One of the more obvious difference between this part of rural south west France and rural south west England is the lack of hedges. Les Anglais do hedges, the French do ditches. Though to their credit they do keep them clean. In fact the whole countryside is (mostly) immaculate.
The ditches and adjacent banks are scraped down to the sub soil at lest twice a year. This is probably to make it easier to find the cars which regularly drive into them.
The council and some farmers have tractors fitted with destructors like this.
Wicked flailing things on hydraulic arms, they can destroy just about anything they can reach (which may be why there are no hedges...) Give it a few decades and they may have turned the whole country into one big ditch.
On the way back from somewhere very dull I noticed this farmer scraping his ditches and thought something was not right...
As I drove past and he emerged from behind the advert ...
 |
| (Motor services for the discerning of Moissac and Castelsarrassin) |
I got a better look. You have to admire the determination of the man, pressing on, keeping the place nice and tidy...
...even after some bugger has nicked his engine.
