Albuga Reporting

All the reports on www.albuga.info

The works of three brothers at heart – painter/writer François Augiéras, the poet Paul Placet and artist/photographer Philippe Pons – are being shown together, as an inextricable “whole”, at the Pôle international de la Préhistoire, until January 5th. An invitation to share heartfelt sensations and emotions before the scenic beauty of the Vézère Valley, all the way up to Sarlat, as the seasons go by. These poem-images express “ecstatic and shamanistic sentiments and visions in the places we travelled through”, whispered Philippe Pons into the ears of the friendly crowd following him round the exhibition with Paul Placet, amidst all the creations they had put together. There was a feeling of appeasement. Time stood still as we stood bathing in the perpetual sunshine of the angels’ corridor, designed by architect Raphaël Voinchet.

Gilbert Pémendrant, 77 years of age, the king of La Fuste (as his farm is called), the lord of Bernifal (his painted cave), has been honoured by the jury of the International Festival of Archaeology Films in Nyon, where the film Sophie Cattoire made about him (“Le Dernier Paysan Préhistorien”) received a prize in the form of an “Oscar” carved out of Swiss granite. Marvellous!

On February 28, 2013 René Castanet, aged 89, passed away. He was a ray of sunshine in the Castel Merle Valley and in our memories he will always symbolise those Périgord families who have devoted their lives to sharing with others the wonders of prehistory, discovered right there beneath their feet. The son of Marcel and the grandfather of Isabelle (who is still showing people around the spectacular Castel Merle Valley with its decorated shelter dwellings), René had built up a sort of ideal museum close to his home, next to the little garden where he shaped flint with the most amazing dexterity. In this enchanting environment, thousands of visitors were bitten by the prehistory bug on meeting such a delightful character – so approachable and with both feet on the ground.

After its highly successful, twice-repeated preview at the Pôle International de la Préhistoire, after its nationwide release thanks to Sciences et Avenir magazine in their issue devoted to the cradles of civilization, after being selected for the Amiens Archaeology Film Festival and winning the Special Jury Award at the Pech Merle “Objectif Préhistoire” Festival, the film that was shot on a farm and in a cave in the Périgord Noir, LE DERNIER PAYSAN PREHISTORIEN (The Last Farmer-cum-Prehistorian) by Sophie Cattoire, has now received the Best Creative Research Award at the ICRONOS Festival in Bordeaux and, with the film in high demand up and down the country, Gilbert Pémendrant, the hero, has been having the time of his life!

How can we keep forever those sweet, precious moments? The latest showings of the film: LE DERNIER PAYSAN PR EHISTORIEN (The Last Farmer-cum-Prehistorian) in cinemas and festivals up and down the country have opened up a whole new world. The film is fast becoming cult, with the audiences snuggling into the safe, warm cocoon of farm life and prehistory, in total harmony with the endearing main character. On the path of light in the darkness of les salles obscures (cinemas), Gilbert Pémendrant shepherds his proud, virtual livestock (mammoths, aurochs and ibex) across the silver screen.

A substantial part of the Telethon held in December 2011 in Aubas and neighbouring villages was staged at the Château de Sauvebœuf, which Claude and Florence Douce, eminent patrons of this noble cause, made available to the charity workers. After a talk by Gonzague Saint Bris on his recent biography of Balzac and a harp and guitar recital by the “Fingers Crossed” ensemble came a splendid banquet, like those we read about in Balzac’s novels, prepared by chef Eric Boyard and his “Il pleut dans ma bouche” kitchen brigade, assisted for the occasion by the “Aubas’Tringue” troupe of actors. A feast and a feat that transported the kitchens and the banqueting hall to the age of the great Flemish masters. A heavenly meal with a very special treat in store, as you’ll see in Ferrassie TV’s coverage of this special event organised to raise funds for the A.F.M., Association Française contre les Myopathies.

