The visit kicked off with a reception given by Gérard Herbert, where we all met up with friends old and new.

That evening there was the traditional eve-of-Bastille-day torchlight procession through the town, about which a report can be found on page 7. The full length of the town hall façade was decked in tricolours for the national holiday, but the big flag over the main entrance was flanked by two Union flags, in honour of the Billericay twinning.

Our visit to Chauvigny took place in the immediate aftermath of the 7 July bomb outrages in London and everybody in the group was deeply touched by the concern and sympathy expressed by our friends in Chauvigny. To coincide with the commemorations in the UK, at 1pm the national celebrations throughout France paused for a two minutes silence in memory of the victims. In his speech at the twinning ceremonies later in the week, Trevor Stansfield spoke of his deep emotion when he took part in the silence at the Chauvigny fire station and expressed the thanks of all the people of Billericay.

During the afternoon, the river was the place to be, as a display of jet skiing took place. The normally tranquil river Vienne was taken over by jet skiers operating at their fastest and noisiest. Later in the afternoon, the action turned to the square in front of the Notre Dame church, where the Billericay Morrismen gave the first of their performances. The locals were much amused by the dancers but impressed by their stamina in performing so energetically in the extreme summer heat. Many of the onlookers allowed themselves to be dragged – more or less willingly – into participating in some of the dances.

The day was brought to a close with an open-air concert in the local park, followed by a magnificent son et lumière fireworks display over the ancient castle ruins to celebrate Bastille day.

Most of the day was spent in Poitiers, the seat of the prefecture and the departmental government, 25 miles from Chauvigny. We had a guided tour of the town, which included the abbey, the cathedral and Queen Eleanor’s palace, then at midday, we were received by Senator Alain Fouché at the Hotel du Département. Besides being president and senator for the Vienne department, Mr Fouché is also a former mayor of Chauvigny and takes much interest in the happenings of his old municipality. His speech of welcome, translated by Patricia Clark, was followed by a buffet of wine and canapés.

After a picnic lunch in Blossac Park, overlooking Poitiers, some spent the rest of the afternoon shopping while others visited the cathedral. Some of them may have been there for spiritual reasons, but many found that the thick stone walls afforded excellent insulation against the searing summer heat and just enjoyed the coolness within.

In the evening, after returning to Chauvigny, we watched a dress rehearsal by the Jeune Ballet d’Angoulême.

In the morning, the two committees got together to plan the year ahead and review links between the towns. Links have been formed between Mayflower school and the Gérard Philipe college; St Peter’s primary school will also be linked shortly with a primary school in Chauvigny.

There are three choral societies in Chauvigny and negotiations are progressing well to link them with local choirs in Billericay, including the Billericay Choral Society. We had an enquiry from a rural vocational college which is anxious to get in touch with a college which teaches similar subjects in Essex.

The Chauvigny fire brigade gave a reception for some of the Billericay visitors, and they will be put in touch with their counterparts in Billericay. Two of our firefighters had hoped to be in the delegation, but were unable to go.

Louisa Ashby, who is on the Billericay Youth Council, stayed with the family of Gabrielle Mathurier, one of her opposite numbers in Chauvigny; the two girls have established a means of communication between the young people of the two towns. 

On a practical level, we are also exploring the possibility of linking Billericay people learning French in adult education classes with similar people in Chauvigny who are learning English.

The Chauvinois accepted our invitation to come to Billericay next April and they also invited Billericay to take part in the annual festival of walks for friendship which this year took place in Brittany After the meeting, the Mayflower Morrismen gave their second performance in the market place. This was again very well received and, once more, local people accepted the invitation to join in.

In the afternoon the Morrismen gave their third performance in the medieval upper town before the official signing ceremony. At the ceremony Trevor Stansfield presented Chauvigny with a carved wooden plaque depicting Mayflower and carrying the date of the signing, while Mr Herbert presented Billericay with a beautiful locally-made vase and a picture of the medieval part of Chauvigny.

In the evening, a dinner was held in Billericay’s honour at Ste Radegonde, a village near Chauvigny, preceded by a splendid display of local Poitevin folk dancing. During the meal, Billericay sang for their suppers according to French tradition. We gave them three old music-hall favourites and, led by our council chairman, the Yorkshire national anthem, "On Ilkley Moor baht ′at". Fortunately, by then, the twinning agreement had been signed, and it was too late for them to back out! Chauvigny responded much more tunefully with some of their favourite songs. Dinner was finished off with a huge cake to celebrate the twinning of our two towns.

The final ceremony was the unveiling of a large piece of flint from a Billericay field attached to the Chauvigny Memorial of Remembrance and Peace. The memorial commemorates all people who have died in wars and contains stones from battlefields, twin towns and other places all over the world.

