Author: Heather Robinson

Through the mist and onwards


My thoughts are scrolling backwards in time, seventy years to the day.

Through the fog of the early Normandy dawn…
…our Allied soldiers waited on rolling seas, ill and cramped…
…yet solid and ready.
As the light broke, they stormed…

…through the water that pulled at their boots…

…only to hit terra firma as bullets rained from above.

On they charged to part the mist of history that Hitler had draped over Europe, over the world…
…that darkness, seemingly irrefutable, was seared by their bright light of hope and strength.

Here are to those that fought that day and to those that were left behind. You created a new path. 
Long may we remember, long may we follow.

Softness of the Provençal Spring

My head is lolling towards the open window where my hand lies out-stretched, conducting the breeze.

There is a sense of sweetness – not scent nor taste – that coddles my skin.

And in the blooms we stop to gaze at, I see a promise.
Of growth, of continuation…where age falls off into l’oubli…
…Most certainly for the olive trees that had died of a frost bone deep in the ground so many years ago and yet they wave wildly as I pass, gleefully reborn.

I reach for my camera and idly snap, catching at nothing in particular but the essence of all.
Remi is driving next to me and I here him quietly chide me for being so casual in my photography. “It’s not respectful,” he tells me for the tenth time. A smile rises on my lips and I snap again, kissing the air.
Doesn’t he know that I am in love with the softness of the Provençal spring?

The Antiques Fair at L’Isle sur la Sorgue, Part 3

Ba-da-bling-ba-da-boom. You didn’t think that I would forget you?

Yee of the antiques-loving, “can’t get me enough of that patina” variety?

Well, of course not, shame on you. I wouldn’t any more than I would throw those beautiful volets that are lined up against the oh-so-quaint canal running through L’Isle sur la Sorgue out into the trash! Why, they could be used as a headboard, or doors for a built in closet or as room dividers or wall decorations…but I digress…

Perhaps it is time for a breather after all? Certainly no proper French person would dream of strolling through the Antiques Fair for an entire day without a bit of proper refreshment and besides, better to rest up a bit to prepare. For now…
…We are ready for the big time.
And I do mean big, over-size, huge even! Where on Earth did this lantern come from? Versailles? It is the size of a Citroën 2CV! But ah, how very magnificent it is, non? Can’t you imagine it, lying just like it is, on it’s side in the middle of a castle designed by Axel Vervoordt? I can. Perhaps we should call him.
I think that he would like the simplicity of the 18th century wrought iron chandelier as well. I did. And the statue actually is very fine although my photos don’t begin to do it justice. The seller was going for mood lighting. It made for a charming scene, I have to admit.
Even if at times, the ambiance was a tad…overwhelming.
No better to focus in, such as on the inscription that Remi deciphered on this framed branch of black coral…signed by an Italian professor in the 1800’s.
Still attracted by largesse? All right, I admit it, over-size lanterns seem to be something of a trend…as is – paradoxically – mid-century modern, although those pieces all looked rather scruffy to me…

…But of course, “scruffy” is relative. As this right here my friends was my favorite piece of the day. Although would I like it once it was renovated? Alas, I would not.
Goodness, all of that gold-leaf can be oppressive, can’t it? Let’s get some fresh air…
…and say our adieus outside now that the bustle is fading and the sellers are starting to pack up their wares.

Ah, what is that you say? Au revoir and not adieu? How right you are, for we both know that you will want to return to the semi-annual Antiques Fair at L’sle sur la Sorgue, as well I. The next is for August 14th – 17th. See you there…
http://www.foire-islesurlasorgue.com/
PS. I will be cutting down my posting schedule to (most likely) twice a week while I am in the States. Thank you for your understanding and for all of your well-wishes.

One door

There is one door to open, another to walk through and finally the one that closes behind.
I am becoming increasingly aware of Arles taking form around me as my time here is most likely drawing to an end.
The details of my daily life, the ones that I have stopped seeing, are sprouting into bas-relief as I reach out towards the handle on the door ahead…
…wondering where it will take me. How far and fast I will go.
Off I go to America, to visit my wonderful family there and to have a change of air. While I have prepared many posts photographically, they are yet to be written, let alone posted, so if for any reason there is silence on these air waves on the days to come, not to worry but please stay tuned…

With my Best from Arles,
Heather

Walking blind

Saturday we visited our old picnic spot. I have seen it all of the seasons now – well, all of our seasons in the South of France. After eating and drinking plus spilling a bit of wine, we slept. Remi in the sun, me in the shade and the dogs alternating back and forth between the two. When I woke up, they were restless and so we did the stroll around the perimeter of the vines, the one that I always do, slowly, consciously, as if I were the owner of the land. As if I belonged there.
The sun was piercingly bright, reverberating off the edges of the blue, blue sky. So much so that I couldn’t really see what I was doing in taking my photos, those photos, some souvenirs. But I kept clicking away, nonetheless. Pointing at shadows, zooming aimlessly towards forms and definitions. I was walking blind.
This morning, I feel the same for France. In yesterday’s elections for the European Union, the Front National party won the day with 25% of the vote and claiming victory in 71 out of France’s 101 départements. By doing so, they will now have the greatest number of seats out of the political parties in representing the country for the EU Parliament – which in itself is ironic as the FN wants out of the Union entirely. Today there has been much discussion with some proclaiming that the real tragedy is that 57% of the population did not vote which means that roughly just over 10% of the French chose the FN. Over half did not vote and this is the result. I am reeling, exhausted with disappointment and fear. How else is a foreigner living in this country supposed to feel?
Do I understand that the French economy is not really recovering and that people are frustrated to extremes by a perceived lack of options? I do. But “to extremes”? Just as with that walk I keep taking, I will keep repeating, “Have we learned nothing from History?” France lived through the Second World War. There are those in these streets that knew what it was for Arles to have been occupied by the Nazis. In the United States it is Memorial Day. We are called upon to give respect for those that have fought, who have served and those who lost their lives in the process. We have to remember. To understand what was and what can be.
I want to hear the details of proposed policies beyond ideologies from the Front National party. For this election is solid proof that they are indeed advancing even if stumbling forward while shouting at the sun.

For those of you that read French, you can see an outline of the FN’s suggested policies: here.

Thank you for being here, thank you for reading…

To see more from my Contrasts in Provence series, you can do so here and here.
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