Month: April 2024

Vezelay France: The French Camino’s Starting Point

Another excerpt from the book I am working on: My Camino: A First Hand Account”

Vezelay…Vezelay. How to describe it. It was not an exceptionally large town, but it had a unique footprint. It was wide and bulbous like a bowl at the summit of the hill where the Abbey stood and then narrowing down considerably like the long neck or stem of a bottle at its lower end, where the two main thoroughfares mentioned earlier intersected. It was as if Vezelay came about as a glass blown artifact of nature.

What appeared to me as being the main street of the town had a very steep gradient. It was cobblestoned and surrounded on both sides by neatly pointed brown coloured stone buildings. They were not tall or large but functional for the various commercial enterprises. From what I could see the upper floors were used as rooms to ‘let’ or quarters for the store’s owners. There were many cafes and restaurants with small outdoor terraces, courtyards, boutique hotels and what seemed to be high end fashion establishments.

Vezelay was extremely affluent and from what I would learn later it was an expensive tourist trap. This was due to the draw of the Abbey itself; the associated Pilgrim starting point on the way to Santiago de Compestele and the ambiance of the surrounding countryside that is steeped in history, culture, food, and wine, especially wine. The surrounding landscape of this hilltop enclave is picture perfect, as if sculpted by heaven itself. Every shade of green can be seen on the hills and in the valleys. The hills themselves seem to undulate in the heated air of the hot and hazy late afternoon sun but in perfect harmony with the environment. You see meadows and forests, separated by ploughed fields that emit a shade of gold, amber, and even bonze: dazzling colours. Now this may not be Canada, with its wild scenery, robust landscape and raging rivers, nevertheless, this countryside is no less spectacular than Canada is but in a more peaceful, subdued, and sculpted sense. Added to that is the rich tapestry of culture, history and hospitality of the Bourgogne and you have a heavenly recipe for happiness and well being. Indeed, I almost became emotional myself when viewing this scene, as I have been given the opportunity and blessing of being here at this moment in time. For the first time in months, I was happy, extremely happy, and not just for the circumstances I have found myself in but for the adventure that was soon to begin. I felt like crying. Tears of joy welled up in the tear ducts of my eyes. Moreover, the road up to the hilltop Abbey was like a stairway to heaven itself. And like the heavens it dominated the landscape. Why would anyone go to Paris or any of France’s major centres with all of their social ills, filth, and crime when they can visit a region like this is beyond comprehension?

Another Johnny River’s Classic:

Enjoy

St Leonard de Noblat

An excerpt for my latest story about the Camino – The French Camino – Vezelay. I haven’t got a title as yet but I am leaning toward: “Camino de Vezelay: My Existential Journey.” What do you think?

“I walked fifteen kilometres today of which twelve were uphill, including the two-and-a-half-kilometre uphill climb coming into St Leonard de Noblat itself. Nevertheless, the countryside was gorgeous. Despite the never-ending hills, I was beside myself with joy. There were rolling hills and farmer’s fields that appeared golden brown in the early morning sunlight. The shallow valleys and checkerboard squares of green and fallowed fields, or the awakening splendor of a thousand sunflowers, and the bright yellow fields of rapeseed or canola flooded my senses.

On my way to St Leonard, I passed though several small villages and hamlets that separated these different fields of grain. One town, named Le Chatenet en Dognon, had an interesting house on its main street. Architecturally it resembled Canada House on Juno Beach, Normandy. That was the famous house that was captured on film as the Canadian Queen’s Own Rifles landed on D-Day to begin the arduous and dangerous liberation of France during World War Two. Interestingly, that house was the very first property in France to be liberated by the allies. And here it was in Chatenet en Dognon, an exact replica.

