2012 will be a special one for us since it heralds the 20th anniversary of the signing of our twinning Charter with Lambersart. A programme of events is being put together on both sides of the Channel to mark the occasion and these are scheduled for September in Lambersart and in October in Southborough.

In addition, we have the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations to look forward to in June. SHDOFA will be joining with other local community groups and participating in the events which are currently being planned for the bank holiday week.

Our pétanque teams are looking forward to the start of the new season and new players are always welcome. We will be taking our pétanque stand to a number of fetes during the summer. The stall created a lot of interest last year and the pétanque competitions, where every one could have a go, proved to be very popular.

During the summer we also hope to have at least one coach trip to France. Current ideas include Montreuil-sur-mer, where Victor Hugo set some of ‘Les Misérables’. We might even be able to stay on overnight and watch the ‘son et lumière’ performance of the novel if there is enough interest. If not, we can always call in at le Touquet too which is not far away.

The barbecue is a firmly established annual event and this year will be no exception. Our first DVD evening was also popular and even without a knowledge of French, ‘Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis’ was very funny and hugely entertaining. We will be doing it again in the Autumn.

The AGM and lunch will take place on 11 March by which time we will have firmed up on these ideas. If you have any thoughts as to trips, other activities or DVDs please get in touch.

Bonne Année

It’s been quite a busy summer for SHDOFA and there are still a few activities planned for the rest of the year. Hopefully, some of you will have seen our stall at the TS Brilliant Fun Day in May and at the Gala Day at Meadows School in June which has helped raise our profile within the community. A major attraction on both occasions turned out to be our pétanque competition which everyone could have a go at and it was amazing to see how addictive some people found the game to be. Pétanque has been an ongoing theme for us with regular sessions at the new ‘piste’ in Yew Tree Road. We now have over a dozen players and can easily field two or three teams which usually consist of four members each. Yet more encouraging is that we are gradually getting to grips with the rules and even with some of the tactics. These were used to great advantage when we trounced Tonbridge French Circle in September in what for us was our first ‘official’ match.

In June our twin town of Lambersart, near Lille in North Eastern France, joins with a number of nearby communes which are all connected by the River Deûle for the Fête de la Deûle. A weekend of fun, festivities and fireworks as well as numerous races between a number of weird so called ‘flying machines’ belching out fire and smoke all over the participating villages. It is also the time when the riverside beach makes its annual appearance in Lambersart. 700 tonnes of sand are imported together with palm trees, sun-loungers, children’s play equipment and a guinguette for eating, music and dancing. Some of our members were able to go and were hosted en famille. The locals certainly know how to enjoy themselves and we hope we can go again next year.

We try to organise at least one coach trip to France each year and this time we went to Arras for the day. The town, with its fine old centre, is said to be one of the prettiest in northern France. Around its two large squares are magnificent, restored seventeenth and eighteenth-century mansions built in the Flemish style as well as a grandly ornate, gothic Town Hall, not to mention the wide selection of cafés and restaurants.

The main purpose of the trip, however, was to visit the “Wellington Quarries” where 24,000 British and New Zealand troops lived for 6 months in the tunnels 20 metres underneath the town close to the German front line before breaking out for a major offensive in April 1917. Needless to say, this was a moving experience. It also reminded us of the importance of mutual understanding and strong relationships with our overseas’ neighbours, which is one of the major objectives of our twinning association.

North Eastern France has seen more than its fair share of conflict over the years. Nowadays, Lambersart is also twinned with Viersen, a town in Germany. On the 11th November, delegations from both Southborough and Viersen will be visiting Lambersart for their annual Armistice Commemoration. This year, being 11-11-11, is a special one and each of the nationalities will be laying wreaths at the town war memorial and at the British and German cemeteries in a display of international co-operation which would not have been possible during much of our turbulent histories.

Back on home soil, we managed to select one of the few sunny days in August for our annual barbecue having put up with rain on the previous three occasions. Hopefully, the weather won’t be an issue for our DVD evening in late October when we shall be showing a selection of French films – with English sub-titles of course! Soon we will be putting together our programme for next year and without a doubt the major event will be our 20th birthday celebrations in October. A full programme of events will be available ahead of our AGM next March.

