Mar

Protecting the Rural Heritage of France

by Meredith Mullins on March 1, 2021

Sheep in the French countryside showing the right to rural heritage. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The freedom to baa whenever you feel like it.
© Meredith Mullins

No BS: New Law To Preserve the Sounds and Smells of the French Countryside

It would not be unusual when thinking about the rural heritage of France to find a sign at the outskirts of a typical French village that says:

Enter at your own risk. We have bells that ring regularly. We have roosters who sing early in the morning. We have livestock herds that graze here (and might be wearing bells). We have farmers who work to give you food.

If you do not support these things, then you are not in the right place.

This pride of place is the new manifesto of the French countryside. In January of this year, the desire of agrarian areas in France to remain connected to their rural heritage is now supported by law—the new French Sensory Heritage Law.

This law protects the rights of the country dwellers to their heritage—the smells and sounds that are an inherent part of rural life.

Lavender field and hay bales in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © Sheron Long.)

Sensory heritage as far as the eye can see
© Sheron Long

You guessed it—that includes the earthy/rotten-egg smell of manure, the crowing of roosters, the clanging of cow bells, the chirping of cicadas, the baadboy baaing of sheep, the croaking of frogs, the grinding of tractor gears (seemingly always in need of WD-40), the quacking of ducks, and other sounds and smells that will soon be added to the codified list.

Tractor on a road in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © Rene Rauschenberger/Pixabay.)

Tractors are an inherent part of farm life . . . and a necessary rural noise.
© Rene Rauschenberger/Pixabay

The tension between country locals and the influx of the neo-rurals (as they’re affectionately called) is rising, as tourists and second-home owners descend on charming French villages to seek solace in the peace and quiet of the country.

However, when you leave city noises far behind, all is not quiet. The countryside comes alive with its own symphony. And, for some people who are looking for ultimate silence, these new choruses don’t fit the picture of paradise.

The Soundscape of the Countryside

Immerse yourself for a moment in some of the sounds of the French countryside:

Would these sounds drive you crazy? It depends on your respect for tradition and terroir. (It also depends perhaps on how early in the morning or how close to home said sounds and smells entered your world.)

Cows in a field in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage in France and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © PxHere.)

Moo-ve over neo-rurals.

The Neo-Rurals Are Challenging Rural Heritage

For some countryside visitors, these natural sounds trigger feuds, complaints, and lawsuits.

In Le Beausset in southern France, Mayor Georges Ferrero was asked to kill the town cicadas because they were too rowdy. He responded that the cicadas were the music of Provence, and he built a cicada statue in town to honor that heritage. Their song lives on.

Cicada in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage and the new sensory heritage law in France. (Image © PxHere.)

One cicada is interesting. A thousand cicadas are music.

Mayor Francis Durand of Les Bondons in Occitanie was asked to delay the ringing of the church bells, so that vacationers could sleep later. The mayor denied that request saying that the church bells were a part of the village and had been ringing for years. (There might have also been a few words said under his breath.)

Other feuds in the headlines included a complaint against quacking ducks in the Landes region of France (a hub for duck breeding) and irritation over cow bells in the Alps region.

A duck thinking in the French countryside, showing the importance of rural heritage and the new sensory heritage law in France. (Image © VancouverLami/Pixabay.)

I think ducks have a right to quack, especially in the region known for breeding ducks.
Don’t you agree?
© VancouverLami/Pixabay

A couple in the Dordogne was ordered to fill in their pond to prevent the amorous croaking of frogs during mating season (measured at 63 decibels, similar to the sound of a vacuum cleaner). However, several protected species thrive in the pond, so the couple faced an additional dilemma—an issue still being sorted out in the courts.

A frog in a pond in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage in France and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © PxHere.)

The amorous sounds of mating season

The Poster Coq: Maurice the Rooster

The underlying differences between urban and rural—what is rightful heritage and what is not— rose to a crescendo in the case of Maurice, the Oléron Rooster.

Vacation home owners on the island of Oléron in western France were neighbors of Corrine Fesseau, the keeper of Maurice (and several other egg-laying fowl).

They sued her in 2019 for the “abnormal racket” of Maurice greeting the day with his obligatory morning cock-a-doodle-doo (a crow called “discreet” by Maurice’s lawyer). Too early in the morning, the plaintiffs said. But Maurice couldn’t help himself. He had his tradition.

Maurice the Oleron rooster in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage in France and the new sensory heritage law. (Photo courtesy of Corrine Fesseau.)

Maurice stands proud on his poster.
Courtesy of Corrine Fesseau

The court sided with Maurice (as did more than 140,000 supporters who signed a “Save Maurice” petition and followed a Je Suis Maurice social media campaign). The plaintiffs had to pay damages and legal fees.

