Grass Grows in the Pyrenees

Chapter 5

Chapter 5All the people who are taking part in the parade have now assembled and the Mayor is glancing nervously at his watch. He is a stickler for being on time, which is rather unusual for a local man. In this town we are never particularly precise when it comes to time-keeping, twenty minutes here or there makes no difference. In fact, when making an appointment, foreigners will often ask, 'is that actual time, or French time?'

Everyone is in position and taking up his place. Standing at the front, beside the Mayor, is our oldest soldier, Didier, who is holding the flag. The flag and the flag-pole are made of lightweight materials, so the old soldier who has been given the honour of carrying it can physically manage the task. This isn't a problem for Didier, because although he's ninety-two years of age he's still a strong, robust man. Unfortunately, his mind is not as strong as his body, and, at times, it drifts off to another place and time.

After a couple of minutes, the band starts to play and the parade begins with much encouragement from the crowd. People are throwing confetti and cheering, many are waving small flags and there's a real party atmosphere. No one is very sure if this parade should be joyous or sombre, but as there's to be a street party immediately afterwards, everyone is getting into the party spirit.

Didier is getting more and more excited and he's thrusting the flag upwards with great gusto as he marches. The Mayor has side-stepped slightly and is looking increasingly nervous as he's afraid of being elbowed by the old man. Suddenly, with a great whoop, Didier thrusts the flag upwards then lets it go. Being a powerful man, he has managed to launch it to a great height. There's a moment of confusion and bumping of instruments as the band members, who are immediately behind Didier and the Mayor, reach up to try to catch the flag before the descending pole injures someone. Fortunately, two of the men manage to get a hand to it and it's lowered safely.

“I'll take that back now,” Didier says forcefully and he makes a grab for the flag pole.

“Oh no, you won't,” says the man who has it in his grasp.

A scuffle breaks out as they wrestle over the flag, and when the Mayor tries to intervene, Didier throws a punch at him. It lands a glancing blow on his shoulder. Before he can throw a second punch, one of the young police officers steps forward and grabs Didier by the arm. I don't know where he's come from because I didn't see him in the crowd, but I am grateful that he's here.

An elderly lady steps forward from the side of the street. She's wearing a wine-coloured suit, which at one time would have been very smart, but now that she's shrunk with age, seems overly big on her. A matching cloche hat is pinned tightly to her hair with hat pins. “What are you doing, Didier, you old fool?” she cries.

Didier stares at the old girl. “Go home, Mother,” he says. “Can't you see I'm in the parade?”

“I'm your wife, not your mother, you i***t!” she replies.

He stares at her for a moment, as if trying to recognise her. “I'm the National Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion,” he states proudly. “Why would I marry an old woman? My wife Martha is young and beautiful and she's in the crowd watching my victory parade.”

With that he begins to call for Martha, and everyone realises his mind has stepped back in time.

A pretty young woman steps forward, explaining that she works at the local care home for the elderly. She kindly offers her assistance.

“Here is my Martha,” Didier says, smiling as he takes the young woman's hand.

She gently leads him from the parade and with his wife in tow, they head off towards his home. Watching them, I see Didier has placed his hand on the young woman's bottom. Some of his instincts have not dulled with age, even if his mind has retreated.

The parade resumes and completes the last hundred metres of its journey. Then the band stops playing and a box is placed on the ground for the Mayor to stand on. Everyone is quiet as he delivers his speech. In it, he praises all our servicemen and women and commemorates our war dead. He makes particular reference to the last World War.

The Mayor's father was a brave member of the Resistance during the war, but he was caught and then executed by the Nazis, and the Mayor cannot forgive the German people for this. He delivers a very un-PC speech and warns everyone of the Nazi threat, which he says is still with us. His speech is met by a mixture of shock and horror from the tourists, who cannot believe their ears. However, local people have heard it all before. I'm relieved when he's finished, as the discomfort his speech causes is embarrassing.

Finally, all the formalities are over and I make my way to the pizza restaurant, where the owner has very kindly offered to give me and my junior officers a meal. We are to be seated at a table beside the Commune Committee, and it's considered an honour to be placed beside the esteemed group of men and women who run this town.