The fifth volume on the inventory of cluzeaux in the Périgord - “Cluzeaux et souterrains du Périgord”, by Serge Avrilleau, published by PLB - came out on Saturday October 15 in a remarkably fitting environment. The hamlet of La Petite Clavelie, on the estate belonging to Jean-François Ténès, boasts an underground refuge, typical of all those truly amazing architectural structures that make holes in the ground rather than scraping the sky.

Discovered in Le Buisson-de-Cadouin in the year 2000 by speleologist Marc Delluc, it has been named the “Lascaux of engraving”. For 10 years the conservation and research programs, conducted by the Service Régional de l’Archéologie and prehistorian Jacques Jaubert, have been beyond reproach. In a multi-disciplinary lecture given at the PIP, the researchers disclosed their first results and their projects. Exclusively - here on www.albuga.info - find out everything there is to know about their activities and see the first reproductions of this amazing cave art, done by Valérie Féruglio.

After Investigations using archive photos and documents, carried out by anthropologist Diane Laville, to redetermine the placement of the seven Neanderthal skeletons found at La Ferrassie (Périgord) in the last century, the multi-disciplinary scientific team led by Alain Turq, Harold Dibble, Dennis Sandgathe, Paul Goldberg and Shannon Mac Pherron, sensed that part of the site related to two of the skeletons might have remained intact. The 2011 excavations fulfilled their hopes.

He waved with a smile that concealed the tears in his eyes, as resplendent as if he had just completed the Tour de France. This was Gilbert Pémendrant, 75 years of age, farmer and owner of Bernifal Painted Cave, before the crowd who had come to applaud him at the first world screening of Sophie Cattoire’s film, “LE DERNIER PAYSAN PREHISTORIEN”, produced by FERRASSIE TV. The grand and brand new auditorium in the Prehistory Welcome Center was “jam-packed”. That Sunday with Gilbert in the limelight will remain in our memories as a dream from the past. In his presence time stood still; joy and emotion spread through the auditorium, almost overwhelming us. We will let Jean Bonnefon, the well-known journalist and merry minstrel, tell us in his own words just what happened on that special Sunday, April 3 at the P.I.P.

Prehistory, animal skins, mammoth hunting, cave art… how long ago that seems! … maybe because we’ve put it all to the back of our minds. A long period of amnesia, since precious little has been put down in writing to help jog our memories. Of course there were the funny-shaped flints found while ploughing the fields. We called them “thunderstones” and went on ploughing… until strange-looking craniums began to crack beneath our pickaxes. Not apes, men! ... but hardly in God’s image, in our image. And there we were, off on a voyage into Prehistory which started a hundred and fifty years ago. In the early days, digging for skeletons and flint tools proved to be an extremely lucrative business – a veritable treasure hunt which drew a large number of antique dealers and researchers to the Périgord. It was the peasants who formed the workforce as we started whirling back to our origins.

A film shot “up on top” and “down below” - on a farm and in a cave in the Périgord Noir. A film about the magical appeal of prehistory, the sheer physical pleasure of going deep down into the underground world and discovering paintings and drawings testifying to the artistry of those human beings we once were - when mammoths were legion. The experience is indeed fascinating and extremely gratifying…. even more so when your guide is someone who is madly in love with his cave – the cave that will be cherished forever. The film is a portrayal of Gilbert Pémendrant, the owner of the seventh painted cave to be discovered in the world: Bernifal Cave in Meyrals, Dordogne.

Lascaux Cave is well-known the world over, thanks to four boys who came up with a brilliant idea on 12 September, 1940. The barbarity of a tormented century later forced them apart and they went their different, dangerous ways. A generation on, it was Thierry Félix’s turn to fall under the spell at Lascaux. He decided to tell us just what happened before the fabulous find and relate the experiences of each of these men.

White, white everywhere… hostesses light as the feathers of an angel… suave voices… sounds from space… could this be Paradise? No, no… a thousand times no! This is Earth… quite definitely so. We are in the Dreamworld imagined by the P.I.P. (the historical tribe at the Pôle International de la Préhistoire): Dreamworld turned Realworld in the form of “Le Vaisseau du Cyberpassé” (“The Cyberpast Ship”), ready to take off, thanks to the sheer audaciousness of its architect, Raphaël Voinchet.

