The Passadoc Gazette - No 152

The weekly 152

All lace...

What good are all these fan threads, all these color pins?
These are the essential tools used by the serpents and tooth pads; Let's add these small tubinoes of special shape called spindles.

When you think « lace », we think delicacy, elegance, finesse, refinement... when you think « lace »In the 16th century, it appeared only on the costumes of men belonging to the nobility, that it was forbidden to the petty bourgeoisie under penalty of a fine. In the 17th century, women finally took it! Napoleon reserved it for women's clothing only.

The one that interests us in this gazette is said « lace with spindles ». Coming from Italy, it will develop in France: in the 18th century, there are almost 20,000 tooth-trees in Normandy, 40,000 in the North – Pas-de-Calais, in Valenciennois, 100,000 in the region of Puy-en-Velay... At that time, she was everywhere: on the collars, at the bottom of the sleeves and male panties... She's hanging her handkerchiefs... Nobles, cardinals, bishops are covered in lace!

Las... the industrial revolution is in progress; In the 19th century, many serreliers and too many dentels were replaced by mechanical trades.

Today, lace « needle » or « spindles » – a high cost given the number of hours of work it requires – is mainly purchased by large sewing houses.

Curiously, little lace in Occitanie, it seems that she did not find her place on the costumes so colorful from Provence and elsewhere. Yet in the Treasure, Frédéric Mistral talks about « damo squash » [lady's neck] thus designating the working support of the lacemaker.

– Where is our lace?

Patience... Here she is with this beautiful photo of André Abbe!

Jeanne Monin

Research on many sites.

The Echoes of the Week
Fishing!
The lying stone
An unusual quiz
Passadoc
Next show.
Dragui-Retro
Abbe Photo

Fishing!

Claude Boyer
My father was a fervent man, but he was fishing to throw in the Verdon, the Roya and other mountain torrents. Besides, the place of the annual holidays was chosen according to the possibilities he had to practice his fishing art but on this side I did not resemble him.

Fishing has never been my thing and much less being planted for hours to fix any shimmering of the plug. If, like a whole mother Nature dressed up with some qualities, she forgot to join the layette with patience. Or maybe at the longliner like Andre, go in the early morning off on a pointed and see the sun rise on the sea on the horizon, but I never had the opportunity to embark.

All I had left was the bush, but that I know, I practiced and I loved. I remember the slices of bread that grilled in front of the fire, pasted with odorant cheese that rusted as it was cooking. If it was a treat for the taste buds, accompanied by a glass of red wine, it was necessary to prohibit any rendezvous after tasting.

Jeanne Monin
My father was a fine fisherman... He didn't need much bait.
Solitaire, silent...
On vacation, he spent his afternoons – and sometimes a few mornings! – by the river to watch the stopper or to throw the wire and never came home without a go.

Ah! wonderful memories that those of the little fryings that were snacked by chattering or Loire pike that Mom served with white butter and that were enjoyed in silence... or almost because from time to time one would let escape one: « Mmmm... What's good! «

Marie Martin
I liked to try fishing by hand...
Well, I didn't catch anything, hit anything, yes, but no more because it's hard, and I was lucky not to touch a snake!

The pros, kids too, caught some of them, some fun, and then we released everything!

André Abbe
I never liked fishing on the line because I'm not careful enough. It happened to me to fish longline, without having to bother with a cane, when I was on a friend's boat.

What a surprise it was when I bought some dust at the entrance to winter! The grocer asked me if it was « for eating or boiling ». The broumège is a mix of old cheese and other ingredients that anglers throw at the place where they will launch their line to bait fish.

Brossin is a strong cheese preparation of which there are dozens of variants, called cachaille in the upper country. The smell is rather repulsive but the taste is exquisite. Don't give me the recipe, we can find it on the internet. The best brush contains a hint of water of life."

Giselle Penat-Lorde
Fishing, but what a horror! When I was a child, a pain to stay there without moving or talking, because I was running away from the fish.

It was first with my brother at the edge of Argens; He discovered a very ephemeral passion for freshwater fishing, on the side of the Iscles lock at Roquebrune-sur-Argens. We took the stream that passed in front of the house and went down to the shores of the Argens. A nightmare with thorns from all over the world, a weeds maze not possible, and I was imagining in the depths of I don't know what tropical forest. A modern-day Robinson!

These burlesque adventures quickly ended on a stormy day, where the whole bardas and the frisquin saint had to be repacked quickly to return soaked like soups and dripping from head to toe. We were not greeted upon return with enthusiasm and had to even get seriously yelled, to have gone stupidly under a threatening sky ...

Guy, as far as I can remember, had never brought back anything but a fry menu for cat soup.

A few years later, while I often spent a holiday at Farlede, with friends of the family, rebelote! I had to stuff myself with meditating hours on the shore of the Gap and/or by the sea, near the Hyères or Porquerolles, which was already more fun!

I knew the mix of the famous broumege and I said « burk, burk » ...

Even if I managed to make myself forget by the sea, by occupying a few rocks further along with the searings, the sea urchins, I had found the lethal weapon: « Okay for your fishing and I'll keep quiet but first we'll go to the bookstore! »

I plunged into reading, so I was not heard all day! And I was going back to Roquebrune with a suitcase full of books!

