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Vendee Now the floods have gone


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Its the contrast that hits you .Driving from an area not touched by the invasion of the sea.the . change to the land is striking Leaving fields of new growth suddenly there before you is the reflection .The recently flooded fields have a surface that reminds you of bowl of porridge ..The showers leave on them a thin film of water that in the sun gives the impression of looking across a huge mirror ..Where the sea has drained off little channels are left as would be found in estuary mud.after a receding tide .Then there are the logs.. Everywhere you look logs... .cut to size littering the fields . With the sight of them comes the realisation that over two kilometers away hundreds of woodpiles neatly stacked for winter use were picked up from the gardens of L'Aguillon sur Mer and floated off to be deposited in the fields .The hedges are filled with the flotsom expected on a beach and what looks like a dried froth hanging in strands ..

We see over hundreds of square metres a carpet of thickly spread broken reeds . We came upon them piled up in a field and on top of this mass sat a boat. a table with two legs .a childs castle shaped yellow beach bucket..a brown and white portaloo ..some ropes.and some netting .. All this so far inland .. We come across dog .trotting down the center of the road .We stop the dog stops and just looks towards us A cross basset beagle type it just stares ..it ignors our calls.A sorry looking creature it just will not come to us . A woman in a small van delivering bread also stops and trys to call it over . I ask her if she knows where it may have come from as there is not a house in sight .. I am told that many such dogs have been left to fend for themselves as people have been re located and many animals were also carried away by the floods ..The dog decides to cut off over the verge into a field and we are left hoping it finds its way home or to some kind person who will take it in .

I drive to the site of the memorial to the crew of an RAF Halifax bomber shot down in July 1941 over roads where the surface tarmac has been peeled off ..I expect to find the memorial destroyed. The names of the crew are on a slab of black marble attached to a rough block of granite . It is positioned on the sea wall towards L'Aguillon point and standing in front of it you face La Rochelle over the bay and the direction the hurricane swept in from. Surrounded by rubble and the remains of a smashed up jetty and now beneath half a flag pole I find the memorial intact and upright the block looking as if has not moved an inch .

We head for a restaurant we like hoping it is still in business.. .thinking of lunch.. Then we see the piles of furniture the bedding the tables the chairs the TV's and fridges all on the pavement outside homes .Suited men with clip boards probably the insurance loss adjusters are standing looking round . So many houses so many belongings they must hardly know where to start ..

We reach the bar restaurant and find it surrounded by EDF vans and the many vehicles of tradesmen working to repair damaged homes .No lunch there today the car park was full.and as it should be ...it was time to feed workers not tourists ! ..The tradesmen have created an on site base with a bar to work from and good luck to them. They have a big job to do .Easter is almost upon us there will be visitors to prepare for and there are businesses to reopen and lives to be rebuilt ..

My wife and I decide to leave the area and I drive off realising that this wind blown part of France with its now damaged land and hurting people has become more than just a place for us to relax and find some sun for a few weeks of the year ...And the wetness in my eyes today is not all due to old age or the bad weather . .
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Thanks a lot Frederick. A salutory read for those of us thinking of Easter as a time to enjoy company, eggs, special meals etc

I hadn't heard news of the area for a few weeks; there's obviouly much still needing to be done. I was hearing about Madeira recently, and how things have gone on there - let's hope your area continues to make progress as in Madeira, but it's obviously going to be very slow. Good luck toall living and working in the area.

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