Hundred (or more) years ago - once more

Once more, I will make a comparison between some postcards from about 100 years ago, concentrating on the area where I live.

For some possible visitors from the near neighbourhood to my blog I have indicated where the photos have been taken (and where I live - the empty circle): 1) Rue des Moines. On the left, we can see a school building, still in operation. One modern building has been added on the right side. The old photo seems according to the stamp to be from 1905.2) Rue Truffaut. All buildings seem to be the same. 3) Rue Brochant. No new buildings to be seen. Only the trees have grown, but have less leaves today. It will hopefully be “repaired” in a few weeks.4) Rue Brochant. A bit further down the street, compared to the previous one. Trees have been added. 5) Place Charles Fillion (Place des Batignolles) with a view towards Rue des Moines. One modern building added on the right. Unfortunately the church, Sainte Marie des Batignolles, is covered by tarpaulins. Being “refreshed” at the moment. The photo is taken just in front of the entrance to “my” park, Square des Batignolles. 6) End of Rue des Batignolles (Place du Docteur Félix Lobligeois) with a view towards Rue Legendre. Only minor changes. The photo seems according to the stamp to be from 1907. Once more the church (this time the front side) is hidden by tarpaulins. If you are interested, I have already made some similar comparisons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Spring?

I will once more delay my additional post about the Jardin du Ranelagh. I felt that I just had to show you what the spring looked like in ”my” park (Square des Batignolles) yesterday. It seems that as well the trees as the flowers and the people (and maybe also the birds) had decided that the spring is here. However, we are only in the first half of February and the winter may be back. Anyhow we have had some fantastic days.Wisely enough, the orange tree was still inside the small orangery and the banana tree had kept its winter clothes.

Hundred (or more) years ago

Now and then I like to compare illustrations from Paris in the past with Paris today and I have concentrated on the streets around where I live, in the Batignolles area, 17th arrdt. Here are two more of such comparisons.

This first one is based on a postcard, probably from the very beginning of last century, of Rue Legendre close to where it crosses Avenue de Clichy. The vehicles used for public transportation have changed… and a few other things, but a lot remains as it was. You can see that the building which partly was visible on the extreme right has been replaced by a modern building and the idea from the city architect was then obviously to make space for a wider street one day. It will probably take quite some time before the street can be made wider. The second comparison is based on a drawing, which probably is from 1870-1880(?), of the crossing of Rue Lemercier and Rue des Dames. There was then obviously a store owned by someone with an English name, but I have not managed to find any trace of this “H. Didsbury” store, today replaced by an “Ultra Kitch” shop. I imagine that if someone finds my photo in some 120 or 130 years, he or she will not find any trace of the “Ultra Kitsch” shop. … and of the buildings?

Especially for the attention of some possible more local blog visitors, I put in a map to show “where”.

Break for Christmas

I believe I will now make a break again. I’m a bit annoyed with my network connection, but there are also some other priorities the next couple of days. Before receiving family on Christmas Eve and visiting family on Christmas Day, I have still some final shopping to do (illustrated by the below pictures), some preparation of my flat, some…… , actually quite a lot.

I will try to be back with a post or two before the end of the year, but I take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas (God Jul, Hyvää Joulua, Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weihnachten, 圣诞快乐, Buon Natale…)!!!

Also on behalf of Paloma who prepared the Christmas card!

Local shopping...

Different areas of Paris are like small villages with their own local life. Christmas decorations are not quite as glamorous as around the large boulevards or the big department stores. This is the main street of Batignolles, the part of the 17th arrondissement, where I live, with the parish church, Sainte-Marie-des-Batignolles at the end of the street.

One of the advantages I have is that I can find all kind of shops, cafés, restaurants, banks, pharmacies…, not to mention the indoor market, just round the corner. What here follows is an illustration of what I find by walking some 150 meters (I let the non-metric bloggers convert to yards) south, west, north or east from my flat. I believe there is something like 70 pictures in the below collages. The dentist and the orthopedist are just two stairs down, my doctor is 75 meters away… You may understand why I don’t need a car any more.

The last leaves...

The last leaves… There have many pictures of autumn leaves lately – and by qualified photographers, but I could not resist.

So yesterday I took some pictures in what I use to call “my park” (Square des Batignolles, Paris 17th arrdt.), some two minutes walk from my flat. It has been quite cold in Paris the last days, some +5°C (or about 40°F) during the afternoon. Even the birds must have felt a need to warm up. They had all gathered at the same sunny end of the small lake for a nice common siesta.Some of you may remember that I have now and then reported on the growth of what may be a banana tree. The first leaves were visible in the beginning of April. The leaves had grown considerably until they were cut at the beginning of this week … and I never saw any bananas. What remains of the tree has now got some winter clothes.A few of these photos can be seen on my photo blog.

Now, I wish you all a nice weekend! The weekend will be busy, but I plan to be back on Monday!

Music Parade... and Festival

In the part of the 17th arrondissement where I live, called Batignolles, there is a very active benevolent association, called Rififi. They are organising a number of things. This evening (fresh news!) there was a music parade along my street and some others. This was the start for a lot of music – all kinds - to follow in the local bars, restaurants and small theatres. There will also be shows, amateur theatre plays and other manifestations during the weekend! …

I’m also invited to a party with ex working colleagues on Saturday. I will have a conflict situation.

