Item 04: G. O. Hawkins letters to his family, 2 January 1915-November 1917 - Page 217
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[Page 217]
5
The square was in this manner rendered fair like and busy.
The scene may have been a tableau of life a few hundred years back, so old fashioned was it in every detail, the old carts and pig crates, and most of all the people, were all parts of ancient prints and drawings
This one great day in the week seems to be a great pleasure to the simple folk, merry greetings are exchanged and between times reunions are celebrated by adjoinment to the nearest estaminet (hotel or inn) where caffe and rum (hot) or a mild kind of beer are indulged in.
The ancient church and all the buildings and shops framing the square are quaint. Old slate and tile roofs are picturesque, there is moss and lichen everywhere on roof and wall. French soldiers in their blue-grey uniform give a bright clean touch to the otherwise sombre scene, for most of the peasants, especially the women, are in black, and most were black woolen shawls over their heads instead of bonnets.