How can one explain the medieval tone of St Leonard de Noblat. Picture yourself sitting on a café terrace having a grand café au lait in a town’s square that is surrounded by buildings and structures that go back to 1200 CE, with a church even older than that. Visualize narrow cobblestone streets that harbor an array of shops, bakeries, and patisseries. Smell the aura of scents that are innumerable. Imagine the women of the town shopping and vying for bargains as the men chat and smoke and curse one another but laughing as well as they go about their morning rounds. Envision that and you would find yourself in the center of St Leonard de Noblat, a medieval town restored in all its medieval glory and patina. A town that was named after a sixth century hermit who lived in a dark forest during the dark ages. An individual who was canonized even though he was hermit. Tell me, how does one achieve sainthood in those circumstances?  

Despite being old St Leonard de Noblat was a lively place. It was one of the few places that I have come across thus far during this Camino that showed some form of life. Yet the problem for a hiker like me to be able to take in and enjoy this scene as a welcome respite in the day’s grind was the requirement to climb a two-and-a-half-kilometre ascent from the countryside to the town center. “Closer to God than thee” – so the saying goes. If only I had me a donkey as St Leonard in all probability had.

I sat in the main square enjoying that coffee grande and a chocolate filled croissant and enjoying the scene that unfolded around me. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. At long last the temperature was comfortable with little humidity. I had time to kill and enjoy a respite from the daily grind as the Tourist Office that controlled the access to the municipal Gite here would not open until noon. So be it. I was happy and content except for the constant pestering of the yellowjackets that were attracted to the sweetness of the croissant. And just like home at this time of year, August, I found myself swatting, brushing and cursing the onslaught of these bees while trying to enjoy my repose. This was a major irritant for me on what was an otherwise a faultless morning.[1] Mon Dieu.

[1] They call these bees “bays” in France.

Love these old rock n roll tunes. Remember Johnny Rivers? The 60s? 1960s that is.

Simple classic rock! Those were the days my friend.

Read ya later.

I Can Read Your Mind

Even Orwell’s Thought Police Didn’t go as Far as Trudeau

 

(Toby Young…Spectator) You’d assume the reaction to new hate crime laws would make other authoritarian governments hesitate before introducing similar legislation. Humza Yousaf has become a laughing stock and his approval ratings have fallen by 15 points. But apparently not. The new Irish Taoiseach, Simon Harris, is determined to railroad through the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill, Donald Tusk’s government in Poland wants to introduce a new law that would make it a criminal offence to ‘defame’ a member of the LGBT community and Justin Trudeau is pressing ahead with an Online Harms Bill that makes our own Online Safety Act seem like the First Amendment. It’s as if all these ‘liberal’ leaders are saying: “You think Humza Yousaf is the West’s foremost opponent of free speech? Hold my beer.”

The Canadian proposal is, by some distance, the worst. It’s so dystopian, even George Orwell and Philip K. Dick failed to anticipate it. Discrimination is already banned under the Canadian Human Rights Act, but the new law will expand the definition of ‘discrimination’ to include online speech “likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group”. To those worrywarts who are anxious about the risk that this new law might be weaponised by woke activists, the government has said that ‘detestation’ and ‘vilification’ are not the same as ‘disdain’ or ’dislike’, which will still be permitted (thank you, Mr Trudeau), or speech that ‘discredits, humiliates, hurts or offends’.

Which raises the question: who gets to decide what speech falls foul of this new standard? And what qualifies them to make these Solomon-like judgments, parsing the difference between ‘dislike’ (acceptable) and ‘detest’ (verboten)? That job will fall to a new national agency called the Digital Safety Commission, comprised of five commissioners and an army of bureaucratic busybodies, which will have the same powers as a federal court, save for the fact that it won’t be bound by ‘any technical or legal rules of evidence’. (Points to Kafka for anticipating that.)

Canadians! Wake Up to what is happening in our country.

Tax, Tax And More tax

Budget Day:

Another $40B. Doubled the debt since he was elected in 2015 from $600B to $1.2T. Ah the Liberals. So liberal with our money. Govt now pays over $1B per week in debt servicing. And what does Trudough think about all of this?

Image

Dear Orchid: “Canadians are sooo stupid.”

And his solution? Tax the snot out of the upper, corporate and working classes.

