I went on a tour with Diana Glasspool, which was truly lovely.
My roommate and I opted out of the Normandy beaches (I had just lost my
father, so more graves weren't interesting to me) and stayed behind to look
at the Tapestry. We took at least 2 hours the first time we went through,
and the next day we went through with the rest of the tour. It gave us
twice to really look and examine the tapestry closely. The second time was
with a group of English school boys, who didn't think anyone spoke English
and were making lewd comments (there are male genitals depicted if you
search for them). I "tsk tsk"ed and said just loud enough for them to hear
"What would their mothers think." (I'm such a meanie.) Shut them up quite
well.
There are antique shops scattered about, I found one just outside the
tapestry place across from the church. Lace abounds. Not all good, but
there is some. You will find some bobbins as well. You need to go to the
Lace School, if only to pick up a souvenir pattern. Mylene will probably be
there. On the wall is her certificate from France that she is a National
Treasure or some such title. It's the equivalent of an artistic medal of
national merit and not many people have them.
I would have liked to gone to a Calvados distillery, but it wasn't on the
schedule.
The people who do the colored blonde live nearby and sometimes demonstrate.
I can put you in touch with someone who might be able to find out if there
are any lace demos or get-togethers while you are there.
The man who has the Courselles du Mer laces had things in cases and had a
donation box, so he might be open to showing it, but I don't know the proper
way to find out about that. It's really lovely. And it's nice to hear him
tell his story of packing up everything he could when the lace manufacturing
building was going to be destroyed. He saw hundreds and hundreds of
patterns go into a bonfire. That would be another morning or afternoon.
Have a lovely time. I love France.
Laurie
--
Laurie J Hughes
Silicon Valley, CA (formerly the Valley of Hearts Delight)
Bobbin lace, social history, gardening
--
-
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
