The bandsmen of France
are most talented lads.
They play notes so sweet
that it charms man or beast.
They can play stirring music
whether seated, or standing, or marching.
But their very best tunes are reserved
for the Promenade a chameaux—the camel parade!
Except for the printed caption this postcard is unmarked. It's a curious ensemble of three (actually a few more) French bandsmen mounted on three faux camels. My guess is that the photo dates from around 1910-1914, or perhaps even from the time of the Great War. In this era France did have a substantial North African colonial military force which included a camel corps. Whether it included a camel mounted band is something I hoped to discover but my research was unfortunately interrupted.
This goofy post was originally intended for publication two weeks ago, but Hurricane Helene decided to pay a visit to my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. I've previously lived on the Atlantic coast and know the power and fury of storms, but the magnitude of this one was far beyond anyone's experience. While my home had 100+ year old trees fall on it, the structure escaped major injury and our power is back now and tree crews are cleaning up the mess. My wife and I are okay and consider ourselves very lucky as many areas in Asheville and in communities around Western North Carolina have suffered devastating loss of lives, homes, buildings, and infrastructure. Most of the city of Asheville is still without water as the flash floods destroyed two reservoir networks. It may be weeks before full water service is restored.
Disasters, both natural and man-made, are sadly far too common in the world today. Please contribute to one of the many emergency relief organizations that are working to give aid and hope to the people affected by these tragic events.
Blogging is a challenge without full Internet service so my future posts may be curtailed but I hope to be writing again soon. Stay tuned.
This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where no one is ever short of curiosity.
4 comments:
Yay Mike! So glad to hear from you again! I sure understand the outage of cell service (for days) as well as wi-fi! Not to mention elec. and water! I evacuated from Black Mountain on 4th day after the morning Helene dropped more water on our already soaked mountains and valleys. I needed to have elec. for my breathing equipment. I've been so concerned about you all. I know homes and trees can be repaired, but people are now so precious. It's still unfathomable that a hurricane created this disaster. I did laugh when I saw the camels. A good thing is to have a few laughs these days! Take care and stay safe!
I knew you lived in an area impacted by hurricane Helene and hoped you and your family were okay. So glad to see your entry today - and a fun one it is, too. Those pretend camels are quite something! :) All best wishes for a full recovery for your house & anything else needing repairs from the awful storm. We've contributed extra to the Red Cross. I hope they're doing a good job there in Ashville!
Good to see you back online, Mike, with such an original post - a band mounted on camels! Pleased to hear that you and your wife have emerged safely from Hurricane Helene .
Great to hear that you and Charlotte okay, Mike. The Tate gallery group in London has been trying to contact Charlotte for a couple of weeks without reply, and we were getting worried that you might have had some serious problem. It’s good to know that you are both alive and well. Best wishes for the recovery, from the terrible hurricane. Martin and other friends in London.
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