Lucky Black Cat

This unused postcard is in incredibly good condition considering it is almost 100 years old. The cat was meant to bring good luck for the ‘Poilus’ (The *hairy ones), the French soldiers. This is strange because in France a black cat is considered unlucky. I can only think that the card was produced more for the allied troops. Hence the flags in the background.

*‘Hairy’ as in real men have hair on their chests.

Sunday best

The boys are from Brittany and I bet they weren’t so well dressed every day. You might be able to see that some of them are wearing medals. Perhaps the medals their fathers won during the great war?

Village Life

I couldn’t find a modern day picture online of the centre of this village. The photograph would have been taken before WW1. It was posted in 1915. As the postcard was sent from the Champagne Ardennes region at that epoch. More than likely by a soldier sending a postcard home to his family.

The church today.

Here comes the bus !

On the 21st March 1907 the first bus from La Rochelle went on a demonstration tour. Can you imagine the excitement in the villages where cars were rare sights, let alone a bus?

Today, La Rochelle has a splendid fleet of buses, running on environmentally friendly diesel, two ferries across the port, park and drive, bicycles and taxis.

From small acorns do mighty oaks grow…