Category: ANZAC Day

Our Fabulous Travels – 2016 ANZAC Day Parade Brisbane

We started the day by watching the Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial and the address by Brendan Nelson Director of the AWM. Nelson was as good as I have seen at delivering a heartfelt message of remembrance for all Australians who have served their country in theatres of war and elsewhere. He made me feel proud about my heritage, my father’s service in the Middle East 1940 -1942 and my son’s service currently.

Following breakfast, we put on our walking shoes and stepped it out to the City via the Goodwill Bridge QUT and the Botanic Gardens. A most enjoyable stroll in early morning sunshine with the promise of a pleasant warm day. We made our way up Albert St., then into Charlotte St., and finally onto George St. (the wind tunnel of Brisbane) where the various units were assembling. The marchers were in George St. headed north, the bands in Elizabeth St. headed east and the vehicles containing digger too old or disabled to march in Elizabeth St headed west. They would combine at the intersection of George and Elizabeth to form the parade.

We proceeded onto the stairs of the Toshiba Building at the corner of George St., and Adelaide St. took up a comfortable position – Kerry sitting on a wall and me standing camera in hand. People were milling awaiting the whistle for the parade to commence. Organisers in red polo shirts buzzed everywhere clip boards at the ready and the wind started to build whipping up George St like a gale in Bass Strait.

the crag hiding the Blue John Mine
Further down the mine
Visitors Centre
European pole martin

The it started run on 9.30 am with a group re-enacting the appearance of Queensland soldiers from the Boer war for we were not a nation then.

Heather across the hills
one of the outstanding vistas of the Peaks District
small Blue John seam
Some tough looking owls
Going down the mine
Grotesque at base of corbel
view of Abbey from the front
View from the Orangery
What the facade hides
Major Oak – you can just see the opening to the cavity in the trunk
Robbing from the poor – refreshment wagon at Major Oak
Entry to the old stable now the Shopping Court
Frogmore rose
the moat
Grotesques St Georges Cathedral
the Royal Box
the west wing of the grand stand
view from the Keep
they don’t fly in a straight line
the Bar circa 1770
now a conference room
the Deputy Principals office
the change sheds
Colourful berries
Is there a gardiner in the house?
the Audience Room

There was a squad of old taxis carrying the old and disabled diggers followed by the Air Force who presented in their sky blue shirts followed by the Navy and then the Army – 150 units in all. Various volunteers, police men and officials spent a lot of time rounding up hats blown off the marchers. The parade continued well past 11.30 am when we decided it was time to walk home as rain was now threatening as well. Nevertheless, a grand parade to remember all the servicemen and women throughout our short history as a nation.

New Inn dining room
New Inn
bloody quick for the camera
the finish line
diving
the Mounting Yard
motif in stone decorating all external walls

The Retirees go Abroad – Des Hortillonnages

We had learned for the Office de Tourisme that it is possible to visit the floating gardens called “Des Hortillonnages” in electric powered boats in the shape of the traditional “horn boat” of the “hortillons” which take visitors through the channels for about 45 minutes. You can also kayak or walk on some towpaths.

Known as Des Hortillonnages, the floating gardens of Amiens is a space of 300 hectares of former marshes located east of Amiens, drained and channelled (probably in the Gallo-Roman times) to create usable fields for cultivation vegetables. The floating gardens have been cultivated for about 2,000 years. Today, due to urban sprawl, there are only 300 hectares of the original 10,000 hectares. A thousand people lived on floating gardens of vegetable growing.

This activity has been in decline since the 1950s and was at risk of being lost when in 1974, the construction of a ring road through the site threatened the floating gardens. In 1975, the Association for the protection and preservation of the floating gardens (Association pour la Protection et la Sauvegarde du Site de L’Environnment des Hortillonnages – APSSEH) was created. The association now works for its preservation (clearing and bank stabilization). It also has maintained the “Water market” at Place Parmentier at the foot of the cathedral and has organized since 1982 boat tours of the site for the general public.

Most of the floating gardens have been transformed into ornamental gardens but in recent years, there has been a gardening revival with two organic farming market projects; the Garden Virtuous (ecological and educational landscape garden) and the Moon Hortillon (Jean Louis Christen, producer maraicher),and others are in the pipeline.

The channels are fed by the waters of the Somme and its tributary the Avre. The floating gardens are composed of a multitude of alluvial islands, surrounded by 65 kilometers of waterways called “rieux” in Picard and ditches that serve as drainage and the irrigation. The traditional horn boats once used by hortillons are on the decrease.

