"Why did you leave England in the first place?"
"The England I liked doesn't exist anymore. It's changing too quickly."
"What do you mean?"
"But isn't the countryside in England the same?"
"I lived in the countryside in England, and it's changing. The French still have a family way of life, whereas in England, they put all the kids in front of the TV to watch the TV, they don't bother with them, but here, the grandparents still bother with the children, and during the Summer holiday, all the grandparents we know have their grandchildren stay with them for six weeks, and so they teach them old values."
"Do you think it's because England is too influenced by the United States?"
"Very much. Nothing against you, but it's definitely the influence of the United States."
At the top of Olargues is a 13th century bell tower. At the bottom, there's a 12th century bridge. You don't build such structures, then move away. They're meant for your great, great, great, great, great grandchildren. All over the US, I've seen so many dilapidated churches, abandoned by whites as they escaped to the suburbs, away from blacks.
Southern France isn't all medieval villages and vineyards. There are also strip malls and hideous, characterless buildings. The outskirts of Castres, for example, are filled with so many car dealerships and chain stores, with each fronted by a large parking lot, that you can easily think you're in the USA.
Jonathan Revusky, "This kind of layout is built for the automobile, and it's very convenient, but you still have the historical core. Across most of the US, the strip malls are all you have! If you think of Orange County, for example, which is all freeways and strip malls, how can you feel attached to that?"
American politicians always cite "main street," but that concept is mostly abandoned or boarded up, thanks to the big box boys.
Here in Florensac, there are still plenty of mom and pops, and no chain fast foods. I'm typing this outside the Brasserie Le Calypso. At adjacent tables are men, women and children, everyone relaxed and friendly. Peugeots and Citroens zoom by. One woman and four men, one a north African, stand around a barrel to sip drinks and talk. Walking her Yorkshire Terrier, an old woman in a red dress greets a child, "Bonjour, mon be'be'!" Then she sits down next to a tattooed man, orders a wine.
Two hours by car from Florensac is Point-Sainte-Esprit. With a population of 4,200 in 1951, it suffered a hellish week then when more than 250 villagers went mad, with people running down the street delirious, tearing their clothes off or even jumping from windows. Seven died and fifty were interned in an insane asylum.
Known as the Cursed Bread Incident [Affaire du Pain Maudit], it caused a local baker to be jailed for two months, before laboratory tests of his flour, baguettes and biscuits cleared the innocent man.
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