In France, this is very important. If you can have a baguette on your table every day, this is the ultimate. I remember when we first came to France, without a great deal of money , we said, if we can just buy some bread, a bottle of wine and maybe some beautiful cheese, we would be happy. It was so true. Simple things.

Bread is considered as a way of life, no matter what. It is somehow the symbol of France from the early 1700’s , at the time of the Revolution, where allegedly an average French man ate 3 pounds a day . If the supply ran short or the quality wasn’t good, there would be riots !! The price of bread was also monitored by the State up until the 1980s and its importance was such that the phrase began, To be the breadwinner. A slight from the English, flaunting victories over French territories perhaps ?

Bread was firstly made in the home in the Middle Ages, but things changed when families took small pieces of dough to local bakeries that began to spring up in villages all over France. The bread was baked in huge brick ovens, heated by either coal or wood, and slid into it with a long wooden handled shovel , called a peel.

It must contain water, flour, yeast and salt, and under French law all 4 ingredients must be used in order to have the title “French ” The rising times and kneading techniques are all unique. By 1920, a law was passed to prevent workers starting work before 4am, and, therefore, the daily bread was not ready for the breakfast table. This is why the baguette came into fashion , as it was easier and quicker to prepare.

Our local boulangerie is also a place to meet and chat, usually about the weather !!! They have a huge selection of bread and patisserie. I don’t always know the names of them, but learnt boule, for the round crispy golden topped one, compagnarde, a crusty bigger sized one and ficelle, for a very thin baguette, like a piece of string. Miam as they say in French, for Yummy .

Where did it all start ? Had to be French. The two brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumiere. What a story.

Born in Besancon, in 1862 and 1864, to parents who set up their own portrait studio, and where the brothers developed their ideas and ambitions. They would create the Cinematographe and where the word cinema comes from. This amazing machine could record, develop and project pictures in motion, by pushing film at 16 frames a second through a projector.It was light weight, weighing less than 9kg, which was an advantage when going to many locations.This technology became the European standard and the brothers sent their own cameramen all over the world, to record and research exciting events. There were Cinematographe theatres too, in London,Belgium  Brussels and New York.

This was finally patented by them in 1895.Their first films were short, a single un edited shot, depicting daily life, the arrival of a train on a busy platform,  workers streaming out of the Factory, a game of cards, the blacksmith toiling in his work, and a family scene, feeding a baby.All these were in black and white.Silent and of great clarity.

They soon wanted to experiment using colour but this wasn’t so popular with audiences. This new invention was called the Lumiere Autochrome This was the beginning of another era.The name Lumiere, meaning light, is one to remember..

I am hoping to come to Glasgow in the Spring, to set up an exhibition of Barry’s photos of Glasgow, dating back many years . It seems there is already some interest from the University and The People’s Palace.

I was looking through Barry’s photographs this last month, and one caught my eye. Barry did a collage of some famous musicians he had photographed in 1990. The marvellous Humphrey Lyttleton, Ray Charles, Jacques Loussier, Joe Locke and Stephan Grapelli. I was often there too.  Waiting in the wings.Joe Locke, we saw in a little bar called the Curlers in Byres Road in the West End. Some  concerts were at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival and the Concert Hall.

Martin Taylor, Carol Kidd and Stan Getz he also filmed. Barry told me Getz would go off stage giving time to other players, and drink some gin or two, before going back on stage and performing  impeccably!!

I am also hoping we can do a separate feature here on this site about the legacy of memories through his photos .

I wish you all the very best for the end of the year. Bonnes Fetes.

5th December 2024.

Fifi’s stories from rural France.