Update, Cassoulet and TDF Final - Part 100

What a fitting day to have my 100th blog, the final day of the Tour de France! As from now, I will not be numbering on line, but that of course does not mean I don’t know where I've got to!

We have had a very busy week with entertaining on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, both provided and received. For Wednesday, we had planned to go to see a local village named Tusson, (TDF rest day) but this was the only day we had rain, so we ended up staying at home.

By the time the next blog is on line, it will be back to ‘One of us’ yet again, as Nigel flies back to the UK early on Tuesday morning. I have another barbeque to go to on Wednesday night, an event which Nigel will sadly miss.

Returning to Monday night, we had David and family around for dinner.

We started out with melon followed by paté and French bread.  Not forgetting, of course, a choice of red or white wine. We then had my Cassoulet dish, which I have mentioned a couple of times on the blog before, but with only a link to my Recipe web site. I will now put it on the site in full.

Cassoulet

Total time - 4 hours plus soaking of beans but well worth the effort.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
800g/28oz Dried white haricot beans, pre-soaked overnight and drained
2 tbsp Goose or duck fat
1kg/2.2lb Belly of pork (with rind)
225g/8oz Tomatoes, chopped
2 stalks of Celery cut into ½ inch pieces
200g/7oz Carrots, sliced
2 Onions, each studded with 6 whole cloves
1 Bouquet Garni
4 Garlic cloves, halved
Salt and ground black pepper
8 pieces Preserved duck or goose (Confit) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_confit )
675g/1½lb Toulouse sausages
500 gr/1.1 lb lamb cut into pieces (optional- but this improves the flavour)

Instructions
1. Place the soaked beans in a large saucepan, cover with fresh cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat the goose fat or lard in a large flameproof casserole, add the pork and lamb which has been cut into cubes and brown on all sides. Separate and set aside the pork rind.

3. Add the carrots, celery and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring.

4. Add the drained beans, bouquet garni, garlic, salt, pepper, onions and reserved pork rind which has been cut into strips ( I browned the rind first to remove some of the fat). Cover with cold water, bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and cook over a low heat for about 1-1/2 hours.

5. Preheat the oven to 170C, (325F, Gas Mark 3) and brown the sausages in a little fat.
6. Add the duck or goose confit and the browned sausages cut in ½ to the casserole, pushing them down into the beans, then transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for a further 2 hours, uncovered, pushing the brown crust which will form, back down into the beans with a wooden spoon several times during the cooking period (traditionally six times). Serve hot, making sure each diner gets a piece of all the meats. A meal in itself. Needs perhaps only salad to accompany.

This dish can be prepared well in advance and reheated or frozen for future use.

We finished off with cheese,  followed by a Baked Cherry Custard, which, in my enthusiasm, I forgot to take a photo of!!! 

Cherry Custard, Baked
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
12 oz pitted fresh cherries, (I used my pitted frozen cherries)
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla 
pinch of salt
Icing Sugar to sprinkle over the finished tart.


Preparation:
Pour the cherries into a buttered 4 pint baking dish. Whisk the remaining ingredients in a bowl to form a light, thin batter. Pour over the cherries and place in a preheated 180C (350 F) oven for 45 minutes, or until cherry custard is browned and puffed around the edges, and the center is set. Allow to cool to warm or room temperature before serving. Sprinkle with icing sugar.
Serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

TOUR DE FRANCE FINAL
Stage 19 - Bordeaux - Pauillac 52 km - 24 July - Time Trial

Andy Schleck (Sax) Luxembourg  eventually finished 31” behind Alberto Contador (AST) Spain in the stage. The Spaniard has effectively earned his third victory in the Tour de France at the age of 27 with a lead of 39 seconds – the fifth closest Tour in history. If only Andy Schleck’s chain had not come off in the mountains, it would have possibly been a dead heat!

The stage win went to the Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Sax) which was no surprise as he is at his best in time trials. Seventeen seconds behind was the German, Tony Martin (THR), and third yet another German, B Grabsch from the same team.

Stage 20 - Longjumeau - Paris Champs-Élysées 102.5 km - Sunday 25 July
The traditional fairly relaxed run-in from the suburbs into central Paris for eight laps of 7km around the central district and primarily on the cobbles of the Champs Elysees.