Capturing what you see – sheer madness! All those lessons on optics won’t help me understand that magical power we are endowed with. Some photos make me cry, but I console myself in the knowledge that I have managed to save that treasured part of my loved one – in that unforgettable spot where we once went hand in hand. In our memories we store and fabricate dreams, in that otherworld where we can raise our arms and fly away. A photo is like a gentle “abduction” of all those happy times. Jacques Saraben’s shots reveal the attentive observer, ready to pounce at each enchanting instant.

Mother-of-pearl beads and ceramic vases discovered during excavations in and around Mykolas Cave over the past four years have disclosed information about death after life. Thanks to these precious findings, which have been dated with precision, the ground our ancestors trod as they brought their dead into the cave 5,000 years ago has been located this year. Inside the cave: a skull amid circles made with bones, ceramic fragments and stones, positioned exactly as it had been laid down. An unknown and intact burial act which is the “raison d’être” of these excavations concerning a period of time and burial procedures which have rarely been examined.

Trees live for many, many years - and always in the same place. They can’t just “take off” when they feel like it! Global warming is the big issue today, so we would be well-advised to plant them in the right place right now. The EU have been doing just that: they have established in France an experimental network called “CLIMAX” and planted a number of carefully selected trees which are expected to be able to withstand the harmful effects of climatic change. In Dordogne we saw the creation of one of these promising plantations - in Savignac-de-Miremont, on the hill above the famous Neanderthal necropolis: “La Ferrassie”.

The smallest village in Corrèze recently organized the most impressive centenary event ever in celebration of the most illustrious Neanderthal: “The Old Man” of La Chapelle-aux-Saints. On the discovery of his skeleton all the members of his family rejoined the vast family of Humankind – causing quite an uproar. He was buried by his companions about 45,000 ago – and only human beings bury their dead. The great ape label that had been stuck on him had now to go. He remains, a hundred years on, a key figure in the history of prehistory as we trace back to our origins. He may not, as yet, enjoy the status of “ancestor”, but he does have the status of “cousin” with the same ancestor as us somewhere down the line.

If a “Périgord Raid Aventure” is ever planned anywhere near you, don’t miss it whatever you do. The pace is hectic from start to finish and in next to no time it’s all over and you begin to wonder if it wasn’t just a figment of your imagination. First along are the race directors who define a territory - preferably a green space - which, without further ado, gets turned into a campsite where a hundred and fifty young people are swiftly pitching their tents on the Dordogne soil, ready to answer the four all-important existentialist questions: “where”, “when”, “why” and “how” - before whizzing off on the expedition.

Bernadette Darchen, biologist - or rather, as she likes to put it: “ecologist by trade” - has been using her entomologist skills to make an in-depth study of the Asian hornet. First seen in France in Bordeaux in 2005 in the form of a fertilized female, the species is threatening to colonise the whole of Europe. The biologist, who is president of the Apidor Association, is of course concerned about the protection of bees since it is a well-known fact that these new hornets are voracious bee-eaters. She has just brought out a fifteen-minute DVD revealing the results of her study.

The Castang family in Mauzens Miremont have reinvented a natural way of making their garden grow. A marshland where insects and common sense prevail. An eco-friendly approach with a concern for the future – and it is for this sort of commitment precisely that we have created our section entitled “The Future”, to give our children the desire to carry on.

All of us were taken by surprise – dumbstruck, so to speak - when the impressive Bara-Bahau engravings were found: a bear, a bison, a phallus, a reindeer, horses, ibexes, aurochs and, on either side, a hand engraved over claw marks left behind by bears… the hand of man had touched up the bear traces as the artists crawled along in those very same places where cave bears hibernated a long, long time ago. For those of us living in Le Bugue « Bara-Bahau » had always conjured up the sound of huge blocks of stone crashing down into the gallery where kids of all ages liked to come and play. But the events of April 1 1951 changed all that when the well known explorer, Norbert Casteret (1897-1987) - a sort of Jules Verne style hero dressed up like a cosmonaut from down below – arrived on the scene with his children, Raoul and Maud, aged 25 and 23.