So we walked over to the office of APSSEH and tried to buy a ticket. “Non” said a rather rough looking chap behind the desk. We had to wait til 13.30 to buy tickets. We wandered off to get some lunch and return at 13.30. On returning there were people milling around uncertain of what to do with the office door locked – for lunch of course. These were French people who obviously could not read the sign in French which we had mistakenly read as Purchase tickets before 13.30. So we lingered at the gate until a pleasant plump French woman came to the gate and let us in and all the French followed.

Having purchased the ticket we waited at the quay until the horn boat was ready. We climbed in and the voyage commenced. For a moment we thought some part of the journey would include an English commentary. The “gondolier” asked if we spoke English. Then he said “keep your hands inside the boat”. That was it for the English commentary.

Even though we could not understand the commentary, it was a pleasant cruise which at sometimes was quite cool. We passed a fisherman trying his hand, sailed up shady canals passed “weekenders” and some ploughed fields, a boat which although out of service was still useful as a pot plant, a local doing a bit of gardening (note the radishes), some scarecrows and some recent residents of the channels.

After the tour we strolled back to the apartment via the Spa store and picked up some supplies to help us drink that bottle of Bordeaux. After catching up on our sleep we farewelled Amiens, Henri and Isobel early in the morning to catch the 12.30 ferry from Calais.

The Retirees go Abroad – ANZAC Day Dawn service and Villiers Bretonneux

We did not get back to Des Hortillonnges on Friday; I napped too long apparently. We did go back to the Mall but the promised rain seemed imminent as the weather closed in. Dark clouds and sprinkles of rain chased us all the way back to the apartment.

We set the alarm for 02.00am. I slept like a log and Kerry nervously awaited the alarm. At the appointed hour we dressed packed our backpack and headed for the train station. We were not alone. People were gathering from all directions and not just Australians. However the guides were not so anxious and they did not arrive til 03.00am and the buses (17 of them) until 03.15am. This caused many to wander aimlessly checking and double checking that they would not miss the bus.

Suddenly, Tour Perrett was illuminated with the Australian flag and then followed the guides and then the buses in no particular order. Our tickets allocated the bus we were to catch. Some were the “short tour” – just the dawn service and others like our bus number 5 were for the “long tour” – the dawn service and the French service at the memorial at Villiers Bretonneux. Boarding the bus we were issued with badges to identify our tour and bus number and lapel badges to commemorate the occasion.

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The bus took about 20 minutes to travel to the Australian War Memorial and about 20 minutes to navigate the traffic to drop us at the memorial. There were thousands of people, some walking but most arriving by bus. As we alighted fine rain started to fall and a strong breeze blew it into our faces. We walked through the entry into the cemetery. Grave stones decorated with flags of the nationality of the soldier where known stood to attention to our left and right. Australian, New Zealand, British, French, Indian and South African flags identified the nations recognised at the memorial.

There is limited seating so we made our way quickly to get a good position from which to witness the ceremony. Darkness splintered by the camera lights for the broadcast and the official ceremony spread all around so everything seemed somewhat eerie with shadows crossing the graveyard and the monument continuously. We found suitable seats and then the rain started to fall in earnest. We had brought our “Bayeaux Tapestry” ponchos and umbrella. We were confident we would stay dry. Many were not prepared and someone made a lot of money selling clear plastic rain hoods. The military personnel carried on with protection and despite the rain.

We were seated by 04.00am. However the service could not start til the Gallipoli service had finished. In between there were songs, music, a photographic tribute projected onto the tower of the memorial and rain.

With the dawn members of the Federation Guard formed the Catafalque Party to commence the service. The Australian Ambassador to France welcomed everyone and the Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett presented the Call to Remembrance. Monsignor Stuart Hall Principal Chaplin for the RAN performed the Prayer for Remembrance and the Prayer for Peace. Kevin Andrews Minister for Defence delivered the Commemorative Address and Madame Pascale Boistard Secretary of State for Women’s Rights delivered the Commemorative Address for the French nation. This was followed by a reading then the official wreath laying, the Ode of Remembrance the piper, the Last Post, a Minutes Silence and Reveille. The service ended with the national anthems for Australia and France a final blessing from Monsignor Hall and the Catafalque Party dismounts. And still it rained.

