Jonzac

We did a day in Jonzac. http://www.jonzac.fr/index.htm

The tour of the château is excellent if your French is up to it. There's not much left of the original building, which was trashed by the English who invested the town for a decade in the Hundred Years War. It was rebuilt, but then had a hard time in the Revolution, though it's still a good example of gothic architecture. I wondered how a town of this size could support the old buildings, as well as the new sport and leisure complex over the river: the tour guide explained that the old families of the commune do a kind of voluntary service. The young people want to get married in the Salle, so they have to do the repairs and decoration. Good plan.

One of the things mentioned is that through the archway over the road is the old route to the church, which was covered so the ladies of the castle could walk down without being seen. When the tour went upstairs I toddled off and explored the old path; it's amazingly atmospheric and would make a marvellous setting for ambulatory theatre.

The main street and space in front of the château were closed for music and fireworks that evening; there was an excellent band doing a sound-check but we didn't stay for the concerts.

As for the size of Jonzac - the population of French towns is tiny compared to English. Jonzac-central has 4000 inhabitants, which in England is the size of a large village.

While the Antilles (the big flashy leisure complex) was being built they discovered a Roman villa. There's quite a bit of known history for it, though excavations are ongoing. In fact, you can book in to a dig. More about that when I've been to see it.