Museum collection on a kitchen chair

The museum is open between April and Oktober, Saturdays and Sundays from 15h00 till 18h00, and is free as well.

The museum

The collection of this tiny museum consists of amongst others a Merovingian sarcophagus from Curtil-sous-Burnand, a number of small and larger pieces of flint stone and some old coins, whilst the first floor is dedicated to Romanesque architecture.
The first time we visited this museum was with a big group of people of the Tourist Office in Saint-Gengoux.

Open!

During this first, very brief visit we thought that the first floor had not much more but a collection of scale models, drawings and photographs of the churches of Mont-Saint-Vincent and Gourdon. Still, the maker of Bourgogne Romane thought that there might be more Romanesque stuff in this museum.

Ground floor

From an earlier blog it may be clear that we already had undertaken another attempt to pay a second visit to this museum.

First floor

Finally we decided to try out luck once more, this time on our way back from a visit to a former brick factory in Ciry-le-Noble. This time we hit the jackpot. The museum was open, and the ground floor certainly had no Romanesque items, hence we decided to look upstairs. At the bottom of the stairs there were two light switches, taped off with cello tape and a notice saying "Do not touch!".

The chair

It looked as if switching on the lights might cause a short circuit somewhere. Hence we had to investigate the top floor with the light shining through the windows. The scale models, drawings and pictures were still there, but in a dark corner we found a kitchen chair with three pieces of stone and a sign telling us that these were "Rare remains of the priory". Next to it, on a wooden pedestal, there was a modillon with an Atlante.

75 % of the collection

According to Wikipedia: In classical European architecture, an atlas (also known as an atlant, or atlante or atlantid; plural atlantes) is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster. The term atlantes is the Greek plural of the name Atlas – the Titan who was forced to hold the sky on his shoulders for eternity.
So this appeared to be the whole Romanesque collection of the museum. However, one has to admit that a museum where the Romanesque remains easily fit on a kitchen chair is certainly something special!

The remaining 25%

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Guitares en Cormatinois 2015

The festival is over; the preparations for the next one (2016) will no doubt commence very soon.
Below an overview of this year's concerts. Only the concerts which were distinctly different or much better than the other ones will get a few more lines than the (also good) remaining concerts.

Philippe Mouratoglou & Ariane Wohlhuter

Philippe Mouratoglou – guitar & Ariane Wohlhuter – soprano
A thorough program with music of Purcell, Dowland, Britten and amongst others Sor, Rodrigo, de Falla.

Franceries Sound Connection

Franceries Sound Connection – guitar, flute, percussion
An interesting program with what I for convenience's sake call World Music. A random selection: Roumanion music (such as the Hora Staccato), Brasilian music, an occasional tango, Zawinul's Mercy, mercy, mercy, etc.

Jérémy Jouve

Jérémy Jouve – gitaar
A sparkling program with works of (amongst others) Mompou, Rodrigo, de Falla and the contemporary composer Duplessy. Jouve stood in last year for a colleague who fell ill, and turned out to be by far the best guitar player of the festival. This year, 2015, he lived up to that reputation as well.

Eric Sobczyk & Agnès Abiton

Eric Sobczyk – guitar & Agnès Abiton – guitar
A guitar recital played on romantic guitars, with works of Carulli, Sor and Coste.

Irish Kind Of

Irish Kind Of – guitar, violin, flute, vocals
As the name of the band suggests this was a concert with mainly Irish reels and jigs. That Irish music is quite popular in France might be deduced from the band's origins (Grenoble) and from the fact that the concert was more than sold out. A number of people had to be send away, and the team of volunteers had to stay outside and listened in through the church doors that were kept ajar….

The team of volunteers outside the church

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Belgian jokes

How many Belgians does it take to change a light bulb?

