Letsgoloolala with Lily Anne
The Solex Bike
On that Sunday morning we headed off on the tour of Le Castillet.
We had it all to ourselves. The visit brought back many happy memories to Brigitte, so the commentary was wonderful. The two women at reception spoke a lot with my French friend; about history, politics and what was happening at this particular time, while respecting the obligatory social distance. As everything was closed we had lunch in the apartment in Rue Henri Abaddie.
The menu
Tomato Soup
A Baquette
Couscous, lentils and *tapenade
Red Wine La Fage
Coffee and Chocolate
*Puréed olives , capers, anchovie and olives.
Brigitte had mastered the art of figuring out the tv remote and finding films on tv to suit me. She left the keys of the apartment in the city centre adding to my beautiful house share, but I came back to Rue Henry Abaddie only to throw the keys into the letter-box on my way to the station. Dali had christened the station The Centre of the world. Thank-you Brigitte, you have inspired me with the family memories before Marie- Claude left for Glasgow at the age of 20 leaving her solex bike (fondly called Arturen) to the 14 year old Brigitte, to negotiate the big city! What a pleasure for the two sisters to recover this wonderful memory, Brigitte in Perpignan and Marie-Claude in Vancouver looking at the photo of the replica of the solex at the same time, fifty years later. This story and the one about transforming your mother’s room in the nursing home so that it was almost identical to the one she had just left moved me deeply. I guess it was her Home Sweet Home?
The Solex Bike
Brigitte spoke of the bike as an instrument of independence at this time, a route to freedom, during the 60’s in Paris.