Donkey above Gorbio

THE DONKEY by G.K.Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil's walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

You've Got Mail

When houses are remote (see yesterday's post) - then mail gets delivered to a central grouping of mail boxes.

The wooden signs are for walkers - Gorbio is great walking territory. The red sign on the right says the road is a dead end and is only open to locals whose houses are reached via this road.

Cloud over Gorbio

We've had rain for days - and it's forecast for several more. However, this morning, suddenly the sun appeared so my dog, Beau, took me for a walk above the village of Gorbio. The village is roughly 370 metres above sea level and is 7 .5 kilometres from Menton. It's easy to think of the French Riviera as being beach, sea and a hedonistic lifestyle, but drive 10 minutes into the hinterland and this is what you find.

Here you see one or two houses built into the hills - they overlook the perched village. Clouds hang low over the hills - it was these clouds that made me want to take the photograph.

Love in the Piazza

No, it's not Menton - it's Turin - (just for one day) - but as it's Spring and love is everywhere, it could be Menton! Not sure what it is about those Italians tho - you can hardly turn a corner in Turin without young love manifesting itself.

This photo is for Fabrizio. He has been showing several 'love in the Spring' photos recently and I couldn't resist this one. It was taken in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the largest piazza in Europe. If you click on the link you can see the whole square on Torino Daily Photo.

I spent four wonderful days in the beautiful city of Turin and on one evening Fabrizio was my guide - and what a guide! He so adores his city, his enthusiasm is infectious, his knowledge is phenomenal. A fabulous evening - thank you so much, dear Fabrizio.

Cave a Vin

Rue des Marins

Pale shutters, a niche, a sign - just around the corner from Place aux Herbes.

Brocante - Le Renard

.Watch out, Monsieur! There's a fox behind you...

Brocante - The Scrapbook

How many of these film stars do you know?

(Thankyou so much for everyone who has visited. Apologies for not commenting over the last few days. I'm in Turin - which is fabulous! - home by the weekend)

Brocante - The Stolen Lick

If you want to know why the boy on the right is looking fed up - look at the photo below which was taken one lick before...

Brocante - Slot machine

Roll up, roll up - put your 1 franc piece in the slot - except there are no 1 franc pieces any more!

Brocante - The Thankyou

Jetée Impératrice Eugénie

The Brocante took place on the 1st May, the day Lily of the Valley is given for good luck. Read more HERE. This young man is receiving a kiss of thanks for the flower he's just given the girl.

You can see another photo of this lovely and rather wet Bearded Collie, Bianca on Riviera Dogs.

Brocante - The WC

So far as I know, Menton doesn't have any public conveniences, as such - no purpose-built toilets. You find individual cabins here and there for which you put 30 centimes in a slot, or you go into a bar and buy a coffee and then use their loo. Or find one in a public building such as the Palais de l'Europe.

If you use one of the private beaches, of course, you can use their facilities but on public beaches, like the Sablettes Beach, you'll find what you see in this photograph. You can shower here too. The friendly lady who runs the place, makes it very personal, with flowers and the birdcage outside. You'll find her two chihuahuas, one very old who sleeps under her table and this younger one. There are two very comfortable dog beds under her table. You can see both dogs, America and Banjo, on Riviera Dogs today.

Brocante - Tools

This stallholder is selling wooden tools, electric plugs, bit of this and that. He's got an interesting face, hasn't he? Wonder what work he does? Presumably because of his interest in tools, he works with his hands. Maybe he works on boats?

Aren't people endlessly fascinating...

Brocante - The War Magazine

'Lilli Marlene'

Underneath the lantern by the barrack gate,
Darling I remember the way you used to wait;
'Twas there that you whispered tenderly,
That you lov'd me, you'd always be,
My Lilli of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Time would come for roll call time for us to part
Darling I'd carress you and press you to my heart.
And there 'neath that far off lantern light
I'd hold you tight we'd kiss goodnight,
My Lillie of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Orders came for sailing somewhere over there,
All confined to barracks was more than I could bear;
I knew you were waiting in the street,
I heard your feet, but could not meet,
My Lillie of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Resting in a billet just behind the line
Even tho' we're parted your lips are close to mine,
You wait where that lantern softly gleams
Your sweet face seems to haunt my dreams,
My Lillie of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Hans Leip and Norbert Shultz and Tommie Connor

To hear Marlene Dietrich singing Lilli Marlene please click on the link. And if you love Lilli Marlene you'll not want to miss Chuckeroon's beautiful photo and hommage on Richmond Daily Photo last February.

Brocante - Hooked

A homemade set of hooks, mounted on a frame, plus mirror = 20 euros. Expensive, I'd have thought.

But what price the view?