Everybody who went had a really unforgettable time. There was much socialising, mainly in the form of lunch and dinner parties, as the French love entertaining. The foundations have been laid for a long and happy relationship with our friends across the Channel.

We also have to express our special thanks to Roselyn Mazet who did a fantastic job in interpreting many of the speeches from one language to the other, as well as to Patricia Clark and the others who helped out from time to time.

Nous avons eu cet été, le grand plaisir d’accueillir les éminents représentants de Billericay du comté d’Essex en Angleterre, afin de signer ensemble le protocole d’amitié qui lie désormais nos deux communes et prolonge l’engagement déjà pris le 24 avril 2004 à Billericay.

Cette ouverture est une valeur partagée par nos deux villes, Billericay et Chauvigny. Elle est fondatrice de l’action municipale de nos deux collectivités, car elle est source d’enrichissement pour nos deux communautés.

Coopérations éducatives, culturelles et économiques, ces liens traduisent aujourd’hui avec nos amis de Billericay, un réel attachement historique, et bien évidemment amical.

Cette réalité est aujourd’hui l’expression d’une diversité, d’une solidarité et d’une volonté de coopération que la ville de Chauvigny et celle de Billericay bien sur, entendent valoriser de manière profonde et durable, pour que notre horizon soit ouvert à ces échanges internationaux, au moment où notre Europe s’ouvre à de nouveaux pays !

Vive Billericay, vive Chauvigny, et longue vie à notre amitié !

This summer, it was with great pleasure that we welcomed to our town eminent representatives from Billericay, Essex, England. They came to join us in signing the charter of friendship which henceforth unites our two towns and completes the commitment already entered into on 24 April 2004 in Billericay.

It is founded on the decisions which the towns of Billericay and Chauvigny share in this valuable new venture. It has taken place thanks to our two town councils and will now greater enrich our two communities.

Cooperation in educational, cultural and economic affairs will today create with our Billericay friends a true, historical union, as well, of course, links of friendship.

What is happening today is the manifestation our diversity, our solidarity and our desire to co-operate, which Chauvigny and Billericay naturally mean to exploit in a strong and lasting way. Thus, our horizons will be open to these exchanges at a time when Europe is opening up to welcome new member states.

Long live Billericay, long live Chauvigny, long live our friendship!

Gérard Herbert, Maire de Chauvigny

During the visit, the two committees got together to plan the year ahead and review links between the towns. Links have been formed between the Mayflower School and the Collége Gérard Philipe. St Peter’s Primary School will also be linked shortly with l’Ecole Notre Dame, its counterpart in Chauvigny.

There are three choral societies in Chauvigny and negotiations are progressing well to link them with local choirs in Billericay, including the Billericay Choral Society.

The Chauvigny Fire Brigade gave a reception for some of the Billericay visitors, and they will be put in touch with their opposite numbers in Billericay. Two of our Billericay firefighters had hoped to be in the delegation, but were unable to go.

Louisa Ashby, who is on the Billericay Youth Council, stayed with the family of Gabrielle Mathurier, one of her opposite numbers in Chauvigny. The two girls have established a means of communication between the young people of the two towns. 

On a practical level, we are also exploring the possibility of linking Billericay people learning French in adult education classes with similar people in Chauvigny who are learning English.

The Chauvigny Twinning Association has accepted our invitation to come to Billericay next April. They also invited Billericay to take part in the annual Walk of Friendship which this year took place in Brittany. This is reported latter.

Festival Ballet.

We arrived on the baking hot afternoon of 13 July.  Our lovely hosts Marie-Claude and André Rideau collected us from the TGV at Poitiers station and whisked us to their home in Chauvigny where we had just enough time for a quick shower and change before being taken down to the salle communale for a welcome from the mayor and the twinning committee.

As ever on the night before Bastille Day, that evening the town was in full festive mood. After dinner, Marie-Claude took us into the town and up to the ramparts. At 10 pm it was just getting dark, still light enough to see parts of the walls of the three ancient castles and appreciate the view down over the town. Then we were off again, looking for "the procession".  We didn’t have to look hard: we could hear it coming from a long way off. The band at its head, a long line of Chauvinois, many carrying burning torches, was climbing up the steep slope towards the castles. We joined in, feeling already that we were part of the town: "tonight we are all Chauvinois". After such a hot day, it was still very warm at that late hour and at various points on the route, the procession stopped while the band serenaded one hostelry or another, being rewarded by a very welcome drink. Each time the band took up its instruments with renewed vigour … and led us to the next watering place.  By this time it was well past 11 pm, and we wondered idly what the reaction of the police in Billericay would have been had we been parading so late and so noisily down our High Street. The gendarmes were indeed out in force, but never mind, this was France, and la France profonde at that ─ and tomorrow was the fête nationale ─ so their job was to keep the route clear for us. The drums and trumpets continued as we passed the great keep of Gouzon, the castle of Harcourt and the ruined Bishops’ palace, and then descended once more towards the centre of town.

