“The Bonsoir Diaries” by Kumar de Silva is a cocktail of chapters, bursting at their seams with pithy asides, a trail of faux pas, and tit-bits from behind the scenes, marinated with anecdotes and drizzled with nostalgia, revealing everything you never saw on your favourite television show…from the ‘80s through the ‘90s into 2000.
Chilly is an understatement. Located on the Franco-German border, Strasbourg is far from chilly at Christmas time. The alliteration in the headline sounds nice, and so I leave it the way it is. On the contrary, Strasbourg simply freezes at Christmas time. We Asians who luxuriate in our celebrated eternal summer find our fingers and toes going dead, as do the tips of our noses, as it once happened to me. One visit to Strasbourg in December, and, never ever again at that time of the year!
December in Strasbourg predominantly means the immense Christmas market, which has been held for 444 years. Its origins go back to 1570, when the Strasbourg Protestants battled against the “extravagant” Catholic traditions, which were very attached to the names of saints. They introduced the Christkindelsmärik (Market of the Child Jesus) to replace the market of Saint Nicholas.
The fabulous ambiance which reigns supreme in Strasbourg is unique. The oldest and undoubtedly the best celebrated Christmas market in France, it has also inspired towns and villages across France to host their own Christmas markets.
It was for one of those Bonsoir’s Sri Lankan Christmases past that we thought, why not go to Strasbourg and share all with our thousands of viewers. Bonsoir was always a Monday night programme. Christmas Eve that year was also on a Monday and so the timing was divine intervention.
We got to work with all the detailed pre-production and sourced video clippings from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yasmin got those all-important winter clothes ready, etc., etc. The recording and entire experience were just perfect – logistically and technically. It was picture perfect too.
And so on that memorable Christmas Eve, on ITN, our viewers saw us in Strasbourg wrapped in warm winter clothes, woollen caps, mufflers, and thick gloves…in a beautiful setting. The Christmas Market itself was too crowded and so there we were in an adjacent outdoors location…on a vast expanse of lawn, with Christmas trees in the background. Complementing the setting were little lakes with ducks swimming and quacking and playing in gay abandon. Occasionally, far away, was a quaint little train chugging away in the distance, on its way to a neighbouring German village.
It was late afternoon, just as night was falling, when the magic set in, as if the city, happily realised the fast-disappearing sun, and compensated us for the absence of the heat and light with new verve. The numerous shop windows gleamed with a multitude of decorations twinkling on the facades. There were chestnuts being roasted on open fires. The smell of spices and cinnamon brought back childhood memories, as Christmas carols drifted out from the depths of the little countryside chapels.
We showed our viewers how the Christmas Market itself spreads out into the many streets and squares of the city centre – Place Broglie and the venerable Cathedral Square in particular. Ah yes…yet another “must-visit” is the stunning, nine-plus centuries-old Cathédrale de Notre Dame in central Strasbourg.
And as Yasmin and I froze in the biting cold, our viewers saw just how the several hundreds of stall holders tempted the strollers with original gifts and traditional ornaments for decorating the tree and the nativity scene. There were also many treats for us to feast on…Christmas sweets, warm mulled wine which warmed the cockles of my heart, doughnuts, and lots more…
There was a giant Christmas tree planted in Place Kléber, with an ice skating rink at the foot of the Cathedral that delighted children, there were concerts giving one the chance to appreciate the beauty of the cathedral and there were a whole host of activities which enabled one to experience the rich Alsatian traditions at Christmas time.
It was a truly Merry Christmas.
Joyeux Noel, as the French would say.
Now here’s what you did NOT see :
- You did not see Yasmin and I at the Royal Colombo Golf Club dressed up in thick winter clothes and “shivering” in the hot noon-day sun.
- You did not see the golfers enjoying a drink on the verandah and having a massive laugh at our expense, not knowing what the hell we were doing there, and dressed like thaaat?
- You did not see the sweat pouring down our faces and bodies, drenching those borrowed winter clothes.
- You did not see Chintha, our magician, adjust the aperture of the video camera to turn a bright and sunny Borella morning into a cool, wintry late afternoon in Strasbourg.
- You did not see Shelton our assistant shoo away the intrusive crows.
And here’s what you did NOT know
- You did not know that that “quaint little train chugging away in the distance, on its way to a neighbouring German village” belonged to the Sri Lankan Railways and was on its morning run down the Kelani Valley Line to Avissawella.
Mais oui…so much for make believe!!!
Next week: Chapter 12 – twin disasters as we chugged down the Kelani Valley Line
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
