Cleres & the Coast; Neighbourhood Watch
“… The next morning, we went out on the bikes to explore the village of Cleres, and more importantly, to get some bread. It was a Sunday, so we thought we should get out early to the boulangerie. Leaning our bikes against the railings that stop drunks falling in the picturesque stream that meanders through the streets, we were greeted with a sight I’ve only seen on TV reports from communist Russia…”
Quiberville, France
On Planet Goodaboom, under “10 Weeks in a Box”, you can read our travel tale and see the corresponding photos and more of the travel sketches in pastel and ink.
You can also see there my Watercolour Travel Sketches
October 12, 2007 at 9:52 am
Interesting post-thanks
May 24, 2008 at 6:32 am
Oh no, Miki, not only in Communist Russia, but in Germany too “neighbourhood watch” is being practised. Every little fat housewife and every pensioned old man thinks she/he is doing the country some good by running after their neighbours and spying on them …
This is, to me, a fascist mentality. It shows that Germany – under a thin veneer of democracy – is still basically what is was during the Third Reich which thankfully did not last a thousand years. But the mentality does!
This is on of the reasons why I will leave as soon as possible.
May 25, 2008 at 7:23 am
Hallo Eva… the text wrote Kevin, not me…
But you know, what you are saying about the neighbours watching and spying, it is not only German, not at all: it is international!
You would not believe the stories I could tell you about my neighbours in Albir… and they come from England, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Russia and Germany (we are a kind of community with 8 houses). The favourite activity from my Italian neighbour, is to enter my garden in my absence when the hedge is becoming too high, and to break with her hands all the branches from some of my plants and trees! It happened one week ago again, as I arrived there, the 2 wonderful plants were dying … it was awful for me to see those poor plants with broken branches…