French knitted wool soldiers from WWI exhibition

At the World Travel Market I saw the knitted soldiers and was surprised that they are much more impressive, stretching away from you in a long line, than they are in the photos which were sent out by the Piscine (swimming pool and arts centre) where they were displayed weeks ago. The collection consists of 600 wooden dolls, spread in a long parade over 12 metres. The little soldiers reminded me of the terracotta warriors in China, the sheer numbers being overwhelming.

The colours are intriguing. Different colours for each country involved in the Great War. English, Scottish, French, Senegalese (French colony), German, Asian, many more, showing how many people worldwide were involved.The French dolls wear blue. The Germans are in brown. The Senegalese have red hats. The Scottish dolls have what looks to be like a Tam O shanter. The Moroccans wear white headscarves with a black circular band.The Belgians have a black hat with red pom pos.

The exhibition is making the rounds. Do go to see it if you get the chance. You can read more about it from the tourist board websites.

I'm in two minds about the idea of encouraging children to consider soldiers or wild animals as cuddly. However, if you want to knit toy soldiers, you can find patterns on eBay.

The exhibition is travelling. It began in France and was in Roubaix Dec 2014-April 2015.will depend 2016 travelling. It will go to Montreal in Canada for the centenary of the battle of Vimy Ridge at the Musee de Beaux Arts in 2017. To see where it is on next contact the French tourist board.

Many visitors from Britain travel Dover to Calais, from the British south coast to the north coast of France, and arrive at Calais in the Nord-pas-de-calais region.
The area is around Calais, the region called Nord Pas de Calais, meaning the North Strait of Calais. It borders Belgium and the sea.

What was the importance of wool? Wool was used for the uniform, the tunic, the sweater, the mittens, the essential socks which helped save you from trench foot which could send a soldier to hospital with gangrene meaning toes had to be amputated.

More information from:

http://www.french-news-online.com/wordpress/?p=39354#axzz3qnw40Pad
http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Renewed-focus-for-Remembrance-Tourism
 france.fr
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. (Photos added shortly.)

Prosecco in Italy: a guide to guided or self-guided tours

 At the World Travel market in ExCel London 2015 I went looking for a tour of Prosecco. Prosecco was originally both a place and a grape. Confused? So was everybody else.

So they changed the name of the grape from prosecco to G l e r a and let other people nearby make Prosecco. Still confused. Never mind. Just have a glass of Prosecco and smile.Want to take a tour and find out more? Here is one suggestion.

 Wine tasting in Capello Andrea winery, aperitif at Bar Alpino, dinner at Salis Ristorante Enoteca.

I made notes for myself. You could fly from Heathrow to Treviso on Ryanair; or on Alitalia to Venice. Or drive there taking the ferry from Dover to Calais. Then drive via France to taste Champagne and do a Champagne tour; then drive on across the border to Italy via Milan. 

If you did not stop at all it would be 15 hours of driving, which is possible if you have two or more drivers, in relay, such as a husband and wife, a foursome of two couples, a stag party, business associates, or two generations of an adult family with parents and children who drive.

In Italy you could drive with stops at Milan, Verona and Padua and Venice then north of Venice is Prosecco.

More details: Champagne: On your way through France, stay in Rheims or Epernay and book a tour at one of the Champagne cellars. If no tours are available, stop at a champagne shop or two and look around. 

Milan, see the cathedral in the main square. Even if you don't go inside, the facade is impressive. Verona, see the courtyard with the statue of Juliet of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, under the balcony. Verona , still on the Shakespeare theme (two gentlemen of Verona).Venice is another possible stop. More photography, Venetian glass.

Speaking of glass, then on to Prosecco.

Can't wait? Your supermarket will have plenty of bottles to get you in the mood. Here's the Waitrose bottle with the reminder that to avoid confusion with the place name and grape name being the same, the grape name was changed from Prosecco to G l e r a. (Letters separated because Spell checker keeps changing names.) J a n c i s Robinson, British wine expert, author of the Oxford Companion to wine, in at least one of her books, if I remember rightly, makes a point of using the original old grape name Prosecco.) 

Only 11%. You would not think it makes much difference but it does. The lower alcohol content means it doesn't knock you out so quickly.

More on alcohol from waitrose.com/alcohol

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker and author.