Poitou-Charentes myths, legends and history - La Jungle

La Jungle

Poitou-Charentes myths, legends and history

 

La Jungle, and what our animals have taught me 

 

At the edge of the small, rural, farming village of Loubillé in the south of the Deux-Sèvres, is a pretty villa, of a style more commonly found on the Atlantic coast. It is curiously named La Jungle and as well as having an interesting story behind this name, it was home to some unusual inhabitants during the war too.

 

Just before the Second World War, Georges Vignolles (who preferred to go by the name Georgio) and his partner Marie-Thérèse Rouffin, also intriguingly known as Marffa la Corse, purchased a smallholding in Loubillé with a simple wooden dwelling. Marie-Thérèse had run away from home at the age of sixteen and the couple met in 1924 at a travelling circus, and in 1925, Marffa began to learn the art of dressage and wild animal taming, despite never learning how to read and write. 

Marffa la Corse, La Jungle

 

In 1926, aged just eighteen years old, this Deux-Sèvrienne gained the stage name Marffa la Corse following a particularly risky performance at an international competition held on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Starting out with a lion, two snakes and three monkeys, their circus show, called La Jungle, grew, along with their family, with the arrival of their daughters, Georgette in 1926 and Paulette in 1928. Marffa soon became an internationally celebrated animal tamer, and the Jungle family successfully toured France during the inter-war years. As the 1930’s drew to a close, their daughters were singing as well as performing with animals, including wolves and boa constrictors, and Marffa had a pride of fifteen lions.

Georgio, Marffa, Georgette et Paulette

 

The Occupation put an end to their touring and the family moved to their smallholding in Loubillé, where Marffa’s brother built the villa she named, La Jungle. Whilst it has been a little bit difficult for me to determine exactly how many wild animals moved in with them, and how long the animals remained in Loubillé, there are news reports that talk of lions, tigers, wolves, two magnificent pelicans and a pair of Great Danes to guard the gates, certainly more exotic than the goat farms the village is used to. Those who were at the village school remember after-school visits and the roaring of the beasts that could be heard up to ten kilometres away, depending on the wind.

 

Feeding your family was difficult enough during the Occupation, so ensuring enough meat for lions and tigers can’t have been easy, but Georgio, who seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything, came up with a plan. Their daughter Paulette recounts how her father took over the running of a knacker’s yard business in Javarzay, the owner having been sent to the compulsory work camps in Germany. She would help her father to collect animal carcasses from local farms, hoisting them onto a truck and bringing them back to La Jungle. It was then her job to remove the skins as carefully as possible before the meat was fed to their wild beasts. My neighbour Pierrette has similar recollections in the 1950’s when her father was the local molecatcher, called in to remove moles from vegetable gardens. As young women have smaller and more dainty fingers, they were better able to skin animals without tearing the pelt, which would have been a valuable commodity sold to the textile manufacturers locally.

 

Marffa at work

At the end of the war, while Marffa couldn’t wait to build up her menagerie and begin touring once more, Georgio, was content to enjoy raising ducks, chickens and rabbits on his farm in Loubillé, much like we did after our first few years of living here. There is nothing quite as entertaining as watching the antics of your animals, and since adopting two kittens in 1998, as a newly married couple, we have always shared our home and garden with something furry or feathery, until now. 

 

Mini, January 2008-November 2024

A few weeks ago, we said our goodbyes to Mini, our black Labrador cross who was almost seventeen years old and the last in a long list of much-loved family pets. 

Ed and Willow

The cats, Poppy and Willow, had our undivided focus until Ed was born and although pampered indoor babies when we lived in the UK, soon became quite accustomed to prowling in the orchard and hunting in the barns when they joined us on our French adventure. With barns and animal pens that needed filling, the first additions to our furry family were rabbits and guineapigs. Did you know the squeaking of guineapigs deters rats? They proved to be a useful and cuddly addition to our menagerie, but we really should have stopped at the two female rabbits, Hay and Daisy, as when Henrietta joined them, she turned out to be a Henri meaning we soon had more bunnies than we anticipated.