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The solemnity of the occasion was somewhat destroyed by the rush to the buses that followed. Our rain coats and umbrellas had been partly successful and everyone had the same paranoia about missing the bus back to Villiers Bretonneux, so everyone hurried past the graves to board their bus with some mayhem ensuing. And still it rained.

The drive to the village took less than 10 minutes. So by 07.30am we found ourselves dropped off in an unfamiliar place with vague directions as to where to find the village square and the French Memorial. But it had stopped raining and the glow of the morning illuminated our path to the village. A short stroll through a wooded park brought us to the Marie (the village town hall and Mayor’s office), the village square and the “commercial centre” of the village.

The rush was on for toilets and a warm beverage. We found a less popular café and comfortably fulfilled our requirements before strolling around to the village, the village church, the bakery, the museum and the school. The French service commenced at 09.00am followed by a concert. We attended the service along with the same dignitaries who had attended the Australian service but we were unable to attend the concert. The village hall was filled to overflowing. So we returned to the bakery and the courtyard at the rear until our bus returned at 10.30am.

We returned to Amiens by 11.00am. The stroll back to our apartment seemed a little harder now but after some lunch at the apartment and a rest we were off to Des Hortillonages.

The Retirees go Abroad – Exploring Amiens France

We had arrived in Amiens the previous day and now we are exploring the old city. It is always a good idea to check out the Tourism information available for the city and its surrounds. We had located the train station from which our bus to the Australian War Memorial would depart at 03.15am tomorrow so we did not plan to exert ourselves too much. After finding the train station we obtained a map of the city and located the Office de Tourisme near the Cathedral Notre Dame.

Once in the Office de Tourisme, we learned that we could take a self-guided walk through the old city. Armed with the map and brochure, we set off. The first stop was the Cathedral in the Notre Dame quarter. Behind the cathedral we found the Bishops gardens. Sedate, green and colourful it was a pleasant change to the noise of the city. From the garden we passed into the lower town and entering the Saint – Leu quarter and Rue du Hocquet. This is where one will find the oldest houses of Amiens sited on the bank of the canal. Originally they were designed with a shop or merchants stand on the road level with living quarters above. Many had been restored but others were not even fit or safe for the pigeons. Some even needed bridges across the canal to their front doors.

Our journey followed the canals past the Church of Saint Leu and the Universite de Picardie Jules Verne. Amiens reminded us of Venice in some ways. This had also been a centre of industry with 25 watermills operating grinding wheat and woad leaf and other industries. We passed a number of different building styles but one building caught our eyes – this building had no right to be standing. A little further along we came to the Place Aristide- Briand where the typical building style of weatherboard at the ground floor and a first story in cob (a mixture of straw and clay pasted over slated timber then plastered. We also saw some of the residents of the canal.

From there we entered Rue Motte and its myriad of smaller streets echoing the trades of the past – rue des Arches (archers), rue des Clarions (bugles), passage des coches (horse drawn carriages). We were now close to the finish of our tour and we found ourselves in Rue Belu and near our apartment. Rue Belu is also known as Quai Belu but its former name had far more charm – Rue de la Queue de Vache (Cow Tail St.) as it was here that animals were brought to drink from a public trough. The drinking trough for animals is gone and replaced with human troughs – Restaurants.

So we returned to the Apartment to rest as we would be arising at 02.00am the next morning to travel to the dawn service. On the way we passed Pont du Cange the oldest bridge in Amiens still showing signs of the old fortifications that once protected the city and the Water Market where the “hortillons” (marsh vegetable farmers) brought their goods via the canals to the market. A market continues to operate on the site every Saturday. We planned to visit des Hortillonnages but after our rest.

 

The Retirees go Abroad – Amiens Picardy France

We were met by our hosts Henri and Isobel who invited us to join them for a glass of wine after settling in. We made a quick trip to the ATM for some cash and the Spar for a bottle of wine. In less than 5 minutes we were in sight of the grand Notre Dame Cathedral of Amiens, the restaurants of Rue Belu, the statue in the middle of the canal which some one dressed in a different coloured shirt each day and the water markets.

Armed with some cash and a bottle of Bordeaux we joined Henri and Isobel for sparkling wine aperitifs. Very civilised. Henri had adequate English and tried very hard to hold a conversation with us. Kerry made a friend in their Jack Russell terrier “Toupee” which jumped from Isobel’s lap to Kerry’s lap with excitement. It had been a long day so we farewelled our hosts, ate our chicken salad and retired to bed to explore Amiens tomorrow.

