We write this while waiting for our ferry to depart Ouistreham. We’ve been warned that the crossing will take an hour longer than usual. On the way out we thought Brittany Ferries hadn’t paid the heating bill, now we’re wondering if they’re economising on fuel too.
Our hotel was nothing special so we declined breakfast and our morning caffeine hit was taken sitting outside a patisserie on a cool, breezy terrace while we waited for the Eglise Notre-Dame de Carentan to open. The town looked far nicer than we gave it credit for yesterday.
The Longest Yarn challenge started 12 months ago. The aim was to create a display, 80m long, commemorating D-Day in Carentan and the surrounding area.
80 displays wound their way round the cathedral, each depicting a different scene relating to the planning and subsequent D-Day events. The imagination, skill and detail that have gone into them is amazing. We can’t share a photo of each scene so here’s a selection.
As we were leaving, we chatted with a couple from Hereford who were visiting the display. The lady was responsible for ‘Scene 45’ which she had designed and completed on her own, her initial thoughts were ‘how hard could this be?’ We all know that is a daft thing to think because it’s always more difficult than you could ever imagine! Anyway, she told us the tale of her scene which depicts The Mayor of Colleville arriving to greet the troops as the town is liberated and features Piper Bill Millin, a Scottish Piper who played his bagpipes as the troops advanced along the beach. Hidden in the display is a bottle of wine which Piper Bill was presented with at the time, the crafty French having buried all their good wine and spirits. Bill never drank his wine and his son is now the custodian. Bill also had a favourite jumper which his son inherited. Said jumper was donated to the project and wool from it is included in his bagpipe, shoes and scenery.
This display of little woolly figures delivers an unexpectedly emotional punch.
And now it’s time to take a moment to reflect on our highlights of the trip. Jacky and Ken thought the countryside, and wildlife, we came across during our walks were stunning and well worth the challenging days we had experienced. We all know a lot more about butterflies as a result. John was really impressed by the Gouffre de Padirac caverns and it takes a lot to impress him! Kim wrote this so she got to break the ‘one thing’ rule. Oradour sur Glane and The Longest Yarn were emotional and thought provoking. Both agreed that, after 30+ years, it was rather special to catch up with Dave (Bunny) and meet Suzy.
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