 

Ducks in our orchard

In the winter of 2005, a male duck flew into our orchard and decided to stay, persuaded I have no doubt by the fact we rushed to the local market and bought him a posse of female ducks as company. With ducks installed, chickens followed, and fresh daily eggs is still something I miss, especially the rich golden yolks of free ranging birds who would feast on the windfall fruits, or in the case of the chickens, pick the ripe cherries from the lower branches.

 

Mini in 2008

Mini joined us in early 2008, a tiny jet-black puppy who was small (and clever) enough to use the cat flap. She never bonded with the cats, who were already ten years old, but as Hay neared the end of her days, Mini would lie with her on the grass, guarding her gently. The most bizarre addition was Brucie the goose who appeared one Sunday morning in early May 2009. We arrived home to find a gosling looking lost and bewildered in the duck pen, young enough to still have some of her fluffy yellow feathers. Our neighbour told us a bearded man had opened the locked back gate, walked down the garden, put Brucie in the barn and left. She had no idea who he was and to this day, he and his reasons for abandoning a goose in our garden remain a mystery. She was a delight, who was with us for over ten years, laid delicious eggs and was happy to chat back every time I went into the barn or orchard.

 

Brucie the goose

Over the years, we witnessed them all tear around as kittens, puppies, bunnies and ducklings, before calming and slowing down, then eventually growing frail, losing weight and suffering from health issues. Eyesight and hearing failed, teeth fell out, they were not as nimble as they once were, and then came the inevitable incontinence. Willow would curl up, fall asleep on my lap and pee herself, Mini had no idea what her bowels were up to this last year, and Poppy would think she was in her litter tray, but hadn’t quite lined herself up. In short, we have a much better idea of old age than I think we would have if we hadn’t shared our lives with these animals. They have also taught us so much about love and tolerance, especially Yum Yum, the duck, who died of a broken heart after losing his lady companion. 

 

Café stops on bike adventures

We miss them, and the house feels empty and quiet without Mini, but for now, our lives will remain animal free as we make the most of our time to travel and explore our beloved France, by bicycle, before old age creeps up on us and makes adventures impossible. 

Thanks have to go to two local historians Pascal Baudouin and Patrick Ricard, authors of Loubillé Cité des artistes, Dans le temps, for unravelling the story of Marffa la Corse and sharing the photographs.

Loubillé Cité des artistes
Pascal Baudouin et Patrick Ricard

A Valentine's Day bike ride for two

A Valentine's Day bike ride for two

Love is…

Today might be a busy day, running a training course for Adrian and census counting for me, but yesterday turned out to be the perfect day to celebrate St Valentine’s Day. As the washing danced around on the airer in the garden, we set off for a special bike ride.

 

Adrian is used to my whacky requests, and I’m used to his eye-rolling response to them, but he still created a 35km Valentine’s Day heart-shaped bicycle route for us. Isn’t he fab!

 

We left home to the sight and sound of migrating cranes serenading us overhead as they circled above the house on the thermals. We stood and watched as they reformed into deep V shapes, constantly calling to each other before continuing their journey north. It is something we look forward to seeing every February and it never loses its magic. Just outside the village we startled two deer in a field by the road, slowing our speed in case they bolted across our path. Thankfully they just disappeared into a thicket of woods, safely away from the road and hunters. 

Lavoir in Hanc

 

We passed by chateau towers and church spires, delighted to see the first hellebores in the woods and winter aconites in the roadside ditches, their flowers encouraging a pair of cavorting butterflies. The iris stems are also appearing in the streams that fill the local lavoirs (wash houses), although it will be a while before their flowers arrive. 

The view from our picnic bench, Couture d'Argenson

 

At the halfway point to our heart, we paused at a picnic bench to enjoy a homemade flapjack. Out of the wind, we could feel the warmth in the sun, thankfully the feast of springtime promises we saw made battling the headwind worth it.