Mont-Saint-Vincent

Five; one on the ladder to hold the bulb, and four to turn the ladder around. This sort of joke, very popular in the Netherlands at some stage, came to mind when we wanted to visit the museum in Mont Saint-Vincent, and we saw the museums employees busy trying to open the door with chisels, hammers and screw drivers. How many employees do you need to open a closed museum? Five; one to hold on to the door and four to demolish the walls around it.

Musée Jean Régnier

This museum is supposed to be open between April and October on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays from 15h00-18h00. On a beautiful sunny day in June we decided to visit the museum, and found two attendants waiting at the door, at 15h15. They were supposed to man the museum, but the man with the key was delayed. Never mind, we could have a look at the church in the meantime. When we returned at 15h50, we saw the keyholder together with the attendants working at the door.

Burglars?

According to the keyholder, the door handle prevented the key from turning around, and hence the door handle had to be removed. We decided to visit the mediaeval garden whilst waiting. When we returned, at approx. 16h10 there were five of them trying to force their way in.
We do not give up easily, but there are boundaries….
My only remaining question now is: if the museum has been (in theory) open approx. 20 times between April and mid-June, should opening the doors for the 21st time be so difficult?

The mediaeval garden

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

A Freebee

We are doing voluntary work for the Festival "Guitares en Cormatinois" and our great leader Guy Touvron, who resides in Paris and is a well-known classical trumpet player, organises the artists for the festival. Hence he is regularly in contact with musicians and impresarios.

My Freebee

Not so long ago we received a mail in which Guy reported that he had received two free tickets for the Orchestre Arabo-Andalou de Fès conducted by Mohamed Briouel in Chalon-sur-Saône. The secretary of the festival had forwarded the mail with the remark "I do not think anybody is interested in this, but….". However, since we have always been interested in what is nowadays called World Music, we decided to gamble on the fact that nobody would be interested, and said that we would love to go.

The leader of the orchestra

That turned out to be a good gamble, and a week later we had places in the Espace des Arts in Chalon-sur-Saône. There were no empty chars in the auditorium (seats approx. 1200), and I was a bit surprised that the spectators were not mainly people of North-African extraction. Chalon has quite a big population of North-Africans, resulting in a very interesting, lively and colourful Thursday market called the Arab market by the locals. The majority of the spectators consisted of European concert-goers dressed in their Sunday best.
The orchestra consisted of eight men, playing resp. a cello, two violins and an alto violin, a rebab (Arabic fiddle), an oud (Arabic lute), a tambourine and a drum played with the hands. All eight of them sang as well. They played a type of music I was not very familiar with, but clearly Arabic music of some description. The singing was Arabic, and it would not surprise me if flamenco singing has been influenced by this form of singing in a dim and distant past. The group gave a concert that lasted, without a break, for slightly less than two hours, playing tunes of between five and ten minutes each.

Orchestre Arabo-Andalou de Fès

All in all, we had a very enjoyable evening, with excellent music, and on top of that it had not cost us a penny. Having said that, if I had known the orchestra beforehand and had seen the posters, I would have happily dished out € 23 pp!
Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Overkill?

One of the shops that has been empty for a long time is situated near Pizz’a Marco. For a long time it looked like there was going to be some sort of furniture shop or an interior decorator, but this spring, out of the blue, a delicatessen Les Saveurs de France opened its doors.

Les Saveurs de France

It advertises itself as épicerie fine and traiteur (caterer). Cormatin already has one épicerie/rôtisserie, and the new butcher is also a traiteur. And apart from that the Caveau du Figuier also sells stuff that would be available in a delicatessen.
The question arises how many shops of this kind can survive in the Metropolis Cormatin… He will certainly have to compete quality-wise with La Renaissance and price-wise with Epis & Riz, and possibly with the Caveau du Figuier as well. We have tried his shop when it just opened, and were content with what he had to offer.

