Letters
Page 22
Visit to Louis Braille's birthplace
My journey to the birthplace of Louis Braille started with a very long walk. Louis was born in a village called Coupvray, which is about 35kms from Paris but don't worry, I didn't have to walk that far! I took the Metro to the Gare de l'Est in Paris and then caught a train to Esbly which is a village about 3kms from Coupvray. I walked out of the station, decided better of it and went back to ask for directions and then set off.
Further on I asked an elderly gentleman for more directions. He shook his head when he heard how far I was walking.
The road turned out to be a highway and quite busy. I was pleased to reach a crossroads and signs for Coupvray and Louis Braille's house. A guide met me at the house and as no-one else turned up I had the guide all to myself!
The family obviously wasn't poor. Louis' father was comfortably well off; he was a tradesman or craftsman. Inside the house there was a communal room with the parent's bed in an alcove, a huge oven to bake bread that looked a bit like a pizza oven, a niche where the father kept his apple cider, a big fireplace, a dining table and not much else. I wondered how four children and two adults could all fit in the house together, day in and day out, summer and winter. In the same house, though, is the father's workshop - the children played here and it was in this workshop that Louis had the accident with the sharp knife that cost him his sight.
There was a good size garden with a well for water. Up the hill is the village proper which has a statue of Louis in the tiny village square. The village looks as if commuters are living there; most of the houses look prosperous and have been done up; a good place for young families.
It was a lovely part of my trip overseas made especially relevant by my association with the Foundation.
Judy Haswell, RNZFB Reference Librarian