Ahhhh sunflowers, known to the French as tournesol. What memories they conjure up for me. Until 2 years ago when my son left for Uni, for many, many years I spent all my summer weekends driving him to swimming competitions in far flung towns in Occitanie, France. This involved very early starts - not ideal, as I am definitely not a morning person but, armed with my flask of tea, I would drive to the given destination, often with my son asleep next to me! But the bonus was undoubtedly the glorious and varied French countryside we would pass though - which of course my sleepy companion missed! Without doubt, were it not for the swimming competitions, I would not have visited these small towns scattered throughout the region, often 2-3 hours from home, and what a joy they were to behold, especially in the early morning light.
One of our destinations was a small village not far from Carcassonne called Montreal which normally we visited late July/early August. In this area there is field after field of sunflowers on slightly undulating hills alongside roads lined with statuesque plane trees - such a glorious golden sight.
My role in terms of the swimming was a) to deliver the swimmer (!!), b) to cheer the swimmer on but also c) to perform my duties as the club photographer, so wandering through sunflower fields during the competition was not an option for me, but………this is France, which meant we had at least a 2 hour lunch break! Generous camping tables were erected, carafes of chilled wine were strategically placed amidst healthy salads to be enjoyed by all. Well, normally by all, but when In Montreal I would escape to the sunflower fields. And in the midst of these fields I could just as easily have been in heaven. Their beauty is known by all but what is perhaps not appreciated is how vast some of these flowers are. To stand in a field dwarfed by these golden yellow forces of nature, who turn in adoration to the sun, is quite an experience, especially when the fields stretch as far as the distant horizon. To allow me to stand next to them felt quite humbling and to some extent, slightly intimidating given their stature!
Skipping lunch to capture these beauties in the name of contemporary art was far from a hardship but was instead the most wonderful perk to compensate for the early morning starts!
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