My Troglodyte......

On a rather quick jaunt to France recently to stay with my sister I fell in love with a troglodyte!
 Let me explain .. previously I thought this was a derogatory term for someone who was stuck in the past, someone who actively avoided and even discouraged progress. I know this because a rather erudite school friend used to call everyone this back in '79 as we started 6th form - and I thought this was the height of cool. As I got older (and possibly wiser - hmm not sure!) I also realised that maybe they did exist, common definitions talk about cave dwellers and ancient races- H.G.Wells' 1895 The Time Machine's Morlocks were perhaps based on this race of people?


So, how could I possibly, in 2013 meet one and fall for one?

It all began one warm Thursday morning.......after 10 years Ryanair have finally decided to fly from Manchester to Tours which is where my sister now lives (having had the house for 10 years before moving across fully earlier this year). Now I had no excuse not to go visit, so decided to spend my last few days holiday this year over there with Dad. Steve and 'the boys' left behind, we braved the Ryanair experience - those who have never had the pleasure of this budget airline experience can get a flavour here: Cheap Flights. After a sleepless night worrying a) will my carry on luggage fit in the cage they use to measure size? b) will my carry on luggage weigh a gram over the 10Kg allowance? c) Have I checked in online properly d) do I have the right printouts? e) will my passport be accepted? (no idea why not, I just carry permanent guilt and shiftiness!)

We made it, we were allowed on, the captain welcomed us on board and then congratulated us all on making it thus far!!! Slightly disconcerting! Made even worse by the fanfare on landing as if  a moment worthy of celebration (or relief?). I was in France, bonjour - now can I remember any of my A level French?

Sister and husband were at the airport to meet us, well, I say 'airport' - it was a military base where the staff did passport control then ran around to the other side of the counter to check in the next passengers who were leaving on our plane we had just left.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, much relaxing, much sightseeing and much chatting was done over the next few days, but the over -riding memory will be of my troglodyte.

The Loire Valley is littered with houses that have been cut into the soft rock of the area. Over centuries, almost through pre-history, man has been cutting through the rock to make dwellings that maintained a constant heat and protected him from the elements and from enemies. Today some of these have been modernized, but many remain untouched. My sister took us for a drive around the area and as I was taking photos of one house from the car, as we were stopped, a young man approached the car -- oh dear thought he was going to tell me off for doing this. What amazed me was a) I could understand the gist of what he was saying to me in french and b) he invited us up to the house to take a closer look. My sister decided to stay at the bottom of a rather step and nettle laden incline, but I went up to look - how could I resist a bare-chested, young frenchman and a troglodytic house!!
Between us we managed to speak a language that communicated some of the history of the house, who lived there and the animals they kept - in the house with them. The frontage was very like a 'normal' house so light did get to the first room, but the rock was beginning to crumble so we weren't able to go any further in, although I could see the darkness that must have encroached as you went further back. He told me (I think) that Une personne lived there so I assume that was one woman? He showed me where she would bake her bread, and she shared a well with the house next door - the mechanism and bucket were still there.
At this point I started to get a bit complacent with my franglais and I think I asked him if he was pregnant! I was trying to ask if the house was in his family ie handed down, however he was very gracious and told me he was single (ie presumably not pregnant) and that he didn't have any family as yet but was hoping to restore some of the house as a type of museum piece (I think!). The atmosphere around the house was very ...... poignant I think is the word.


A snapshot of a lifestyle that was - by today's standards- harsh and hard but utterly charming looked at from the future with the sun beaming down.