Les Saveurs de France

Having said that, La Renaissance is definitely at least one class better based on our own experience.
Hopefully the new guy will find a formula that makes him (in a positive way) different from his competitors.
All shops in Cormatin are only a stone’s throw away from La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Wait long enough… and you shall find

Text on an information panel in Cluny

Long time ago I read on an information panel somewhere in Cluny that, when demolishing a number of mediaeval houses on the Petite Place du Marché between 1860 and 1866, several claire-voies (decorated stone frames around windows) of those houses were saved and are on display in Musée Ochier in Cluny. Recently another one was discovered in the façade of the château in Burnand (private property, partially rented out as a B&B).

Château de Burnand

In 2012 we asked the Dutch caretaker of the château (the owners lived at the time on Bali) if we could have a look at the building. However, she was very busy at the time, and asked us to give her a call later that year. When we bumped into her some month later in Cluny she told us that the owners were divorced, that she had been sacked more or less on the spot, and that one of the owners would move to France and take care of the château herself.

Claire-voie - Burnand

That was the end of our potential visit to the château, so we thought. However, the Office de Tourisme in Saint-Gengoux regularly organises excursions along the various B&B's in the area, so maybe that could be our next option. Unfortunately, when Burnand was on the program we were not able to make it. Recently we saw another chance: there was going to be a free concert at the château, which gave us a chance to see this (Gothic) claire-voie from Cluny on the pretext of a cultural outing.

Capitals - Burnand

And we found it. The outside of the château is worth a visit anyway. It is very picturesquely located on the edge of Burnand, a village which hosts an interesting Romanesque church. I can be very brief about the concert: after two minutes we had had enough. I rather pay an entrance fee for a professional group of musicians than listening for over an hour to a dress rehearsal of some not (yet) very good amateurs. That is a privilege I happily grant their family and friends!

Concert - château de Burnand

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

The interview, or Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (part 3 of 6)

For part 1, click here, for part 2 click here.

Oh la la la, Marianne

Although we had planned our trip allowing for some delays, we arrived panting and sweating at the counter in Mâcon at 11h00 sharp, due to some tractors on the roads and the fact that 50% of the huge parking area nearby was closed off, and hence there were hardly any free spaces there. But anyway, French are never in time, and coming late seemed to be an auspicious way to start the process of becoming French. Besides, the interviewer was also not yet there. After waiting for 10 minutes I was taken into an office for the interview.

The motto of the République

The woman taking the interview turned out to be a very friendly woman. She wanted to know why I ended up living in France, what I was doing at this moment in time, whether I took part in local life, what I liked about France in particular, and, but she saved that one for last, why I would want to become a French citizen. In between there were some more questions, one of which was "I have to ask you this: What do you think a democracy is". When I started my answer with "A democracy is a political system in which the people….", she interrupted me saying "O, that is fine, you may stop, this suffices"; and at that point I thought this could not go wrong anymore.

Tricolore

And indeed, after 15 minutes of interview and five minutes of reading and signing a number of things I had read in the booklet, I was released with the promise that the paperwork would be processed in 6 to 12 months, and that after that I would be invited to a ceremony with the prefect in Mâcon, or, since there are some organisational changes in the pipe line, in Dijon. She added that I did not have to be there in person at all cost, but since we like Dijon very much…. We would not really mind to go there.
To be continued, hopefully soon.

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

The Dossier, or Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (part 2 of 6)

For part 1, click here.

Livret du Citoyen

On the 18th of May we could go back to Mâcon to hand in the dossier. There they checked all the paperwork, they found it adequate and at the end told me that I would receive an invitaltion for an interview before the end of July. I received a booklet, required to be read as part of the citizenship course. The booklet was, although concise quite interesting. It explained in simple terms how the French political system works, that France is a parliamentarian democracy, that France knows a strict separation of church and state, how France is split up in regions and departments, and for those who are into history it contained a time line ranging from the caves of Lascaux via Clovis, Jeanne d'Arc, the Bourbons, the Revolution, the first and the second world wars and the Vichy regime to De Gaulle and the fifth Republic. I asked whether I had to learn all regions, departments and their capitals by heart, and the answer was a bit evasive. I got the impression that the whole thing sounded more serious than it was.
On May 21 an envelope in a familiar handwriting fell in the letterbox; it was one of the self-addressed envelopes I had to hand in with the dossier, and it contained an invitation for "the" interview in the near future.

