JANUARY 2014

The Class of Hyperactives.

Grignan in the south of the Drome department is known for its Chateau with connections to Madame de Sévigné. The chateau is undergoing repairs hence is shrouded behind scaffolding but for mere 160 euros you can pick up Madame S's complete letters in 3 Pléiade vols at the ticket office. 

Better yet, just down the street is a printing museum. I’m always a sucker for these. There’s a good one in Lyons and one in the Chateau de Saché just south of Tours where Balzac wrote (and printed). The picture on our Introduction page was taken at Grignan. Tucked away in a corner of the ground floor is the photo below. Yes, probably a printer’s joke – we are alerted by the photographers Studio Plonk et Replonk – but funny nevertheless. This is what happens when you hand over high technology to oiks – engineering workshops are full of such ingenious interventions. Then again maybe it is a genuine shot of Mme Bémolle’s class.