I also remembered fishermen, who later became friends with the family, and more particularly a couple who lived in Cannes. They came to the area of Vergers, in the 1970s, still on the edge of Argens in Roquebrune.

Dad often put the cabanon at their disposal and a place for a small caravan. It was actually their leave. At the time, we didn't necessarily fly overseas and they were happy to spend 2 to 3 weeks in peace, a few weekends during the year, and enjoy fishing.

C’était pour ce couple un vrai paradis. Fruits et légumes à volonté, en retour avions quelques poissons. Ils sont venus durant plusieurs années. Je passais des heures à papoter, non pas au bord de l’eau avec le risque d’encore effrayer les poissons, mais avec l’épouse de l’un d’entre-deux.

Nous parlions d’ailleurs souvent en allemand. Elle était d’origine juive germano-polonaise et portait en elle les stigmates de la Shoah, car elle avait connu Auschwitz-Birkenau, où tout sa famille avait péri dont son bébé, la marche de la mort et Ravensbrück.

Son passé d’ailleurs, que nous n’abordions jamais, si ce n’est qu’indirectement, la rendait inadaptable au monde dans lequel elle survivait à force d’anxiolytiques et somnifères puissants. Je n’ai jamais oublié ses yeux et son sourire si tristes. J’ai énormément appris sur la religion juive, tous les rites, les fêtes, quelques termes en hébreu mais surtout du yiddisch et la Pologne bien entendu, son pays natal.

Elle disait à mon père : « Quand Giselle est là, je revis, votre fille est un soleil, d’une écoute et d’une empathie exceptionnelle, d’une grande compréhension de l’autre et d’une générosité inimaginable, elle m’apporte tant et tant…«

Parfois, lors d’une conversation, elle partait dans l’ailleurs et revenait subitement en essayant de sourire. Je n’ai jamais oublié Maja, cette rencontre du hasard, notre communication au-delà du silence. Cela reste certainement mon plus beau souvenir de pêche.

Si j’aime beaucoup le poisson, je déteste toujours autant la pêche !…

The lying stone

André Abbe
La pierre de la Fée, sur la commune de Draguignan (Var) demeure un des plus beaux dolmens de Provence, en dépit du dynamitage d’une des pierres levées (orthostate) soutenant l’énorme dalle.

Il paraît que cet acte de vandalisme est dû à un Dracénois mécontent du transfert de la préfecture de Draguignan à Toulon, il y aura bientôt 40 ans.

Toulon se trouve dans la partie sud-ouest du Var, vraiment excentrée. De son côté, Draguignan n’était plus en position centrale depuis que l’arrondissement de Grasse avait été généreusement donné aux jeunes Alpes Maritimes.

Brignoles aurait dû être choisie si on avait voulu donner à la préfecture une position centrale. Il a manqué une fée pour convaincre les aménageurs de ne pas aller installer notre préfecture au fin fond du Var…

Claude Boyer
Il faut dire que l’affaire est unique.

Pour la première fois, en 1974, le pouvoir central décide le transfert d’une préfecture. La nouvelle est inattendue bien que la question de ce transfert soit sous-jacente depuis bien longtemps.

En fait, peu importe la géographie, la décision est purement politicienne et l’affrontement de deux poids lourds de la politique varoise en est le déclencheur ; Maurice Arreckx maire de Toulon se voit récompensé par le gouvernement Chirac pour son soutien à Giscard à la présidentielle, au détriment d’Edouard Soldani, socialiste et ancien de la SFIO, maire de Draguignan…Les deux se retrouvant cependant sous l’étiquette commune des – employons l’euphémisme – « affaires » qui secouent le microcosme varois de l’époque…

Bref la politique et les « affaires » formèrent un mélange explosif instable qui a fini par les émeutes dracénoises que nous ne sommes pas près d’oublier….

Dolmen… autrement dit « pierre (men) couchée » ; mot d’origine cornique.
Cinquante mille dolmens auraient été recensés dans le monde, dont vingt mille en Europe, avec une très forte concentration en Europe de l’ouest.
J.M.

An unusual quiz

Next show.

Elle aura lieu à Draguignan.

Le thème
« Women of Provence«

D’ores et déjà, notez les dates : du 13 janvier au 9 mars 2024.

On en reparlera très bientôt !

Dragui-Retro

L’éditeur précise : La Fontaine de la Pyramide.

Mais l’œil aiguisé de plus de 30 Dracenois rectifie :

– C’est la Place du Marché !

Et Pierre Espitalier specify:

– Bien sûr ! Cette fontaine se trouvait dans la partie haute de la Place du Marché, face au café « Les Négociants » qui existe toujours, au carrefour de la rue G. Cisson (ex rue Nationale), de la rue F. Mireur (ex rue du Collège) et de la rue Montée de l’Église (ex rue de la Porte d’Aurange)… au coin de laquelle mon grand-père avait son salon de coiffure dans un pâté de maison qui a été détruit…

Abbe Photo

Le leporello a un succès fou !

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These are cited in The Gazette :
André Abbe
François Abbe
Claude Boyer
Pierre Espitalier (Dragui-Retro)
Marie Martin
Jeanne Monin
Giselle Penat-Lorde
Jean-Philippe Tinois
Editor in Chief :
Jeanne Monin