Anyone who has not built a house, not grown son, not dug a well, and planted a tree, lived a life in vain. You cannot miss Saint- Amand-sur-Fion. This was, after all, quite some claim. But then who was I to argue. I decided to go away and do some research into her suggestion. I racked my brains to try and remember when I last sent anybody a postcard, but failed.
I promised her I would! Breakfast had given me the strength to agree to anything. According to the ancient Greeks, kingfishers built their nests on a raft of fish bones and, having laid their eggs, they set the nest afloat on the Mediterranean sea and incubated the eggs for seven days before and after the winter solstice. In order to facilitate this it was said the gods always made sure that the seas and winds were calmed during this period.
We now use the term to refer to fondly remembered times in our past. The name halcyon itself comes from the Greek goddess, Alcyone who was married to Ceyx. According to legend the couple were happily married but made the mistake of calling each other Zeus and Hera, which angered the real god Zeus who in bad temper killed Ceyx by sinking his ship with a thunderbolt. On hearing this, Alcyone, wrought with grief, threw herself into the sea and drowned.
It was considered a symbol of peace, promising prosperity and love. The fog only really began to lift towards midday. The landscape was pretty unremarkable β fields of maize and sunflowers and not another soul to be seen all morning, not even a solitary cyclist. After lunch the VF rejoined the canal for what seemed like the umpteenth time over the last few days. If my feet had been able, they would have breathed a sigh of relief! The region appeared to be completely deserted.
And then at around 1. His name was Baptiste and he was walking to Rome. Aged 27 he was taking a sabbatical from his marketing job in Arras. His girl friend and another friend were due to join him at Saint-Amand-sur -Fion. As for where he planned to stay the night, that really depended on where he could pitch his tent for the night.