 

Adrian wasn’t impressed that the route looked like a flabby, messy heart, but I loved that it was our heart route, centred around our village. It is true we had to compromise using the roads available to us, but what is love if it’s not about compromise? What is important is to accept that reality isn’t always neat and perfect, and that what really counts is to have fun and make memories together. 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day 

For the love of cheese

Tartiflette, comfort food at its best

Seeking comfort in cheese

All in all, it’s been a bit of a weird week. The weather has been miserably cold and wet, and finding out three local friends have been quite poorly, including our eighty-year-old neighbour Dominique, who is in hospital, did nothing to improve my mood. This coupled with the shocking news that two friends on Facebook lost their husbands this week, really has brought home how fragile life is.

 

Mini, cosy on the sofa

Even Mini the dog has been out of sorts. She is now thirteen and I know we can’t expect her to be immune to the aging process, but it was still quite a shock to have to deal with a soggy sofa and dog bedding on Tuesday morning. The older she has got, the more relaxed we’ve been with our rules, so as well as the sofas, she can often be found curled up on our bed or Ed’s. I guess I was therefore quite lucky as it could have been a much bigger clear-up, on a cold and wet day. Hopefully it was just one of those things, but being a super-hoarder, the sofas are now covered in washable cot protector sheets, bought in Mothercare twenty-one years ago, and the bedrooms are out of bounds once more.

 

Cyclocross by Brompton

Our cycling, along with the weather, has been extreme, although not in terms of kilometres covered. We’ve been out in cold winds and temperatures as low as -3º, that left our faces burning and gloved fingers numb and sore. Rides have been brief, rather than leisurely and enjoyable, but whatever the weather, it’s been good to get out. One afternoon, desperately seeking something a bit different, we decided to take the road less travelled and investigate some routes previously undiscovered by us. The road we chose wound up to an old vineyard, before becoming more of a track as it rolled gently towards the woods, where the gravel become a muddy path through the trees. Soggy soon became too wet to cycle, but the great thing about the Bromptons is they can easily be lifted up, the saddles resting on our shoulders, as we splashed through the puddles to drier land. It was certainly an adventure, although I think I was the only one having fun puddle splashing, as Adrian is far too sensible for that.

Cauliflower and pasta cheesy bake

 

It has been one of those weeks where I have turned to the comforting and healing properties of cheese. Dinners have included a cauliflower and pasta cheese bake and tartiflette, one of my favourite comfort food meals where the Reblochon cheese melts into sliced potatoes, onions and lardons. There is just something about cooked cheese dishes in cold weather that make everything feel better. We even treated ourselves to a local goat cheese in this week’s vegetable basket, whose creaminess went down very well as an early Valentine’s treat with a glass of our homemade sloe port. Valentine’s Day certainly seems the perfect excuse to indulge in our love of cheese, so tonight, we will be celebrating with a slightly unusual Sunday evening meal of homemade pizzas, fully loaded with cheese. 

 

After a strange week, hopefully things have now turned a corner. The weather is forecast to get warmer and as if to prove it, this afternoon we’ve been treated to flocks of cranes flying low over the house, on their annual migration north. It is always a spectacular sight to see that never fails to make me feel better. Spring will be with us soon.

 

Sending you all lots of Valentine’s Day love from France. 

For Valentine's Day, a selection of books set in France, on the theme of love

Lockdown Diaries, day twenty-eight, Giving thanks

Thankful for our moules frites

Day twenty-eight, Thursday 26^th November 2020

 

Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you celebrating today, even if your normal plans are out the window this year. I’m not American, have never celebrated Thanksgiving, or even eaten pumpkin pie, and it’s only thanks to blogs and social media that I’ve come to understand it a bit more. I think this year, more than any, we have a lot to be thankful for, even those of us whose families have lost loved ones. We won’t be tucking into a roast turkey and all the trimmings tonight, but we will certainly take a moment over our moules frites to give thanks for the good things in our life this year. 