The stage win goes to:-
1. Mark Cavendish (THR) England (Four stage wins in 2008, six in 2009 and five in 2010 )
2. Allesandro Petacchi (LAM) Italy
3. Julian Dean (GRM) New Zealand

The final overall winner of the Tour de France is:-

Alberto Contador (AST) Spain (yellow jersey)
This is now his third win of the TDF

The young rider was won by:- Andy Schleck (Sax) Luxembourg (white jersey)
The points winner is:- Alessandro Petacchi (LAM) (green jersey)
The King of the Mountains goes to Anthony Charteau (BTL) France (red polka dot jersey)
The team award was won by Team Radio Shack.  Lance Armstrong's team was out in front for this award  yesterday morning, and the time trial results of yesterday wrote them into the history books. What will happen next year without Armstrong's participation in the TDF, we will have to wait and see!

Around the Garden and TDF - Part 99

I thought it was time to catch up with a few pictures from around the garden -

Note the insect on the cornflower.

The five pictures above are all flowers grown from a 26 centime packet of mixed seeds - good value, eh!!.

Hydrangea

This bee like insect had a proboscis similar to the humming bird hawk moth and hovered in similar fashion on the lavender.

Marigolds by the front door.

and yesterday's harvest from the vegetable garden.

TOUR DE FRANCE
Stage 17 - Pau  - Col du Tourmalet 174 km  - 22 July 2010

What an amazing climb up the Col du Tourmalet, Andy Schleck tried every trick in the book to extend his lead on Contador, but the latter simply sat on Schleck’s wheel.  He tried once to jump past Schleck, but the latter was having none of it.  Andy Schleck is clearly the best young rider in the Tour and is likely to keep the white jersey (for the third year running). He has won his second stage this year and is only eight seconds behind the overall leader, but the yellow jersey will stay on the shoulders of his main rival, Alberto Contador.

The stage positions were as follows:

1. Andy Schleck (Sax) Luxembourg

2. Alberto Contador (AST) Spain

3. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (KAT) Spain

Overall positions:

1. Alberto Contador (AST) Spain

2. Andy Schleck (Sax) Luxembourg (00' 08')

3. Samuel Sanchez (EUS) Spain (03'32')

Stage 18 - Salies-de-Béarn - Bordeaux 198 km Friday 23 July

This was a fairly flat day and ideal for the sprinters. Cavendish hit the turbo button at just the right moment, and was an easy winner over the line. He has taken his fourth victory this year and his 14th from four starts in the Tour.

The top 3 stage positions follow:-
1. Mark Cavendish (THR) England

2. Julian Dean (GMR) New Zealand

3. Allesandro Petacchi (LAM) Italian

The overall position remains the same. Tomorrow's 52km time trial (the penultimate stage) will really decide the  Tour winner, before the riders head to Paris for the final stage and sprint on the Champs Elysees on Sunday.

Courgette and Ginger Jam - Post 98

My Courgette and Ginger Jam

Only 4 ingredients - courgettes, 1 lemon (juice and grated skin), jam sugar and ginger!

 1.2 kg courgettes (weigh after peeling [if necessary] and deseeding, chopped into small 1 cm pieces).

1 kg Special confitures sucre (This is a jam sugar with extra pectin.) The jam sugar  is available in the UK, but the quantity of fruit may be different, so check the instructions. I gather that it is unavailable in the USA, so I would simply use sugar and add pectin when you finish off the cooking)

Two different types of jam sugar found here in France.

2 inches of freshly grated ginger

I usually parboil the courgettes, but I have omitted this step when in a hurry. I think the parboiling does slightly improve the jam. (I have this year, 2012, used a wand liquidiser to break down the courgette as the sugar starts to melt, just 1/2 liquidise, leave a few lumps!)

Meanwhile put well washed jars into the oven at 100C to heat and sterilise them.

Mix the 4 ingredients together in a saucepan,(liquidise see above)  bring to boil and boil for 5 mins exactly. (This is the time given on the gelsuc packet)

Put into hot bottles and seal.

Allow to cool and as the jars cool the tops should 'pop' and seal. I am still using the last bottles from last year, so this jam keeps well.

TOUR DE FRANCE

Stage 16 - Bagnères-de-Luchon - Pau 199.5 km 20 July 2010

Yet another stage win for the French, and a second place as well, so we are all very proud of their success this year.

