Celia Walks

 I had a lovely day in Lille. In fact, all my days on this trip have been lovely! In the morning I went to the very large Palais des Beaux-Arts.  This museum holds the largest collection of works of art of any French institution outside Paris. The collection started at the time of the French Revolution as the works of art of the nobility and of the church were confiscated, and continued on apace due to various enthusiastic municipal governments. By 1892 the collection was so large and important that the Palais, its current house, was constructed in the centre of town. The first fun aspect was the recent work of the Swiss artist Felice Varini who used the museum’s interior as his canvas. The oldest works of art are in the ‘basement’, beautifully displayed. Look at the marvellous three dimensionality of this (flat) marble plaque sculpted by Donatello (c 1435) showing Salomé dancing for the head of John the Baptist. And modern technology brings statues alive by giving them back t...

On my way to the train station in Lens I chanced on a very large march led by trade unions. Across France there are on-going protests against government restraint policies.  It felt very good to see all sorts of groups marching together - ecologists, clearly identified socialists, the big unions.  The “Internationale” was blaring out (what a great song that is - full of pride and hope).   People of all ages, lots of flags, and lots of support from townspeople who weren’t marching. A 40 minute local train ride got me to Lille. I have no particular desire to see Lille, but I can get the Eurostar train here back to London.  A photo near the two train stations (local and international) in Lille. I haven’t talked much about reading lately. It is interesting what happens when one just picks up books a bit haphazardly as one passes through places.  The “Epic of Gilgamesh” (Mesopotamia c. 2000 BC) reminded me strongly of how stories all throughout the world echo each ot...

 Medieval Lens was a small but prosperous walled city dependent on agriculture and trade links. In 1849 coal was discovered, and life changed drastically.  The Lens mining Company was formed and soon became very profitable. The Company built housing for miners, provided company-owned stores and bars, company-run schools and medical services (but also, poor pay for an inherently dangerous and unhealthy job). Before WWI,  1,000 miners and their families lived in Lens, and similar communities and mines sprang up all over the area, fairly close together. During the Great War, Lens was completely destroyed. The town was rebuilt by the private mining companies in the 1920s, and was partially destroyed again in WWII.  In 1946 the mining operations were nationalised and continued until the 1980s. With the end of mining, unemployment became a serious problem. Some authorities wanted to get rid of all traces of coal mining - others said it was an important heritage. Eventually...

 A lovely day for walking. I followed the Via Francigena to the National Cemetery of Notre-Dame-de-la-Lorette, where 40,000 French WWI soldiers who died in north-eastern France are buried. The mothers and wives of these soldiers had a basilica built in the cemetery. Veterans are always present here to accompany visitors. Particularly touching is the “Anneau de la mémoire”. Inside this ring are tablets inscribed with the names of all 580,000 soldiers of all nationalities and both sides of the war who died in this “Nord Pas-de-Calais” region in WW1. Then, following Google Maps (again, totally impressive - sent me by bicycle paths and country lanes) walked to Vimy. This land was given to Canada for graves and commemoration.  When four Canadian Divisions, fighting together for the first time, took the hill in 1917, it represented a turning point for our confidence and national pride.  On this striking memorial monument are inscribed the names of the 11,285 Canadian soldiers w...

 Lots of cows outside here, and several different kinds. Apparently over 50 different breeds of cows are found in France. The inside cows were noisily waiting for their supper (probably more accurately, their dessert as they had been outside all day) at the farm where I stayed, and the white cows so far have been the most common. Here is a lovely little castle 13th to 15th century, at Olhain.  Seen through a fence. The only other eventful happening today was getting lost in a forest holiday camping and sports centre - no signage at all for the Via Francigena, and the centre was enormous.   No photos because I was too distracted trying to find my way out! Fall colours are starting to appear. Very muted compared to what we have at home. One last photo from yesterday. This is the house where Saint Benoît-Joseph Labré (1748- 1783), patron saint of pilgrims and of the homeless, grew up. (Saint Roch is the Italian patron saint of pilgrims). The eldest of 15 children, at 21 he l...

 I’m now in a landscape of bricks. Here is the farmyard of the house I stayed in last night - the milk truck had to take two runs to back in to the yard. Fancy brickwork quite typical of houses in this region. The Via Francigena today ran through a wood, which would have been pleasant except there were hunters in a nearby field, a sign which said there were ‘pièges’ (traps) around, and the following sign at the entrance to the woods. When the path split up without any signage in the woods, I braved the brambles and made an undignified exit onto a road. Then Google Maps surpassed itself, as I followed it for half a day, routing me on quiet roads and pedestrian paths to my destination. A rich vein of coal ran through this area, and coal mining went on for three centuries; the last load of coal was hauled up in 1990.  Mining left conical waste piles called “terrils”, and information signs wax quite lyrical over their benefits: plants can grow free of agricultural chemicals on the...