Envelope addressed to myself

To be continued.

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

How to become French?, or Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (part 1 of 6)

Mid-April 2015 we entered the prefecture in Mâcon in order to find out what exactly was needed to obtain French citizenship.

Préfecture - Mâcon

In the prefecture there is a special office for Naturalisations, there was no queue at the counter, and hence we were immediately dealt with by a very friendly lady. Just to be safe instead of sorry we had brought along our thick folder with "important papers". It helps enormously when one can actually show that an international birth certificate issued by Dutch authorities has a French text as well, and ask the French official whether this would suffice or not.

Folder with important papers

Fortunately the answer to the question was yes, and we finally went home with a long list of required official papers, and of other things we had to sort out. Two identical long forms had to be filled in, we had to pay legal dues, four pass photos (French style) had to be supplied, they wanted three envelopes addressed to myself and stamped, and further a wide range of papers of which the only one that might cause some problems was the declaration of good conduct. This is only issued in Dutch (and English) by the Dutch authorities, and hence it needed an official French translation.

French pass photos

After this my homework began. Most papers from the Dutch town halls could be obtained via the internet. A list with all my home addresses from my birth up to now gave a few more problems, but in the end I managed to come up with a list. I think that in the end I only guessed the house number of one of the addresses. The next problem was the list with all the employers I had worked for. But again, with the help of the testimonials I received over the years, this was not such a chore after all. I found an official (court) translator in Nîmes who could produce (and very quickly) a translation of the declaration of good conduct at a reasonable price.

Court translater

We only went back once to Mâcon to ask for some explanation of one of the questions, and after that everything seemed to be under control. The only thing we were waiting for were the papers from the Netherlands.
To be continued.
Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Guitares en Cormatinois

After months of preparations we are almost there again: the first concert in our festival series is about to take place.

Guitares en Cormatinois 2015

Dates and names can be found on attached flyer, and what to expect can be derived from the name of the program in combination with mentioned composers. Nevertheless a few minor remarks about some concerts:
I would categorise the Franceries Sound Connection under world music. How this combination works out I would not know, but a previous concert with a bandoneon player (music by a.o. Piazzolla) was a must.

Ticket sales - Chazelle

Jérémy Jouve was last year’s big surprise at the festival. He is a young, very talented classical guitarist with an interesting, thorough program. I would not like to miss him this year, and I personally rank him higher than Emmanuel Rossfelder, one of the regular crowd pullers of our festival.

Irish Kind Of is, as the name suggests, a (French) group specialised in Irish folk music. Hence no shortage of reels, hornpipes and gigs!

Jérémy Jouve - 2014

Of Philippe Mouratoglou I can only give his website. Of those artists not mentioned in this blog I simply have not found a sound bite.
All concerts are in Chazelle’s church, entrance fee € 15 pp (€ 12 is for benefactors of the foundation).
Reservations through the phone numbers on the flyer, or through us.

Chazelle's church

The link to the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle can be found here.

Moving house

The Tabac in Cormatin, for years located next to Restaurant Les Blés d’Or, has moved early May to a different location.

Tabac old location

Nicole, who runs the Tabac, has taken the plunge and occupies a different shop now, a bit further down the High Street. Her husband, the owner of Café de la Poste, has disposed of part of his Café in favour of Nicole, who has now a lot more space available for the sale of cigarettes, newspapers and magazines and, possibly more profitable, lotto and lottery tickets. What is going to happen to Café de la Poste in the future is unknown to us. All indications are that the snack bar which is part of Café de la Poste will be turned into a proper restaurant, and possibly the café might cease to exist.