Stage winners

1. Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) France

2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) France

3. Ruben Plaza Molinar (GCE) Spain

I was quite sad that Lance Armstrong, who made a strong bid in the sprint to win this stage, only got  6th place.

There was no change in the yellow, white, or polka dot jerseys, but Thor Hushovd has regained the green jersey, 3 points ahead of Alessandro Petacchi.

21 July was a rest day, giving the riders a chance for recovery before the final 4 days of stages.

Courgette Pickle and TDF - Blog 97

Too many Courgettes? (zucchini or squash) Very easy recipe.

My Courgette Pickle

½ litre white wine vinegar
3 ½ cups sugar
1 packet of pickling spice mix (I used South African) Tie into a muslin bag.
Put into a stainless steel pan and bring to the boil.

Then add
8 cups of chopped courgette (about 1 cm square)
2 cups of sliced onions
1 cup sliced peppers

Simmer for 10 minutes. While that is happening, heat the jars in the oven - 100 degrees C for about 10-15 minutes. The hot jars are then tightly packed with the cooked vegetables and then filled to overflowing with the boiling vinegar liquid. The lids are screwed tight, and the sticky overflow liquid is washed off with hot water. The lids may need re-tightening as the jars cool down. Label and date. Delicious.

TOUR DE FRANCE

Stage 14 - Revel - Ax 3 Domaines 184.5 km Sunday 18 July

Another stage win by a Frenchman; this has been one of the more successful TDF for the French in recent years.
1. Christophe Riblon (ALM) France
2. Denis Menchov (RAB) Russia
3. Samuel Anchez (EUS) Spain
4. Andy Schleck (SAX) Luxembourg

Again the positions for the yellow jersey changed very little. Schleck is still 31 seconds ahead of Contador, despite the latter making several charges to get away. Andy Schleck was watching him like a hawk and every move Contador made was matched by Schleck. They finished in the same time group.

Stage 15 – Pamiers - Bagnères-de-Luchon 187.5 k Monday 19 July

It was the celebration of the 100th ride in the Pyrenees today, so it was  perhaps appropriate  that once again, we had a Frenchman winning the stage.
1. Thomas Voeckler (BTL) France
2. Alessandro Ballan (BMC) Italy
3. Aitor Perez Arrieta (FOT) Spain

Overall there was a major change today; sadly, Andy Schleck’s chain came off just before he reached the top of the  last climb, just 20 km from the finish. The delay to replace the chain  cost him a lot of time, so he lost his 31 second overall lead, and a bit more. He ended up in second place 8 seconds behind Alberto Contador, who now wears the yellow jersey. In third place is Samuel Sanchez, who is 2 minutes behind Contador.

Andy Schleck is still in the white jersey as the best young rider, but he will now need to do something special to beat Contador, who is expected to do better in the upcoming time trial stage at Bordeaux. The polka dot jersey (King of the Mountains) - the first three places are held by Frenchmen, but the jersey is being worn by leader Anthony Charteau. No changes in the green jersey competition, which is still led by Alessandro Petacchi.

Mystery Classic Car update and TDF - Blog 96

A month or so ago, we came across an unusual glassfibre bodied car at a small classic car display in Chasseneuil. See Here. We had no idea what it was, as it had no badges, but our good friend Sébastien from Paris was delighted to see this car on my blog and told us that his father Richard was the designer of this, and many other models made by Alpine, a small car designer and builder based in Dieppe and owned by Jean Rédélé. Having done some research, we have found more information on this interesting marque, which from the 50’s, 60’s and beyond proved itself to be an example of the best of French automotive engineering. The following is a heavily abbreviated account of the firm’s history and if you are interested, you can see more at the websites, to which I am indebted for the facts. Any errors in interpretation of these are mine!

Monsieur Rédélé had been involved in motor racing from 1952, when a modified Renault 4CV was entered at Le Mans. Over many years (Alpine was founded in 1955, launching a car at the Paris Salon in that year), he operated his business in co-operation with Renault, and in 1962 signed an agreement with them; Alpine-Renault was born and Richard Bouleau was the company’s chassis designer.

