Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Around and About - Chasseneuil-Sur-Bonnieure Town

Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their condolences and prayers. It is good to know your troubles are shared and it does make life easier. It has been a difficult time especially for Nigel.  We now have all the sorting out to arrange and as his aunt was a hoarder there is plenty to do! He was also waiting to hear if he would be in the next lot of redundancies, but thankfully he has survived once more.


I have previously published blogs about the church at Chasseneuil, plus a little history on the town HERE. The beautiful wood carvings HERE  the brocante-et-vide-grenier HERE  and the Chasseneuil Resistance Memorial HERE

Here are a few more photos taken around the town to give you the final tour (for now!!) of Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure.

Hotel de ville.   Often misunderstood by visitors to France as a hotel, it is, in fact, the town hall.  In Chasseneuil, the town hall building incorporates the Mayor's (Maire) office, the local tax office and  the post office, the latter tucked away at the back.  The war memorial is proudly situated at the front. The French have always quite rightly commemorated the ultimate sacrifice of their fallen military troops in a most prominent fashion.

La Poste. The post office.
Above and below is the train station, now sadly derelict. It is a lovely building and I hope one day it will be restored.  There are only 3 trains a day and no ticket office, so tickets would have to be bought elsewhere.  They can however be bought on line, or so  I am told, and perhaps this could solve the ticket problem!

The photo above, and the next two photos are the flowers around the war memorial and the Hotel de Ville. It was a stunning display in August when the pictures were taken. 


The wall of the florist shop in the main street, route N141. It used to be the main road from Angouleme to Limoges, filled with endless streams of big trucks, until the bypass came! As you can see, today, it is not a particularly busy road and it is often closed on public holidays for markets and the like.  I cannot remember what time of the day I took this photo, but it must have been during working hours, as the flowers outside the door can be seen. 
The local cinema.  They are very obliging and regularly show English films.
 



Some colourful baskets on market day.

50 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear of the loss of your loved one. Tell Nigel I'm sorry. Sorry I haven't been around much lately either. I love history and these are some awesome places. Beautiful church and colorful baskets. Hope things get back to normal soon. Have a blessd day.

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  2. Thanks Becca. I hope that you and your Mother are soon better as well. I think at times life is here to try us!!! It is a case of chin up and keep going, but sometimes it is quite difficult! Our thoughts are with you both as well. Diane x

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  3. I am glad you feel up to blogging again. You were missed! The train station is a beautiful building; too bad it's upkeep has been let go.

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  4. Glad to hear Nigel wasn't laid off.

    The "Hotel" has some interesting architecture as does the train station, which I hope someone will save.Does look like a pretty quiet setting but then bypasses do that to a town.

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  5. I'm so sorry to hear of Nigel's Aunt passing. When my mother passed away all those years ago I was struck by how much hurt is left behind, but what also surprised me in the years to follow, is all the good and healing and growth that could come, too. We're never beyond the reach of the light that can beam through the challenge of a loss. I know that cleaning up must be very difficult, given the state of things left behind. But know that the patience with which you're handling the matter will be, and in many was already has been, returned.
    Anyone who can grow a garden the way you do, must treat every matter with a full and loving heart.

    I'll keep you both in my prayers.

    Your summer home is an absolute dream.

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  6. My thoughts are with you and Nigel at this time. What a beautiful town, thanks so much for sharing your pictures. Even the town hall and post office are gorgeous...a far cry from the town hall and post office here, lol! :)

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  7. Linda I missed you all as well, I was surprised just how much! Yes the station is a lovely building, I am sure it could be used for something else even if not a ticket office etc. I hope it will get restored in the not too distant future. Diane

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  8. Gaelyn you have no idea how happy we were that Nigel still has a job. He will never find anything else at his age and he needs to work for just a bit longer before we can retire fully to France.

    The bypass has been a blessing as people did not want to shop in Chasseneuil for fear of being run over. It can be very busy now especially on market days. They have also built a bypass at La Rochefoucauld and that will also make a huge difference to shoppers.

    Yes there are some lovely buildings in the small town. Diane

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  9. Ree thank you for your kind words. It was made more difficult I think because it was quite sudden, also she was the youngest of the 3 at 81, her 82 birthday was a couple of days after she passed on! Nigel's father has his 90th early next year and he is quite remarkable and sprightly still. Take care. Diane

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  10. Thank you Faith. Yes they are lovely buildings and they have been restored and looked after so well. It is sad about the staion but I live in hopes! Diane

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  11. Another great post. The town hall is beautiful! It's too bad the train station building hasn't been taken care of... it's a neat old building.

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  12. Thanks Pam. Yes the station is a lovely building so I hope that someone may find a use for it and restore it. Diane

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  13. Diane, I am so sorry for your lost. At least your sad news was balanced somewhat by knowing that Nigel would be able to continue working. Redundancy is such an ugly word. It tries to sanitize something that's an incredible blow to most folks. Your photos are lovely. I hope these difficult days pass quickly for you. Blessings...Mary,

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  14. Mary thanks for your kind words. Life is still going to be difficult for a bit, sorting out the estate between four people, and trying to get probate through as soon as possible.

    Thanks also for the comments on the photos. Take care. Diane

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  15. In dark and cold weather... these pictures are such a gift. Many thanks and I hope it goes well with the cleaning out... it can be a joy and a pain, can't it? FInding lost family memories and then the junk... oh my! I've often thought to give my least favorite friend the job of going through my stuff...crazy too much stuff!!!

