francofiled

Wallace Fountan at Hertford House, London Yesterday's le Parisien carried an interesting article about the decision to change the colour of the city's Wallace Fountains. My initial reaction was one of shock - How could they?! The fountains are a symbol of Paris and an earlier time. I would really like to preserve them as they are. On the other hand, in repainting them they can be restored and maintained for future generations. Sometimes we take our patrimoine for granted and our cultural heritage in the form of statues and monuments can be passed by - unnoticed. A bit like the painted bears of Berlin, the cows of Geneva and the bulls of Barcelona, the loud colours of the repainted Wallace Fountains call for our attention. The fountains have their own diaspora and can be found all over the world - there are two in La Rambla in Barcelona and we have two in nearby Lisburn. While the yellow or pink might not be to everyone's taste, I would be sure that local people w...