D Day + 75 years

Bonjour

It’s been very busy in Normandy with the 75th anniversary of the D Day landings on the Normandy beaches in WW2. There were commemoration services held throughout the day attended by many veterans and world leaders but there have also been events everywhere in the region for several weeks. Cherbourg was decked out in bunting and signs in most of the shops.

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We also returned to Saint-Mère-Église, where American paratroopers dropped on the night of 5-6 June 1944 as D Day began. This year they decided to do a re-enactment, with hundreds of parachutists jumping out of planes and landing in nearby fields. The place was packed and so it was a bit hard to get decent photos of the action. But there’s plenty of professional photos and footage of all events for those interested.

Completely unrelated to D Day landings is the mysterious way the French organise big events. As mentioned, Saint-Mère-Église was jam packed full of people and all wanting to eat lunch. Some cafes and restaurants were closed because it was Sunday and nothing interferes with that. The town square had been turned into a food court of sorts and was surrounded by tents with bbqs trying to cook sausages fast enough to feed the long queues (and failing miserably). French law says that the only bbqs allowed in such events are coal fired, no gas bottles permitted. The smoke these things generate is alarming. And the cooks all seem to be small business people, no Lions Clubs to be seen. In fact you rarely see any charities anywhere. Fund raising and donating to charities does not seem to be a thing here.

There has been quite a bit of sport happening in France, with many Australians represented. Firstly there were the Rugby 7s (we were beaten by Ireland in the semi final), Women’s World Cup soccer (go Matildas) and then of course there is Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott. The twitter feed for our Australian ambassador, Brendan Berne has been in overdrive with all his comments. Here he is, being asked to confirm the National Anthem before the final.

There have already been comments here about the copious amounts of packaging and plastics that are used for food items in supermarkets. Fresh meat, cheese, small goods, you name it. But I think this is taking it to another level.

A bientot

L & M