Azannes-et-Soumazzanes

On Friday, 18th July, it was very hot indoors and very hot outdoors, but, not having a garden, we needed to be out somewhere in the shade of trees. The car was like a sauna and the air-conditioning didn’t do a lot to ease it.  So a journey not too far from home was needed. We decided on a village with a pretty pond and surrounding green. It is set along a road but usually quiet. 

Memo to selves for future reference - not so on summer Friday afternoons!  Of course as well as more general traffic, the farmers were busy with harvesting and their lorries, tractors and trailers piled high with hay bales added to the buzz.  But there were gaps and so we enjoyed the peaceful intervals.

Fishing is prohibited!  There are fish in the pond, but small, dark ones with a school of even-smaller ones - all difficult to catch on camera in such bright sunshine which reflected the surrounding trees.  But you may just be able to see a couple in the top right-hand corner of the following photo.

Time for tea - we left them to it.

Henry's Hill

A July afternoon.  Very warm, sunny with occasional cloud cover for relief.  We decide to visit Cote de Chaumont or, as we call it, Henry’s Hill.  At the top there is a private memorial to Henry Gunther - the last American killed in World War One.

He and fellow soldiers came across a German gun placement at the top of the hill just before the Armistice came into effect at 11.00. a.m. on November 11th 1918.  His fellow American soldiers and also the German soldiers urged him to stop, but he would not listen and advanced. When the Germans came under fire from him, they had to retaliate.  He was shot and died at 10.59. a.m.

Nobody will ever know what was going through his mind at that moment but he now has a memorial to mark the place where he fell and will not be forgotten.

 The views from the hill are magnificent, stretching to the north and south of the Woevre Plain, edged by the Hautes des Meuse; towards Belgium and Luxembourg. 

While we were there, and just across the track from where we sat on a bench, the farmer decided to send in the John Deere harvester to cut the dried rapeseed and machines on distant hills were doing the same, each echoing the rising clouds of dust.  Luckily the wind was not blowing in our direction, although our car came away somewhat dustier than we started.

 
At least with the cut we had better nearer views and zoomed in on a little chateau and the fields beyond the one with the rapeseed.

It’s a lovely spot, about 4 miles from our town, and a favourite place which is not usually as busy! 

Birthdays

Ah well, another birthday has come and gone…how quickly the years seem to rack up!

The morning didn’t go quite as planned and we were unable to see the Tour de France which was passing through near to where we live.  We consoled ourselves that we could watch it on TV but the live transmission didn’t start until the afternoon, by which time the whole entourage was out of our area, having gone through around lunchtime. C’est la vie and all that.

From then on things looked up.  Our daughter and son-in-law had given me a bottle of pink Champagne, my husband bought a large mille feuille so we all shared both in the afternoon.

My husband gave me a Canon digital camera which I am enjoying using although the above photo was taken on it by our son-in-law.

In the evening we attended the local Fete Nationale celebrations with some friends. The local council do the residents proud with a meal, supply a bar and live music; there is dancing and at midnight a grand fireworks display…all for 6 euros a head or 10 if you do not live locally.

Word had got to the new Mayor’s wife, who is a friend, and she lead the singing to wish me “Happy Birthday to You” and, towards the end of the evening, she and her husband brought a bottle of white Champagne to us to share with them to end the celebrations.

At the end, a conga but we were too busy enjoying the company and the bubbly to join the few brave souls still there!

I had a lot of birthday cards and, on Facebook, very many greetings and messages.

I feel blessed and very lucky to have so much warmth of love and friendship.

Birthdays aren’t so bad after all - especially when they are as nice as this one!