A very French English storyteller

Dick Bock, whose real first name is Richard, has had many assignments and has been involved in Castillones’ life ever since. First as a member of the tourism office, then as chairman for seven years. He stands out as Bastide’s mentor, for 20 years. He begins his visits in English, then in Moliere. “The accent is not lost. Regardless, Dick Bok is capable of making himself understood. Source: Since 2011, he has been a country narrator of the history of Castillones for the department. The Hundred Years’ War, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Theodore Joyce, The Bastide… He does not exclude any subject.

“I work with the authorities throughout the year. To organize ceremonies, or sometimes as an interpreter in the town hall, he was a member of the municipal council. For six years, he was the general representative of the head of the French memorial in Lot-et-Garonne: “The first English representative general to the French memorial gave me a respect »

“A Gift to the Village”

Meeting the tick trend is obvious. “I can’t stop working. For the 750th anniversary of the Bastide, in 2009, he mounted an exhibition in Castillonès. At forty years old he has published a book entitled “Castillonnès Bastide française”. The result of nine months of obsessively accumulated knowledge. “I am not a real historian, but I’m excited,” he says, slipping into a modest smile.

This desire to document Castillonés began from the observation that nothing was known about the history of the village after the French Revolution. Dick Bok opened his museum in 2016, the fruit of two years of hard work. With the tourist office closed, in its former premises, he deposited his knowledge. English and French, of course. “I funded the museum as a gift to the village. »

This village he loves as much as his field. “As a public representative for the French memorial, I travel 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers a year in all fields. I love her. The people are very kind. »

own country

In the museum’s discreet room – open year-round and free – he carefully observes his work. Dik Bock points out the many old postcards on display: “Sometimes visitors recognize their families in them. It’s extraordinary,” he says, almost moved.