The SHDOFA Constitution emphasises community activities and encourages visits in both directions by people of all ages to foster friendship and mutual understanding of the cultural, recreational, educational and commercial activities of both towns. We would like to do even more to further this objective so if you think you, either as an individual or as an organisation, like the sound of it and would like to be involved please contact our chairperson, Mrs Colette Marsh, on 01892 525042. Of course you can always visit the web site and become our Facebook friend too!

Web site: www.shdofa.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/shdofa

Tags: Lambersart, Arras, Viersen

Un gendarme fait arrêter une automobile: - Vous n'aviez pas vu le feu rouge ?
-Si, mais c'est vous que je n'avais pas vu !

Docteur, Docteur, j'ai des pertes de mémoire, que puis je faire ?
Le docteur lui répond: - Payez-moi d'avance !

Tunbridge Wells Twinning & Friendship Association also has a full programme of events. Please contact Christine Phillip on 01892 513944 or a member of the SHDOFA committee for details.

In particular, TWTFA are hosting a talk on Friday 28th October at 7.30pm at the King Charles Church Hall entitled “The Death of Prince Albert” by Helen Rappaport on the catastrophic impact of the Prince Consort’s premature death in 1861 on the Queen, the monarchy and the nation. Helen is a former actress with a passion for history. The content of her talk is from her soon-to-be-published book on the subject. Signed copies will be available on the evening.

Southborough and Kaniv Association maintains the friendship link between Southborough and Kaniv in Ukraine, not too far from Kiev. The relationship comes about through our twin town of Lambersart which is also twinned with Viersen in Germany which in turn is twinned with Kaniv.

SAKA will be holding its annual Quiz on Saturday 12th November at 4.00 pm. at Christ Church Hall, Southborough. Tickets are available at £6.50 to include a ploughman’s supper. Please contact Mike Handcock on 01892 528495 for details and for further information about the Association.

The Tonbridge French Circle, of which a number of SHDOFers are also members, provides a programme of French related events throughout the year. Please contact Martin Hankey on 01732 350648 or a member of the SHDOFA committee for details.

Tags: SAKA

We are considering including a Letters to the Editor section in future News Letters. Unfortunately we have never actually received one so please pick up the plume de votre tante and let us know what you think and what else we could be doing. E-mails are good too!

Tags: Email, Editors Letters

Friday 28th October: Soirée DVD at 17 Harland Way, Southborough. 7.00pm for 7.30pm.

A selection of French DVDs will be available – all with English subtitles – and members will be able to vote for which one to watch. A further selection of nibbles and aperitifs will be on hand and our Chairman may even come round with the ice cream and popcorn.

URGENT ATTENTION REQUIRED - Numbers are limited and will be on a first come first served basis. So if you would like to take part please let Mireille Marchant know straight away.

Friday 11th November: Armistice Commemoration at Lambersart.

The Mayor of Lambersart has invited our Mayor and a delegation from Southborough together with a delegation from Viersen, the German town also twinned with Lambersart, to attend their wreath laying ceremonies at the town war memorial and at the nearby English and German cemeteries. The date is doubly auspicious since it will be the 11-11-2011 and the occasion will be marked by a special lunch where the French hosts will be joined by their English and German guests. A report will be included in the next News Letter.

Saturday 10th to Sunday 11th December: Coach trip to the Christmas markets at Trier (Trêves) and Metz organised by our Lambersart friends. Although Trier is in Germany, both towns are on the Moselle and renowned for their Christmas markets. The tour includes lunch in Trier plus a guided visit followed by time to explore the market (Weihnachtsmarkt); overnight accommodation, dinner and breakfast in Metz (capital of the Lorraine region of France) together with a guided tour of the city the next morning with time in the afternoon for lunch and a visit to the Marché de Noël.

In addition to all the colourful stalls and Christmas lights, both markets have plenty of festive music, street entertainment etc. The cost of the weekend is 175 Euros and additional accommodation will be found for members on Friday and Sunday nights if required. Please contact Mireille for the full itinerary and further information. There is also lots of detail on the Internet.

