…One
way to combat misconceptions and prejudice is to learn. The exposure i got
during these 12 weeks has certainly fulfilled this need to learn more and open
up to other aspects of horse/stockmanship i was unaware of. Working cattle on
horseback was a revelation in the concept as well as in the feel it gave me. Throughout
these experiences it was obvious that only the serious and the dedicated produce
quality in their work. The horse was always serious, the human not always so
and this is when accidents happened.
From
a human relation view point, France is a hospitable nation which is an aspect
of my culture i like very much. Every morning in a simple fashion, everybody
took the time to greet each other, exchanged a short and sincere word and kissed
or shook hands before the start of the day. And occasionally, we would gather
for the evening aperitif where jokes, stories and laughter would be
shared. The system of a manade allows to
meet a lot of different people. People from all walks of lives, abilities,
personalities, age, experience, skills and more. Meeting different people often,
is in my opinion a necessity to keep improving. i know i will not
meet a friend in each and every meeting, will not necessarily agree in ideas either.
But i will either learn something new else re-visit my old ways.
Enemies
are the best teachers. There have been a few instances during my trip when i met
a few. Some became enemies for a split moment after ugly actions they made which shook me up. Enemies & adverse situations, unlike
friends in comfortable settings, teach you patience and tolerance which with more
meeting of this type will grow bigger…
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| Bernard Colombet & friends before a branding. |
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| David & n.2 |
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| His Holyness the 14th Dalai Lama |
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| Blanco & yellow jacket leading |
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| Well trained! |
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| Jacques Mailhan with Quito & mares |
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| A mareema cow |
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| The Gite in the Camargue at Alain Tartavel's beautiful mas |
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| Marion & Totoc |
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| Stephane & Marc |
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| Fabi |
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| Bastien on Le Gros with Martins & n.2 |
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| With Pascal Mailhan |
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| Naomee |
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A very fit Franck, my cousin, who ran 12kms talking to me all the way!
Well impressed |
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| I never pay for a meal these days! Great tunes from Simon |
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| the inquisitive cat with the cut tail |
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| A lovely couple called Annie & Daniel |
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| catnapping |
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| Style of fences found all across the Camargue |
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| Course aux As in Sommieres |
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| Wild cat |
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| Limousin cow. Notice the horns have been cut off. |
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| Viaduc of Millau, the impressive 2.5 kms bridge |
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| LA Croix de Camargue |
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| Axle |
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| Lovely Ruby (cannot get this picture upright) |
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Fun, laughter & bull chops on the BBQ that evening.
An evening to remember! |
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| Marion on Opium singing in the rain! |
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| Le Gros |
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| the winning smile |
With
a satchel full of experiences and souvenir, on the
13th of June, it was time to drive back home. My first leg of the journey
took me from the Camargue in Arles to Roche in the Limousin via Millau, Rodez,
Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges. On the second leg, i drove to Orleans, Dreux,
Rouan & Calais on the glorious empty & virtually free motorways France
has to offer. Crossed over to England at around 3pm on Saturday morning and stopped
over to the McDonald carpark for a few hours catnap…Was back home in gloriously
green Cambridgeshire at 8 am on Saturday reunited with my own family…
See you soon
cat
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