Thankful for the memories we've made on the bikes this year

 

I’m certainly thankful of having the bikes, the fitness and good health to be able to ride them, and the time available to get out on them. They have made such a difference to our lives this year and I can't imagine how we would have got through the last eight months without them. Not only have they given us access to the great outdoors and a way to exercise in the fresh air, they have also given us a focus and the means to set ourselves challenges too. Whether it’s been local rides with Ed and Pearl, restaurant rides with our friends, or holidays just the two of us further afield, we’ve certainly made some great memories. We lost our nephew Ben to suicide during the first lockdown and I’ve found there was something quite healing about pushing myself on the bike, as I climbed mountains I never realised I was capable of. When all I could hear was my breathing and I could feel my heart pounding, it reminded me how precious life and being alive really is. 

The stunning scenery of the Pyrenees

Being surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery as I climbed was pretty special too.

 

Thankful for great friends

I’m also thankful for the friends I’ve made here in France. The ones who are there no matter what the problem, the ones who’ve cycled with us, the ones I’ve sung my heart out alongside (usually after a wine or two) and the ones who have taken the time to help me improve my French. My eighty-year-old neighbour Pierrette certainly falls into the latter category, even if things are running a bit late here today thanks to a lengthy, gossipy phone call with her. It’s not quite the same as our early natters on Sunday mornings as we strolled to the boulangerie together pre-Covid-19, but it’s better than nothing.

 

I know it has been a tough year in many ways for a lot of people, but I hope you can think of something that you are thankful for too. 

Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day thirty-two

Anniversary selfie, 17th April 2020

Day thirty-two, 17^th April 2020

Love in Lockdown

17th April 1998 Henley-on-Thames

Happy wedding anniversary to us, 22 years married today. Thanks to some fab friends on Facebook from our Mini Club days, who have been sharing old photos, we have been enjoying looking back on life at the end of the nineties, twenty-five years which as we both get close to approaching fifty, is almost half our lives ago. 

Just good friends Isle of Man 1996

I had to share this one, taken on the Isle of Man in 1996, back when we were just good friends. Friends who met every day at an Italian sandwich shop in London for lunch and friends who spent most weekends together driving up and down the UK in a convoy of Minis attending car club events. As you can see the Minis took centre stage at our wedding in Henley-on-Thames in 1998.

Engagement 1997

Photos of the two of us seem to be as rare as hen’s teeth, but I’ve come up with a few that I hope you will indulge me sharing here today.

Naan bread teamwork April 2020

What do you do to celebrate an anniversary when all bars and restaurants are closed? Despite life in lockdown, we had big plans that meant being able to leave home together and travel further than we’ve been since Monday 16^th March, when we cleared out Ed’s flat in Poitiers. It was (fasting) blood test day, followed by a shop in Aldi, meaning a drive all the way to Melle, some 25km from home. We even took a flask of coffee to top up our energy levels before Adrian shopped. Once home we sat in the garden for a coffee and pastry and took a selfie, ensuring at least one other pic of the two of us to look back on.

First mountain climb together April 2017

As if I needed statistics to prove my man is above average, he has done a virtual cycling power FTP (functional threshold power) test. For a recreational cyclist a good score is between 2.5 and 3 watts/kg, but Adrian recorded a score of 3.2 w/kg, a score he hopes to improve on. I am hopeful that my yoga binging and working hard on an all over improvement in my core muscles will be enough to power me up the mountains he plans for us to climb once we are again free to travel and free to cycle where we please.

17th April 2019 Canal de la Garonne

April holiday memory 

17^th April 2019 and we celebrated our anniversary on the banks of the Canal de la Garonne, near Valence d’Agen, just over halfway between Bordeaux and Toulouse. The canal gave us peace and quiet, and in the shade of the plane trees we saw a flash of kingfisher, a magical sight for the morning of our anniversary. We spent much of the day sharing the towpath with pilgrims walking, in the opposite direction, on the Chemin de St Jacques. Young, older, couples, families, small groups, with bags and without; it kind of felt we were the odd ones out, going against the flow. We seem to have crossed the Chemin many times since moving to France and each time its call is a little louder, teasing me and tempting me to follow.