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  16. I love the old masonry buildings. And the market looks splendid. Great way to hearken back to a warmer day.

    Glad you're back, Diane.

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  17. Glad you're back again Diane. Those photos are gorgeous.

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  18. lostpastremembered, clearing out our 'stuff' should be not so bad, as we cut back drastically when we moved from S.Africa and we are also getting rid of other bits as we move over to France. With Nigel's aunt the problem is 3 executors and 4 beneficiaries!!!! Life is not easy.

    Yes I thought the flowers would be cheering when the weather is so dismal :-) Diane

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  19. Thanks Marjie, I am glad to be back though my time is still a bit limited at the moment. Yes dreaming of warmer days has some advantages :-) Diane

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  20. chubskulit I am glad to be back, I really missed everyone. Diane

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  21. Thanks for stopping by my site! Oh how I dream of visiting Europe - perhaps I will just have to visit you and see it vicariously!!

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  22. Cate I have only met one of my blogger friends so far and I now am ready to meet many more. Looking forward to seeing you in France. Diane

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  23. I dream of winning the lottery - Europe here I come!! We all want what we don't have!!!

    We have to visit our blogger friends and get what we can via our visits!!

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  24. If there is one thing I have always like abut the places in Europe, it is the window boxes. What a great idea!!

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  25. Diane, look at all the these lovely pictures, i feel like want to re-visit Paris again, my last visit was 5 years ago. Glad you also know to eat chayote, this fruit is very verstail, next time you show me how you cook chayote ya. Have a nice weekend ahead.

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  26. Cate every Friday I hope with the Euro Millions, we often win £10 but they always forget to put the zero's on the end!!!! The lottery we never win anything:-( Diane

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  27. Joan I also love all the window boxes. It always makes brick/stone and mortar so much more cheerful. Diane

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  28. Sonia as you say chayote is so versatile, you can use it in so many dishes. I love it cooked lightly then with a cheese sauce over it and browned under the grill. I generally give it my own flavour with herbs or even aromat. Diane

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  29. I assume this is one of your local towns, how lucky you are to have a cinema that shows English films.
    Good to have you back, sorry about the family and job stresses you have both had to cope with recently.

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  30. Oh my! A very nice place to visit! The town hall looks like in fairy tale. I'm sure it's exciting to look some stuff in market day! Happy Weekend!

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  31. Lindy, yes the town is not that far from us so it is good to be able to go and see a film from time to time.

    The stress continues at the moment re the estate, but at least we know Nigel has a job for a few months. There is talk about closing the office though, which means moving else where. This we do not want to do in the UK when retirement is so close!!! Diane

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  32. Lani there is a small market twice a week, but once a month there is a market that takes over the whole town. You can buy anything from food to clothes, live animals to plants, it is great fun. Diane

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  33. Beautiful shots. The city Hall building is fantastic!
    Welcome back, Diane.

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  34. I am really sorry you had to go through all this!
    And sorry not to have left a word sooner but I was absent of blogs for a couple of days.
    Yours pics are beautiful and it must have cheered you up to publish them!
    Keep well, Diane and regards to Nigel!
    A bientôt!

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  35. Thanks JM, it is a lovely building and well looked after. Diane

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  36. Noushka it has been a tough few weeks I am just hoping that over the next week or so things may improve. This post certainly cheered me up. I could dream that I was in France for a bit! A bientôt. Diane

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  37. Hi Diane: Will be thinking of you over there as you have much to deal with at the moment, but Thank You for taking the time to still post us some lovely pics.
    I love the wall of the florists ~ very pretty.
    Take care
    Dianne xx

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  38. Hi Dianne, thanks for the thoughts. I also love that wall at the florists, it is so different. The post cheered me up a bit with all the summer flowers:-) Diane

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  39. Sorry to hear of your loss; life has ups and downs and we must count our blessings and enjoy the ups.
    I hope things will look up for you from now on.
    Regards.

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  40. Taste of Beirut you are so right, we must enjoy the ups, the downs must be got through ASAP! Thanks for good wishes. Diane

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  41. Hey..I really like that baskets... This are really having beautiful color combinations...
    Electronic Smokeless Cigarette

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  42. I just love those baskets. And the many places you've photographed are so very nice to see. And some of the buildings look very old.

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  43. Electronic Cigarettes, thanks for the visit and hope to see you back. I also thought the colour combination was great. Diane

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  44. oldmanlincolnsblog, thanks for the visit. Some of the buildings are very, very old and so interesting. Hope to see you back soon. Diane

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  45. What beautiful photos, how I would love to just visit France.

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  46. Thanks Judy for your visit. I am sure you would love France. I see you love crab, plenty of those in France at reasonable prices:-) Diane

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  47. Very pretty and colorful!! Isn't it nice to go out and discover little towns and villages all over France?! I love it..
    Have a great week Diane...

    Hugs,
    Leesa

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  48. Leesa I could not agree more, some of the little villages are so pretty, and many have interesting histories if you can track them down. You have a great week as well. Diane x

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  49. I hope everything went well, Diane. And thank you once again for sharing such wonderful photos. I hope one day I can visit France. Have a great day.
    Kristy

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  50. Kristy there is still masses to sort out, it could go on for 12months or more. Three executors and four benificaries makes for lots of organising!! Hope you get to visit one day.Diane

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