We took them for an introductory walk around Guemene
Another of several mills.
Top end of main street.
One of several Lavabos or wash houses.
They had done 5 hours of driving to get to us from Cherbourg having come via Portsmouth on the high speed catamaran ferry, so we took it easy next day and went for a walk by a nearby lake.
There were lots of these little frogs on the footpath so we were being extra careful where we put our feet.
FASCINATING TALE
Two years ago, after 26 years in business, they retired from running a printing and copying Franchise in Aylesbury, North of London and got out just in time.
(The following numbers may not be accurate - but why let facts like that get in the way of a good story!)
The new owners of the British Franchise company sent a letter to their 200 Franchisees advising that they were required to sign a new agreement by a given date which would prevent them from passing their Franchise on to family or employees (as, presumably, they wanted to charge transfer fees). They also required a complete list of all customers (The suspicion being that they were planning to centralizing all printing activity) and for a while up to that point they had been reducing services presumably to increase their margins. Fanchisees were told that if they did not sign by the time given there would be a High Court Writ taken out against them.
They were unaware however that 40 of their leading Franchisees, John and Chris amongst them, had been secretly communicating. John and Chris decided they were not going to sign, as did many others, but most of them got together to take a class action against the Corporate body for not fulfilling their obligations while some, for personal reasons, decided to go along with it.
In advance of the date John and Chris decided they wanted out and had taken steps to launch a new company to be run by three of their employees with a new name, new premises and new telephone number etc. Within hours of the deadline everything in the shop, which still had two years of lease to run, was stripped out and when the Corporate rep arrived to collect the signed documents there was only John in an empty shop with a telephone. The rules were that John and Chris could have nothing to do with the new company so when the phone rang he refused to pick it up!
There were other dramas as well but they are happy and smiling now. The Franchisor has since gone into liquidation.
So you see we have had a very entertaining week sharing stories!! We haven't seen them for about four years.
ST. GOUSTAN/AURAY, CARNAC AND QUIBERON
(The following numbers may not be accurate - but why let facts like that get in the way of a good story!)
The new owners of the British Franchise company sent a letter to their 200 Franchisees advising that they were required to sign a new agreement by a given date which would prevent them from passing their Franchise on to family or employees (as, presumably, they wanted to charge transfer fees). They also required a complete list of all customers (The suspicion being that they were planning to centralizing all printing activity) and for a while up to that point they had been reducing services presumably to increase their margins. Fanchisees were told that if they did not sign by the time given there would be a High Court Writ taken out against them.
They were unaware however that 40 of their leading Franchisees, John and Chris amongst them, had been secretly communicating. John and Chris decided they were not going to sign, as did many others, but most of them got together to take a class action against the Corporate body for not fulfilling their obligations while some, for personal reasons, decided to go along with it.
In advance of the date John and Chris decided they wanted out and had taken steps to launch a new company to be run by three of their employees with a new name, new premises and new telephone number etc. Within hours of the deadline everything in the shop, which still had two years of lease to run, was stripped out and when the Corporate rep arrived to collect the signed documents there was only John in an empty shop with a telephone. The rules were that John and Chris could have nothing to do with the new company so when the phone rang he refused to pick it up!
There were other dramas as well but they are happy and smiling now. The Franchisor has since gone into liquidation.
So you see we have had a very entertaining week sharing stories!! We haven't seen them for about four years.
ST. GOUSTAN/AURAY, CARNAC AND QUIBERON
The following day:
St. Goustan is on an inlet from the sea and is part of Auray about an hours drive South from here. The Romans were keen on this place.
CARNAC
Carnac, a small seaside town 20 mins South of Auray, is famous for its Standing Stones (Megaliths). It is unclear how they got there or why. Some are huge and many arranged in rows.
Tourist train.
QUIBERON
Quiberon is at the end of a 10 Km isthmus. As you drive along you can see water on both sides. It is famous for an episode in French history when British ships offloaded a small army of French Royalist troops in an attempt to retake the country after the revolution (subject of a TV series). It failed.
PONT AVEN AND CONCARNEAU
Next day we went to the artists community of Pont Aven, a very pretty small town an hour away.
CONCARNEAU
Not far from Pont Aven is Concarneau which has a walled city in its harbour. This was a first for us which made it more interesting.
John bought a CD from this fellow. Good background music.
The ice cream was as good as it looked!
There must be a boat named after you Glenn. It might have been the one in the background. Interesting colour scheme.
MALESTROIT AND SAINT-MARCEL
Saint-Marcel, a small village near Malestroit, was the site of a gathering of resistance fighters (The Maquis) in 1944 during WW2. They were sprung by the Germans and a major battle ensued. It drew a lot of resourses away from the Germans and contributed towards speeding the end of the war. There is a museum there to commemorate the event.
A setting inside the museum.
German uniforms.
German anti aircraft gun.
JOSSELIN
Josselin was on the way home so we stopped off.
That night, 29 June, we went to The Sabot Rouge (Red Clogs) restaurant in Guemene and celebrated Elskes birthday.
The couple Ash and Monique who run the restaurant met in Melbourne. He was born English but schooled in France and was in Australia for four years. Ash's mother who owns the building worked in Montpelier Bristol for four years in a restaurant.
MUR DE BRETAGNE
To round off the visit we went to see a Breton festival of dance and a procession at Mur de Bretagne 30mins North of here.
Not the least bit frightened by the noise the baby was bouncing up and down to the music!
To round it off Brittanys answer to the Tour de France raced through on their way from St Brieux on the North coast to Lorient on the South coast.
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