Many remember this always friendly man, at the wheel of his school bus from Grand Dole. That was before. Philippe Robert has taken on some of the accents of our cousins since 2022 when he arrived after selling his house and property in Tavaux where he lived and was born. “My son Kaendrick and my daughter Océane have been settled for years. He is a bodybuilder and she runs a beauty salon as a manotherapist. I go there regularly every year and I ended up adopting the country to settle there in turn.”
“We are in a state of social calm, it feels really good!”
Without regret, he finished his Jura lease at the wheel of the Grand Dole bus, said goodbye to his many friends, especially musicians, since he was, with his trumpet, a loyal member of the Fraternelle, the Bousous and the Quois! te. Retired since July 2022, he returned for a few weeks to regularize his situation with the immigration services. “Really, I’m having a blast, that’s the word. Incredible how my life has changed, certainly, made easier by the presence of my children, but this country is extraordinary, like the people who populate it. They are open, cool, never aggressive, we are in permanent social appeasement and that, I can tell you, feels damn good!”
“The concerts are always very popular”
Cricket, that’s the nickname his new friends (could we say his new family?) gave him in reference to the incredible imitation he makes of the stridulations of our French cricket. They gave him this cap with the logo adding 39. “I do not deny our beautiful country which has some similarities with the beautiful province.”
His friends? Musicians especially because music in Quebec City (the national capital for them) is everywhere. “I am part of three Quebec harmonies. The concerts are always very popular and warm. I even joined a ukulele group with my trumpet and I have a well-advanced project to create a group of 7/8 musicians to play in bars and restaurants, reprising the Bousous repertoire.”
His friends are already waiting for him
Philippe Robert, a car enthusiast, joined a Mustang club. He bought two. “The Mustang is legendary for them. Historically, it’s our 2CV. We organize rides and meals regularly.”
Idyllic picture? Almost, maintains the ex-Tavellois. “Yes, it’s multiracial, the other is accepted if he respects the country, we’re all together. The winter is cold but we dress and the clothes are suitable. Well, the gastronomy is influenced by America and we’re more into fast food, but we can find good restaurants. The economy is flourishing, we can find work and I’ve already been offered a job… as a school bus driver, because the word retirement doesn’t have the same resonance here. We don’t think about that alone.”
After his last stay in the Jura, Philippe will definitely pack his bags. His friends are already waiting for him. “Here, look at my messages, they are waiting for the scores of the Bousous.”
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