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Category Archives: World War I
A Penny for a Dancer’s Son
A few weeks ago, Norman embarked on some long-deferred tidying up and came across a beautiful bronze disc about 12 cm in diameter (not quite 5 inches across). He said he’d had it for years, and had probably bought it … Continue reading
Posted in Toronto, World War I
Tagged Archie Joseph Bury Palliser, Cambrin, Dalton Baker, Isabel Bizet-Michau, Madame Michau, Sophie d’Egville
15 Comments
A taste of France
Many years ago, a friend gave me a birthday present consisting of three small objects, with a card that read: “What every young woman needs: a car, a taste of France, and a chance at a million.” The car was … Continue reading
Posted in Paris flea markets, Paris food, Paris history, Paris popular culture, World War I
Tagged absinthe, anise, fennel, pastis, Paul Verlaine, Pernod, Ricard, tarragon
21 Comments
A pebble for Clare
The news comes in, day by day. Cancelled. Closed. Postponed. One by one, I delete events from my calendar. Well, I think, look at all the time I have to write the next blog. Funny how when you have all … Continue reading
The Auld Alliance
On November 8, 2015, I posted a blog about my great-uncles who died in the First World War: Raymond Hummel, who died in 1916 and is buried in France (shown on the left, below); and John Lonsdale Sieber, known as … Continue reading
Gustave Eiffel did not sleep here
On a recent visit to Laywine’s, our favourite pen and stationery store in Toronto, Philippa picked up a desk pad made by the French paper firm Exacompta, and found the following note on the front: Made in the heart of … Continue reading
Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history, World War I
Tagged Clairefontaine, Compagnie Parisienne d’air comprimé, Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Électricité, Denis Cosnard, Exacompta, G. Lalo, Labor, Mignon, Paul Friésé, Quai de Jemmapes, Rhodia, Saderne, Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques
9 Comments
Trespassing at Port-Royal
Tuesday, June 24, 2014. A hot day in Paris and Norman was feeling under the weather. He’d finally drifted off to sleep and I decided to go for a walk – not far, just to get some air. The bedroom … Continue reading
Some corner of a foreign field
To the memory of Raymond Hummel, 1886–1916, and John Sieber, 1893–1917, and to the 166 men and 1 woman of Perth Academy who died in the Great War. The remains of my great-uncle Raymond Hummel lie in France, in a … Continue reading
Posted in Family history, World War I
Tagged Colincamps, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Dar-es-Salaam, First World War, Flowers of the Forest, John Hardie, John King Morrison Hardi, John Lonsdale Sieber, Perth Academy, Raymond Hummel, Royal British Legion, Sucrerie Cemetery, University of Leeds, War diaries, West Yorkshire Regiment
26 Comments
Paris in the First World War
It’s that time of year again. The poppy-sellers are out on the streets of Toronto, and soon, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we will stop what we are doing for a minute or … Continue reading
The further adventures of the Nurse Who Wore Pearls
A friend recently asked us how we plan what to write about in our blog. The answer, in Norman’s words, is this: “Planning is what you resort to when chance breaks down.” And somehow, chance seldom seems to break down. … Continue reading
A French family in wartime
Today, November 11, is the anniversary of the end of the First World War. In France the Jour de L’Armistice or le Jour du Souvenir is a day of military parades and ceremonies. But there is more to remembrance than … Continue reading
Posted in Paris history, Paris postcards, World War I
Tagged Armistice Day, Bernigaud family, First World War, French postcards, Henri Bernigaud, Jeanne Bernigaud, Jour de L’Armistice, Jour du Souvenir, Louise Bernigaud, Lyon, Montreal, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, Vimy Ridge, World War I, Yvonne Michaud
13 Comments
Parisian Fields 