Schooled in the grand Rodin tradition – in particular by artist Pétrus in his studio in Paris – Fabi Lormeau was introduced to drawing, modelling in clay and stone carving from living models. She is now 35 years of age and is displaying a whole series of Venuses in prehistoric Périgord - some no bigger than a hand, others the size of a human being – and, so doing, she has joined in the dance of the most minimalist of symbolic figures created by those very first artists of the Palaeolithic Age.

For the fifth time « Les Rencontres Buissonnières » wowed us when they invited Bernadette Lafont to come and present André S Labarthe’s great documentary, recounting her 50-year-long career and two of her latest films in which she shows the full extent of her talent. She is someone extra special, a great actress and a lovely lady who never looks long-faced or sulky: “I owe it to my public to be cheerful”, she says. She certainly was “our sunshine” on that chilly Friday, February 13, 2009 in Périgord Noir.

A campsite in Le Bugue became the headquarters of the “Périgord Raid Aventure” during the last week in August 2008 as 144 girls and boys from all over Europe (aged between 14 and 16) were invited to participate in a massive outdoor treasure hunt in the valleys of the Vézère and the Dordogne. In blissfully warm weather the contestants raced off in search of the sword of the illustrious Albuga tribe - hunting down and then deciphering a set of amphorae with very old cabalistic symbols engraved upon them. A fantastic adventure that made them all raid-crazy!

This massive pink creature goes by the name of « Coquine »; she is the work of Leslie Bigelman, an artist from New York who has recently settled in Monpazier - and who is making sure things start livening up in the legendary bastide. With Tony Crosbie, an Irish artist who firmly believes in freedom of expression, which he considers to be the most precious possession on earth, she has founded the “Ouvrir l’Art Contemporain” Association which has “installed” twenty or so playfully naughty sculptures - enchanted sentries, so to speak, who will be guarding the mediaeval citadel up to the end of August.

After a vast restoration programme under the aegis of Les Bâtiments de France, the Château de Coulonges, north-west of Montignac, is open to the public this summer between July 1 and August 10. The chance to discover the whole defensive arsenal of a mediaeval castle, the survival of a most ingenious strategic communications network set up by Seigneur Renaud Pons de Montignac, a faithful vassal of Alphonse de Poitiers, Count of Toulouse. During three centuries of fierce rivalry between Kings of England and Kings of France, enemy attacks were legion in the Périgord and the people had to learn how to protect themselves.

Bernard Fournioux, archaeologist and distinguished scholar of mediaeval history, invites us to discover “Montignac in the Middle Ages” in a reference text based exclusively on the study of original documents. This work relates how the town grew gradually around the mediaeval castle, as people began to move away from the ramparts and settle on the periphery. In 1990 the same author brought out a fascinating study of the defence network (the only one of its kind in the Périgord) which was invented in the 13th century to alert the châtellenie de Montignac to the possibility of danger in under 15 minutes, by sounding olifants* or by sending smoke signals. Our sincere thanks to him for allowing us to publish this study here in its entirety.

Right… now you can tell everyone: Le Bugue will be crossing swords with Fédérale 1 at the start of the new season. It’s a first… it’s unbelievable… but there you are! The players have fought it out and have reaped the rewards… and their sponsors will be one hundred per cent behind them in their next adventure.

Nobody can forget her video-clip “Save the last dance for me”, choreographed by Edouard Lock - with beautiful Louise Lecavalier - where she danced with her hands and with that mischievous look in her eyes… On Saturday, June 14, Carole Laure, the beautiful Québécoise who played Solange in Bertrand Blier’s film “Préparez vos mouchoirs”, was in Le Buisson-de-Cadouin where she had a bite to eat with her admirers, out in great numbers for the preview of her latest film “La Capture” which was a roaring success.

