Sad end of the French Dallas
Chantal nobel starred in many French films during the 1970s, but her most famous role was as Florence berg in the 1985 tV series Chateauvallon, dubbed the French Dallas. Sadly, a life-changing car accident ended her acting career.
Chateauvallon was a fictional French village in the loire valley where the rival families, the aristocratic bergs and the nouveau riche Kovalics, battled for control of a regional newspaper.
like Dallas, it was the tale of a wealthy dynasty of questionable morality, underhand dealings and sexual infidelities.
at one point, Florence, the beautiful and much sought-after heiress of the berg fortune, disappeared, a plot that mirrored ‘who shot J. R.’ in Dallas.
In the early hours of april 28, 1985, after recording an episode of the French variety show Champs-elysees, nobel got into the Porsche 924 Carrera Gt driven by singer Sacha Distel.
Driving through Maltaverne, a village near tracy-sur-loire, Distel lost control and crashed into a pylon. he escaped unhurt, but nobel was badly injured and spent three weeks in a coma.
She had to use a wheelchair for a year and has since walked with a cane.
Distel was given a one-year suspended prison sentence for careless driving. Chateauvallon was cancelled.
nobel came through her ordeal thanks to the support of Saint tropez jeweller Jean- louis Julian, whom she later married. they live in Ramatuelle, on the Cote d’azur, and have two children.
last year, nobel said: ‘I remain 80 per cent disabled. . . I’m thankful for my resurrection and the love that binds me to my husband.’
Sandra McLaughlin, Preston, Lancs.
QUESTION Did a British yacht get mixed up in a U.S. Civil War naval battle?
YeS, this did happen. What is even stranger is that it took place within sight of fascinated crowds strolling on the waterfront of a French port, and that a nine- year- old english girl played a decisive role. the battle of Cherbourg on
June 19, 1864, was fought between a U.S. navy warship, the USS Kearsarge, and a Confederate States navy warship, the CSS alabama.
the alabama was a successful commerce raider in the atlantic. She was commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes and had arrived at Cherbourg on June 11 for repairs and coal.
For two years, she had been hunted by the USS Kearsarge, commanded by Captain John Winslow.
the Kearsarge had secret homemade armour — anchor chains strung along the sides to protect the vulnerable steam engine. In a brilliant use of camouflage, the iron chains were covered by wooden boards painted black to match the hull.
on June 14, the Kearsarge found the alabama in Cherbourg harbour. She could not attack in the neutral French port, but instead waited outside, blockading the Confederate ship.
Sailors rowed ashore to telegraph other Union navy ships to assist and the message was deliberately leaked to the Confederate commander. this made him decide to come out and fight.
he ran up his battle colours — the Stars and bars — and was escorted from the harbour by the French warship Couronne to ensure no fighting took place in French waters, which extended three nautical miles out to sea.
the ships engaged, tightly circling each other, trying to cross each other’s bow, nelson-style, so a broadside could make a dreadful raking effect along the length of the enemy ship. the coast was crammed with crowds, many with telescopes, eager to witness the sea battle.
two shots hit the Kearsarge’s ‘armour’. neither did any serious damage. the alabama’s firing was rapid, 370 rounds in all, but inaccurate. the Kearsarge’s was slower, but better aimed.
after the alabama was holed in several places below the waterline and began to sink, she surrendered. of its crew, 40 were killed or wounded, 70 were taken captive and 40 or so, including Captain Semmes and 14 officers, were rescued by the british yacht, Deerhound.
this three-masted steam yacht, built for the Duke of leeds, was owned by Wigan businessman John lancaster.
the gunners of the Kearsarge were eager to fire upon the Deerhound to prevent the escape of the Confederates, but Captain Winslow realised this would provoke a diplomatic crisis.
the yacht, which was faster than the warship, escaped to Southampton.
Why was it close to the sea battle? the alabama had been docked almost alongside the yacht. When she left to fight the Yankees, lancaster put it to a vote of the adults on board whether to witness this exciting episode of history — at the risk of being hit by a flying shell.
the result was evenly spilt, so the casting vote was put to lancaster’s nineyearold daughter, Catherine. She is reported to have said: ‘Gosh, father, yes please, do let’s see the ships fight!’
Captain Semmes ended up a free man in a Southampton hotel, and lancaster — his reputation boosted by the incident — ended up as MP for Wigan.
Benedict le Vay, author of Madcap Military Mayhem, Emsworth, Hants.
QUESTION After having Tropicamide eye drops at the optician, I noticed black writing on traffic signs had a blue aura. Why is this?
tRoPICaMIDe causes muscles in the eye to become relaxed. this dilates (widens) the pupil so it does not narrow when the optician shines an examination light into your eye. While it takes only 20 minutes for your pupils to fully dilate, the effects may last for up to six hours.
Minor side- effects include refractive error, which means the shape of your eye does not bend light correctly, resulting in a blurred image and colour distortions.
other issues include sensitivity to bright lights and difficulty focusing on nearby objects.