Sars Potiere

Sars Potiere is a village of about 1500 people situated about an hour away from Bavay. Yesterday I went on a school trip with the visiting German students and the Yr 8 class hosting them.  This region was industrialised years ago with small scale mills and glassworks, but economics has closed most of them down. This glass factory closed in 1972 after not modernising and therefore couldn't compete with newer places.We visited a glass museum where they still have artists at work to watch and exhibitions that change from time to time. You can also view all the old kilns where they heated the glass etc. It was all very interesting, having never visited a glassworks before.

 

This wooden mould opens in two and was used as a mould for thousands of champagne bottles

 

We watched a glassblowing demonstration and the teachers were all asked to come and stand in front of one of the furnaces the artist uses today, to feel what 1500degC feels like!

 



 

We arrived back to school at lunchtime in the pouring rain, and then Danielle picked me up to visit the ear specialist. I was hoping for a quick fix, as it were, but Didier was barely interested! He didn't get the picture at all from me or Danielle and after looking at my ears with various apparatus, promptly said all the blockage in my ears and noises etc were caused by my teeth so wrote a referral note for the dentist, and ushered us out! At least I know there is nothing nasty brewing in my ears! I'm certainly not going to a dentist and wasn't very impressed with Didier in his posh consultation rooms!

 

Last night we went out to dinner at the Bed and Breakfast that the two German teachers are staying at. Bavay has no hotels or other accommodation so this little place is hosting them. Danielle began the exchange years ago, so her and Bernard were invited, also the German teacher at Notre Dame de L'Assomption, the present organising teacher and her husband and a couple of friends the Germans have made here over the years. They all obviously have the same relationship as we do with the french teachers from New Caledonia and are all good friends. We had  a lovely evening and the owner of the establishment and his wife joined us at the table as the wife was an ex-pupil of Danielle's. I ate some escargots but not many as they were cooked in garlic as is usually the case. We had a salad with the entree but that contained great lumps of garlic as well, but they were easy to put to one side! We got home at 11pm - I don't know how they get up early in the morning when they have such late nights! We never eat before 9pm and I always go straight to bed as I'm so tired each night, but Danielle and Bernard stay up watching TV afterwards for quite some time. A big difference from my schedule at home!

 

Glass on display at the museum.  Many of it was coloured glass and I've noticed in the shops that coloured glass objects are popular today.