That amazing tapestry!

This morning we avoided the breakfast at Le Canada and went for brunch about 10.30 at a nice little café right on the beach at Luc sur Mer. It was raining and cold but with double glazing and heating and our English menu we were very happy. We watched the windsurfers on the water and thought how much my brother Eric would have loved to windsurf in Normandy – the speed of the sails across the water was absolutely unbelievable.

It was also amazing to see how quickly the tide comes in and we sat and realized just how dicey it must have been for the English High Command when a storm came up the 5th June in 1944, putting their planned landing in jeopardy. Many things puzzled us about the Landings as we sat and looked out the window at the rather wild seas – how did they manage to get everything in place when it does not get dark until around 10.30 pm in early June? How was there time to get all the harbours and paratroops and all the landing vehicles into place? Sitting there quietly having brunch I think I realized for the first time just what an amazing achievement this D Day Invasion was.

After we left the café we drove into the city of Bayeax to see the famous tapestry. I had not expected to find as many buildings of interest in this old city because I thought that the damage during the war had been even more devastating, so it was a nice surprise to walk around the streets and enjoy the variety of architectural styles.

When we arrived at the Cathedral of Notre Dame which was concecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conqueror, with his brother Odo the Bishop of Bayeaux and a very powerful man, there was a great crowd gathered out in front. We soon realised that it was a large contingent of American WW2 Veterans and their families being escorted by current American service people and their families. The whole thing was being minutely recorded on film by several army media people.

While walking around the Cathedral we noticed one of these veterans standing alone near the wall and started to talk to him and shook his hand. He told us he is 87 and that he had rather mixed feelings about the war and started to tell us of some of his tasks and we really enjoyed meeting him and encouraging him to share his mixed feelings. I looked at his name on his lanyard and made a note and quietly Googled him when we arrived home as he had told us enough to identify him.

If you would like to "meet" Russell Pogue as we did just copy and paste this web address into your browser and scroll down to the third veteran. http://www.afinalfarewell.org/articles/meet_our_distinguished_veteran/

Viewing the fragile Bayeux Tapestry was a little like viewing the Mona Lisa - I couldn't help wondering why many of the people were there as it just seemed like it was "the thing to do" and they had no real interest in either the history or the needlework. Alan was so fascinated he wanted to go around a second time so I sat quietly near the end and studied the hundreds and hundreds of people as they streamed past and listened to their comments. Although I have a book with lovely pictures which I have owned for years I was fascinated to see the detail in all the work and wondered what the ladies who worked it would think if they knew that it was still being admired nearly a thousand years later.