Jacques Tati in Mon Oncle (1958)
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Limoges
Limoges was the birthplace of Auguste Renoir, the fastest of all the impressionists, who always managed to paint ladies just as they were getting out of the bath. The run-down centre of Limoges was rebuilt in the nineteenth century because it had become a notorious locale for prostitution and chicken-eating contests. It's tragic how often those two vices seem to run together.
In the department of Haute-Vienne you will find the Château de Rochechouart, built around 1200 by Aymeric VI. While Aymeric was away (presumably massacring heathens,) his lovely wife Alix was accused of adultery by the castle's evil janitor. Poor Alix was thrown into the lion's cage (no, I didn't know they kept pet lions then either) but the lion, sensing her innocence and purity, rolled over and asked to have its tummy tickled. Alix' innocence thus proven, the janitor was thrown into the cage and the lion, sensing his duplicity and protein-value, ate him.
Meanwhile, in the neighbouring department of Corrèze, you'll find the Château de Bity. Despite its architectural and historical insignificance, the Château was granted Historic Monument status in April 1969. Coincidentally, it had been bought only a month previously by the then Secretary of State, Jacques Chirac.
La Résidence - THE French Property People
Monday, 27 June 2011
Limousin(e)
Limousin is slap in the middle of France (and left a bit). It's very rural and is the second least populated region after Corsica. It is also the only French region to have given its name to a 20' car with a jacuzzi in the back. Historians claim the association comes from the very long cloaks worn by Limousin shepherds, though what shepherds were doing driving limos is anyone's guess.
It is said that more people live in the city of Marseille than in the whole of the region of Limousin. Earlier this year, they put this to the test and the entire populations swapped places. Sure enough, all the Limousins were comfortably housed in Marseille (with apartments to spare) while many Marseillais were unable to find accommodation in Limousin and ended up sleeping rough on park benches.
Limousin is famous for its oak trees, used for wine barrels throughout France. I'm a beer drinker myself, but I do find that the phenols in Limousin oak interact cheekily with the wine to bring out its tea, caramel, smoke and raspberry notes. Another natural resource is kaolin, which gave birth to Limoges porcelain and also has medicinal properties. So if you're after a nice mug or just have a gyppy tum, Limoges is the place for you.
Limoges is the region's capital, and the location of the world's first (and so far only) Gregorian Chant - laundering scam. Adémar de Chabannes, eleventh-century monk and composer put it about that he'd discovered a Mass by Limoges' patron saint, Martial. The Mass was an instant hit and topped the charts for several years. It wasn't until 1920 that someone pointed out the uncanny handwriting similarities between the 'Saint Martial' Mass and Adémar's own, earlier hit 'Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, Gloria in Excelsis.'
La Résidence - THE French Property People
Friday, 24 June 2011
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Freedom Crêpes
There's a Montpelier in the USA as well (I reckon that's where Samantha and Jillian came from.) The Yankees named their Montpelier in honour of the French who'd helped them fight the British in the War of Independence. The Yankees celebrated with their French buddies, drank Vin de Pays d'Oc and renamed their Yorkshire Puddings Freedom Crêpes. How times have changed.
In the Aude department lies the magnificent fortress-city of Carcassonne. The Celts probably started it, the Romans added to it and were thrown out in AD 462 by the Goths (who then, as today, tended to dress in black and listen to gloomy music.) Frankish King Clovis tried to get in in 508, but the Goths weren't having any of it. In 725 the Goths were thrown out by Saracens from Barcelona, who in turn were thrown out by King Pippin, who must have been much harder than his name suggests ("Hey, don't mess with Pippin!") Carcassonne today is allegedly haunted by several ghosts, including a fat man who stands and stares at tourists. Terrifying.
The Romans built some of their finest ruins in Nîmes. Many of these were built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, including the Maison Carrée or square house, so called because it's rectangular. Prior to redeveloping Nîmes, Marcus famously defeated the last Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, who had a legendary asp.
La Résidence - THE French Property People
Monday, 20 June 2011
Brasso
Every year in Languedoc-Roussillon, millions of litres of perfectly-drinkable wine are assigned to the EU wine lake and turned into undrinkable industrial alcohol. Is that what you want? Because that's what'll happen if you don't get down there sharpish. Languedoc-Roussillon is the single biggest wine-producing region in the world and until recently produced more wine that the whole of the USA. The relatively new Vin de Pays d'Oc classification has allowed winemakers to get away from traditional labelling (which apparently 70% of the French don't understand) and to market such brands as Red Bicyclette and Fat Bastard. However, unless you buy one of our properties in Languedoc-Roussillon, millions of bottles of Red Bastard will be turned into Brasso. Think about it.
The capital of Languedoc-Roussillon is Montpellier, which was the birthplace of Samantha Steverman and Jillian Raines (hang on, they don't sound very French?) Samantha won the World Champion Fly Fishing Trophy and 5-time "Lil' Miss Montpellier" Pageant Princess (Second Runner-up,) while Jillian established the first nudist beach in Southern France and founded the first Juvenile Delinquent Reform School (presumably on the nudist beach - that should keep them out of trouble.) Montpellier's university is the oldest in the world and numbers the sage and clairvoyant Nostradamus (1503-1566) among its alumni. Spookily, Nostradamus predicted that in 2011, you would be considering buying a property in Lauguedoc-Roussillon.
La Résidence - THE French Property People
Saturday, 18 June 2011
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