Not only does Le Havre’s Musée Malraux proudly boast of holding the second most extensive collection of impressionist paintings in France after the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, but it is also a hub of youth culture.

Mid-afternoon on a Saturday, our attention was alerted to a growing throng of teenagers in the centre of town. We moseyed on over to check out the unfolding spectacle, only to be strangely surprised. What had initially appeared to be a concert was no more than hundreds crowded around a car with a sound system blaring electro. Fair enough, an impromptu rave. But the most astonishing was the style of dancing that everyone was adopting. I don’t know if I can explain it, but it was a frenetic swirl of arms, a lot of motion centred around the head, with occasional simultaneous horizontal thrusts of the hands. The feet remained more or less stationary, perhaps with some jumping that was blocked from the onlooker’s view by the rest of the crowd. I felt simultaneously superior to this silly group behaviour, but also aged. Was this the new trend, sweeping the world, and I hadn’t realised? I’ve found out subsequently that it even has a name – Tecktonik – one that adheres fully to the sub-cultural electronic music obsession with the letter “k.”

The strange thing is that no-one had any alcohol, and the party was dispersed by night-time. Wow, united by a love of beats? I thought that type of stuff only happened in ecstatic fairy-tales!

… And the Musée Malraux had an exhibition showcasing the work of Le Havre-born artist, Émile-Othon Friesz. Spanning thirty years and some 150 works, the exhibition was a fascinating portrayal of the development of Friesz as an artist. From impressionism to fauvism to expressionism – and the transitory stages in between – Friesz’s works indicate many shifting influences and also changes of geography from the north to the south of France. Very interesting, I can hear you all thinking, but where is more of that ludicrous dancing? Here, let me quench your thirst with a video…

The new single by French act Yelle A Cause des Garçons featuring Tecktonik dancers. Long live the Reebok Pumps! Also check out the linked video entitled ‘The Best of Tecktonik Dance.’ It’s too funny for words!

Apart from the constant diary references to some weight loss and more weight gain, I feel a little like Bridget Jones, in that Guillaume and I have just been away on our first French “mini-break.” I feel a bit silly even admitting this, but it was a good excuse to get out of Paris for the weekend for a spot chosen randomly on the SNCF train website.

Le Havre it was. The largest commune in Normandy, UNESCO world heritage site, and France’s biggest ocean port… why not? Apparently, back in the sixteenth century, it was known as Le Havre-de-Grâce (”The Harbour of Grace”), but unfortunately 85% of that former grace was bombed to smithereens in September, 1944. Trusting the reconstruction to architect Auguste Perret (who goes down in the English-translation of Le Havre history as “the father of the reinforced concrete”) was an interesting decision to say the least. Maybe his voice was just one in a post-war protest of everything represented by old-world Europe, but the city embraces, for better or worse, a new world order. It’s uncertain what this vision of the future entailed – perhaps colossal concrete Soviet structures, or wide American-style boulevards, but Le Havre has both thrown in for good measure. Everything has a dull echo of “modern”, but in a user-unfriendly shade of grey.

When we first arrived in town, we thought we had arrived in Gotham City. The bell tower of the Church of St. Joseph dominates the skyline from the coast, overshadowing even the clock tower of the town hall. On entering the church however, it was revealed to be as far from our bat cave expectations as possible. The entire church, including the hollow spire, was resplendent in stained-glass mosaics, creating a magnificent play of light. This was where all Le Havre’s colours were stored! We found it at last! Craning our necks and straining our eyes to get a better look, we even noticed a spiral staircase somewhat incongruously tacked on to the immense tower. A stairway to Heaven! No wonder Le Havre has world heritage status!

Autumn in Le Havre!