As midnight struck to herald the start of Bastille Day, the band formed up in front of the town hall where the mayor was joined by Billericay’s council chairman Trevor Stansfield to take the salute. A crashing rendering of the Marseillaise followed and then gradually we dispersed. Over in one corner of the market place the funfair was in full swing, and young Chauvinois were queueing up for the opportunity of being repeatedly turned upside down at high speed, an experience for which they were apparently ready to pay good money. Eschewing such delights, we found a café in the opposite corner and had a pleasant drink in the still balmy air, feeling absolutely at home after only seven hours in the town.

That was just the first of five wonderful days, and we look forward to many more exchanges to strengthen the bonds between our two towns.

We would be delighted to hear from any Friends of Chauvigny who would like to write a piece for this Newsletter. Perhaps you would like to let us know about how you have enjoyed any of the events or trips you have experienced. Or maybe just a comment. Contact either Andrew (622161) or David (625448). Anything of any length between 12 and 500 words will be most welcome. If you wish, we can edit, ghost or polish it for you.

The grand finale of the week was a 27 km (15 miles) hike along the GR34 Brittany coastal footpath from the Pointe de Primel back to Kerallic. Although a number of people preferred to take one of the shorter options that were available, fully half the Billericay contingent disdained such offers and went for the full length. It was a tough challenge, particularly the first 15 km along the heavily-indented coast involving steep ascents and descents too numerous to count.

Having negotiated the most difficult section, we stopped at the headland of Beg an Fry for a very welcome lunch. The benefits of twinning were then demonstrated in a most practical fashion as the Italian group produced a couple of bottles of their local wine to help our picnic along. Two of our French friends then brought out a bottle of pineau and some very potent calvados. Your correspondent’s meagre (but very British) contribution to the feast consisted of a flask of hot coffee and a block of Kendal mint cake. After that refreshment, the last twelve kilometres somehow seemed to be even easier than expected.

The week was a splendid way to meet and make friends from Chauvigny and its other twin towns, and to enjoy the pleasure of each others’ company and shared experiences.

Next year Trino is organising the festival and we were delighted that an invitation was extended to Billericay to participate. We very much hope that we will be able to have a bigger presence there so that more people can enjoy the experience. The festival will take place between 20 and 27 August and will be based at the Hotel 3 Amis in the mountain resort of Limone-Piemonte, near the Colle di Tenda (Col de la Tende) in north-western Italy about 50 miles south of Turin. The cost is expected to be roughly the same as this year, in the region of € 350-400 per person, on a full board basis, but excluding travel costs. As the number of places is limited, provisional bookings should be made as soon as possible to Andrew Trasler on 01277 622161.

The past year has been a busy one for the Chauvigny Sub-committee in organising publicity in the town, fund-raising and preparing for the July trip to Chauvigny for the signing of the charter. We have had two get-togethers, which proved successful, and we showed the flag (literally) at the Billericay Fun Night at Christmas with a stall selling mulled grape-juice and crêpes. In January, we held a quiz, hosted by Ray Keilthy, which raised £500 for the Association, and we had a stall at the Billericay Family Fun Day in June which featured a bouncy castle and tennis-balls- in-the-buckets. We have had two exhibitions in the library, and the Arch of Friendship, presented by our friends in Chauvigny, was exhibited there for the whole of February. The five days in Chauvigny in July cemented the ties between our two towns and, thanks to the support given to the sub-committee by the Friends of Chauvigny, we can look forward to many happy years of twinning.

Have you thought of linking your local club or association with a similar one in Chauvigny? Contrary to popular belief, twinning is not about the civic leaders of two towns getting together every now and then for a jolly time: it is about forging links at all levels between the people of both places. Both Chauvigny and Billericay have a wealth of local associations and interest groups covering a wide range of professional, cultural, leisure and sporting activities. By teaming up with your counterparts in Chauvigny you not only build friendships based on common interests but, by sharing knowledge and experience, you also get an insight into the way they approach the subject, and a new perspective.

As noted on elsewhere, the twinning association, in conjunction with our counterparts in Chauvigny, is already bringing some groups together. If you would like to form a link with like-minded people in Chauvigny, please contact Patricia Clark on 01277 625448.

Should you be concerned that language may be a barrier, members of the BTA are willing to help in translating messages.

Chauvigny exhibition in Billericay Public Library.

Rotary Club Fun Night – in the High Street.

Crêpes and punch at the Chauvigny stall.

Fund-raising Quiz at the Canon Roche Centre.

Chauvigny visit to Billericay.

19^th Walk of Friendship at Limone-Piemonte, Italy.