Sep1Written by:Rev Jules
9/1/2007
Recent television coverage of the Tour of Ireland only confirmed the opinion of Sound Waves that Le Tour is still Le Tour.
One of the small and infrequent joys of this summer was the gorgeous aerial footage of the 2007 Tour De France that aired on TG4. Sweeping shots of brightly dressed cyclists racing through amazingly picturesque, sunlit scenary only confirmed for us that, doping or not, France is still the real star of the Tour De France. This reality was brought home when I watched RTE's aerial footage of the closing minutes of Stage 4 of the Tour of Ireland. As pro cyclists whipped through Salthill on their way to the finish line I couldn't help but notice how this whole section of Galway from Knocknacarra onwards looks like one giant, ugly, concrete, outdoor jacks. You can criticise the French all you like about how they do or do not tackle drugs in sport but you can never accuse them of deliberately ruining their own countryside and heritage unlike the assembled forces here in Ireland who are determined to destroy, among other priceless treasures, the Hill of Tara.
Tags:2 comment(s) so far...
Re: Le Tour is still Le Tour Here here, being from near Galway- Mayo- I can agree. The very same thing is happening here in China. When people get money there's no depths of bad taste and vulgarity to which they won't sink. Is it the case that the French were always moderately well off - and in charge of their own affairs? Hence had the money and confidence to build and keep nice buildings? When the Chinese were at the zenith of their power - a few thousand years ago they built some beautiful stuff. Now the villas going up on the dust of Beijing's old classical buildings look remarkably like what you see back home in Galway/Mayo
By mark_godfrey on
9/1/2007 |
Re: Le Tour is still Le Tour Jules, agree 100%: there's a lot of lazy commentary and reactionary would-be journalism that doesn't understand the Tour de France (which throws out dopers and their whole team, let's be clear about this). I've just driven through Beaune, Bourgogne and up to Paris this evening: the countryside is breathtaking and a natural asset that France and Le Tour uses to great effect. And millions watch the Tour just for the scenery! Mark, French people have an unshakable awareness of French identity and history; in the cities and towns outside Paris there's immense civic pride and community spirit - it breeds self-confidence (Unfortunately, this makes some people inflexible re: immigrant culture). Ireland's problem is our lack of self-confidence; we throw out our past because we feel ashamed of it, think it makes us look like peasants. Infortunately, the Tour Of Ireland won't change this, tourism advertisement though it may be. One other point: France has the space to build around monuments/natural landmarks and less archaeological booty than Ireland. Rome has the same problem: dig a hole and you'll find an artefact.
By aidan on
9/2/2007 |