Nice Monday 8th Sept

 Sunday 9th June - Normandy Beaches

Today we weren’t sure how our routine might be affected with all the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the D Day Landings that have been happening over the last few days, I have been watching some of the official stuff on TV, sometimes French TV and they dub out the English so sometimes I only get the gist of what has been happening 

First Stop was the Ranville Commonwealth Cemetary, where there are lots of English, Scottish, Canadian and a few NZers and Australians, and also some Germans that weren’t Nazis and assisted the allies

Over 2000 soldiers in here, with all their insignia on the headstones, each headstone had line of those wee battery headlights on for the occasion, ant the planting was all tidied up as well. There were Black Watch, Paratroopers, Royal Engineers, Medical corps, many aged between 19 and 30, usually closer to the 19  such young men, pretty sobering and moving. 

We then stopped at the Pegasus bridge on the river Oren which was one of the first to be taken by the allies 

A lot of the towns were decked out in flags, mostly French, American, Canadian and British, occasionally NZ and Australia., There were lots of  WW2 vehicles around and a big parade planned for Bayeux. There was a tank by the bridge and a story about a local Monsieur Picot who came out of his home waved at the English , yelled out “long live the English” and was shot dead - I presume by the Germans it wasn’t specified.

Next stop was Bayeux where we were due to see the tapestry, some decided to forgo that and watch the WW2 vehicle parade.I went to see the tapestry, It was really amazing, and the audio commentary was very good, and sometimes amusing, it is the story of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings 1066. I read a book on him many years ago called William the Bastard. They are not sure who actually commissioned the tapestry, maybe his wife, maybe his brother Odo the bishop he went into battle with his brother but could only carry a mace, technically he was not allowed a sword because he was not allowed to spill blood, but bludgeoning someone was obviously okay. Amazing that the tapestry is nearly 1000 years old. there was also a museum with information of its makeup, its care etc, my concentration failed me then, but the tapestry I enjoyed.

Had some time outside in Bayeux which was very festive and lots of people after the parade. Still got to see some vehicles anyway.

Then of course there was the Bayeux cathedral, dominating the town. It seems that I keep chopping off the tops of the spire when looking up on a bright day, that’s my excuse.

Onwards we went to the American cemetery at Coalville-sur-Mer above the beach of Omaha. They were busy taking down structures that had been assembled for the celebrations so weren’t able to go every where. They have a good visitors centre where you can watch a short film, which shows three or four of the soldiers stories, like a medical officer, how old he was, where he got killed etc. We then went through the displays, there was this big hunk of metal like a few pieces of metal angle beams with sharp points, they called them Czech hedgehogs they were used to stop tanks getting through, interesting but I didn’t photograph it.

Out in to the Cemetary over twenty thousand graves there all decked out with American and French Flags, usually you can walk between them but they have been roped off for the occasion

Looking down towards Omaha Bay from the Cemetary

After this we went down to the beach itself, a really nice beach with golden sand with people promenading, children making sandcastles, some even swimming on a chilly day - must be Germans - I remember our tour guide itn Italy telling us that when we were in Monterosso and there were some swimming.

Looking towards the monument on the beach and the stage they held the ceremonies on being deconstructed.We got in a bit of a traffic jam after this so took us a while to get away, Eventually we made it to a lookout over Arromanches les Bains where we were to spend the night and Gold Beach which was one of the ones the English landed on. You could see the Mulberries in the sea that they used to help create a harbour and with them they used Bailey bridges to get equipment to shore, it was a mighty big operation all round- lucky it ended up being successful even though many lives were lost.

Thought I had a better photo of the Bailey bridge, but it seems not, Apparently the man who thought up the mulberries was in the bath a bit like Archimedes. I watched the great escaper on the way over on the plane and I think Operation mincemeat which was a scam by the British to fool the Germans about where they would land. It was all very secret and only a few knew how little bits of the plan fitted together. They also had some sculptures there from the 75th anniversary which featured a 97 year old veteran, Bill Pendall looking back at himself as a 22 year old, I really liked the way the metal figures were made 

We got to our hotel and I had a lovely view out my window of apple trees and houses towards the bay and the mulberries. 

All the celebrations 80 years after the fact when there are very few around who were alive, brings home a bit of the fear in Europe at the moment with Putin’s aggression in the Ukraine. From a country that suffered a lot under occupation there is big concerns, and in truth the West is not prepared, France and England don’t have big military, in personnel or equipment and then a lot of people through out Europe have voted Far Right in their elections - so much so that Macron has called a snap election at the end of the month. We are so lucky to be so far away, but any war in Europe will still have its ramifications. 

On that sober note its time to go out for tea.