Morning all. Bright and breezy here, with a warm afternoon expected. I have a walnut tree to plant since a squirrel buried one in a container in Mme's garden. It has now grown to a metre in height, so worth a bit of effort to find a new home for it. Enjoy your day whatever is in store for you.
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The huge fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris tonight is heartbreaking for the French nation. Just imagine Westminster Abbey going up in flames and you will get some idea of what a major disaster this is.
It's awful to watch. I attended Sunday mass there once and as a Catholic it was a truly overwhelming experience.
It is truly dreadful to see something that has been there for close on nine hundred years being destroyed in just a few hours. The President was due to come on TV tonight, but that has been put on hold. I don't think that the Easter celebrations will take place there now.
I am watching the French news and find myself hugely saddened by it. In 2001 Peterborough Cathedral was attacked by an arsonist, and it cost £1.25 M to restore it. This looks far worse.
This will cost billions. Angela Merkel - "t's not just a church it's a symbol of France and of Europe"
The churches in France are owned by the communes, so the cost will fall on Paris, although there will be state and EU aid to repair it. It actually has more visitors each year than the Eiffel Tower.
Morning all. Cloudy and some showers through the night, but glimpses of the sun as the cloud starts to break up. According to a story told to children here, the church bells do not ring out during Lent as they have flown away to Rome. On Easter Sunday they fly back and ring out to celebrate the day. Alongside the Easter Eggs, chicks and other strange things that have little to do with Easter, you will find chocolate bells with wings. Many of the bells that should have rung out this Sunday at Notre-Dame were not originals, as they had been melted down and turned into cannon balls during the French Revolution. But I expect you knew all that.
Morning all. A truly lovely day, warm and sunny, the scent from the blossom attracting the bees, and my mange tout that I thought had disappeared have suddenly sprung up.