Enjoy the decline to third world status Canada.

Sad thing is that we have to endure almost 1.5 more years of him. And, watch him renege on the fixed election date to add and additional year on to his current mandate, which means we have him for another 2.5 years.

Oh, this is cute:

BTW, dear leader accused us all of that most heinous crime…GENOCIDE.

But the MSM and our political leaders will ignore this as it doesn’t fit virtual signaling narrative. We have been deceived big time. Just like CO2 is the climate change boogeyman – according to our stupid leaders.

Happy Ramadan but Easter Sunday is Trans Visibility Day

Our very own Valley Girl with her good ole buddy. Mahmoud!

From left, Mélanie Joly, Mahmoud Abbas and Ya’ara Saks.

A photo tweeted by Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly Thursday night of her meeting in the West Bank with the territory’s leader has drawn outrage from Israel supporters who noticed the photo also includes the Jewish Liberal cabinet minister Ya’ara Saks holding hands with Mahmoud Abbas, known for antisemitism, Holocaust denial and supporting terror.He is a known terrorist yet here she is, our Global Affairs Minister, with another Liberal Jewish MP, cozying up to this terrorist piece of shyte.This is our Canada as we know it.

Majority of UK Muslims want Sharia law across Britain. This is coming to Canada and the US as well. Belgium will be the first European Country that adopts Sharia Law. But to shout out a warning will brand one a islamophobe here in Canada. Muslims know this all too well as they play out the racist and demographic card. For every one or zero children Canadian or American young women have,  the Muslim women will have 5…or 6…or 7…8,9,10. What the Muslims failed to do by the sword they will do demographically. Their stated goal is a global caliphate.

Diversity is not our strength. It is our weakness and our Achilles’ heel. And the Muslims know it.

I visited Toronto last week – the city where I was born and raised. Demographically, I no longer recognize the city. Thanks to Trudough, I am a stranger in my own land.

Wake up Canadians!

 

No Title As Yet

Writing a new story. It is a fictional account based on a true story about my Camino Journey in France and Spain. I am about half way finished. I do not have a title as yet.

The Camino?… The Camino… The Camino? ” What is that?” I thought to myself.

Tyler’s words were still running through my mind, as I began my drive home. What did he say?

‘It’s a Pilgrimage Jim, or in this case, a walk across the top of Spain. The French Way. Eight hundred kilometers (or 500 miles!).

“Holy shit” I said to myself under my breath. “Eight hundred kilometres? That’s no mean feat. He must be nuts. He has to be.”

I couldn’t get the Camino out of my mind for the entire drive home. “I will check it out.” I said to no one aloud and when I arrived home, I immediately, hurriedly, went down to my computer room to ‘Google’ the ‘Camino.’ To my surprise hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hits popped up.

“Where’s the fire? What’s the emergency?” My wife yelled from the top floor. Can’t you at least say hi.”

“Oh sorry…hi…nothing Maray, just something Tyler mentioned to me tonight that I want to check out. Something called a Camino.”

“A Camino?” She yelled. “What’s a Camino, or do you mean Casino.

“I am not sure. Something to do with an eight-hundred-kilometre Pilgrimage in Spain. Tyler is going to do it this spring. I want to check it out and then I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” She said. And then “don’t forget to take out the trash.”

‘Hmmm, yeah, I will.’ I thought but didn’t respond.

“Holy shit.” I said aloud as I looked at the computer screen and Google’s response to my search term. “This is way…way too many hits to grasp. What on earth, how on earth have I not heard about this?” Then again, I wasn’t into walking or hiking so I had no reason to know or even think about long distance trekking such as this Camino. I had other things on my mind, sailing being the primary one for me. But having sold my boat a year ago perhaps I needed a new focus on life. Perhaps the Camino or something like it would fill the bill for me. I’ll check it out in the morning.

I don’t know what Johnny Depp or Aiden Quinn have to do with this song.

141 days to go until I start Le Puy en Venay.

Cheers