A Chilling Experience

A rendez-vous with Nicole at 8.05 meant an early, chilly start to get to the coach that was to take 50 of us on a day trip organised by a local library to the Riversaltes Memorial Centre. The camp served to house refugees fleeing Franco, "undesirables" as designated by the Nazis, collaboraters and black marketeers and finally Harki families, Algerians who had fought alongside the French during the war for idependance. It was a desolate place to call "home".
The centre, inaugurated only a couple of months ago is below ground and preserves the respect due to those who were interned here. It was a draining experience but one that provides an important reminder. http://www.memorialcamprivesaltes.eu/
Thérèse and Joan were also on the trip and we all ate together (at a great rate of knotts) in a Tex Mex restaurant before going on to the "Maternité Suisse" that had been set up to cater for the mothers from Riversaltes  between 1939 and 1944. http://www.ville-elne.fr/fr/information/71625/la-maternite-suisse
It was good to go from a dehumanising setting to one where humanity was in abundance.
Finally made it back to town for just afer 5pm so Nicole and I wound down over a cuppa in one of the cafés. Another night in was most welcome.
Weather:
16°, sunshine