Time and Space.

It’s a beautiful Parisienne morning, perhaps a little hot for the locals. Kirrily and I are sitting on a bench in the shade of an allèe of trees and there is music playing in the background. The lyrics repeat the word, “freedom” in the chorus and I can’t help but consider implications of that word given the events at this spot on August 25th, 1944.

On this corner, where the Rue de Rivoli meets the Place de la Concorde, an intense firefight took place between French and German forces, not far from the latter’s headquarters. August 25th was the final day of the week-long battle and is recognised as the day of France’s liberation from the German occupation of World War Two.

All around Paris, if you look closely, there is evidence of bullets striking the facades of buildings. Here, at the Rue de Rivoli, you do not need to look closely. There are the obvious signs of impact of different calibres everywhere that you look, although the gunfire has long been silent. And where the strikes were less than blunt, small chips remain where the ricochets skipped to places unknown.

As I sit quietly, I can almost hear the chaos and smell the gunfire….and of course, the human cost. The French soldiers, resistance fighters and even Red Cross volunteers that fell are commemorated along the wall, putting names to this pivotal point in the nation’s history.

I have always been fascinated by time and space. Standing in places of global significance or some long forgotten battle and imagining what had gone before. Touching an historic airframe that had crossed the Pacific with Kingsford Smith at the helm, or standing on the deck of the HMS Victory where Nelson fell. For me, that history comes alive in my imagination and calls for me to ask questions and learn more.

This day, Kirrily and I move on and walk past the buildings that had borne silent witness in 1944, as tourists survey the shopfronts for the latest fashions. History is all around us. Sometimes it is concealed and sometimes it is right before our eyes and all we need to do is look. Either way, we should continue to learn and heed the lessons of the past.