It’s been a good week, with fun festivities and an educational outing. In this week’s blog, I share some sights and sounds from a record-breaking event and some photos of the oyster farming process.
Celebrating Boby Lapointe
I’ve talked about the’ fun and festive nature in Pézenas before. It seems there is always something to celebrate and last Saturday was another perfect example. Wrapping up a four day spring festival, Pézenas set out to beat the record for the number of people wearing blue and white striped shirts.
The challenge first took place in 2018 as a tribute to Boby Lapointe, a singer who was born in Pézenas and made a name for himself in the 1960s. He is well celebrated here with a school, a street, a parking lot and more named after him. His signature style included the blue and white striped shirt.
For some reason that is still unknown to me, we were in competition with other towns across France for the honour of most people wearing the shirt. Last year, only 924 people showed up for the photo here. This year, we had 3,358, smashing the previous record of 2,101 which was held by a town called Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne.
I bought a striped t-shirt and forced my way into the crowds to take photos. It was great fun! I’ve included the record-breaking photo which I borrowed from the Boby Lapointe festival website.
Song of the week
I’m sharing a Boby Lapointe video for this week’s song. His music is definitely not to my taste and I’m not alone. In the words of many I’ve spoken to here, ‘c’est très bizarre’. But he is a beloved son of Pézenas, so respect is due.
A trip to Marseillan
I joined the senior’s group this week for another outing, this time to visit the oyster beds in Marseillan. There’s a lot to the process of producing oysters. Essentially, oysters in Marseillan are glued to lines by hand, then the lines are mechanically raised and lowered every six hours for between 18 months and 5 years.
What was most interesting to me was hearing about the mechanical system. In the ocean, the raising and lowering of the lines occurs naturally with the tides. Because there are no tides in the Etang de Thau, the lagoon where Marseillan is situated, they use a solar powered system that reproduces the tides.
I’ve never been into oysters – I thought they were just weird little vehicles for whatever you added on top. But apparently they have distinctive flavours based on a bunch of different factors, so I might have to give them a try more often.
Here are some photos.
I’m excited about tomorrow! It’s the semi-annual brocante or antique sale and over 200 dealers will set up in the street. Oh, the treasures! I’m happy to be sharing the experience with a friend who is coming for a short visit, and I’ll be sure to take some photos of the things I find.
À bientôt .
Sue, I was on a cancelled/delayed flight from CA yesterday(today) so I may the first to reply to your blog. I found the education on oysters interesting. Like you, they’ve never appealed to my palate…LOVED your Baby Lepointe Festival…you’re teaching me as well🇫🇷❤️🇫🇷 Merci, Marianne
So enjoy your blogs. They are the highlight of my week! You have a gift for writing, photography and storytelling so thanks for sharing!
Boby Lapointe is well know for the « jeux de mots » (wordplay) in his songs. He was frequently the opening act for a very well known singer, Barbara.
I echo what has been written above. I love this blog and following your adventures. Thank you for bringing to life another part of the world and for capturing its vibrancy and zest for life. I love that Pézenas continues to find reasons to celebrate.
I look forward to reading about the antique sale. Best wishes, K
Boby Lapointe – I had no idea. Love the striped shirts, I’ve got 5 of them. Would fit right in.
Thank you Sue, for continuing to share your trials and tribulations with us. Lisa B