... reluctant to leave. Our crêpes finished, the wine drunk, the bill paid, the soft, gold lighting casting shadows on the old brick and stone walls, up to the gloom of the ancient beams high above us, we and our friends from Australia stayed to listen.
Giselle spoke of the time when Clairac was "the centre of the world"; when every nationality crossed her threshold, the family from Tasmania, the forty Australians who disembarked from their boats down at the quay and walked up the narrow cobbled street to dine at her crêperie.
At the table next to us the four English boat people spoke with sadness and hope.
Sad that the beautiful Lot is now so little used. Channels allowed to silt up, pollution contaminating old mill ponds preventing dredging, the Garonne crossing that enabled boats and barges to move from Europe's great network of canals onto this waterway now closed.
Hopeful that, finally, France is beginning to recognise what this beautiful river has to offer. Not next year, but maybe the year after, the crossing may re-open and, who knows, one day money may be found to reverse the on-going decay and neglect.
Giselle closes her crepêrie at the end of September and this would be our last visit 'til the first of April next year. There was an extra tinge of nostalgia in our farewells. She tells us next season will be her last. Where then will we go to find such evenings of magic?
So sad that the old water arteries of trade are allowed to fall into decay. We lived south of the Loire and it was amazing to learn just how many communities lived from the goods transported on it and its tributaries.
ReplyDeleteAnd sad to think of losing a reliable watering hole too....we had one we loved and somehow did not have the will to find another when the owner retired.
Hello Fly, thank you for dropping by. We were surprised to learn from Giselle that she can remember back to a time when Clairac thrived on its river trade - admittedly largely tourists - now the Lot is deserted. Beautiful for the few who use it, but a shame nevertheless. And yes, her creperie will be sorely missed.
DeleteHello, the tone of your posting--the nostalgia and the tenderness for what had been and hopefully may be again and the acceptance of the vicissitudes of change--all touched my spirit so that I thought of what is changing here in my surroundings and in my life. thank you. Peace.
ReplyDeleteHello Dee, thank you for your words and telling me how they touched you. Our awareness of change I believe is that bit sharper, living here in France. Or maybe it's just the passing years.
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