Day 2 of the French adventure sees the gang installed in La Chapelle d'Armentieres and asked to show the 2CVs off to the local public, outside a building called the Restaurant Scolaire, the school canteen (serving 3 schools) which is also being used for an art exhibition, an exhibition of trad African art and carving, a philatelic exhibition based around the Jules Verne stories and a bizarre exhibition of papier mache farm animals which includes some very bright pink piglets.
200 yards down the high street a massive car boot sale is going on all along a disused railway line which crosses the main high street at 90 degrees. Called "Braderies" these sales are hugely popular in France and this one rather eclipses the car and art show, so the gang aren't exactly buried in the rush.
They do, though, get approached by an old octogenarian named Josef Costeleyn who tells them that he worked in the 50's for a firm called Mottez who had diversified out of supplying rope and textile products mainly for the ports and for lorry transport (tarpaulins, tilts, sails etc) into accessories for the then new 2CV's coming out of the Citroen factories. They would develop good options, like a 'hatch-back version' or different seat covers which reduced the tendency for back seat passengers trousers or hosiery to snag on the tube and wire seat frames.
These options were first supported by Citroen who would send customers round to Mottez for their improvements to be done, and then usually adopted and taken in house. The boys are fascinated by this guy and talk for ages. He later comes back having been home to collect some photocopies of adverts and magazine articles from the time, which he is happy for Andy and Dad to copy.
The gang nip out to neighbouring village of Wez Macquart almost on the Belgian border to a favourite deli for local beers, food for lunch and a gift hamper for their hosts.
In the evening they are invited to a big dinner/show; a massive buffet followed by performances by a 'transformiste' (an amazing lady singer who can sing in a huge variety of styles and accents and whips a hurried costume change through between each song - she does Edith Piaf, Abba, Josephine Baker, Carla Bruni, a whole run of funnily bad talent-show contestants and a crazy huge butterfly shaped head-dress costume with fairy lights on for the encore) and by a troop of Brazilian dancers.
There - and I still am not allowed to tell you about Dad's massive transgression for which there was nearly murders and divorces....
Deefer
2 comments:
Oh come on, the suspense is killing me you have to let slip, just type while your dad isn't looking...... no one will know.....
He's in SUCH big trouble, MrS.
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