Forced to leave Paris during the 1940 « Exode » (* the flight of civilians from the north of France during the German invasion), the year that Lascaux was discovered, Alain Roussot found refuge beside Primitive Man in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac. The famous Neanderthal giant is often mistaken for a Cro-Magnon but Alain Roussot never fell into that trap and he has remained a keen and privileged observer of the adventure of the science of prehistory in the Périgord. By a stroke of luck he was to wend his way alongside Abbé Breuil, Abbé Glory and also Chanoine Jean Bouyssonie and together they amassed a “divine” collection of records.

In Le Bugue's old tax office, opposite the primary school in rue de la Boétie, when the "braderie" (clearance sale) is on it's the very best place to go for second-hand clothes for the whole family... and you'll get the warmest of welcomes from the devoted voluntary workers who collect and redistribute all the clothing. The Red Cross needs you - to continue helping people, quickly, simply and with the same efficiency.

Do you have to be dead to make a name for yourself? Do you have to be a rusty old skeleton before people start taking an interest in you? Gaëlle Chancerel’s answer to that question was « most certainly not! » when she plunged headlong into the prodigious mingle-mangle of Juan Frutos’s studio during her long Caribbean stay not far from the Mexican artist’s coastal home. The results of her painstaking, archaeology-style exploration have been published in a beautiful book revealing in minute detail the artist’s imaginative world. Gaëlle Chancerel now works in the Périgord; Juan Frutos’s art is presently on show at La Visitation in Périgueux.

Be the first to see the fabulous “Femm’en Folies” and our very own Périgord Chippendales, “les Mappas” in a stunning performance, prior to their world tour, at “Les Ecuries de la Passée” in Saint-Cyprien on 21 December 2007

On October 13, 2007, at the Clos l’Envège in Monbazillac, Patrick Montfort received the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur Cross from the hands of the prefect of the Dordogne, Jean-Francois Taillec. He was being rewarded for the time and energy spent promoting the wines of Bergerac, of which “Julien de Savignac” has been the finest representative for the past 26 years. But who actually is - or was - this famous Julien? To find out a bit about him we went up on top of La Ferrassie rock.

After a four-year break « Le Bugue Toucouleur » are back to work and they held their 16th exhibition at the Porte de la Vézère in Le Bugue at the end of last summer. The organizers and members of the Association “Oeuvrer pour Le Bugue” are once more in high spirits after being requested to withdraw from their activities on 1 April 2007.

There are few of them left to recall what happened in the Périgord in 1939 at the start of World War II. Forced to flee from their homeland, thousands of Alsatians arrived here with nothing more than a suitcase, seeking safety far from the combat zone. Paulette Bousquet was just 4 years old at the time and she saw them arriving in her little village of La Vergnolle in the commune of Campagne. She tells us how kind and compassionate the Périgordin country folk and the Alsatian refugees proved to be.

On 2 August, Le Bugue rolled an immense 5m x 6m screen down from the balcony of the town hall to prove how immensely proud the whole village is of its champions, the ASBB players, winners of the French Fédérale 3 Rugby Championship. Sophie Cattoire’s film recounting their heroic match and also the third half: the fans rushing onto the field to hug and kiss the champions, the celebrations in the changing rooms, the baptism of the shield with champagne, the journey back to Le Bugue and the party on the covered marketplace, gave everyone the chance to relive those unforgettable moments with the same enjoyment. The film will be released in September on DVD and there will be some “extra-specials”: the champions’ “bodega” in Le Bugue on 7 July, the presentation of the shield on the balcony of the town hall in an atmosphere of sheer bliss and more surprises which we’re keeping secret! Towards the end of September another giant-screen showing of the film is being organized at the Cinéma Lux in Le Buisson. Once the date is fixed you will be the first to hear.

Built as a complement to the decorated sites and the museums in the Périgord, for the past 20 years Préhisto Parc has been offering us scenes depicting prehistoric man’s daily life; these scenes have been reconstructed thanks to the enlightening information provided by Professor Jean-Louis Heim, an anthropologist at the Muséum Naturelle in Paris and an expert on fossilized man. On the occasion of the park’s 20th anniversary a tribute was paid to the Professor for his humanism and his vision of indivisible humanity perpetually on the move.

