269. Summer Afternoon *

1st July. My favorite dog-walking field behind the beach at Anglet was invaded the other day by a hundred or so white vans and caravans - belonging to a so-called "evangelical group". We had a visitation from them in the same place last year and it took some time for the council to evict them. I sympathise with the local council as it doesn't have at its disposal the practical means to physically evict encampments like this. They'll have to ensure that access to the field is properly secured in future.      Over the winter, the council had positioned massive concrete blocks across the access points to the field - but they hadn't done their homework properly - apparently this well-organised group gained access to it via an unblocked route further up the coast. When I spotted them there last week, I saw that they'd also opened up an electrical power supply box and had hooked up the entire convoy to the mains supply. Who pays for the power used? And then there's hygiene. I wonder. By law, councils do have to make provision for gens du voyage ("travelling people"). I see they're now set up at Ascain (below) - our former holiday village. 

* According to Henry James: the two most beautiful words in the English language.