Richard Bouleau

In 1964, they were developing single seater Formula 2 racing cars; racing and rallying was continued by the firm for many years with varying success, but it did advertise the production cars!. The firm’s mainstays in the following years were the A108 and A110 series, fast but fragile rear-engine road-going coupes with Renault running gear and fibreglass bodies. But these were cramped little two-seaters more suited to racing or European rallying than normal road work.

A new model was long overdue by 1971, and Alpine-Renault surprised everyone that year with the new A310, a much larger, more spacious, well-appointed and altogether more practical machine. It became the company's main production car for the next 14 years.

Power came from a 127bhp four cylinder 1600 Renault engine mounted at the rear. In late 1976, the 1.6-litre engine was replaced by a 150bhp 'PRV' (Peugeot/Renault/Volvo) V6 of 2664cc and this boosted top speed to 137mph. Disc brakes were fitted at the rear and production was increased. I understand that the car I saw in Chasseneuil was one of these.

Exactly 2334 four-cylinder A310s had been built in the five years to 1976, but the new V-6 sold even better, helped by further improvements: 5-speed gearbox in 1979 and upgraded interior from 1982. Production continued at Dieppe until 1985, when the Alpine-Renault A310 gave way to the new GTA.

All pictures taken of the car are my own.
Information and R.Bouleau photo credits :-
http://www.veloce.co.uk/shop/graphics/pdf/V4177.pdfhttp://www.veloce.co.uk/shop/graphics/pdf/V4177.pdf
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=94495
http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/-1080608219/
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/alpine-renault-sports-cars1.htm
http://alpineventouxclub.free.fr/histoire.php

TDF update

16 July - Stage 12 - Bourg-de-Péage - Mende 210.5 km
 The stage results are as follows:-
1. Joaquin RODRIGUEZ OLIVER (KAT) Spanish
2. Alberto Contador (AST) Spanish
3. Alexandre Vinokourov (AST)

No major changes in the overall classification in the top 10; only the time gaps have changed and Contador is now 31 seconds behind Andy Schleck.

17 July - stage 13 - Rodez - Revel 196 km
Stage results –
1. A Vinokourov (AST)
2. Mark Cavendish (HTC)
3. A Petacchi (LAM)

On this flattish stage, the overall positions have changed very little, but tomorrow anything may happen. Not only do they have a very large mountain to climb, but they also have a mountain top finish, which will favour climbers over sprinters.

Garden update and TDF - Blog 95

As I have been without a camera for some time, I thought that it would be interesting to give an update on the vegetable garden and how it is doing.

Chilli peppers (Very hot!)

Round courgettes (squash)

Our first grapes.

Yummy, Pumpkin

The Swiss chard is looking particularly healthy

We should have some beans before Nigel's return to  the UK.

A different kind of pumpkin.

Green peppers.

Tour De France update

14th July - stage 10 - Chambéry - Gap 179 km.

It would have been good if the stage winner  had been French, the day being Bastille Day, but it was not to be. Two breakaway riders contested the result. Sergio Paulinho (POR) from Team Radio Shack took the stage honours, by only a ¼ of a wheel from Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Team GCE (Caisse d'Epargne).

There was little change in the overall positions, with Andy Schleck still wearing the yellow jersey, and Alberto Contador in second position.

15th July – Stage 11 - Sisteron -Bourg-lès-Valence 184.5 km

The stage win, after a sprint, went to Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man and team HTC Columbia. Second was Alessandro Petacchi from Italy, of the Lampre team and third place went to Tyler Farrar from the USA team Garmin.

The yellow jersey positions remains pretty much the same with no major changes. The yellow jersey is still with Andy Schleck. The green jersey is now being worn by Alessandro Petacchi(having today finshed ahead of holder Thor Hushovd) and the polka dot jersey, for king of the mountains, is still with Jérôme Pineau. 

Bastille Day Celebrations and TDF - Part 94

Nigel arrived safely yesterday on a very early flight. He had to get up at 02h30 to get to Bristol airport in time!! We have decided this very early flight for the future may not be such a good idea. On arrival back at the house, after a few special French pastries which I had bought earlier, he put his head down and slept for nearly 5 hours.

