The Pyrénées 2019

Some interesting people pass by when you're waiting for the race to come into view. The gendarme on the right is a member of 'Les Groupes d'Investigation Cynophile'. They are part of the Departmental Gendarmerie, where they are officially attached to the gendarmerie's surveillance and intervention platoons. The Cynophile Investigation Groups are made up of at least three Gendarmerie career staff, all dog masters. The Cynophile Investigation Groups were created in regions where a request for police intervention was superior to the capabilities of the dog masters present in the Gendarmerie's surveillance and intervention platoons. Unlike the latter, these gendarmes perform only missions where the dogs must be employed, they will not then do roadside surveillance, investigations or any other activity specific to gendarmes. Amongst other tasks they search for narcotics, weapons, ammunition & explosives. The Cynophile Investigation Groups consist of two dogs per gendarme, and one for the unit commander. All members of these units are NCOs. They then all received continuous training at the National Dog Training Center of the Gendarmerie1. Oh and just in case the dog's not enough, he has an automatic weapon...

Early morning shot of the finishing straight 150m from the line...

Setting up ready for the interviews...

Wiggie Woo just has to get in on the proceedings...

I'd just finished taking some formal shots of Janice and her beloved violin. She relaxed and I snapped this, warts and all (i.e. my makeshift backstop and all around it)...

My Janice, her violin and a pearl earring...

The old bridge of Orthez over the Gave de Pau was built in the 13th century on the orders of Gaston VII de Moncade when he made Orthez the capital of Béarn; it connected the city centre to the suburbs. In 1274 the bridge had a single span and two towers, by 1589 there was only one. Today it is well known for its single tower and unequal arches...

At each side of the towers were wooden decks that could be withdrawn if the bridge came under attack. Which it did twice; in August 1569 by the Protestant Huguenot troops of Montgommery after the battle of Orthez where the attacking force threw the Catholic priests from one of the windows in the towers into the raging waters of the Gave de Pau...

In February 1814 the forces of the Duke of Wellington attacked the retreating troops of Napoleon Bonaparte where 45 rearguard troops of the rearguard army of Marshal Soult resisted continued attacks for a day and eventually tried to blow up the bridge but failed, the assault resulted in a partial rebuilding and widening of the structure...