In the afternoon the headwinds picked up and the easy cruising speed disappeared as cycling on the flat became hard work. Adrian stretched out his lead ahead of me, leaving me to slowly get further behind. We stopped for an apple tart midafternoon and despite not feeling hungry, my energy levels were low and my speed slow, too slow it seemed for Adrian’s spreadsheet with its detailed itinerary and estimated arrival times. A pizza with wine, in Montauban that evening had never been more deservedly earned on an anniversary.

Stay indoors, stay safe.

Lockdown library

My reading selection today is for the first three novels by Fiona Valpy, set in the vineyards around Bordeaux where love and weddings are key themes.

The French for Love

The French for Always

The French for Christmas

Loving being a tourist in Poitiers

Cathedral St Pierre, Poitiers

Poitiers Love Tour

I loved playing the tourist in Poitiers on Saturday, as my silly selfie photos show, and following a morning mooch around the historic town centre, a spot of retail therapy and a tasty Turkish treat from a smiling vendor at the market, in the afternoon I joined a love themed guided walk run by the tourist board. Even our guide commented on how different this walk was from her usual tours. Rather than focus on the architecture or a specific period of history, she had devised a route to include locations important to some unusual ‘love’ stories from the past.

 

Notre-Dame-La-Grande church, Poitiers

We were shown where on the façade of the Notre-Dame-La-Grande church, situated in the cobbled market place, we could spot the statues depicting the temptation of Adam and Eve, the original lovers. (Just above my right eye, if you fancy zooming in).

 

The dark and sombre interior of Notre-Dame-la-Grande

We heard about the young man who, disgraced by dying in the arms of a prostitute, was denied a Christian burial and his body buried in a ditch. His salvation came about when a pure white rose grew and bloomed in the ditch one winter. When his body was exhumed, between his lips a piece of paper with the name of Maria written on it was discovered. It was believed that only the Virgin Mary could have been behind this miracle. He now has an almost invisible column with a rose motif in the wall of the Notre-Dame-La-Grande church, where his body was reburied.

The clothes shop Zara was certainly a surprise location for a historical tour, but its branch in Poitiers is rather unique as it’s built around the ruined columns of a convent chapel. This had links to both Madame de Montespan and Madame de Maintenon, ladies of favour (and bearers of many illegitimate children) of King Louis XIV.

No guided tour of Poitiers could ignore Aliénor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), whose presence is felt all over town. Married to Louis VII when she was only 15, and then fifteen years later to Henri Plantagenêt, ten years her junior, there are many stories to be told about her travels in the area, her liaisons and her troubadours. Guillaume le troubadour, Comte de Poitou-duc d’Aquitaine, famous for pleasing the ladies with his poems and love songs, also has quite a few links to the town.

 

The Couvègnes statue of Mercury at the chamber of commerce, Poitiers

The residents of the 1930’s were a little more reserved than our medieval ancestors, as the statue above the chamber de commerce shows. Here the sculptor Couvègnes depicts a naked Mercury, but his manhood was deemed too much for the young women of the era and was brutally sliced off!

 

Hotel de Ville, Poitiers

Fitting for a love themed weekend, there was even a wedding at the impressive Hotel de Ville. As I took a well-earned pause to read my book on a sunny bench, the wedding party appeared on the steps, accompanied by a celebratory cheer from friends and family that quickly rippled around the square, as those enjoying an al fresco lunch echoed their congratulations.

Feeling every one of the 8km I had walked, as I made my way back to Ed’s flat for a reviving cup of tea and slice of cake, the five o’clock bells began to ring out all over the town, and as Poitiers is also known as the city of 100 bell towers, you can imagine how lovely a sound that was.

I’m so glad I went, despite the group mostly consisting of couples and being the only English person there. For an interesting walk that took almost two hours, with lots of information from our animated guide, it was worth the 5.50€ charge and I’ll certainly be looking out for future walks.

I might not have been with my love this weekend, but I certainly felt the love in the air in the beautiful city of Poitiers.

