This is another image showing some of the remains of the German WW2 airbase and military camp at Point-Clos in Brittany. These buildings housed the camp support functions like the laundry, the shoe-mender, the outfitter, etc. I managed to capture this shot between heavy showers.
Wonderful old ruins. I just finished a book called 1944: Roosevelt and the year that changed the world. In it the bases and actions in this part of the country were the beginning of the end. I'm so grateful for the people of Europe and for what they went through to keep the world a better place. I just hope we all remember that time now.
It's a testament to the construction skills of the era that these neglected buildings are still recognisable. The trees we can't see have been there for centuries whilst those we can have dramatically reclaimed their territory
@s4sayer I think that it's more a testament to the type of construction that the remnants are still standing. The vast majority of the buildings were built of poured concrete for speed so there is little in the way of recoverable materials - had they been built of brick or stone it would have been a different story.
@joansmor@graemestevens Sadly the trees should be magnificent elderly oaks but the farmers don't like that the branches shield their crops from the sun and the root system leeches essential nutrients from the surrounding area. If they want their Commom Market subsidies they're not allowed to cut the trees down; instead, they cut off all of the branches except one at the top of the trunk which is known as the 'tire-sève' - the sap-puller - and which keeps the tree technically alive. Eventually, there will be lots of small growths all the way up the trunks as you see here: Mrs. calls them microbe trees.
Rather impressive that a German military base had a building dedicated to a shoe-mender. All that clicking of heels must have taken a toll, I guess. Have been dipping my toe into the world of b&w landscapes, and I have learned to much appreciate a lighter foreground against a darker subject.
