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hen I came to
live here 30
years ago, it was
a vibrant village
with two bakers, a
butcher, a grocer, three restaurants,
a bar/tabac, a post office and a tiny
hairdressers.
By the year 2009, there
were just a restaurant and a
tiny hairdressers, and up to 600
juggernauts driving through the
narrow main street. There really
was nowhere to go in the village,
and with the lorries one was risking
life and limb, so the social life of
the street just died.
In 2010 the by-pass, which
had been planned for nearly 30
years, was finally built, but the
centre of the village was ruined,
broken pavements, fronts of houses
scarred, drainpipes and shutters
ripped off the walls.
After years of yet more
promises, in 2018 the centre of
the village was finally completely
renovated and life started to come
back for everybody. People were
back walking in the street, and a
seven minute walk from our house
to the bakery or Mairie, could
sometimes take an hour, while
chatting and gossiping with the
villagers en route.
The village now has a baker,
a grocer, 3 restaurants, a Post
Office, a pottery and a triple sized
hairdressers. People started to put
flower pots and hanging baskets
outside their houses and there was
life and hope again.
Then sadly at the beginning
of last year Covid arrived and by
March we were all confined to
barracks apart from our 1 hour
walk. All our village meals, the great
Easter three day Fête with floats
of brightly coloured paper flowers
and marching bands, and even the
ceremonies to pay tribute to the
dead of both wars were suspended
and village street life disappeared
again.
In June most restrictions were
lifted, but all our Fêtes were still
not permitted, even the famous
1000 Ducks in the River Race. But
all was not lost.
An English television station
filming in the Dordogne asked
if a cake competition between
the English and French could be
organised. Of course it could! So I
rounded up six French ladies, three
English ladies and two English
lads, one Michael Leggett and Lee
Brankston. I should never give away
ages, but the oldest French lady, as
active as ever, was 94. She put this
down to good living and a little red
wine, or so she said.
Village LifeThe historic village of La Rochebeaucourt is a wonderful place in which to
live. It was not always thus.
WORDS: STUART ROSS | PHOTOS: C MOINGEON & A WELLS-DAVIES
The cake
competition winners
The Maire, Joanna Leggett
and Stuart Ross
Yves Rousseau Maire from
1971 to 2008 with his dog Venus
Welcome to
La Rochebeaucourt
h∞