Tabac new location

The prices and the types of plates he offers presently are more in line with those of a restaurant instead of those he offered previously in his snack bar. However, that might be something for another blog.

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Chain Store Cormatin

Recently Monique Dégluaire, a sculptor in clay, opened an annexe in Cormatin, the Comptoir des Artistes.

Comptoir des Artistes - Cormatin

She is not really a potter, because she mainly makes figurative sculptures, while there are no or hardly any plates, cups, saucers, small household utensils, tiles and the like in her assortment. She exhibits her work throughout France (Lyon, Paris) and one can also admire her creations in her workshop in Bessuge, a hamlet in the commune of Chapaize. Last year she opened, together with another local artist Martine Borzycki a showroom in Cormatin itself.
Although taking pictures in her showroom and workshop is not allowed, I am able to show one of her works in this blog; I can do this for the simple reason that this sculpture is ours and stands in our garden.

La Tuilerie de Chazelle

Monique gives courses and stages in her workshop, which are quite popular.

Bessge as well the Comptoir des Artistes are not further than a 10 minutes drive away from La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

An ultrashort concert

Most of the information we obtain about concerts etc. comes from the Journal de Saône-et-Loire, a source which is not always reliable.

Concertzaal - Château de Burnand

In the Friday's extra the events for the coming week in the department are announced. One week we ended up in front of a locked door in Juliénas (Beaujolais) where the exhibition we wanted to visit should start on November 1, whilst in reality the exhibition opened one week later. Recently we read in the paper that a free concert would be given in the château of Burnand, starting at 17h30. We are always well in time, if only to find a good seat.

Repetitie

We were there around 17h00, time enough to put our coats on one of the few available chairs near the exit (the majority of the chairs had a sticker "reserved" on them) and to wonder around the premises. At 17h30 there were still hardly any spectators, except for a handful of people who were downing drinks. Later we found out that the bar where drinks were for sale opened at 17h30, while the concert did not start until 18h00. Everything was a bit obscure, because from 17h30 onwards every so often some musicians started playing.

Tentoonstellingsruimte

And they were not tuning; no, they were playing classical pieces of music. This did not sound very promising, however, it could well be that the whole group was stronger than the sum of the indivdual musicians. The waiting period gave us also some time to admire the paintings of the owner of the château, which decorated the walls in a rather abundant way.
When the concert finally started at 18h00 we did not need more than a few minutes to decide that we would be better off outside.

Eerste deel van het concert

We arrived home a lot earlier than expected, although not in time to join a concert in Chapaize. This concert, which takes place each Ascension day, is given by the Dutch madrigal choir Roundelay, is free of charge as well, and of exceptionally good quality. Ever since we live here we have not missed one of their concerts, except the one this year. So we have decided that this is not going to happen again. Next year we are going to see and hear Roundelay, unless someone with a real big name gives a free concert somewhere around here….

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.

Closed for renovation

There have been quite e few changes in Cormatin , on the shopping front.

Aux Délices de Cormatin old style

A number of shops has changed hands, like the épicerie of Berger (now called Epis & Riz) but of which the range of goods is still the same. Apart from shops which have been mentioned earlier, such as the butcher La Renaissance and the bio market cum organic bakery cum exposition area for a local potters collective in the former Musée du Vélo/Poilu a number of shops have combined anticipating the more severe rules for wheelchair access with a renovation of the interior of the shop.

Aux Délices de Cormatin after renovation

One of the shops that recently has undergone a face lift is the bakery Aux Délices de Cormatin. The shop has been, as long as we remember, a typical village bakery where one could hardly move during peak hours. And peak hour it was, the whole day through. The baker, Laurent, does not only produce the best French breads in the area, but he is also an excellent pastrycook.

Aux Délices de Cormatin new style

And I can vouch for the fact that the renovation of the shop has not the slightest bit influenced the quality of his assortment!
Aux Délice de Cormatin is a shop where the guests of La Tuilerie de Chazelle regularly buy their bread and/or pastry.