The vocation of Greeter is a long-standing thing for Bruno Decrock. As a dedicated young schoolboy, he remembers hearing from his teacher that the archives of his hometown of Norrent-Fontes burned down during the Second World War. But the seed had been sown. This horticulture student went on to cultivate a taste for historical research that never deserted him, even during a career that took him all over France.

Upon his return to Norrent-Fontois, and just as curious as he was in his youth, Bruno picked up the habits of an avid historian. « Local anecdotes are often little forgotten wonders », he smiles. An old courthouse and its prison, a chapel saved from demolition, a forgotten peat bog, water mills and windmills, the great athlete Jules Noël who gave his name to a street, the bluethroat, a species of passerine bird that can often be found in the wetland habitats that surround a small town…The choice is yours.

Even the industrial world, such as the glass or steel industries, cradles the history of the community. And not forgetting the “hero” of the village, the watercress that is so prized by gastronomes and home-makers and is cultivated still by a great many farmers. Halfway through his story, and with a glint in his eye, Bruno is sure to ask: « Do you know Marie Groëtte? ». Be prepared…