John's Blog for 2009

Wednesday 13 May 2009

Claude Galimand, President of the Comitée de Jumelage de Hautvillers, had died suddenly in his own garden, tending his flowers and his vines. Five representatives from Beaulieu travelled to France to be with our friends at his funeral: four went by car but I took the Eurostar and then the TER to Épernay.

This required me to wake at 3:30am and take a taxi to St Pancras in time to check in for the first train to Paris. Caroline had fixed the taxi with a highly recommendable firm called Addison Lee


All aboard at half past five on platform eight for the journey to Ebbsfleet and Paris Gare du Nord, but first a snack breakfast alongside friendly fellow-travellers who took


. . . this photo in the swish main concourse at St Pancras. What a triumph to have preserved and restored this wonderful building; a fitting entry to England for visitors


Alessi and Drena Sibi. my new friends, had seats opposite me so we entertained one another throughout the trip. Alessi has a small engineering company, Amtec. Drena and I had something in common: I had eaten in the Belgrade restaurant 'March to the River Drena'. In Paris, there's a short walk to the Gare de l'Est.


. . . where there is a nostalgic exhibition of European rail travel splendour. I remember seeing carriages bearing these insignia in Victoria ready to leave for Paris and Brussels on the train ferry from Dover


. . . but that time is long past. Now we have shiny smoke-free boutique-laden malls in refurbished stations like this one.


However, here is one of the original carriages, open for inspection: the bar and restaurant coach which would have taken Poirot and his suspects towards the romantic east; appropriate here at platform 20 in the Gare de l'Est alongside modern French, Belgian and German trains and TGVs capable (like the Eurostar) of 300 kph.


Before leaving, a second breakfast! A house sparrow joined me and perched on the edge of the table, but flew off before I could capture him on film. Eventually, via Épernay to Hautvillers for steak and chips in the sunshine outside the village café


. . . and then the funeral in the Abbey, attended by probably 600 people from Hautvillers, neighbouring villages, his former employer Perrier Jouet, and delegations from Kiedrich, Eguisheim and Beaulieu.


A moving service conducted by the father of one of the village viniculturers. Soft french chants and hymns, readings and addresses by family and friends, and then at the end everyone filed past the coffin. We waited outside till the cortège was ready to depart and made our way to the cemetery, for a fine speech by M. le Maire, Patrick Lopez, who does this sort of thing so well. Lastly, a friendly gathering for coffee or Champagne and brioches.

Here are links to the previous blog entry and the list of contents signposting all 2009 blog entries.