The great film of the great Le Bugue rugby team victory in the French “Fédérale 3” Championship: “Les Chevaliers d’Albuga à la Conquête du Bouclier”, is to be shown on Thursday, August 2 at 10 p.m. before its release for the general public. This exceptional open-air cinema event is a gift from the village of Le Bugue. Refreshments and barbecued meats will be available from 8 p.m. till nightfall in an ideal setting on the banks of the Vézère where the great film will be projected onto a giant screen. Shout and cheer to your heart’s content! It’s going to be a wild and wonderful party in the company of our fabulous champions who have thrilled us throughout this absolutely unforgettable season and in an epic final with stunning acts of bravery and courage! Remarkable rugby and a must-see movie !

Rugby, « Fédérale 3 » French Championship Semi-Final. Le Bugue 23 – Mugron 6. June 3, 2007. There was Yassine Ouali’s try in the 81st minute of play, coming just when it was needed... and there was Maxime Chalon’s whirlwind try in the last minute of extra time, literally a coup de grâce. Both will go down in the history of French rugby... they shot the village of Le Bugue up into the “Fédérale 3” French Championship Final – for the first time ever!

In each and every one of us lie unbelievable stores of strength and vitality. Rugby teaches children to channel this energy in the right direction - to attain physical maturity and well-being and develop a healthy mind. Take a look at the 1,300 young players in competition at the second Alexandre Selves / Christophe Côme Tournament in Le Bugue on April 28, 2007; they are the picture of health and happiness!

You can sing in Occitan? Well, come and enter the grand “CANT'ÒC” song contest at this year’s félibrée.

Norbert Aujoulat, the eminent cave art expert, tells us the conclusion he has reached after years of meticulous study in Lascaux Cave: the Sistine Chapel by no means advocates chastity! There on the walls before our eyes it’s all about roaring and rutting and lust for life. His findings have been revealed in a beautiful book, a sort of “goodbye to Lascaux”, entitled “LASCAUX le geste, l’espace et le temps” published by “Editions du Seuil”. He has allowed us to show you a few pictures from it and to briefly outline his scientific and philosophical approach to the mysteries of this sanctuary of prehistory in the Périgord Noir.

At Lascaux it is as if Paleolithic man were holding out his hand to us before his traces disappeared forever beneath the surface of the earth. However, one thing is for sure: under the sediment that keeps building up and up lie more masterpieces of artwork which are getting hidden away that bit more each day.

150 years ago a very old human cranium was discovered: the skull of Neanderthal Man. It was born a second time, so to speak... but in a nineteenth century strictly catholic context when no-one would have dreamt of querying the fact that man was a creation of God. These men from our ancient past with their ape-like faces were to give our family tree a mighty shake – and in a state of frenzy we went climbing up the branches of our tree to those inconceivable times long past. Prehistory was born, but the “forceps delivery” was a painful one. A century later, Jean-Louis Heim, an anthropologist in charge of the study of fossil man specimens, set out to restore them, with their bones all back together, to their rightful place in our history books. He meticulously rebuilt the skull of the man from la Chapelle-aux-Saints and studied, amongst others, the seven Neanderthal sepulchres at La Ferrassie.

Marylène Patou-Mathis has been treading on the heels of Neanderthal Man for the past 20 years. Her sole concern is their rehabilitation so they will no longer be regarded as second-rate beings. In her job as a zooarchaeologist, she carefully examines remains that apparently hold little interest for her fellow archaeologists: the bones of animals (mammoths, reindeer, bison, cave-dwelling lions) that have much to tell us about Neanderthal’s hunting strategies and his refined manner of living.

A child from Le Bugue who became an African viceroy, Jean Batailler travelled the length and breadth of the Périgord and Côte d’Ivoire in his job as a land surveyor. He enthusiastically built up an extensive collection of photographs and artworks. One can venture to say that, in his own way, he has become a man of wisdom. He has revealed to us a big secret: by the cantou or in the shade of an African hut one finds exactly the same warmth and warm-heartedness. Take a look at a few of his ethnographic postcards; they all go to show that men and women all over the world are tender at heart.

