Each day as I run up and down the stairs here at Arthur Road I glance at the photo of Shawni and Barry that Fred took while we were living in France. Barry looks surprised to find himself sitting in the clear, fresh stream and Shawni looks just a little annoyed by it all.This huge photo has hung here, in this same spot, since 1988.
The scene is the Toulourenc River, one of the many beautiful clear mountain streams in the Haute Provence and we had been swimming. We were on holiday in the August of 1987 and staying in the village of Brantes with its wonderful view of Mt Ventoux.
At that stage in our lives Fred and I knew nothing about professional cycling and had not yet fallen in love with watching the Tour de France each July. It is a TV calendar highlight for us both and watching the race up the lunar landscape of Mt Ventoux, the highest peak in the Haute Province, is a thrill as we had driven up those crazy steep switchbacks and could picture the scene.
Looking at my PostCard from Brantes, with the top Mt Ventoux cut off - 'au loin', then the photo in the stairwell and the realisation that the Toulourenc River is a stream from these mountains around Mt Ventoux, I have had one of my 'who would have thought' moments.
I will call Fred now and tell him of the discovery.
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