Dr Tony Shaw

Pont-de-Veyle has literary associations. Augustin de Ferriol d'Argental probably had the château built, which is now the mairie . His s...

Famous poet, and member of La Pléiade , Pontus de Tyard (1521-1605) is usually associated with Bissy-sur-Fley, in the château where he was ...

This 17th century stone constructed tower retains its original height. It also retains its original name after the eponymous king who author...

Yeah, I know, but lavoir-spotting is a little like water tower-spotting, or windmill-spotting: but at least it beats trainspotting. This lav...

Maybe les parapluies de Saint-Gengoux are something to do with the outdoor art exhibition, certainly they'd have more place in Cherbou...

A number of artists have brought their art to the streets of Saint-Gengoux-le-National in the form of banners, which are on display until th...

Again one gleaned from Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire , which at the moment is running a daily series of lavoirs in the département , which r...

The lavoir at Sermaisey, Laives, was built in 1827 and fed by the Apcher spring. A stone above the entrance bears the names Munot and Ducro...

The daily newspaper Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire ( TJSL ) mainly covers news from that département and sometimes beyond, and today (8 Augu...

This is quite a smart one too, although the wire scratched me. As compensation  (really out of interest) I took Patrick Besson and Danièle T...

I have been unable to find no information at all on this bread oven in Feillens.

This impressive monument, tucked away in a square in Replonges, is in honour of Raymond Dumay, who had worked as a shepherd, a schoolteacher...

Also close to the lavoir murals in Replonge is a superb monument to Louis Desnoyers (1802-86), novelist and journalist born in Replonges and...

These murals of a lavoir in Replonges show washer women and men of the time when the lavoir was active, and add interest and colour to these...

This large mural was made by Jean-Yves Jodeau and is at the side of the steps along Rue de l'Échelle in the tourist area of Nantes. Cons...

La Cigale is a restaurant in Nantes, a very famous one, and if a person feels that they really must go there, then so be it. Inside I saw w...

Notre-dame de Lorette is a wayside shrine, a hermitage consisting of a chapel and a troglodytic dwelling within the commune of Saint-Épain i...

Jean Gabin (1904-76) spent each summer in Deauville from 1956, and owned a house there in 1960, living there until 1974.

The plaque here reminds us that Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) was the founder of modern dance, and informs us that she stayed at the 'Villa...

Colette (1873-1954) stayed at the Hotel ( sic ) Royale in Deauville August 1952 and July 1953.

Here is Georges Simenon, who came to Deauville in his boat in August 1931, signing copies of his works outside the famous Bar du Soleil, whi...

A poster/plaque by Les Planches informs us that in the summer of 1966, Pierre Koralnik directed scenes for the film A nna , in which Anna Ka...

I still have a fair bit of catching up to do after our six-week visit to the Nantes, Tours and Deauville areas. Kees van Dongen (1877-1968),...

In 1837 the family of Gustave Flaubert (1821-80) bought La Ferme du Coteau and the land on which the Villa Strassburger now stands. Flauber...

Fernand Léger (1881-1955) is one of a number of famous people celebrated in Deauville. His family's farm was in Lisores, in the south of...

The watch-  and clock-making business Longines has been in existence in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, since 1832, of which this at Les Planches,...

Les Roches Noires was formerly a hotel, but Marguerite Duras (1914-96) bought an apartment here in 1963. Several of her novels mention the ...