Notre Dame de Cenilly
Just another little village in the bocage.
A scattering of houses
in a hodge podge of styles.
Church with spire and mairie,
salle de fêtes and school,
epicerie and boulangerie,
as is the rule.
The inevitable coiffeur
gives ladies the local look –
tight perm and matt red hair.
There is of course a garage
for fuel and maintenance
and where we buy our car.
All criss-crossed with tracks
trees and hedgerows, cows and fields of maize.
The jewel in the village crown,
les gars – the chaps – run les Garmelles:
la Poste, bar, meeting and eating place,
not beautiful to look at,
but the heart of Notre Dame.
Bocage is farmland with uneven sized and shaped fields separated by hedges and trees, typical of Normandy. A gamelle is a cooking pot, hence the pun in the name of the brasserie.
At Poetry Jam, they want us to go local with a poem about what makes our place special. Also linked to dVerse Poets Open Link Night.
Such a warm and lively piece to give me some fresh air. Loved it.
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Told with such love. You made me want to visit.
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Interspersed between the languages make for brilliance of thoughts. French is always a beautiful language. Thanks for sharing Viv!
Hank
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Thank you for taking me along on a lovely stroll at your place 🙂
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So good.
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Charming 🙂
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oh you make me wanna go and visit… sounds like a wonderful place and you described it in the most charming way… wonderful viv – one of my favs by you
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Such a lovely place to visit ~ Thanks for giving us a cyber tour Viv ~
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From a non grammatical person, have you got an error in grammar here or is that poetic license? Sally
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Which particular bit do you mean? There are few complete sentences in this – it’s more of a list poem.
licence (noun) license (verb)
It’s lovely that my own daughter is picking me up for grammar!!!!!! Love, MuM
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I like the French flair in your poem. Seems like a very charming and inviting place to visit. 🙂
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I love the sense of completeness. A village where you can live your life and have everything in proximity. No real choices to be made, but you can spend your energy on living instead.
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Our old village was even better, 3 km up the road. We only moved because we couldn’t find a one-level house to rent. Now we combine the good things of both villages.
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I like this! This is a place I would enjoy visiting instead of the larger busy places so full of stuff….Absolutely wonderful and your poem just smiles it out.
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The small town lure of community one.. the village the
people make the village real.. there is a time where
i lived on a river front with town front in walking distance..
and this small village reminds me in nostalgia of community
then.. with me..:)
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I could picture it indeed! Thanks!
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an all in one
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I was just in Melisey France for a couple weeks last year – you poem could be that place too, just right.
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Very well conjured sense of place Viv – and as someone who has been – a real treat for me… With Best Wishes Scott
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When were you here?
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It sounds a charming place to live. 🙂 Why have I never noticed your background before, Viv? It unrolls so gracefully down the page. Where did it come from?
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The background comes from a sketch in a book called Paris sur les Toits, and is a view from Notre Dame across to the Left Bank of the Seine. The header pic is of my namesake Restaurant in rue Vivienne, near the Palais Royale, also in Paris.
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I always seemed to notice the header pic and not the background. No marks for observation! 😦
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I knew you lived in France, Viv, but had no idea it was in the Manche. It is a beautiful region and I like the way you showed all the important locations in your little village. I have found that most people in these rural places are proud of their way of life and that the local mayors ans conseils municipaux do their best to keep them alive.
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We’re very lucky in our Departement. Despite an ageing population, there’s lots going on round here, and yes, the conseils municipaux are the moving spirit behind most of it.
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They are, of course, listed in order of importance! 🙂
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🙂 in reverse?
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I love this description of your wonderful village. Especially the gathering place. It is so cool to have a place to hang out in when one feels social.
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What a warming – full of personality look at your ‘place’ Viv!! Love it!
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What a beautiful place you live, Viv. I think that, though small, it has all of the essentials!!
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I see you have the obligatory tabac but you haven’t mentioned the other ubiquitous French shop – la Pharmacie. I can’t believe you don’t have at least two.
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Not in Notre Dame – our population is only 690. There are chemist, health centre and lots of other facilities in our old village, 3 km away,with just over 1000 in habitants
A village this size in UK would be lucky to have anything at all.
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