I saw the tapestry in Bayeux a couple of years ago. It's almost necessary to use the headphone commentary. Unfortunately, they crack on at a pace in order to get people round as quickly as possible. I got stuck behind a large and not terribly bright French family who kept stopping to argue with the result that the tape got horribly out of synch.
'The Canterbury Embroidery', as some friends with a different form of nerdism describe it... The Victorians gave him pants for their copy, the silly sods.
I really cannot get my head round this. Why dismantle and uproot a precious and unique historic item to be displayed in an adjacent country. Let's face it, it will not be exhibited anywhere else but in London (which is not too far from Bayeux, even for a quick trip), so the rest of the country would have to make a special trip anyway. I could see the reasoning in the Terracotta Army from China or the Tutankhamun collection from Egypt as the majority of us would never visit these countries. Why is France so keen to lend it? Are they after our crown jewels?
Tok12 You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion but I have to point out that not everyone can make "a quick trip" and I, for one, have already stated my case in my earlier posting. I remember with much joy attending the previous Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum and guarantee that the proposed Bayeux Tapestries will be equally sucessful Ron
They need to ship it somewhere as they are going to be renovating the museum in Bayeux, and as England was a French Department in 1066ish it is not actually moving it abroad, just to another 'Shire'. TD added: That 2022 date coincides with the closure of the Bayeux museum, where it is permanently housed, for refurbishment. Bayeux Tapestry to go on display in UK Whats even more devastating is - Truffle woes prompt producers to look to Spain As prices rocket in southwest France, producers examine farming techniques on the other side of the Pyrénées Truffle hunters in southwest France are looking over the border to Spain for inspiration as they battle to save their struggling industry. Producers of sought-after black truffles in Spain have moved from hunting to farming at higher altitudes to ensure production levels are unaffected despite warmer, drier weather. On the French side of the mountains, in Occitanie, however, producers still rely on traditional hunting methods, but years of little rain and high temperatures - reportedly as high as 50C in some truffle fields, according to one truffle producer who spoke to Franceinfo - means the prized delicacy is increasingly hard to find. Due to the scarcity of black truffles prices are rocketing. At a truffle festival in Saint-Geniès-des-Mourgues, Montpellier, on Sunday, wholesale prices ranged between €400 and €900 per kilogramme. Specialists say there is no difference in quality or taste between wild or farmed truffles.
Of course the Bayeux 'Tapestry' is not a tapestry at all but 'embroidery'. I have seen the original when I was at university over there. As it is one of Bayeux's main tourist attractions I imagine a replica will be shown at Bayeux while the original is on loan to Britain.
I believe that the museum is being renovated. So in lending it to UK, the French will save on storage costs plus will be seen to be generous. No flies on Macron
Good move by all parties. It keeps the Embroidery on display while the Bayeux Museum is renovated and brings money in for all concerned including, no doubt, the authorities in Bayeux. Just feel a tad sorry for hotel owners in Bayeux but, hang on a minute, didn't something else happen close by that now brings in the tourists? What would be the alternative? The Louvre where the queues are too long to see the Moaning Liza anyway?
Well, England wasn't actually a French Department, but Norman, and when they also conquered neighbouring Anjou they morphed into the Angevins, and then after a battle where they wore the yellow flowers from the broom (planta genesta) they became the Plantagenets. The King of France actually only controlled a small area around Paris in 1066 - but enough of the history!
A bit of a Battle stirring over who should get to display the artefact: Exclusive: Bayeux Tapestry should come to Sussex says Mayor of Battle
Wherever it goes - I nominate the Royal Armouries in Leeds - there will be large queues so infrastructure will be crucial.....which means it will likely go to London anyway. British Museum would make most sense as didn't they do the Tooting Common (sic) exhibition years ago. Battle, while it sounds logical in certain respects, would surely be too disruptive to the local community and not exactly the most convenient of places to get to for most people.
Well, the Home Secretary may pull a few strings (threads?) about this, especially as it seems a quid pro quo for "better" immigration facilities in Calais. The Normans didn't bother with passport checks, so not much change there! Battle is on a rail line (ho, ho!) but with 5 years or so to c*ck things up even more, even the A21 might have full dual carriageways by then. It shouldn't take too much to organise Par N Ride facilities from the station or edge of town parking, but it will need a lot of commitment from everyone to make it happen here in Battle. As Harold should have said "Keep an eye out for developments"........
