First, let me say that today is my friend CHM's birthday. I'm sure you will join me in wishing him many happy returns of the day. Turning 96 is quite milestone to pass. All the best to you, mon vieux ! I wish I could come see you today. (In case you don't know, mon vieux is an expression of affection and friendship, meaning something like "my old friend." To a woman you could say ma vieille — it really doesn't have anything, or at least not much, to do with age.)
Today I'll post five pictures of the bridge at Montrichard, 10 miles downstream from Saint-Aignan. I've driven across it countless times in 20 years, but I've never walked across. I'll have to do that in the spring or next summer. The bridge is about 450 feet long.
The Wikipédia article about Montrichard says that this bridge across the Cher has retained many of its medieval features, even though it has been much modified over the centuries. The Montrichard bridge was on the old road from Paris to Bordeaux. Nineteenth-century texts say the bridge dates back to the time when the Plantagenets were in control of the old Touraine province.
Dear chm, wishing you a wonderful birthday. Because you are, well, wonderful!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, does "Le Cher" have a meaning other than as a place name? I assume it doesn't mean dear or expensive...
What i read is that the name of the river Cher has "pre-celtic" — not Latin — origins. So the coincidence between uppercase Cher and lowercase cher is just that. Phonetic only, not semantic.
DeleteEnjoy your birthday, CHM; greetings from Perth!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday CHM....
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your good wishes.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the structures, here at the end of the bridge and in the middle of the bridge in Saint-Aignan, were not meant to house the people charged to cillect the fee nessary to cross the bridge?
The house on the bridge at the south end of the bridge (the left bank of the Cher) is called la maison du passeur.
DeleteOh, that's very interesting chm, and the name of the house, Ken!
DeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY, chm!
Here's some more information about the maison du passeur on the Montrichard bridge. It was an octroi in the early 19th century. There are a lot more photos of Montrichard sights on this site.
DeleteCheers CHM ! Sante and champagne
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, CHM! Wishing you a healthy happy year to come.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to you, CHM! May your new year be lovely and bright.
ReplyDeleteBon anniversaire, CHM! Mon grand-père a eu le même âge que vous il y a quelques jours. Je ne sais pas quelle recette vous utilisez pour conserver cette énergie et cette fraîcheur d'esprit, mais continuez!
ReplyDeleteMerci de vos bons souhaits JB. En fait, il n'y a pas de secret, ce sont les gènes. Dans ma famille chaque génération vit plus vielle que la précédente. Mon grand-père paternel est mort à quatre-vingt-huit ans et mon père à quatre-vingt-seize et trois mois. Mon frère a fêté ses cent ans au mois de mars. Si ce n'était ma jambe, je suis en pleine forme! Vous avez donc l'avenir devant vous.
DeleteHeureux de lire qu'à part ta jambe tout va bien. Bon courage.
DeleteI am late to the party, sorry!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, CHM!
Again, thank you all for your kind words and wishes.
ReplyDeleteJoyeux Anniversaire, CHM! And, with your genes, I wish you many more years to celebrate! It has been interesting to learn about your friendship with Ken and Walt and all of your adventures together. We all hope to continue our french adventures - the sooner the better!
ReplyDeleteMary in Oregon
One more latecomer. Happy birthday, chm. Hope you had a lovely day.
ReplyDelete