The fortunes and misfortunes of a make-believe rugby club, the pride and joy of a purely fictitious village. Any resemblance to any village club (in the Périgord, for example) is totally accidental. What’s more, there’s no proof whatsoever that Daniel Chavaroche and Jean Bonnefon ever even played the game in Saint-Cyprien, Le Bugue ot Montignac in their young days.

Rugby, « Fédérale 3 ». Le Bugue 25 – Bergerac 13. 10 December 2006. A terrific local derby - with the two sides going all out to offer the jam-packed stand a fine performance. A victory for rugby in general and for the Le Bugue players, who were determined to remain unbeaten right up to the Christmas break. Enjoy all the highlights of the match and the celebrations that followed in our reports.

« Mummy, Today, you’re 80. You were born on 4 November, 1926 at the Moulin Blanc in Rouffignac. At the age of 12 you left school and you no longer had to walk 4 kilometres through the woods each day. You left school to look after your brothers and sisters because you were the eldest child... »

A scene from another age – the swearing in of two knights – took place this summer beneath the towering walls of Paunat Abbey. A singularly strange ceremony which we were authorized to film in the aroma of Paunat’s far-famed cauldron. “Les haricots couenne de Paunat” are the carefully kept secret of an age-old recipe of slow-cooked white beans and pork rind.

Less of a bother than logs, wood granules – like graded wood shavings which are called “plaquettes” – can easily be used with press-button heating systems. Discover the pioneering work done in Dordogne by the farmers at the GRA.SA.SA., a cooperative that has been established in Ste Sabine Born since 1969.

Provençal poets, come sing hand in hand In the age-old idiom of our Occitan land! The language of kinship - A blessing from God - Uniting the family, The symbol of brotherhood. Therein lie our roots and that unyielding thread Secures the nest in its sweet leafy bed.

Boggy ground and determined bikers on Bernard Mazet’s motocross track. A spectacular performance by the riders who battled their way through the mud to pull off this round of the French Championship.

Rugby, Fédérale 3. Terrasson v Le Bugue : 3-21. 24 September 2006.

Rugby, Fédérale 3. Le Bugue v Tulle: 21-3. 17 September 2006.

Former champions, keen as ever, incorrigible collectors... and all of them out for a “brum, brumming” good time! See all the national competitors on www.albuga.info.

An army of Lilliputians attacking the dizzy curves of Michel Albié’s circuit. All the local riders are on www.albuga.info.

Le Bugue v Lectoure on the field at Fumel in the semi-final of the “France Honneur” Championship was indeed a rugby match to be remembered, gripping and closely fought, with two remarkable tries on each side... but, it was Lectoure that eventually pulled it off 16-13.

The Le Bugue Athletic Club made a spectacular come-back in spring 2006 and won access to the “Féderale 3”. As in the past, the key to success lay in the remarkable alchemy of a bunch of chums. The proof of the pudding: their quarter-final win over Capestang in the “France Honneur” Championship June 4, 2006 in Grenade. A red-letter day if ever there was one.

The incredible adventure of a village club, the oldest one in Dordogne, with its summits of fame in the year 2000 thanks to a fabulously united team. An epic journey into Le Bugue rugby club's past.

In summer 2006 Le Bugue’s marketplace housed the works of Julien Saraben. The man who illustrated “Jacquou le Croquant” was also a wonderful art teacher who none of his pupils has forgotten.

Meet the man behind the illustrations for « Jacquou le Croquant » - the man who gave us his vision of Eugène Le Roy's famous revolutionary character, Jacquou (the ringleader of the peasant uprising). Come and discover a multitude of hitherto unpublished drawings and sketches.

It was literally a state of frenzy at Le Bugue’s music festival this year with the wonderfully wild “Guinch’Pepettes” singers at the Café de l’Union and a jazz concert on the Place des Ors with Charlie Miller, trumpet player from New Orleans His presence showed just how strong the bonds are between Le Bugue and Louisiana in the aftermath of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Special audience features: cheeks with traces of lipstick on them and happy smiles: on this market you pay, for everything from humour to tenderness and poetry, in kisses.