Maurice T-shirt showing the importance of rural heritage in France and the new sensory heritage law. (Image from the Oléron shops.)

Support in every form, even T-shirts
From the Oléron shops

Maurice’s lawyer closed by saying, “This rooster was not being unbearable. He was just being himself.” The roosters brought by locals to the courtroom in solidarity agreed.

Although Maurice passed away in June, 2020 (a hero and a symbol of rural life to the end), Maurice II has now strutted in to preserve the heritage of morning crowing.

Cockerel rooster in the French countryside, showing the importance of rural heritage in France and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © PxHere.)

“Je suis Maurice” the rooster supporters of Maurice crowed in solidarity.

Vive La France . . . and Its Special Sounds & Smells

These growing complaints and lawsuits culminated in action by Pierre Morel-à-L’Huissier, a member of the French National Assembly. He crafted a law proposition—The Law Protecting the Sensory Heritage of the French Countryside.

The use of the word heritage was deliberate, as heritage in France has special meaning. It implies protection of something important and culturally relevant that is in danger of being lost. The proposal passed unanimously.

Lamb and sheep in the French countryside showing the importance of rural heritage and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © Sheron Long.)

No one wanted to lose the charm of the countryside.
© Sheron Long

And in January, 2021, the new Sensory Heritage Law passed unanimously in the French Senate, giving local governments legal backup and, hopefully, preventing the kind of lawsuits that made Maurice the Rooster famous.

After the law passed, the Secretary of Rural Affairs, Joël Giraud, added that French rural territories are not just sceneries. They are also sounds, smells, activities, and practices that are part of France’s heritage.

Dog smelling lavender in the French countryside showing the importance or rural heritage and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © Sheron Long.)

Sometimes it’s nice to stop and smell the lavender.
© Sheron Long

I Love The Smell of Rural Heritage in the Morning

If you don’t like the smells of farm animals, if the melodies of cow and sheep bells aren’t in your Top Ten, or if you would rather sleep past the morning rooster wake-up call, you may need to readjust your vacation or home-owning plans.

Oh, I See. To put it more simply, if you can’t appreciate the rural heritage and cultural traditions of the French countryside, then “you are not in the right place.”

Goat with big bell, showing the importance of rural heritage in the French countryside and the new sensory heritage law. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Tell me the truth. Does this bell make me look fat?
© Meredith Mullins

Soundscapes courtesy of World Sounds and Zapsplat. Thank you to the following sources: The Local Paris, The Guardian, France 24, and The New York Times.

A special thank you to Corrine Fesseau, fighting for the rights of rural heritage and her roosters Maurice I and Maurice II.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/France

Feb

Into Armchair Travel? Try the Wheredunit of Mystery Books

by Joyce McGreevy on February 23, 2021

Coastal Sicily, the home of fictional detective Montalbano, is a popular destination for armchair travelers who read mystery novels. (Image by Giuseppe Costanza/ Pxhere)

1. Which Sicilian detective begins his day with espresso and a sunrise swim?
(Answers below the post)
Giuseppe Costanza/ Pxhere

Follow the Clues Around the World!

Pandemically speaking, today’s most favored mode of transport is armchair travel. But must safety rule out excitement? Not when you travel via mystery books. These page-turners whisk you away to virtually any corner of the world.

Stereotypes persist about mystery books. Like the idea that they’re merely puzzles. That the author presents a lineup of suspects, then interposes an obstacle course between the reader and the Big Reveal. You know, cryptic messages, red herrings, butlers arching an eyebrow, bodies falling out of closets, that sort of thing.

As comedian Michael Ian Black says of mystery books, “They make me too anxious. . . . Just tell me who did it.”

But for many fans, the whodunit is secondary to the wheredunit. Mysteries spring from particular places, and the best mysteries evoke those places with a vibrancy that turns reading into an immersive experience.

Botswana, the home of fictional detective Precious Romatswe, is a popular destination for armchair travelers who read mystery novels. (IPublic domain image)

2. Who sells a herd of cattle to launch her detective agency in Botswana?

You’d Never Suspect . . .

As mystery fans, we appear to our unsuspecting families to be reading. We sit there sedately as Whistler’s Mother.

Actually, we’re at a casino in Rio De Janeiro with Inspector Espinosa, sailing the coast of Ghana with Detective Darko Dawson, on a stakeout in San Francisco with P.I. Izzy Spellman, or backstage at the opera in Venice with Commissario Brunetti.