20 years of adventures

17th April 1998, Henley-on-Thames

Today is our 20^th wedding anniversary and I can’t believe that Adrian looks so young in the wedding photos, whereas, as I’m sure you will agree, I look just the same. 17^th April 1998, at Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire, we tied the knot with a small civil service, then went off on our first adventure as man and wife – a boat trip along the Thames, where the river was so swollen and running so high, we were told to expect a cancellation. But we had faith, it worked, and we sailed.

17th April 1998

The first ten years of marriage saw many adventures; getting two kittens, moving to a new house in the UK, having a baby, then moving to France and getting a dog. The last ten years have been far more relaxed but we’re still happy to have adventures, in fact our tenth wedding anniversary saw a new start to our adventures in France, our Mini Cooper Road Trips, in Gizmo the mini.

 

17th April 2008, Beaulieu-sur-Mer

In 2008 we awoke on our wedding anniversary in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, near Nice, having made our way south to the Riviera in two days. We then set off along the coast, through the Alps and into Italy, where we stayed near Turin for a few days before heading west, back to home. It was such fun, we vowed to continue every couple of years and a new tradition was born.

 

17th April 2010, Le Mont-Dore

In 2010, we returned to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, by a different route, then drove the Ardeche gorges, arriving in Montelimar on the eve of our anniversary. Up to this point, this road trip had been even better than the previous, and we’d learned to take our time to explore the back roads of France. However, it wasn’t a great start to our anniversary when we discovered Gizmo had been broken into overnight, but we coped. Thankfully they hadn’t smashed any of the windows, so we made a visit to the Gendarmes, and hit the road for Le Mont-Dore in the Massif Central. The sun shone on our beer terrace that night as we raised a glass to twelve years of marriage.

 

17th April 2012, Angoulême

In 2012, we were wine tasting in Angouleme on our anniversary, taking a break from the preparations and packing for the third Gizmo tour to the south. From St Emillion to Condom, to the Pyrenees, to Collioure, to Carcassone, to the Cevennes and home, we had a great time. I had this mad idea to share our adventure on the blog every evening and I did, but it was tough, and if I’m honest, took up too much of our time together. 

In 2014, two days after our anniversary, we were ready to hit the road once more. Sadly, on the second day Gizmo had mechanical issues (see here) and although Adrian managed to perform the equivalent of open heart surgery on a rather remote hillside, by the 21^st April we were back home. We did get to make one (most likely) final road trip in Gizmo in June 2015 (see here), but he is sadly now showing his age and is confined to the garage for the foreseeable future.

 

17th April 2016, Angers

However, this hasn’t stopped our adventures, oh no! In 2016 we spent our anniversary just outside Angers in the Loire on the eve of our first ever big cycling adventure. A six day, 450km cycle ride around the Sarthe department (see here). It was so much fun, last year we challenged ourselves to a charity cycle around the Deux-Sevres department (see here).

Which brings me back to today, our 20^th anniversary, and I’m sure you’d love to know what sort of adventure we have planned in celebration this year. Well, life has given me a new adventure in the local library, and having only started work a few weeks ago, getting away this week hasn’t been possible. As Adrian works away from home, we have spent many birthdays and anniversaries apart, but this is the first time it’s my work that has been the reason. Call it sods law if you will, but since I began work, Adrian has had time at home.

As I write this, Adrian, Ed and my mother-in-law Sandra are in the Pays Basque, returning to the wonderful gîte we all visited last year (see here). I was at work this morning and will be working this afternoon, but I am being wined and dined by good friends this evening. Adrian is celebrating by cycling up mountain passes, without having to keep glancing behind him to see where I am. We will certainly be raising our glasses to one another this evening.

We have already had our first meal out, an advance celebration, at the village bar, where, as is the French convivial way, we sat with friends who were also eating there. When my travellers return at the weekend the celebrating will continue, at the village bar once more, and it will be a double celebration for Adrian’s birthday too.

 

Together in Bordeaux 2018

I’ve no idea where the next twenty years of marriage will take us, or what adventures we will have along the way, but I can’t wait, as together we can tackle anything. Love you Ade.