Le Geant Fanch a les Roches Blanches pres du Douarnenez
Douarnenez, home to a wonderful film festival, which unfortunately we were not around to attend on account of prescheduled engagements in Plougastel and Brest (see below). Here is a link to the Film Festival, it looks like a really good and different, interesting film festival. The theme is always around minorities. This years theme was Polynesia – wow! http://www.festival-douarnenez.com/fr/
We went up the hill to Le Roche Blanches, an old ‘Village de Vacance’ now inhabited by a funky bunch of cool, arty type people. We were there as guests of Francois who has a bicycle repair workshop there and who arrived in Douarnenez on his wooden boat. There were a lot of people here on account of a week long contact dance improvisation summer gathering. The dancers, all squeezed into a small little space, were a smashing audience to perform to!
Douarnenez bay is a very beautiful place. We went for a long walk over the cliffs and into town.
And we went for an amazing swim in the most deep blue clear water, down the steep cliffs we jumped from the rocks into the jacuzzi-like sea pond with lion mane seaweed, swaying in the waves. It was great, our favourite swim of the year.
We like this house, empty and atmospheric it was. And we like little Miss Happy Dancer, she reminded us of the canal between Taunton and Bridgewater where you can also find little Misters and Misses.
And then we met a real giant! Fanch of the Roche Blanches – the giant fisherman!
We shared giant lore with his friend Julien and admired his big hands, ate the sardines Fanch had caught and made Pizza and Flammenkuchen in the wood oven, all together, the giant, Francois, the dancers and everyone else. All of whom watched our show and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Click here to see the giants Fanch d'Ysetailleurs facebook page.
KIDNAPPED! by the Solexine on our way to Plougastel
We left Dournenez on a cold, rainy day and set off for Plougastel our next destination.
Cold and wet we finally found a cafe to stop for a little rest and in walked 30 o poco mas desaforados Solexineros, like this one below.
It was like being in a 1950’s time warp. We got interogated, our papers checked by Gendarme Pierre and that was it, we were accosted, cajoled and finally press ganged by La Solexine into going to their den, to sleep on the kitchen floor and to perform our show for them.
We had lots of fun with them and now have friends all over Brittany who ride these silly bicycles with not very good motor assist. As you can see in the last picture, they are having to help each other up the hill. Look!
Les p’tits lessives au lavoir de la rue Saint-Malo.
They let us go the next day and we made it to Plougastel, were we met Guillaume our host for the night. We played in the market square and the next day Guillaume accompanied us to Brest, where we made our way to the Rue da St.Malo, the only road that was left after the 2nd world war. It was occupied by squatters and saved from demolition.
The "P'tites Lessives" is an afternoon music and arts festival, held each summer in the grounds of the old laundry: a large expanse of grass dotted with trestles and tables mismatched with worn living room carpets placed on the ground for children and a wooden stage built by volunteers that live on the street.
There we are, doing our show, in the biggest wind ever….
… in front of our biggest audience ever! We think it might have been 300 people.
And our fellow performers who entertained the crowds.
Breton duo Maion and Wenn, passing Rue Saint-Malo for the fifth time. "Playing here is like home," smiles Maion.
and FRITUUR, a group of ten young Belgians, who define themselves as "a choir of punky spirit and twisted. "
An owl philosophy:
"Close a pretty street to cars to open it up to people, it's a great idea."