We had a light meal in the evening, sitting outside in the garden in warm late-day sunshine, and then made our way down to Chasseneuil just after 21h00. We were  among the first few people to arrive at the Place de l’Eglise (Church Square), but at 21h30 a Spanish Oompah type band arrived, Los Cassanoialos, and suddenly there were crowds of people everywhere. There was plenty of food and drink around, and by the time the crowd walked down to a local meadow to watch the firework display in the darkness at around 23h00, we estimated there were at least 2,000  people present.

On our return to Church Square after the fireworks, there was a band set up on a stage, Les Christalains, playing Breton and Irish type music, complete with flutes, bagpipes and violins. They were excellent. We decided by 01h00 that fatigue was getting the better of us both and we drove back home with the car registering a temperature of 23 degrees C. (73.4F) ... and the band played on.........!!

The arrival of the band Los Cassanoialos

and then the crowds started to arrive

while we sat with friends celebrating with a beer or a glass of wine

As darkness approached, it was then time to make our way down, along with the band, to the area where the fireworks were to be held

and the children carrying lanterns

and then the fireworks

We then returned to the Church Square where I am sure many people danced to the very early hours of the morning

watched over by the ancient church.

For further news on Bastille Day in Paris see Leesa’s blog HERE


Tour de France update
Sunday 11 July stage 8 - Station des Rousses - Morzine-Avoriaz 189 km

The big climbs in this stage certainly caused a few leadership changes; Cadel Evans (Aus) had a fall at the 6km mark, but after some medical treatment, he was soon back up with the peleton. Armstrong (USA) had a fall just before they got to the steepest part of the penultimate climb. He had four members of his team with him, but had to push quite hard to catch up. The mountain though took its toll, and Armstrong dropped back again and was a minute behind Contador (Esp), Schleck (Lux) and Evans at the top. With 18kms to go, can you believe it Armstrong was brought down yet again!!

The stage win was taken by Andy Schleck, this  also kept him in the white jersey. Second was Samuel Sanchez and third Robert Gesink.

Well done Australia; Cadel Evans, team BMC was at this stage in the yellow jersey. Andy Schleck, team Saxobank was second, and Contador, team Astana was in third. Lance Armstrong was now well and truly out of the reckoning as he had fallen to 39th place, but his ‘Radio Shack’ team mate, Levi Leipheimer (USA) had moved up to eighth position. The team will now do all they can to help him improve his position.

Monday 12 July was a rest Day, and I am sure that many of the riders appreciated the day to sort out the  medical and injury problems that they had acquired with the numerous falls that have occurred on the Tour this year.

Tuesday 13 July stage 9 - Morzine to Saint Jean de Maurienne. Well, the continuing mountain climbs really sorted the positions out again here. The stage winner was French rider Sandy Casar from team FDJ. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador rode like a pair of demons, especially on the scary long descent down  from Col de la Madeleine, with 32 kms to the finish. I had goose bumps just watching them.

The final stage result put Andy Schleck in both the yellow leader's jersey and the white young rider's jersey.(He only wears yellow - the white jersey gets passed down the young rider list). Contador was second in the overall standings 41 seconds behind. Cadel Evans dropped back to eighteenth position, while Radio Shack rider Levi Leipheimer had moved up to sixth position.

Bastille Day and TDF - Part 93

Tour de France.

09 July - stage 6 - Montargis - Gueugnon 227.5 km was much as expected and the overall standings did not change.

The stage win again went to Mark Cavendish, who, thanks in part to his team mate Renshaw who lead him up through the peloton to get to the front at the perfect point, 200 metres from the line; from there, Cavendish again out-sprinted the world's best. That ended the last opportunity for sprinters for a while; the next few days will comprise mountain stages with steep finishes suited to the "climbers".

10 July - stage 7 - Tournus - Station des Rousses 165.5 km.

This medium-altitude mountain terrain  of the Jura range near the French border was more difficult, because the climbs last for between 6 and 12 kilometres, starting after the 40 km mark. Thereafter, there was not even a single centimetre of flat road; it was up, down, up, down all the way to the finish - in very high temperatures.

The stage win and the yellow jersey is back with the Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, who rides for the Belgian Quickstep team. He completed the 165.5 kms at an average speed of 37.8 kms/hour!!!! I can only do that down hill!!!!!!! He has also put himself in second place after another French rider Jérôme Pineau for the polka dot jersey – (King of the Mountains) - the climbers jersey.