Brocante - The Stallholder's Dog

So many of the stallholders have dogs. When I asked this lady if I could take a photograph she was delighted, but as you see, she looked down, eyes almost closed: if she couldn't see me, I couldn't see her. She wanted the concentration to be on her adored dog. The dog is old - notice the growth on his head - the lady assured me it's just a 'fatty lump' not serious. He's a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and something else - she didn't know what. Certainly he's bigger than a Cavalier. You can see another photograph of this lovely dog on Riviera Dogs.

Brocante - The Photograph

She walks in beauty like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies.
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to the tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

- Lord Bryon

Brocante - Sanglier!

A wild boar's head for sale. Look at the teeth in the smaller photo (click to enlarge)

Wild boar are everywhere around here. When I arrive home late at night, I always cast a wary eye before I get out of the car! They are often below the house where they find water in the creek - and of course the dogs think it's great fun to rush out and chase them away. Note: there is strong fencing between the two!

I've been told, because there is a market for wild boar meat, that they were bred with pigs and some escaped - so now instead of having just a couple of babies, they produce many. No idea if this is true or not. Menton organises wild boar hunts in the season - to keep the numbers down, of course, and I suppose for the hunters to ask their wives to make sanglier stew.

Stew is fine - long slow cooking - but one year several people ended up very seriously ill in hospital as they'd eaten sanglier steaks - cooked rare - and ingested some horrible parasites.

Brocante

In Menton, May 1st doesn't only mean the day we give Lily of the Valley for luck (see yesterday's post) - it's also the day of the big Brocante organised by the Lions Club of Menton. Each year it gets bigger and bigger with more and more stalls, not just here - by the Bastion - but throughout the town. By the port, in the side streets, outside the market - hundreds of stalls and thousands of visitors.

Come and spend a few days with me as we explore the wonders to be found as we search the stalls and meet some of the characters. Don't you just love flea markets?

Le Muguet

May 1st means le muguet (Lily of the Valley) in France. It's given to apporte bonheur - bring good luck - and on the 1st May each year, not only do the normal florists sell it but everyone gets in on the act. Kids put up stalls selling it, pretty girls gather in groups around a table with a bucket of sprigs for sale - although really they are there to chat to the local boys.

When I lived near to Perpignan, the bus drivers used to give a spray to every female who got on the bus. Yesterday, in Menton market the butcher gave a sprig to each customer. Such a lovely tradition.

Just as I was walking back to my car yesterday, this lady was trudging across the sand holding a pot of Lily of the Valley. She'd been given it by her grandson. I asked if she'd pose for me and she did - and then she thanked me! Of course I thanked her. Look at those beautiful eyes that look at us so directly.

To see beautiful bunches of Lily of the Valley, do click on Paris Daily Photo.

Theme Day - Numbers

Theme Day for the City Daily Photo family and today's theme is numbers. I wonder if the number 26 shown on these boys' T-shirts represents a famous French footballer? This Menton beach photo was taken at the end of March.

Today, being the first of the month, it's City Daily Photo Theme Day with 181 different cities throughout the world taking part. Please click here to view thumbnails for all participants where you'll find originality and beautiful photographs waiting for your viewing pleasure.

The Butcher's Dog

This dog is always in exactly the same place outside the butcher's shop. Really strange that he never moves and amazingly he kept really still for my photograph. Good dog! The shop is in a small side street in Carnoles, part of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

You can enlarge the smaller photographer to see what a friendly chap the butcher is - not sure his clothes would meet hygiene requirements in some countries tho.

Morning Light

The morning sun - hundreds of dots of light dancing on the sea is something I just love. Here, I've photographed somewhat against the sun - doubtless breaking rules - but I don't mind the steeples in shade. Do you?

This was taken just below the cemetery and looking over the Old Town and port.

Quatre Saisons

Menton is not known as the City of Lemons for nothing. Citrus - oranges and lemons - are everywhere. Here you see one of the most common varieties of lemon: the Four Seasons, named for good reason as you get blossom and fruit all year round. You can see this even more clearly in the smaller photo - click to enlarge.

These shots were taken outside a small house way up in the Old Town - and just below the cemetery.

An Iris for Isabella

A Gorbio garden

Today is Isabella's 400th post and for the moment, her last. Isabella's Naples Daily Photo was one of the first CDP blogs that caught my eye, and since then, I've never missed one of her posts. How I'll miss those beaches, the wonderful birds and of course, Big Al, the aligator. But most of all, I'll miss Isabella's wit, generosity of spirit and sense of fun.

Isabella quoted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in yesterday's post and so for you, Isabella, here is Longfellow's favourite flower - the iris.

Still - in a way - nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small - we haven't the time -
and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. - Georgia O'Keeffe.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...and come back someday, Isabella.

A Grave Birth

You never know what you'll find wandering around the beautiful cemetery above the Old Town.

I wonder how the inhabitants of this grave would feel if they knew a seagull had taken up residence to sit on her eggs?

