Emmaus (Emmaüs in French) is a charity, founded in Paris in 1949 by the Roman Catholic priest of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor (O.F.M.Cap.) known as Abbé Pierre (born Henri Marie Joseph Grouès) (Lyon 1912 - Paris 2007). Nowadays Emmaüs International is to be found all over the globe. One of their many worldwide outlets is situated close to where we live. Last Saturday, the 22nd of February, fellow ‘plaisanciers’ offered us a seat in their car, thus making it possible to visit this outlet. A large poster is hanging from the ceiling of the main building and depicts Abbé Pierre himself – some 22 years ago.

Unlike huge outlets like, say, IKEA, the Emmaus branches do not have a space where one can pick up paid goods from their magazine. No, no, no, Emmaus has a space where one can deliver surplus goods to them. Every item in this vast department is given to the Emmaus-charity for free which partly explains their low prices.

Outside one can find what one might call, with all due respect, the junkyard. If one needs an old bathtub for refreshing, say, donkeys in the meadow this is the place to buy one.

Looking for a secondhand bike, skies or ski-sticks? This is the place to go.

Of course the kids are not forgotten! A desire to make the apple of your eye toilet-trained while keeping him or her busy with a new piece of toy? It’s all there!

The main building is stuffed with more than one’s able to imagine. This picture gives an idea of what it looks like at first sight. Lots of stuff, lots of people alike.

Charming. A classy marriage can be made a reality here – for a nickel and a dime.

Lots of pianos too. Someone damaged the one in front by placing a drink or something on it without protection. A barbarian, no doubt.

Wardrobes are to be found in all models and types and sorts of wood. One of them offered us the opportunity to make our first ‘selfie’. We’ll try not to repeat that…

Just picture-frames. Because there are so many it must be a popular article. We honestly would never have thought of that. Should we practice even more recycling than we already try to?

The flowers inside this vase are as artificial as the ones on the outside. It did make, though, for a charming, colourful combination.

This composition was simply too striking not to be photographed. If it’s, for various reasons, simply impossible to buy it at least make a picture of it. We did.

The last part –in a separate part inside the huge shed, with its own entrance as well as exit- is the antique-department. You’ll get an idea of what it looks like by this picture.

Coming from the country of water, dikes, mills, tulips and clogs our eyes were caught by this small collection of French clogs. The discerning French prove to be very thoughtful as users with delicate upper feet are protected by a peace of leather instead of being tortured by the unforgiving wood! We definitely know by own experience.

This might be the kind of vase people show in television-programs like The Antiques Roadshow (in The Netherlands ‘Tussen Kunst en Kitsch’). We have to admit that it has happened that, when watching the program, we said to each other: ‘we’d have thrown it away already ages ago’, and that it appeared to be worth £ 30,000.00 or so. Oops!

We consider this one a thousand percent hideous. Even when it resembles one’s own dog (why have a dog like this one in the first place?). Having said that, see the text with the previous picture.

Charles de Gaulle – we think. And we now notice there’s more visible here than we realized when concentrating on perpetuating this display. Next week we’ll go again…

When remembering the sound of the typewriter, even more so the bakelite records (Columbia Records, ‘Le Voix De Son Maître’ (HMV)) some nostalgic feelings were stirred up… (Even our favourite flagship HMV store in Oxford Street, London, seems to have gone.)

We are able –at least we think we are- to determine that we see here copies of original masterpieces or well-meant creations of fairly good amateurs...

…but here we possibly see an original Hendrik Avercamp (1585-1634), called ‘Winterlandschap met schaatsers’ (‘Winter landscape with scaters’. ‘Paysage d’hiver’.). On second thought, no, the original one is on display in the world famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. So no buying, no visit to The Antiques Roadshow. This time, that is. We keep looking for unexpected fortune!

La Loire on Sunday the 23rd of February 2014. Still pretty fast but lower than last week. Spring is in the air… A bientôt.