And oh my, the eating and drinking we get up to: Bouef Bourguignon in the Perigord with Police Chief Bruno, pasta ‘ncasciata in Sicily with Montalbano, every Québecois dessert on the menu with Armande Gamache.

We’re the first ones to crack open a bottle of Black Label with V.I. Warshawski in Chicago, the last ones to close the bar in Mario Conde’s Havana. And we’d never say no to another Bell’s whisky in Edinburgh with Inspector Rebus.

Havana, Cuba, the home of fictional detective Lieutenant Mario Conde, is a popular destination for armchair travelers who read mystery novels. (Image by nextvoyage/ Pixabay)

3. Which fictional lieutenant knows every bar and bookshop in Havana?
nextvoyage/ Pixabay

Destination: Everywhere

A great mystery is not only a passport to everywhere from Australia to the Arctic, it’s an all-access pass. It lets you inside the velvet rope, under the yellow caution tape, and through doors marked Do Not Enter. It’s a sun-warmed beach in Biarritz on a rainy day in Seattle; a nimble cliff walk in Devon despite one’s fear of heights; a closed community in India sharing its secrets over cups of chai.

Oh, I see: Great mysteries engage our senses, take us behind the scenes, give us insight into cultures, and reveal human geography.

As the genre most often read in-flight or on a commuter train, the mystery novel taps into modes of travel. From Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10, mysteries don’t just take us places. They punch our ticket along the way. Whether these journeys are glamorous, harrowing, or both, we’re totally on board.

Perigord, France, the home of fictional police chief Bruno Courreges, is a popular destination for armchair travelers who read mystery novels. (Image by DomyD/ Pixabay)

4. Which fictional police chief hunts truffles and crooks in France’s Perigord?
DomyD/ Pixabay

The Curious Case of the Dive-Bombing Book

My favorite mystery series took armchair travel to a whole different level. One winter in Chicago, I was parked in a comfy chair at a bookstore, minding my own business (for once), when a paperback leapt (leapt, I tell you) from the top of a tall bookshelf. The book executed a perfect swan-dive into the open tote bag at my side.

On the cusp of mortification (one of my favorite places, apparently), I grabbed said book, and rising to my feet, held it aloft as if I were the Statue of Liberty bearing the Torch of Enlightenment.

“Why yes,” I announced in a booming voice. “This is exactly the book I want to PURCHASE.”

Not until I had taken my sneak-attack book into custody did I look at the title: The Shortest Way to Hades.

Indeed, I thought, and put off reading it, instead enjoying the reaction of guests who noticed it among my how-to books.

The next winter, sick of snow and stuck at home with flu, I finally read Sarah Caudwell’s mystery. Then another, and another. Thus began some of my favorite adventures in armchair travel. Not to Hades, thank goodness, but to London, Venice, Greece, Guernsey, and the isle of Sark.

Besides evoking a sense of place, her novels restored my sense of humor. Caudwell’s wit is drier and more stylish than the lining of a Burberry raincoat.

San Francisco the home of a fictional family of private investigators, the Spellmans, is a popular destination for armchair travelers who read mystery novels. (Image by der wiki/ Pixabay)

5. Which family of San Francisco detectives keeps case files on each other?
derwiki/ Pixabay

Another Mystery Tour Begins!

As a genre, the mystery book resembles the ideal carry-on bag: it’s compact yet holds a world of travel essentials. And like carry-ons, good mysteries come in all designs: suspenseful, comical, realistic, historical, cozy, hard-boiled, satirical, and more.

So, whatever type of armchair traveler you are, whatever style of transport you prefer, there’s a mystery-novel itinerary that’s perfect for you. To miss it would be a crime.

Ready for takeoff? Don’t forget to pack this free and extensive resource from OIC Moments—a dozen pages of recommendations and interactive experiences:

Name that detective! ANSWERS:
1. Salvo Montalbano 2. Precious Ramotswe 3. Mario Conde 4. Bruno Courrèges 5. The Spellmans.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Art of Travel/Literary World/Worldwide Sites

Feb

In the Kitchen with OIC: A Fun Japanese Food Tour!

by Joyce McGreevy on February 2, 2021

Yuma Wada serves sushi in Tokyo, the setting for his Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

Yuma Wada Turns Trivia into Virtual Travel to Tokyo

A funny thing happened on the way to Yuma Wada’s Japanese food tour and trivia night. You know how it is. One minute you’re folding the laundry or microwaving leftovers. Next minute you’re at a fish market in Tokyo.

Maybe I should explain.

Collectively speaking, it was an ordinary weeknight, work had stolen our weekend, the kids were restless, and supper smelled . . . uninspiring. We’d all been “at home” nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for eleven long months.