She kept a very beady eye on me so I didn't stay long.

Les Anciennes Fleuries - Last Day

The truth is I feel a bit like the dog you see in this collage who seems to be saying 'get me outta here!' I'm getting bored with cars and we can't have the photographer bored... so, tomorrow, time to move on to other joys of Menton.

Here are a few cars you've not yet seen. The lady in the top middle photo, by the way, is one of the judges. There's a Merc. 190 SL - there was a 230 too but not in this collage.

Thanks so much to everyone who has followed this series and for your very welcome comments.

Tomorrow - on to pastures new...

Les Anciennes Fleuries - NOT a Topolino!

After the event, this car was featured in Nice-Matin and referred to as a Topolino. After much Googling, the Topolinos I found didn't look like this car. Indeed, Richard from Zurich Daily Photo had featured a Topolino - very different as you see.

Richard suggested I write to Fabrizio from Torino Daily Photo who knows all things to do with cars and Fabrizio assures me that this car is definitely not a Topolino and Nice-Matin had got it wrong! Well, we all know that you can't believe all you read in newspapers.

The Topolinos (Micky Mouse - or more correctly Little Mouse) refer to the

- Fiat 500 A produced from 1936 to 1948.
- Fiat 500 B produced from 1948 to 1949. Type A and B
- Fiat 500 C produced from 1049 to 1955 (Fabrizio's father had a blue one). Type C.

The car you see in this photograph is simply a Fiat 500, a special series model that was first made on the 4th July 1957. In fact, the very newest Fiat 500 was introduced last year on the 4th July.

Thanks very much, Fabrizio for all this information. Big kiss to you!

Les Anciennes Fleuries - Célia et Sébastien

Remember Célia, the beautiful young girl doing her make-up in the motorbike mirror? And featured a day later in the 1925 Renault Torpedo?

In the small photo, left, you see a sweet young girl but in the main photo we see a sensuality that reminded me of Jeanne Moreau - somehow it demands to be seen in black and white. Amazing to me how photography can change the way we see. And what we see changes a photograph!

Les Anciennes Fleuries - Simca Six

There's always great interest at the concours. Little boys, big boys, mothers - everyone wants to look inside and admire.

Another tiny car - this is a 1949 Simca Six Decouvrable.

Simca was founded in France in 1934. Originally associated with Fiat but later independent. In 1970 it became defunct and was taken over by the Chrysler group.

The Spanish parody group, Los Inhumanos, had a popular song called Qué dificil es hacer el amor en Simca 1000! (How difficult it is to make love in a Simca 1000!) One presumes it would be even more difficult in a Simca Six!

Les Anciennes Fleuries - MG + 3

Everyone proudly poses in front of their cars. Here you see grandfather, daughter and grandchild in front of their MG - obviously a newer model than the one we saw the other day, but still a minimum of 25 years old - as are all the cars are at this concours.

Les Anciennes Fleuries - Fiat 600 Jolly Ghia

"In 1958, Fiat shipped a number of Fiat 600s to the Italian design house, Ghia, for conversion into the Jolly. Featuring wicker seats and the option of a fringed top to shield its occupants from the Mediterranean sun, these cars were originally made for use on large yachts of the wealthy. Arisototle Onassis owned one.

With a cost of nearly double that of a standard '600' they were made in a very limited production. It's believed that fewer than 100 exist today, each one being unique. 32 Jolly cars were used as taxis on the island of Catalina off the coast of Los Angeles in the years 1958-1962." - Wikipedia

Les Anciennes Fleuries - Belle

This lady was taking a rest on the wall by the fountain, watching the crowds milling about the cars and waiting for the time when her car would be judged. I never did see her in the car, but I'm pretty sure it was one of the beautiful Hotchkiss.

She was happy to be photographed - she wore a long flowing outfit perfect for the occasion and the car - and when finished I told her, 'Vous êtes belle, Madame.' And indeed she is.

Les Anciennes Fleuries - MG

Not only a British car but a car with British number plates. An MG. I don't know the year but I'm sure someone will tell me.

My first car was an MG. A TA, I think, it was. Anyway it was registered in 1939 - cost me £80. I drove it around Chelsea with bare feet, a mess of hair on my head. We were called hippies in those days! I drove the car till it would go no further and couldn't afford to get it fixed. Should have kept it - be worth a fortune now.

Les Anciennes Fleuries - Fiat 500

Pretty sure this is a Fiat 500. So tiny, isn't it? They were made between 1957 and 1975. Their predecessor was the Fiat Topolino and you'll be seeing one of those too, decorated with palm trees!

I have a friend in Monaco, well over six feet tall and he used to drive around in a purple version of this car - a tight squeeze you might say and you'd be right. One day it died in a fire. He loved and mourned that car.