Our visit to Nogent March 2007

Day 1

On Friday 23rd March 2007, 11 members of our society flew to Paris CDG from Leeds/Bradford airport to what turned out to be a truly unforgettable weekend.

Pictured above are, Alison Parkes, Matt Snowden (Mayor of Beverley), Anne Ryan (President), Michèle Robillard (Treasurer), Sue Dudill (Secretary), Monica Birch, Wilf Steel, Cherry Walton, June Parkinson, Gerald Procter and Roy Parkinson.

Wilf (left) provided us with in-flight entertainment and a very interesting running commentary of how to fly a plane, came courtesy of Gerald

We were met at the airport by 3 members of the Nogentais Twinning Association and taken back to team up with our hosts for the weekend.

Pictured here with Sue are 2 of the hosts, the warm and welcoming Delphine and Fabien Caron, who were a delight throughout the weekend and will remain good friends with us for a long time to come. Fabien kindly drove the minibus all weekend, making sure all of our members were able to take part in the festivities.

Following a visit to the fantastic new swimming pool facilities in Nogent, we were then shown the delights of the local tip, (yes tip!) but French style, an amazing state of the art processing plant for all the area's recycled materiel. On then to the Médiathèque library and finally to the Town Hall for our official welcome from the Mayor of Nogent, Mr Claude Brunet where a champagne reception was waiting for us, along with gifts from the town for each member.

Mayor of Nogent, M Claude Brunet and Mayor of Beverley, Councillor Matt Snowden

Day 2

On the Saturday morning we headed off towards Paris, via Chantilly with over 50 members of the Nogentais. After a guided tour by coach around the major points of interest in the city, we boarded the Bateaux Mouches for what turned out to be a splendid gourmet lunch as we cruised down the Seine. There was live music as we ate and a running commentary of the sights. There were 2 hours of free time in the region of the Eiffel Tower before we headed back to Nogent. Members were given a choice of evening activities and although many took the opportunity to relax with hosts, the rest opted for an interesting and unforgettable Antillais evening with traditional music, dancing and food which went on until the early hours of the morning.

Marcelle, Gillian and June cruising along

Day 3

The day began with a meeting from a member of the European Commission who gave us an informative talk on how best to secure funding for future visits. At around midday, aperos were served and the official ceremony began!

Gifts were exchanged and warmly received; both Mayors spoke of the strong ties between the 2 towns and hoped that the 10th anniversary visit had succeeded in strengthening this relationship. The local brass band played the British, French and European national anthems. A superb dinner lasting over 8 hours followed, with live music and dancing, needless to say wine flowed throughout the whole weekend and additionally, champagne was served with dessert that afternoon, pictured below.

Some of the fabulous desserts even had images of Beverley incorporated into them!

Monica making decisions (with great difficulty!)

Alison & Roy taking a breather in between courses Cherry checking out the good stuff! and Michèle enjoying every single minute of the 8 hour lunch!

and finally Matt getting to grips with his GCSE French ... well er.... sort of!

Day 4

Thankfully, the day started at a much slower pace and the morning was taken to relax for the last time with hosts and prepare for the trip home. We were taken back to the airport where many thanks were given for such a memorable 10th anniversary visit.

Anne, our President, boards the flight home

The Nogentais made a tremendous effort to make sure the weekend was a great success and no cost was spared. Thank you to all those in Nogent who planned this amazing event and especially to the hosts who all made us feel so welcome. Special thanks to those 11 members who took part in the visit from our society, a fabulous time was had by all.