There have been a few changes in the overall standings today as expected. Of the top riders, Cadel Evans of Australia has moved from third to second and Andy Schleck of Luxembourg from sixth to fourth (Andy  is also now the leader of the white jersey competition, taking it from Geraint Thomas of the Sky team, who had worn it from the start). Alberto Contador of Astana moved from ninth to sixth and his old team-mate Lance Armstrong  who now rides in the Radio Shack team, moves from eighteenth to fourteenth. Fabien Cancellara has lost the yellow jersey now that the route is more hilly. Cancellara is a powerful sprinter and time trial specialist, so he will be spending  a lot of time at the back over the next days!!

My blogs will now be “off the air” until at least 14 July, but I will catch up then with the TDF positions. The race only finishes 25 July so plenty of time for many changes!

I also have some interesting news about the ‘unknown’ white car in Blog 69 – watch this space.

13 July - Nigel arrives on Tuesday morning  and we will be celebrating Bastille Day in the evening. There is a ball in Chasseneuil which we will not go to, but there is always celebrating and music in the streets. This is followed by a huge fireworks display. After the ‘feu d’artifice’ there will be much celebrating until the early hours of the morning. We will return home to catch up with some sleep; Nigel has a very early flight!!

I am sure most of you will know the story of Bastille Day, but if not keep reading:-

All of the planning had been done, all of the arrangements made, and all of the contingencies carefully thought out; everything was ready. As the morning of July 14th 1789 dawned, the mob gathered, heading for the thick, foreboding walls of the hated Bastille. Guarded by eighty-two aging veterans and reinforced by only thirty-two Swiss mercenaries, the besiegers, numbering near a thousand, felt that they could easily overwhelm the political prison. The defenders of the Bastille, not fearing the onslaught proposed by the attackers, spent the previous week repairing a long since damaged drawbridge, boarding windows, and reinforcing walls. They were not worried, expecting only a mob attack. However, three hundred French soldiers deserted their ranks to join in the attack. Had it not been for these soldiers, the Bastille would not have been taken. As it was, the besiegers quickly broke through the gates, and, despite the threat of 20,000 pounds of gunpower igniting, destroying everything in the violent explosion, won the fortified prison.

The storming, and subsequent take over of the Bastille, ushered in the beginning of the French Revolution. No longer were the angry peasants defying local lords, but they were now striking at the symbolic heart of the monarchy. The Bastille, a hated emblem of control and domination, became the war cry for hundreds of thousands of scorned and maltreated revolutionaries. However, the Bastille did not always ring with such discord as it did in the late seventeen hundreds.

Taken from the French word ‘bastide’, meaning fortress, the Bastille was constructed to defend the eastern wall of Paris from hostile forces in 1382. With walls over eighty feet high and a well stocked and supplied arsenal, the Bastille quickly gathered the reputation of one of France’s most secure military strongpoints. However, after being besieged seven times and surrendering on six of those times, the importance of the fortress diminished. By the early seventeen hundreds, it had become a prison.

Cardinal Richelieu, acting under the orders of King Louis XIII, imprisoned any displeasing character for any reason. Prisoners were arrested by a secret warrant issued by the King called a lettres-de-cachet. Not allowed a trial, told what their offense was, or even what their punishment was to be, these enemies of the King were quickly taken away and imprisoned in one of the many high towers of the Bastille. Famous prisoners include Voltaire, the famous political writer, and Marquis de Sade, a well-known French writer. The most famous and mysterious prisoner of the Bastille, is the legendary man in the iron mask. This character has had such a following that a book, written by Alexander Dumas, and a popular movie have been made depicting his life in the Bastille. However, neither one of these is an accurate retelling of the mysterious man’s life.

When prisoners were released from the walls of the Bastille, they were allowed to go only if they agreed never to tell what they had seen or what had happened inside the feared prison. This lack of knowledge about the Bastille helped to create a mystique of horror and terror that the King could use to coerce certain things out of people. However, the reality of the Bastille was much different from the mystique created by the King. All of the rooms, until the year 1701, were left unfurnished. Wealthy political prisoners were allowed to bring in their own furniture; many even brought their own servants with them. Meals were of generous proportions, and more luxurious meals could be bought, if the prisoner was wealthy enough. Most prisoners were docile. They were allowed to walk freely around the fortress, talk with officers and other prisoners and play games. Many had their own personal hobbies, and a few were even allowed to visit the city of Paris on parole. The Bastille was much more comfortable, even homelike, than the horrific rumors that circled around France proclaimed.

