La fete de la Victoire

Today is Victory Day in France when each village celebrates the end of World War Two and families visit the graves of relatives who lost their lives during the war. We were in our garden this afternoon and there was a stream of cars visiting the cemetery which lies about 100 meters from the house.

At midi in our local village there was a ceremony to remember those who lost their lives in World War Two. The Marseillaise was played with fervour by the local band and traffic was halted in the village square.

After lunch we travelled to another local village to visit an exhibition remembering the activities of the French Resistance. The exhibition was in two parts, one about the activities of the resistance in south west of France and the other part about Gilbert Renault, who was known during the french resistance as Colonel Remy and one of the most famous secret agents of occupied France during World War Two. We timed our visit perfectly and were very lucky to be shown around the exhibition by Gilbert Renault's son, who explained with obvious pride and emotion, the stories behind the photographs and other exhibits. A truly memorable afternoon. He asked us if we would sign and leave a comment in his visitors' book and we did so with pleasure.