The parade was very successful, a lot of people followed! Please note the important police force which controlled the operation; two smiling bikers!

Banana tree (follow up)

Since now four months I have reported on the banana tree in “my” park. It’s nicely growing, But still no bananas !

A cemetery - different aspects

This is about our local cemetery, Cimetière des Batignolles. It was opened in 1833, for the “locals”. It is not as full of tombs of well-known people as e.g. Père Lachaise, Montmartre, Montparnasse…, but I will revert to this.

It’s the fourth biggest of the totally twenty Paris cemeteries and has some 15 000 graves. It’s obvious that today the cemeteries within the city limits are not sufficient and that many of the larger ones now can be found in the suburbs. Also, the number of cremations in France has increased from close to zero to almost 30% the last 25 years. This is still a much lower percentage than in e.g. UK, Switzerland, Sweden… where cremations represent some 70-80%.

Somehow, this is linked to what struck me during my visit; the great number of abandoned graves, which however often are the ones where the most beautiful flowers, getting wild, are growing! I took some pictures also of those! Most of us are not anymore linked to anywhere and in any case, our family and friends are often elsewhere…

To some of you, a few names of the local people buried here may say something: Paul Verlaine, one of the greatest French poets, Blaise Cendrars another poet, Edouard Veuillard, painter…

You can also find the tomb of André Breton, the main founder of surrealism - linked to other writers and also painters like Salvador Dali. (André's grave is the one with an empty champagne bottle on it; someone drank to his health and then put a small flower in the bottle.) One small “anecdote”: When travelling in Mexico, Breton met Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo… and Trotsky, with whom he co-wrote a manifest.

The tomb you can see under a later built bridge is that of Gaston Calmette, boss of “le Figaro”, who was shot dead in 1914 by the wife of a French minister - a big scandal at that time. Gaston was the brother of Albert Calmette, who was the father of the BCG vaccine against tuberculoses and also developed the first snakes’ antivenin.

Some of these photos, you can also find on my other blog "Peter - photos".

Banana tree (follow up)

Just a small report on how the banana tree in “my” park is growing. I took a first picture of it April 9 and have given some in between reports. Here is what it looked like June 16. I still have great hopes to see some bananas on it!

Sainte Marie des Batignolles

The other day I took a picture of the newly confirmed girls and boys outside our catholic parish church, Sainte Marie des Batignolles. It’s definitely not one of the more famous churches in Paris.

Yesterday I had a look inside. I wanted more especially to see their concert program (most churches offer frequently good concerts, mostly free of charge).

I was in particular struck by the sculpture of St. Mary above the altar. It reminded me, especially colour wise, of some Wedgwood biscuit. I could not find any more detailed information about who created it.

The church was first built as a small chapel in 1826. It was extended to its present shape in 1851. Built more or less in the shape of a Greek temple, it’s one of the few Paris churches without a real tower. There is a small bell on the top, still indicating the hours of the day.

Wedgwood vase.

Birds etc.

Yesterday, I had again a walk in "my" park. I found this bird, just one meter in front of me. I have a question to Abraham or some other bird expert: Why is she neglecting these two eggs? I watched her maybe half an hour; she did not move.


There were also some baby birds around.



















... and of course some flowers.

Added May 20:

She (a goose, a duck...? - see comments) has turned around. I had the time to see that she is laying on three eggs. The two abandoned eggs are still there.

Further addition May 20:
I thank all of you who have contributed to find out what kind of bird this really is. It seems now that Nathalie has really found it: A Bar-headed Goose. I add the Wikipedia picture. Alice already suggested the same solution yesterday. Thanks to both of you!

Origin Asia. Wild it lives on high altidtudes, but adapts well to captivated life. It is believed to be the highest flying bird, having been seen up to 10,715 m (33,382 ft)! A danger for aircraft!

Addition May 21:

How long does it take before we see the babies? Today's situation: The future mother after having put some feathers and grass around her body, took a nap. She obviously does neither eat nor drink?

Her husband had a nice walk and did not seem to worry too much.

Degas

I have still a few tombs at the Montmartre cemetery to show you and to comment on.
Here is the one (a family grave) of Edgar Degas, whose family name actually was De Gas. He was born in 1834 in Paris, where he also died in 1917*, at the age of 81.

Degas belonged to a wealthy and aristocratic family and had hardly any money problems. His father was a banker and an art lover and actually encouraged his son towards an artistic career. His mother was Creole, from New Orleans.

After some short law studies Degas travelled around Europe and studied painting. He spent several years in Italy. He was in the beginning concentrating on portraits (here a later self-portrait), and then made a lot of horse-racing paintings. He became friend with Manet and later (around 1865) also with Monet, Renoir and the other future impressionist painters, to which family he definitely belongs, although he was never a landscape painter.

These painters belonged to the so called “Groupe des Batignolles” of which I talked earlier (April 3). Degas lived at that time just across the street to the Café Guerbois (of which I also have talked), where they all regularly met.

He then started to concentrate more on themes like theatre, dance and music. As he did not have to worry about selling his paintings for living, he could more or less paint what he liked. He was a painter of movements and his ballet paintings are examples on this.

He started to not see so well as from the 70’s and concentrated more on pastels and sculptures – oil painting was too meticulous for him.

He became completely blind in 1911 and did not produce anything the last six years of his life. He never married.

*/ ... or in Saint-Valéry sur Somme. See comments (added late 15/5).