Laifour
Posted by contentedsouls on 08/05/2017
What a sad decline here since we last passed through just over 3 years ago. Northern France has become an immensely sad place now – so run down that they even have to tie down their telegraph poles.
The electric bournes at the pretty little Halte Fluviale have been removed and plated over; it would seem that the village is now too poor to provide electric and too poor to pay someone to collect money for said electric/moorings. The shop, butcher, baker and candle stick maker have all gone; even the depot de poste is no more.
The locals still strive to cheer up their run down village though
VNF are still pouring money into replacing the old, labour intensive, pin wheel weirs with the new automatic ones but the work is being carried out by Belgians
Whilst out and about avec the Mutts I saw this large barge, flying a red duster, pass us. I took a photo because seeing another boat was unusual and, also, because the name looked vaguely familiar.
There was nowhere here for Kevin to park his motorhome either, so Sunday morning we retraced our steps to Montherme. This turned out to be a good plan for a number of reasons. Not before I had a final poke around though.
PS Wi-Fi courtesy of the nearby port at Anserenne
contentedsouls 
Wendy Paskell said
how sad although the pictures make it look idyllic
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contentedsouls said
It is sad. Re one of your previous comments – when did you and I ever need a bar to be ‘nice’ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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vallypee said
That’s what we noticed, Jill. Everything in northern France is in a major state of cut backs and depression. It made me very sad, but the people were still lovely!
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contentedsouls said
When we first came across though Flanders then into Wallonie and northern France, the latter two areas looked so sad compared to Flanders. Now, 3 years later, Wallonie looks so upmarket compared to northern France which has deteriorated even further. Flanders and Holland are going to look positively opulent.
We also have found lovely people – they seem to be accepting of their fate rather than depressed.
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andywindy said
Oh dear, the ever present problem of Telegraph and Power poles threatening to turn feral and escape back into the forest! it would seem
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andywindy said
Damned send button! It would seem that simply burying the base of that one in a concrete boot was not enough, it must be a repeat escapee! I wonder what the people in that house next to it are running, that’s some orange flex.
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contentedsouls said
You do make me laugh – I have images of cartoon style telegraph poles with legs charging around the countryside.
I think the house with the orange flex runs the grid for a 50 mile radius (and probably harvests quite a lot of dope – if they get raided now it will be all your fault).
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andywindy said
Looking at the map of your journey in the near future, you pass by a large Nuclear facility… Maybe that particular power line is a direct one, paid for by the drug barons?
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contentedsouls said
That would explain it!
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