15 December 2009

Saint-Aignan's Père Noël

When you come into Saint-Aignan from the north this time of year and cross the bridge, the most brightly colored thing you see is Father Christmas. Okay, it's a plywood cutout, but it is boldly painted.

Santa, a reindeer, and an elf in Saint-Aignan

Santa Claus, or more correctly Le Père Noël, has an interesting face and a toothy smile.

How jolly can he get?

If you look up above Père Noël's head and over the rooftops of the houses behind him, you see the back side of the Château de Saint-Aignan.

The Château de Saint-Aignan looms over the town...

And if you look left, up the main street leading into town, you see the tall tower of the church high above the rooftops.

...as does the church

The weather is literally freezing, but there's no more talk of snow. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas anyway.

P.S. The weather forecast has now changed. They are predicting snow here and all around on Thursday and Friday. Maybe we will have a white Christmas this year.

9 comments:

  1. Hi Ken,

    What in the world is the feathery bit in yesterday's picture featuring the goose?

    I'm afraid that I prefer the more sterile American presentation of fowl without the heads, feet, etc. As I've said, I like duck and ducks so prefer not to be reminded of my roast's provinence.

    As a teen-ager in Minnesota, I shot many a duck, pheasant, and partridge. But at about age 20, I just couldn't do it anymore and sold my guns...wimpy, I guess. Maybe I'll take up shooting again if the ducks start carrying air-to-ground missiles to make it a fair fight.

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  2. Forgot to mention that in the cities the pigeons are indeed armed with missiles...they're fair game.

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  3. Holy cow... quite the face on that Père Noël!
    Judy

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  4. Bill, I don't think that any of those birds were any that anybody shot with a gun. It was confusing to tell what was what, and I didn't really ask. I think the one with the long feathers around the head and neck was a capon. The whiter-skinned bird right to the left was the goose the woman held up for us to see, and weighed.

    They sell birds like that, and rabbits, with their heads on so you can be sure of what you're buying. The bird is not a turkey but a big chicken, and the rabbit is a rabbit and not a cat.

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  5. I think that Santa would scare the littlest member of our family (age 4)!

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  6. Chris, that Santa Claus does look a little maniacal, as you say.

    Bill, maybe that bird with the long feathers around it's neck and head was a fattened duck. I still can't decide.

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  7. Ken, You should always stick to your first idea ... that's what I was thaught as a kid. The feathery bird is definitely a rooster or a capon ... not a duck. Believe me :)

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  8. Ken,
    A white Christmas is something we can't appreciate down under. Today's forcast is for 39 degrees.
    Our relatives from Virginia Beach will be returning home tomorrow for Christmas at home so they will need to aclimatise quickly.
    Leon

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  9. Ladybird, I know you are right. But where is the canard gras that was advertised so prominently on that sign? I guess it is just out of the frame.

    Sue and Leon, 39º? Celsius? That is sweltering. I hope you have air-conditioning in your house. It's -1ºC here this morning. Snow tomorrow.

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