Passadoc Gazette - No 158

The weekly 158

The shepherd's star...

Daudet tells...

[On pasture, the shepherd waits for the food of the fortnight that usually brings him Norade, his aunt's watch.
And that Sunday, who's coming? Our lady, my children! our maiden in person, sitting right between the bag of bones, any rose of the air of the mountains and the cooling of the storm.
But the rain increased the Sorgue. The young lady does not know the way through; evening falls; she stays near the shepherd.]
J.M.

She always looked up, with her head leaning in her hand, surrounded by sheep's skin like a little heavenly pastry...

– There are! How beautiful! Never had I seen so many... Do you know their names, shepherd?

– But yes, mistress... Here! Right above us, here is the Way of Saint James (the Milky Way). It goes from France right to Spain. It was St James of Galicia who set him up to show his way to the brave Charlemagne when he fought the Saracens. Further, you have the Car of Souls (the Great Bear) with its four resplendent axles...
[…]
– But the most beautiful of all the stars, mistress, is ours, it is the shepherd's star, which enlightens us at dawn when we go out the flock, and also in the evening when we come in. We still call it Maguelonne, the beautiful Maguelonne who runs after Pierre de Provence (Saturne) and marries him every seven years.

– How! Shepherd, are there star marriages?

– Yes, ma'am.

And since I was trying to explain to him what it was like to have these weddings, I felt something fresh and fine to weigh slightly on my shoulder. It was her head heavy with sleep that leaned against me with a nice ruffle of ribbons, laces and ripped hair.

* The stars – Letters from my mill – First publication 1869.

The Echoes of the Week
Member
Casau des Cavalières
The fragrance of roses
February 2nd!
Passadoc

The emberluqué

Less the natural speakers of the Provencal – those who speak the language with the family, are numerous – the more the language is present on the facades.

André Abbe :

I found a beautiful example in Lavandou, a small town on the Var coast. In less than an hour in the center, names appeared:

– Lou Lavadou (washing) the origin of the city's name. My old man « Blue guide » says the name would come from the lavender that would grow in quantity at this place. The author did not have to set foot in the country because the lavender does not grow at sea level.

– Member It's amazing! I haven't heard that word since I was a kid, I haven't seen it written anywhere until I'm in front of this restaurant.

In Provencal (emberlucat) and regional French, we used to employ a boy dazzled by the charm of a young girl.

Hat to the person who went the destrauqué (out of the hole literally)!

I found others on the way to the port.

Claude Boyer

Not long ago, I learned that a tubaneù was a place where we gathered to smoke and the name the famous rue Thubaneau in Marseille comes from there.

Thubaneau Street is located in the 1st arrondissement on the right after the famous stairs of Saint Charles Train Station. It goes from Dugommier Boulevard to Belsunce.

In this street there was a room where people gathered to smoke.

For decades, it has been a high place of prostitution in Marseilles. Speaking of Marseilles, doing Thubaneau Street means sidewalking, and go to Thubaneau, It was go meet the ladies of small virtues or more trivialy « go to**** ».

The street gained its reputation as an artistic street in 1693; when the Opéra de Marseille cannot accommodate the Troup Royale, this one settles rue Thubaneau.

This road is part of the streets of Marseilles that did not change name to the French Revolution.

Casau des Cavalières

André Abbe
Words I have not heard or spoken for years sometimes come to mind one day.

Thus « case »...

My father often told me about our « case » Horsemen where we went sometimes. A house is a ruin or a house in bad condition, in Provençal.

Here's how Arthur Cazaux, a young tennis player (2002) from Montpellier, made some feats at the Open in Australia, finishing in the 8th final...

And here I am again with my father in our casau des Cavalières, watching Cazaux play on TV. Funny combination of words.

Father says « pair » in Provencal. This is the name of Benoît Pair, a tennis player from Avignon. I don't know if Pair and Cazaux have ever fought on the courts...

The fragrance of roses

André Abbe
Perfume roses from Provence!

Fayence (Var) – known for sailing – is close to Grasse (Alpes Maritimes).

At Rebuffel, the reputation is acquired by roses. In 1990, I made a report at home. Even today, perfumers love roses from the region! So much so that certain fields of perfume roses must be protected by barbed wire...

The flowers of the centifolia roses are harvested manually... In May... and are distilled by fatty perfumers.

A few years ago, we feared that imports of roses and synthetic fragrances would end this culture in our home. But the perfumers realized that to get the highest quality perfumes, nothing could replace the local roses.

Do not miss the visit of the Parfumery Museum in Grasse.

Photo : harvest roses in Roquebrune.