The next day good weather continued although Henri had informed us the forecast was for rain. After breakfast we set off early to see where we would catch our bus to the Australian War memorial for the dawn service. The bus departed at 03.15am so it was going to be an early start. Crossing the River Somme we made our way to Boulevard D’Alsace Lorraine which was lined with Australian flags all the way to the train station and the highest modern building in Amiens Tour Perrett. The rail station announced by a large display of WW1 scenes and posters that ANZAC Day was April 25th. We had selected a very centrally located apartment.

Satisfied that we could walk to catch our bus, we then walked down Rue de Noyen (now a Mall) making our way to the Office de Tourisme. In Square St Denis we found the memorial “Aux Picards Martyrs de la Resistance” reminding us that France had been an occupied country during WW2. The square was very pretty and relaxing with spring flowers blooming and the trees covered in new leaves. Someone had smashed a cake on the ground and the pigeons were enjoying morning tea. The Mall continued down Rue Rue des Trois Cailloux. We discovered a small lane through to Jules Verne’s House and Square J du Becquet with views to the Cathedral at one end and to the Palais de Justice on another side of the square.

We returned to the Mall and continued the walk down to the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall). The Mall is decorated with fountains and small trees some of which are woven together such that they form a wall of foliage in summer. From Place Gambetta we could see the grand clock through to the Cathedral. We were looking for the Office de Tourisme and the Cathedral was the landmark to find it. We made our way to Place Notre Dame and stood before a gothic cathedral of gigantic proportion. It seemed taller than most we had seen (Henri claimed it to be the tallest in France) but its body seemed truncated. The exterior is being cleaned to remove the grime of the city and the interior was also receiving some attention.

The façade is a decorated with statuary of all kind and the door arches are emblazoned with carvings and grotesques. Inside I can believe that it may be the tallest interior in France. Here lie the graves of many important Amienites and the memorials to the soldiers and countries liberating Amiens. They cannot thank Australia enough for its sacrifices in two world wars.

 

The Retirees go Abroad – Travel to Amiens Picardy France

As April 25th approaches, we travel to Amiens as our base to attend the ANZAC Day service at Villiers Bretonneux. Amiens is in Picardy north of Paris and a short drive from the Belgian border. To the west and north of Picardy is the Somme. This was a killing field during W.W.1 and W.W.2 and the people of the region hold special affection for the Australian Imperial Force which held back the German advance in W.W.1.

It is an all day journey to Dover and the cross channel ferry and onto Amiens. We had allowed ourselves over five hours to reach the ferry terminal as we have learned that traffic bottlenecks occur with painful regularity around the Dartford Crossing. The weather blessed our journey. Fine and cool with patches of sea mist from time to time. Traffic was slow up to the turnoff to Birmingham where a majority of the trucks and cars turned off giving us an easy run to Dover.

On this occasion our planning was too conservative and we arrived in Dover ahead of time giving us a chance to look around the port. We drove along the sea front bounded by holiday flats and a new board walk reflecting the white cliffs that are famous in this area. With the sun shining and a gentle but cool breeze blowing we prepared our lunch on the foreshore and enjoyed a break from driving. Dover Castle looked on as we soaked up the vitamin E.

We finished lunch and joined the queue of cars and Lorries (trucks to us) awaiting boarding of the ferry. I had to call in to the kiosk to get our head light defuses as under French law we cannot travel in France without them. A right hand drive car has its headlights set to shine brightest to the left which is straight into the face of the driver of left hand drive cars. Understandable but at £7 a pop every time we go over to France it becomes expensive as you have to pull them off on returning to England.

I had just fitted them when the cars were called to board the ferry. These are very large boats with trucks on two decks and the cars scattered amongst the trucks on deck 5. The fittings are more like a cruise liner so the one and a half hours across the channel seems to fly.

The drive to Amiens was only one and a half hours but with the time change this meant we would arrive around 6.00pm. The weather continued to be fine and the fields of northern France were stunning. I could not reach my camera but I have included some shots I obtained on the return journey but unfortunately it was overcast and showering.

France is in a different time zone to the UK and has daylight saving as well so we had to set our watches an hour ahead. Fortunately this meant that we had the benefit of twilight even though it was past 6.00pm when we arrived in Amiens. It seemed like the middle of the day when we found our apartment. It was on the edge of the old city and a parking space opened up just nearby.