Editorial
For our editorial team, trying to ‘define’ the Cevennes has been a source of much amusement and disagreement. In the end, the only genuine point of consensus between us has been that it is more about a state of mind, or spirit, than geography.
While there is undoubtably an edginess to Cevenol culture - hardly surprising, given its history of poverty, religious disputes, war, industrialisation and harsh living – there is also a resourcefulness, a resilience, a benevolent down-to-earthness, which those who spend real time here come to love. There exists here a thriving community, eager to enjoy the lifestyle and the wide variety of outdoor activities on offer, hungry for art and ’culture’, ready not just to watch, but to participate in the traditional ways of building, growing, eating and shopping.
In launching Heart of the Cevennes, our primary objective is to explore and celebrate the various aspects of life and culture here; to describe the sometimes less obvious facets; people and special places – whether they be town or wilderness – which can capture the heart and with which we form deep and meaningful bonds. These are the things which have taken those of us who live here beyond the ‘edginess’ and into the true heart of a region whose nature resists platitudes or lazy description.
In the course of working on the first issue of Heart of the Cevennes, we have discovered a plethora of independent enterprises celebrating that which is ‘Cevenol’ in the best sense of the word: restaurants, hotels, gites, speciality food producers, oil mills, vineyards, caves and art galleries, all of which contribute to a greater wealth of experience than first sight might lead one to expect.
With this first edition, we have endeavoured to include a range of interest which in its subject matter goes beyond an English-speaking audience, even if in print we are currently limited to one language. The pleasures of touring, eating, shopping and playing in the region are known to a huge variety of visitors and residents, and we hope to convey ideas, words and images which will enhance and expand your enjoyment here. We hope that you will find enough to encourage a regular interest in our contributors’ work.
Jeanne Marshall
For our editorial team, trying to ‘define’ the Cevennes has been a source of much amusement and disagreement. In the end, the only genuine point of consensus between us has been that it is more about a state of mind, or spirit, than geography.
While there is undoubtably an edginess to Cevenol culture - hardly surprising, given its history of poverty, religious disputes, war, industrialisation and harsh living – there is also a resourcefulness, a resilience, a benevolent down-to-earthness, which those who spend real time here come to love. There exists here a thriving community, eager to enjoy the lifestyle and the wide variety of outdoor activities on offer, hungry for art and ’culture’, ready not just to watch, but to participate in the traditional ways of building, growing, eating and shopping.
In launching Heart of the Cevennes, our primary objective is to explore and celebrate the various aspects of life and culture here; to describe the sometimes less obvious facets; people and special places – whether they be town or wilderness – which can capture the heart and with which we form deep and meaningful bonds. These are the things which have taken those of us who live here beyond the ‘edginess’ and into the true heart of a region whose nature resists platitudes or lazy description.
In the course of working on the first issue of Heart of the Cevennes, we have discovered a plethora of independent enterprises celebrating that which is ‘Cevenol’ in the best sense of the word: restaurants, hotels, gites, speciality food producers, oil mills, vineyards, caves and art galleries, all of which contribute to a greater wealth of experience than first sight might lead one to expect.
With this first edition, we have endeavoured to include a range of interest which in its subject matter goes beyond an English-speaking audience, even if in print we are currently limited to one language. The pleasures of touring, eating, shopping and playing in the region are known to a huge variety of visitors and residents, and we hope to convey ideas, words and images which will enhance and expand your enjoyment here. We hope that you will find enough to encourage a regular interest in our contributors’ work.
Jeanne Marshall
