The cultural history of the "bread tree" is centred on the chestnut and its shaft. Indeed, this fruit was the staple diet of men and beasts. Preserved in various forms (dried, flour ...), it allowed for a supply of food for the year.The fallen tree provided lumber, carpentry and cooperage. Its essence is rich in tannin, is deemed to be unalterable and defy time. Its hollow trunk closed with a door is still used to accommodate swarms of bees, this piece is called "Berle. "The chestnut is also an economic resource. During the Industrial Revolution (1882) Clement Faugier revolutionized the transformation of the chestnut by designing products like cream and chestnut puree."
When I arrived at the village mairie, two metal cylinders full of chestnuts were being rotated by hand over a blazing fire. I went inside and paid my 2 euro entrance fee.
The room was set out with chairs facing a small stage area in one corner of the room. The storytellers (conteurs) were already in situ. One was whittling a stick, one was hacking away at a branch, one was crocheting and one was peeling chestnuts.
The leaflet indicated that the event would start at 9pm, so at roughly 9:30pm after people had completed the greeting ritual, the show began.
There were roughly 60 people present, including a baby, a toddler and about 9 of the children from the school.
Each of the 4 storytellers took a turn at telling a tale, while the one working stage light, flickered rapidly on and off throughout.



While the adults sat eating and drinking, the children ran riot amongst the tables and chairs in both rooms.
An hour later we had to go back to our seats for the part 2 of the contes. This time the children were sitting or lying on the bits of carpet which were laid on the floor between the first row of seats and the stage.


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one of the activists just before he / she fell over onstage |
(It seems certain that the school hours / days will be changed once again, and Wednesday or Saturday morning schooling re-introduced, as child fatigue and the beefing up of the curriculum has left pupils and teachers struggling. If only the parents would put their kids to bed at 7:30pm like the English parents of a child at the school do .......)
Anyway, I digress. So that was my first celebration of the chestnut so I suppose you could say that I have lost my chestnut.
I wonder if they do a cherry festival anywhere nearby?
"I wonder if they do a cherry festival anywhere nearby?"
ReplyDeleteas if ... !!!
Get thee to a boulangerie!
ReplyDelete