Ever since the seventies hearts have been beating to the rhythm of their “temps forts” (the point at which the action and the emotions reach a climax). The itinerary of a Périgord tribe that is understood the world over.

Murielle Castaing, voted Miss Périgord 2005, was born In Sigoulès amongst the Bergerac vineyards. She tells us of her childhood and her cherished dreams.

Sylviane Pouchot is a primary-school teacher who was born in Le Bugue. Something of an artist as well, she introduces us to her fascinating creature: "Sad Bear", a vigorous stuffed teddy who is the hero of a modern fable full of lessons for us all.

The annular eclipse on 3 October 2005 brought Marguerite Loste out in some unusual spectacles. At 79, she was still cutting her own firewood. Meeting with a fine locally-grown flower.

Gabrielle Bets, née Loste, aged 92, is a real character and still young at heart. She was born in Le Bugue in 1914 and she tells us of the time she worked at the château de Saint-Cirq and at the Cro-Magnon Hotel.

On this exceptional Sunday, Saint-Sulpice church was literally packed to witness a pastoral transition : Father Gérard Blanc taking over from Father Bernard Lambert and Father Julien Charrier as the new priest of the parish of Saint-Martin-sur-Vézère.

To the music of the brass bands and the visiting folk music groups, the 2006 Saint-Louis Festival came up to everyone’s expectations and embodied the joie de vivre of the Occitan Périgord people, firmly attached to their merry country customs.

The third Language Forum was organized by “L'Arbre à Palabres”, an association based in Le Bugue whose members, all bitten by the travel bug, dearly believe in the notion of sharing. The event, quite simply, gave each and everyone the chance to air their views, thus adding their own personal touch to the amazing concert of the countless languages of mankind.

This year the Félibrée sent a thrill through Dordogne and Gironde, decking both Port-Sainte-Foy and Sainte-Foy-La-Grande with beautiful flowers. But what exactly does “Félibrée” mean? Behind the folklore, the soul of the Occitan people sparkles and glitters.

The "Pays de l'Homme", on the banks of the Vézère and the Dordogne.

In August 2005, Le Bugue's "Grand'Rue", once the village high street but now largely ignored in favour of the new main street, was the venue for an open-air exhibition by numerous artists.

On Saturday 17 June 2006 a magnificent ceramic plaque was unveiled on Le Bugue’s covered market place. It represents the edict that King Philippe V Le Long (“the damned king”) issued in 1319, proclaiming that for evermore Tuesday was to be market day in Le Bugue. See if you can spot the hidden messages and funny bits added here and there!

Rather than piling on the insecticides, the whole food solution developed at Mauzens-Miremont is to introduce "good" insects to fight the baddies.

A fashion model in the Dordogne in the 1950s, Micheline Garrigue and her husband Jacques ran the Hôtel de Paris in Le Bugue before going off to America. Back home, she recalls...

A now retired horticulturist but nonetheless still very active "gardener of memories", Norbert Marty reveals to us the very best of his investigation into the history of Le Bugue, the pearl of the Périgord Noir. He begins by explaining to us what, according to him, is the real etymology of the famous "AL BUGA".

The village of Saint-Geyrac, north of Rouffignac, spent a weekend living as Neolithic Man did, 8,000 years ago — taming fire, learning to work bronze, and in-between devouring a 100%-archeology-compatible and simply delicious banquet worthy of Emperor Charlemagne.

A joint team of French and American experts are to determine if the site was used for burials. Or was it a primitive refrigerator for Neanderthal Man?

The National Museum of Prehistory, Bordeaux Anthropological Laboratory and the Regional Archaeological Organisation are to begin excavation work in the neolithic sanctuary discovered last autumn by Eric Castang and Jean-Michel Degeix, members of the G3S caving club. The latter are to participate in this thrilling protohistoric survey.