Civics

The 'road' in front of the house has been deteriorating for a number of years and I did go to the Mairie about 3 or 4 years ago but that request seemed to have been passed on to other departments till it got lost.  Then last year, as a result of some storms and a lot of water coming down the hill our 'new' mayor got involved and work was done higher up the lane to divert water into the fields before it got to us.
Then, at the beginning of April, workmen suddenly arrived and did some 'patching' on the road with some concrete.

But when we asked if and when the road would be topped off we were dismissed with "oh, July"

But yes, July it was!

On the face of it we have a 'new' road ... however it is the minimum amount of chippings laid on the thinnest possible coat of tar and we have no great expectations that it will last very long.  Still, it is better than it was!  Sue was particularly cross with the quality of workmanship and what they had done and what they had not done and she told the workmen in no uncertain terms.

Whether by design or coincidence, we had received an invitation from the Mayor to meet him and some of his councillors here in our hamlet on Saturday evening, and Sue was prepared to take the fight to the top!  So, 6.30 last night the delegation arrived, all of the inhabitants of Mas de Bouyé turned out and, after inspecting the road, everyone congregated next to the old Lavoir.

The Mayor introduced himself and his councillors and then invited us all to introduce ourselves and voice any concerns or wishes for the improvement of our hamlet or the village of St Germain.  Needless to say, all things are governed by money, which is very limited.  The Mayor was at great pains to stress how they are striving to keep commerce and facilities in the village to avoid it becoming another sleepy village with nothing left to attract people to it.

After this general discussion, the wine was brought out, un verre de l'amitié, and so we had a great opportunity to talk and get to know the councillors, as well as other folk from our area who we've never met before. 

All in all a great idea to develop a community spirit and to let us all know more of what is going on around us.