Mid June 2009 - On The Road

news
Estuaire 2009
If you think that art exhibitions are only mounted in galleries or gardens,
think again. This summer (June 6 to August 16), the mouth of the Loire
River is the setting for what must be one of the world’s largest free art
shows - Estuaire.
The works will be displayed on, along and in the River Loire between
Nantes and St Nazaire. The river is a 25-mile link between two cities
that share a common history of shipbuilding and trade. And this year it
will provide a backdrop for what is said to be some of the most thought
provoking works.
Back in 2007, the first Loire Estuary Project featured 40 art installations.
People still talk about the 25-metre tall giant duck and a house that
seemed to float in the river.
In Nantes, there will be giant rings
illuminated at night marching along
the water out in the city’s industrial
area. At Coueron, sit on a bench
and watch a fountain spurting
high in to the sky. At Le Pellerin,
‘Misconceivable’ is a witty work, a
banana-shaped boat that seems to
be melting.
Canard de Bain (Bath Duck).
One project will be at a massive World Florentijn War II Hofman
submarine base in St
Nazaire. Poplar trees are being planted inside the 300-metre long bunker,
so that they can grow up and out into the daylight and form a green
garden - the trembling leaves will contrast with the harsh concrete.
You can drive, cycle or walk to see most of the installations -all are
free to view.
There is also a three-hour boat cruise on board a specially-built craft.
This unique audio guided tour is available in English and French. It is
cultural and historic and includes the installations themselves.
Also incorporated into the trail are important art and cultural venues such
as Le Grand Cafe art centre in St Nazaire, the Nantes Museum of Fine
Arts, the chateau of the Dukes of Brittany and the extraordinary Machines
de lie workshop where you can see new mobile monsters or ride the
40-foot tall mechanical elephant on a tour. www.estuaire.info
...continued from page 3
Germany’s
Highland Games
In early May more than 20,000 fans
of Scottish farye and tradition descended
upon Peine, near Hanover,
for an 11th ‘Highland Gathering’.
Tossing the Caber, tugs of war and
playing bagpipes were ‘par for the
course’ during this three- day, Tartan
spectacle.
Contestants travelled from all over
Germany for what is one of many
Highland Festivals that are held
around the world annually.
Extraordinarily, while the Cowal
Games which take place on the
home turf in Dunoon every August,
is the largest in Scotland, attracting
around 3,500 competi tors and up
to 20,000 spectators, it is dwarfed
by the 50,000 visitors to the Grandfather
Mountain games in North
Carolina and the even larger games
featured every year since 1865 at the
Caledonian Club of San Francisco.
The 1940s -
golden age of the
French brothel
An unusual history of the Nazis’ occupation
of France has trampled on
a most painful taboo, by focusing
on women who slept with the enemy
dur ing the occupation.
Flouting a long-running convention
of silence on what he calls
“horizontal collabora tion”, Patrick
Buisson, the author, describes the
Nazi occu pation as the “golden age”
of the French brothel, chronicling a
dramatic growth in prostitu tion to
satisfy German demand.
The book, ‘1940-1945’, Erotic
Years, is the second hefty vol ume in
a wide-ranging sexual history of the
occupation that one critic described
as a “magisterial provocation”
because of its assault on the myth
that life under the Nazi boot was all
resistance, hard ship and suffering.
Brothels that had been on the verge
of closure before the war, as the
abolitionist league gained force, enjoyed
a drama tic revival as German
soldiers poured into France.
Some of the so-called ‘Maisons
Closes’ were reserved exclusively for
officers, who, “along with looks and
gallantry, would bring chocolates
and flowers – and won admirers in
a coun try whose natives were rather
less charming to prostitutes”.
One madame who presided over
a top address, is referred to debauched,
champagne drenched
soirees, and saying, “I am ashamed,
but I’ve never had so much fun in my
life. Those nights of the occupa tion
were fantastic.”
Seldom has a book delved as deeply
into what is regarded by many as a
source of national shame: far from
being forced into bed with the invaders
through economic hardship (as
the official history would have people
believe), thousands of French women
fell in love with German soldiers and
it is esti mated that 200,000 children
were born to Franco-German couples
during the war.
“That the departure of the Germans
caused thousands of women deep
affliction ... is one of those facts
that political necessity commands us
to ignore,” writes Buisson, direc tor
of France’s History Channel and a
presidential adviser.
By Dominique Faure
Paris
Venice Watery highlights
Vogalonga Regatta (31 May)
In Venice, the Vogalonga Regatta follows ancient traditions and was
instigated by a group of Venetians with a passionate interest in rowing in
the Venetian Lagoon. The racecourse has remained virtually unchanged
over the years and covers about 30 kilometres by way of canals through
the most beloved and picturesque parts of the Lagoon of Venice.
Five hundred boats with nearly 1,500 participants meet on the race day
and after singing hymns to St Mark and Venice, the event begins. At the
finishing line each participant receives a commemorative medal and a
certificate - souvenirs of a memorable day.
Regatta Storica (6 Sep)
The Regatta Storica first took place in Venice in 1315 and is today made
up of two parts - the historical parade and the all-important rowing races,
when rowing ‘alla veneta’ means to the rowers becoming a part of the
history of this sport and, to a certain extent, of Venice.
The climax of the event is the champions’ race on two-oared ‘gondolini’,
light boats shaped as a very slim gondola. Winning in ‘Canalasso’, as
natives call the Grand Canal, is still today the greatest wish of every
racer, besides being the impossible dream of many Venetians that are still
rowing ‘alla veneta’ ( see hotels section where Go Barging are featuring
exclusive charters for both of the above)
Regatta Storica, Venice
4 On The Road - Mid May - Mid June 09