Some dates for 2012:

Sunday 11th March: Annual General Meeting.
22nd-23rd September: 20 years anniversary celebrations in Lambersart
20th -21st October: 20 years anniversary celebrations in Southborough

Tags: Lambersart, Dates

Here is another selection from the poem sent to us by Brigitte Clermont, “Only the English Could Have Invented This Language”.

One may be that, and three would be those
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren but though we say mother, we never say methren. Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him. But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Tags: Language

On the 3rd September a contingent of SHDOFers assembled in the early hours outside the Royal Victoria Hall together with a number of guests from the Tonbridge French Circle and the Tunbridge Wells Twinning & Friendship Association. We were off to Arras to see where, 94 years earlier, as many as 24,000 British and New Zealand soldiers camped for 6 months in the tunnels 20 metres underneath the town only a matter of yards from the German front line. We were met at the tunnels by Thérèse and François Dupont, our very good friends from Lambersart, who stayed with us for the rest of the day.

The original tunnels were in fact medieval limestone quarries but were tunneled out further by the New Zealand sappers to form a vast network of underground quarters. In tribute to the New Zealand troops, the complex was named the Wellington Quarry. The murky fog we had traveled through that morning, together with a temperature of only 11 degrees in the tunnels were enough to send a chill through the spine as the realisation of what these men must have gone through became increasingly apparent as we were comfortably shown round by our guide.

We were only there for an hour or so and we had the benefit of electric light, well preserved walkways and strong railings to hold onto. We could come out whenever we wanted. They were not so lucky as they lived, slept, ate and prayed down there for weeks on end without seeing the light of day, wondering what on earth was going to happen to them and what sort of hell they would face when they finally broke out. The signs and notices on the walls looked as if they could have been written yesterday and the holograms which, with the benefit of modern technology, appeared from time to time, together with the sights and sounds of the troops talking and singing only added to the illusion.

The breakout came at 5.30 am on the 9th April 1917 with the troops pouring out of 20 different exit tunnels simultaneously. The Battle of Arras had begun and the Allies soon established the advantage of their surprise attack. Unfortunately it was short lived. After the first day they hesitated long enough for German reinforcements to arrive and the ensuing engagement dragged on for the best part of a month at a cost of 4,000 lives a day. If ever there was a lesson to be learned from these events it is surely that mutual understanding and the development of strong relationships with our overseas’ neighbours are vital in ensuring peace and stability whatever our differences. In a small way, organisations such as ours, and the many others like it, can play a part in preventing such a thing from happening again.

Unfortunately the fog in the morning had delayed our ferry and we were somewhat short of time to visit the rest of the town properly. We were able to have a quick look around the Place des Héros and the Grand Place as well as the fair which occupied it that day. Nevertheless, we had enough of a taster to want to return for a more detailed exploration and hopefully we can organise something next year.

(Please see Spring/Summer Newsletter for more information about Arras)

Deux escargots se promènent sur ‘Lambersart plage’ en juin. Soudainement, ils aperçoivent une limace. L'un d'eux s'exclame: - Oups, demi-tour, nous sommes sur une plage de nudistes !

Deux mites se rencontrent dans un pull. L'une dit: - Où vas-tu en vacances cette année ?
L’autre répond: - Au bord de la manche !

On the 21st August it was hot – very hot. It was also the day of our annual barbecue. This event has been accompanied by varying degrees of rain for each of the past 3 years ranging from intermittent drizzle to downright torrential, as was the case last year. No need to erect the gazebos this time and no need for plan B or plan C. Just a plain old-fashioned barbecue on a hot, sunny summer’s afternoon. The summer barbecue is always an enjoyable event but this time the weather really did provide a great lift although the dégustations of Petit Pont from ‘our’ wine merchant in Ardres may have helped too.

Whatever the weather, one of the reasons for the success of this event each year is the way so many people eagerly pitch in preparing food, making tea and coffee, organising the raffle, washing up etc and this year was no exception.

Thirty-three people attended including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor together with a few old friends including Richard and Diana Blackwell who, despite having moved away, remain staunch supporters of SHDOFA. The event raised £226.71, more than half our annual fund raising target towards next year’s 20th birthday celebrations.

Tags: Barbecue