Living in an old presbytery right next to the church makes one very aware of the bells, especially the funeral bells, they have such a sonorous and steady rhythm which, unlike the ringing of the hours,cuts into your life.
This is probably exactly what they were designed to do, sounding a momento mori with each stroke.
Over the years we have noticed that January is the most popular month for funerals and this year , 2018, is no exception.

Nearly every day in the last seven we have heard the bells toll warning us of a death in the village- today they are tolling again.
But today’s death was a little special, he must have been once a fireman as the coffin was carried into the church by firemen in their full uniform.

There are a lot of mourners today, firemen; Les Sappeurs Pompiers, are held in huge esteem here, where it is often only their skill and courage which protects us from the lightning fast fires which can rip through the undergrowth in the height of an arid summer.