day, Niort photo credit ©S.Bonnet

I can’t think of a better way to have spent the eve of our anniversary of moving into our house in France. We were treated like celebrities, the sun shone, and memories were made with smiles on our faces. It turned out to be a win-win situation for everyone as alongside a fabulous day out on the bikes, our participation helped their work placement student with her final project - putting together a promotional film of a couple on a cycling holiday in the Marais Poitevin. 

The Sèvre Niortais photo credit ©S.Bonnet

The finished film won’t be available for a while, but I have been given permission to use some of the photos that were taken, and I love them. Merci mille fois S et J. 

A tale of two trees and twenty years

Our Cypress trees today

A tale of two trees and twenty years

We have reached a French life milestone, and tonight, we will be popping the cork on a bottle to celebrate twenty years living in a rural village in the Deux-Sèvres. 

The week we moved in, trees in their pots

 

When we arrived in France in August 2004, part of our lorry load of worldly possessions included four potted Cypress trees, all rather spindly and under two metres tall. This was back in the pre-Brexit days when moving plants was as easy as moving people, but from the Burke Bros Global Relocation company website, I can see it’s nowhere near as easy now. With each pot requiring a phytosanitary certificate issued by DEFRA, at a minimum of £186.68, I’m quite sure we wouldn’t have bothered. It was Burke Bros who we used when we moved, and although our furniture had been in storage with them for a month, they made a special stop on their way to the ferry just to load up the plants that had been sitting in Adrian’s parents’ garden – we certainly couldn’t fault their service. You can read their full article on the new rules for moving plants to France here.

Summer 2005, the new terrace

The first few summers in France, our trees sat proudly in their pots, two marking the double doors leading from the lounge and two by a bench at the side of the garden, under the plum and hazelnut trees. 

 

Once we’d cleared a corner of the courtyard to create a terrace space, ironically by removing a lot of ivy and a huge bushy pine tree, we discovered a pretty stone wall and decided just in front of it would be the perfect forever place for the trees. In hindsight, potting all four into the new bed meant they were way too close together, so not surprisingly, nature sorted out the two strongest and the other two died off.

 

Look at them now. Not only are they tall and majestic, but they are full of life. As we enjoy a cup of lemon and ginger tea in bed each morning, we watch bird after bird landing on the branches, before hopping inside. This creates a scruffy shape which Adrian isn’t so keen on, but knowing sparrows, chaffinch, goldfinch, blackbird and more, are all happily nesting, safely within their tight foliage, never fails to make me smile.

 

These trees are just one reminder that we have put roots down here, we too have created new lives for ourselves, and this is especially true for Ed. He was tiny like the trees when we arrived but has now flown our nest and is happily living his own life. He is working full time in a job where he is surrounded by music, a young and dynamic team, and working for a company who are supportive of his musical dreams. He is in a band who rehearse for two hours every Monday evening, writing their own material as well as creating their own take on cover versions. They have an energy and chemistry on stage and a ‘bring the house down’ atmosphere at gigs. He has also been with Pearl for five years now, and we couldn’t be prouder parents. 

 

Our lives have changed a lot, but I still can’t believe it’s been twenty years, especially as if you look closely in the photos, you will see we are still using the same green plastic table on the terrace.

 

There have been many times when it has been hard work, challenging, frustrating and scary (think Brexit – the repercussions of which are still rippling under the surface). Above all, however, it’s been rewarding and a fantastic experience, that has enabled us to achieve so many things I could never have imagined when we set off on our dream adventure, middle-aged and naïve, twenty years ago.

 

I wouldn’t change a thing. This week, like many, has been one where our feet haven’t touched the ground, and I can’t wait to share our latest adventure in my next post. As a teaser, here is a pic from a photoshoot taken by Stella who just happens to work for the tourism section of the Deux-Sèvres Departement.

In the Marais Poitevin, © S.Bonnet

 

You can read my older posts about our first days in France here:

Our first night in France 

Arriving in Poitou-Charentes 

At the Notaires 

Moving into our new home in France 

  

Book review of The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Paris, 1940: Madeline tries to scream, but she can’t breathe. A German soldier is working to free her from the rubble – but if he reaches her, he will find the books hidden beneath her clothes…

When the Germans seize Paris, its peaceful streets fill with terror overnight, and nowhere is safe. Desperate to help her friends, Parisian bookseller Madeline Valette turns her bookshop into a sanctuary for those in hiding, but she knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s found out.

So when she is asked to join the Resistance and smuggle banned books from Berlin, she accepts, desperate to defy the Nazis. And while she wants to save precious books from destruction, she also hopes her trips to Germany might help her find the last living connection she has to her beloved husband…

Because Madeline has received a letter from a German woman called Ada, the mother of her husband’s son. Facing persecution, the Jewish boy is in terrible danger. But where are they now, and can Madeline help them before it’s too late?

When Madeline finally finds Ada and the child, she realises Ada is at the mercy of a high-ranking Nazi official and both their lives are now at risk. Can Madeline get them to safety? Or will the unthinkable happen to this innocent child?

The second unputdownable novel in the Paris Sisters series, this is the story of two women’s bravery in the face of the darkness of the Second World War. Perfect for fans of Roberta Kagan, Kristin Hannah, and Fiona Valpy.

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

My review

Having read book one in this series, The Last Day in Paris, (plus the prequel, Paris Orphans), it was a delight to continue reading about the courageous Valette sisters and their lives during the Occupation of Paris. What is unusual about this series, is that the events in each book take place at the same time, rather than running sequentially.

In a similar format to The Last Day in Paris, this book’s dual timeline gives us alternating chapters between Madeline’s life in Paris and Berlin, and Olivia’s in 2011. At an estate sale in Oxford, Olivia makes a shocking discovery about her family history, that takes her to Scotland and Germany as she tries to unravel her estranged grandfather’s past. Unable to ignore what she has discovered, Olivia needs something to focus on as she rebuilds her life, but her grandfather is distant and reluctant to revisit his childhood. It was easy to slip into the pages, and once again, it was the modern day unravelling of the family mystery that particularly captivated my imagination as I read. I wanted so much for Olivia and Kurt to heal their hearts, find peace and move on.

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The emotional writing was engaging, and I found myself rereading the beautiful scenes between Madelaine and Jacob when they spoke about adversity giving us courage and a strength we never knew we had. The bravery and risks of the resistance fighters once again left me feeling very humble. There were many heartbreaking moments as the characters navigated difficult situations and made decisions that impacted those they loved. Be prepared to have a tissue at the ready as you near the end of this book.

If you enjoy books set during the Occupation, I can 100% recommend this series and I am already looking out for book three.

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Suzanne Kelman

Author Bio  

Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.

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You can read my review The Last Day in Paris here.