We —me and several others from ages 9 to 65—needed a change of scene. Appetizing experiences and cultural insight. Creativity in good company. Something fun. (Remember fun?) And so, from coast to coast, country to country, we converged on Tokyo. Virtually, of course.

Shoppers stroll a scenic street in Tokyo, the setting for Yuma Wada’s online Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

“Honey? Just popping out to Japan. Back in an hour.”

There to greet us was Yuma Wada. Tokyo restaurateur, licensed sake sommelier, and self-trained sushi chef, Yuma is the founder of Ninja Food Tours.

“I grew up in a family that runs a traditional Japanese sweets factory, so food is something I cannot run away from,” he says.

While Yuma’s own journey started in Japan, he arrived at his calling by way of a background in corporate finance and extensive travels across Europe and the United States. He found other countries’ versions of Japanese food interesting—in a good way.

Sake is poured into a ceramic cup in Tokyo, the setting for Yuma Wada’s online Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

Okay, there were occasional causes for bemusement. Like the “Japanese” restaurant in Wisconsin that served Korean and Thai food. Or the California bar that served “sake bombs,” shot glasses of sake tossed into beer, which was then knocked back for maximum ill effect. Not quite the Japanese custom of savoring a fine rice wine.

“When I saw that,” says Yuma diplomatically, “I was like, oh wow, this country is something different.”

Yet wherever he went (including Wisconsin), Yuma found that people loved Japanese food and were somewhat familiar with its variety. Wouldn’t it be exciting to extend their range and provide the cultural context?

Oh, Tokyo!

Yuma returned home with a whole new purpose. He founded a tour company and brought other passionate foodies onboard. Together, they created a rich banquet of local experiences—guided walks, cooking classes, online food shows, blogs detailing hidden gems, and more.

Wada Yuma samples Japanese food with fellow Ninja Food Tours tour guides in Tokyo, the setting for his Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

Global locals: Yuma with fellow Ninjas Julia, Nathan, and Amanda.
Julia, un amante Giappone, (“fan of Japan”) grew up in Italy, Amanda in Quebec.
© Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours

Three years later, Ninja Food Tours was garnering top-ten ratings in a city that welcomed 15 million visitors a year. Ninja Food Tours drew visitors from around the world to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Yuma’s work was being featured on CNN and other major news channels. Meanwhile, Japan had spent more than $25 billion on preparations for the Olympics.

Then the world went into lock-down.

So . . . No Tokyo?

Today, most of us can’t visit our local Japanese restaurants, let alone Japan. So Yuma has come up with a clever way to bring Japan to us—a simple but surprisingly rich hour of virtual travel. Presented as a trivia quiz, it’s also:

a quest for culinary inspiration
a family-friendly tour
a delightful way to socialize
a primer for in-person travel to Japan

Unlike a travel documentary, it offers plenty of interaction. Unlike a cooking class, there’s no prep needed. You’ll come away with a feast of insights into Japanese food, even if you already know your ikura from your izakaya.

Meet the New Chef—You!

The premise of the quiz is half the fun: You’re welcomed as a newly hired chef in Tokyo. As part of your culinary training, you tag along with a master chef who presents you with challenges. Together, you explore Japan’s biggest fish market, the city’s kitchenware capital, and more.

Ninja Food Tours tour guide Kaz displays a chef’s deba knife in Tokyo, the setting for Yuma Wada’s online Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

Now I can’t say too much, or I’d give away trivia-quiz answers. But what I can share is that the challenges are varied, creative, and instructive. The quiz is an icebreaker, fun to play with folks you know or folks you’ve just met. You can apply much of what you learn the next time you cook at home or order take-out.

Yuma Wada’s Sake Bar Doron is close to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, in Tokyo, the setting for his online Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

Memories of Travels Past Future

Given my thwarted plans to visit Japan in 2020, I was surprised at what I gleaned from this Japanese food tour—virtual travel, for sure. In addition to expanding my culinary skills, I got my questions answered on everything from etiquette and edible gardening to locally-beloved, less touristed neighborhoods. Oh, I see: I now have good memories of a place I’ve not yet been. And the happy prospect of saying, “Kon’nichiwa, Yuma! It’s so nice to see you again.”

Yuma Wada is beta-testing a new Japanese Food Trivia Night. Join FREE—until February 5. Register here.
Join all live events—Japanese Food Trivia Night, here; Sake Class, here; Kitchenware Shopping in Kappabashi, here.
Follow Ninja Food Tours on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Dining solo? Discover food-themed Japanese shows, here. (I love “Midnight Diner.”)

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Japan/The World's Chefs

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