In 1789 when the angry mob broke through the walls and stormed the Bastille they found only seven prisoners inside: four forgers, two lunatics, and a young noble. However, it was not to free the prisoners inside that the battle was fought. Instead, it was to bring down the single most important symbol of the King’s power. The Governor of the Bastille, De Launay, had his head cut off and paraded around the streets of Paris on a pike. In the end eighty-three attackers were dead, and seventy-three injured. The guards only suffered one death and three wounded.

Since 1880, July 14th or Bastille Day, has been celebrated to commemorate the storming of the Bastille and the end of the French monarchy. As with the American Independence Day, the holiday is celebrated with firecrackers, parades, and festivals. In 1889, the Exposition, covering over 237 acres of land and consisted of over sixty thousand official exhibits, celebrated the official holiday. Featuring a reconstructed Bastille large enough for visitors to go inside for banquets and dramatic plays and a roller coaster, the festival was the largest of any in the world. Although Bastille Day is not celebrated to this extent anymore, it is still an important national holiday in France where the fallen are remembered, the courageous honored, and the heroic deified. 

History credit : http://www.essortment.com/all/historyofbas_rffz.htm

Photo credits
http://dancingwiththemonkey.blogspot.com/2008/07/happy-bastille-day.html 

http://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/bastille-stormed.jpg


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-15bastille-pictures,0,5860782.photogallery

Round and About and TDF - Part 92

I am still using pictures from my collection, but I hope this will be rectified when Nigel arrives on Tuesday with a camera for me to use.

Each summer in Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure, a team of wood carvers arrives from Canada for a week. It is amazing to watch these craftsmen and women at work, not only with hammer and chisel, but chain saws as well! I have put  some of the carvings in past posts; see my labels. It's amazing what one log of wood can be turned into.  At the end of the week of carving, the sculptures are then treated with preservative and positioned at different sites around the town for residents and visitors to enjoy.

This was a collection that had been finished the previous day. I did not have the camera with me while the carvers were at work.  (I did not have a blog then, and the camera did not travel everywhere with me!!)

TDF NEWS.

TDF - Thursday 8 July 2010 - Stage 5 - Épernay to Montargis 187.5 km The stage featured two category four (fairly minor) climbs in the first 36.5km and three intermediate sprints (at 27.5km, 126.5km and 169.5km). It was an extremely hot day with temperatures well over 30°C. (88°F). The temperature was 35/36°C in the Seine-et-Marne department where the stage ran - hot and  windless!

While I have been mentioning riders wearing the yellow jersey, there are also 3 other jersey colours of importance; the following will give those not familiar with the race a little more information:-

The yellow jersey represents the race leader.

The green jersey represents the leader of the points competition - points are won at intermediate sprints and for stage wins; these are often won by sprinters when the finish area is flat.

The polka dot jersey designates the race's finest climber. (King of the Mountains) - judged from points won by reaching the top of each climb first second or third.

The white jersey designates the highest-ranked rider in the overall competition, age 25 years or younger on the first of January of the year of the race.

The stage win went to Mark Cavendish (British, but in fact a Manxman- from the Isle of Man), I nearly shouted myself hoarse in the final seconds, once I knew Robbie Hunter of South Africa was not going to take it!

1. CAVENDISH Mark (Eng)

2. CIOLEK Gerald (Ger)

3. HAGEN Edvald Boasson (Nor)

Fabian Cancellara still holds the yellow jersey and no other positions have changed. For those of you who are not keen cyclists, you may be surprised that these positions have not changed. The reason; it is impossible for 190 riders to all cross the line simultaneously, so the Tour operates a rule that all the riders in the race's main peloton are given the same finish time as the first rider. But if a split forms and the gap is larger than one second, the next group gets the time of the first rider of that group. Overall, it saves a mad rush for the line and in most cases it's too difficult to allocate separate times. Once the tour gets into the mountains we should then see a number of changes in the main positions.

09 July - stage 6 - Montargis - Gueugnon 227.5 km- this is the longest stage of the tour. It is relatively flat, so I would expect  overall positions to stay much the same.