Our dance group meets every other Tuesday during term time near Coutances. The evening encompasses English Country Dancing, Scottish Country Dancing and a touch of Morris Dancing thrown in as well.
Members and non-members are welcome, men and women, you don’t need to have a partner to come along. There is a small charge per session of 3€ for members and 4€ for non-members to cover the cost of hiring the venue.
Our walking group meets once a month from February to June and from September to November. All members are welcome – we have some regulars but also people who dip in and out as it suits them.
We walk for about 5km – taking around an hour and a half. We try to put together a mixture of seaside and country walks. There’s nothing too strenuous but stout footwear is recommended.
Afterwards we try to go to a local auberge or restaurant for lunch with a good value menu or have a picnic.
Our book club members were very excited when we were approached with a proposal for a meeting between a book club in Jersey and ourselves.
After a great deal of liaising and planning, our Jersey guests arrived on the Saturday afternoon. The evening was kindly hosted at the home of a member of the Coutances-Jersey twinning group.
The evening started with apéros. Then we sat down to a cornucopia of food, punctuated by much talk and laughter as we became acquainted.
Having eaten our fill, it was down to the serious business of dis-cussing the chosen book. This was The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
The evening came to a close and the hosts took their guests home with them for a well earned sleep.
Sunday saw us all meet up in La Pergola, on the outskirts of Coutances, enjoying yet more food and conversation before saying “adieu” to our new friends.
Our walk took us past some very large holiday villas, but also some cosy houses surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and unbelievably the rain waited until we entered the restaurant! We all took the starter buffet and the lunch formule. There was a good ambiance present. Once again it was a success and thanks go to our organiser.
Several members of the Association attended this International Commemoration in Music on the 21 July in the cathedral at Coutances, which had survived the bombardments of June 1944 almost completely unscathed. This service and concert celebrated the Liberation of Coutances on 28 July 1944, acknowledged the sacrifice of all combatants of the Battle of Normandy and the civilian victims of the bombardment of Coutances and also celebrated the seventy-five years of ensuing peace and harmony between the peoples of Europe.
The service, which included bible readings, was led by le Père Jamelot, rector of the cathedral and Donna Derrick, minister of the Anglican church of La Manche. The concert music chosen included chamber pieces by Edward Elgar and Mendelssohn, arias by Purcell as well as pieces for organ by Jehan Alain and Kurt Weill played by Jean-François Detree. The musicians had been invited by Stewart Miller and included Shu-Wei Tseng, piano, Amélie Mabire, violincello, Anne Tupling, violin and Frances Hook, soprano. The service was concluded by the hauntingly beautiful adagio from the oboe concerto of Alessandro Marcello played by Julie Arnaud, standing in the organ loft.
After the service the portes-drapeaux and congregation proceeded to the memorial garden where the Mayor of Coutances, Monsieur Lamy, gave a speech, acknowledging the debt of gratitude that we all have to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. Louise laid a wreath on behalf of the Anglophone Association and others paid simple, personal floral tributes some of which were handpicked flowers from individuals’ gardens.
C’est sous le soleil de Normandie et dans une atmosphère chaleureuse et conviviale que nous avons célébré le 14 juillet chez Louise et Dave en compagnie d’une cinquantaine d’adhérents et quelques invités.
L’apéritif et le cocktail non alcoolisé offerts à l’arrivée a permis à tout le monde de se retrouver ou de faire connaissance.
Le délicieux buffet préparé par les membres du comité était formidable et co-pieux, avec toute une variété de plats pour le plaisir des yeux et des papilles !!!
Bravo encore aux membres du comité pour avoir organisé diverses acti-vités permettant de collecter des fonds pour le SNSM- les Sauveteurs en Mer.
Celles ci étaient :
Pétanque, jeux de coquilles d’huîtres, lotto, ventes de livres/DVD/CD d’occasion, vente aux enchères de 2 T-shirt de la SNSM, carte au trésor et deviner le poids du gâteau fait maison.
Toutes ces activités ont permis de collecter la somme de 345,48€.
Tous nos remerciements et félicitations aux membres du comité pour avoir organisé cette belle journée et surtout nous remercions sincère-ment Dave et Louise pour nous avoir accueillis tous si chaleureusement et amicalement dans leur jardin pour célébrer cet événement dans la joie et la bonne humeur.
Lucky winners
Les gagnants étaient :
Pétanque/boules : Sue et Salomé
Jeu des coquilles d’huîtres : Jerry
La carte au trésor : Andy
Poids du gâteau deviné : Roxanne
1er prix du panier garni : Alan et Sharon
Once again, our excellent guide and historian, Simon Tasset, brought another piece of Normandy stone to life and, in his inimitable style, allowed us all to imagine the reality of an earlier time.
He explained the relevance and importance of the site of this ancient château, originally of timber construction in a motte and bailey format, at this river crossing. The river itself had been diverted from its initial course to enhance the defence of the chateau. A church on the site had been recorded as early as the time of the French Duke of Normandy, Richard the Good (980 – 1026).
We learned of the ambitions and political strategies of one of its earliest documented owners, the colourful and war-hungry baron, Geoffroy d’Harcourt. His ambitions and aspirations had consequences far beyond St Sauveur and even Normandy, influencing English history and creating a link to England that materialised in its reconstruction in stone by English stone masons. In many respects it was considered locally as an English castle and remained a robust architectural statement until seriously damaged by the RAF in 1944.
Geoffroy, you see, was not a peace-loving baron and had military arguments with his close neighbours as well as further abroad (Flanders War). After a “private war” with baron Robert Bertan of Briquebec he was forced into exile, fleeing to England (1343) where he acknowledged the sovereignty of Edward III. He later assisted Edward to land in Normandy prior to the Battle of Crécy. Despite such treachery he was forgiven by the French king, Philippe de Valois, who bestowed upon him the responsibility of defending Lower Normandy. However old habits die hard with the treacherous and Geoffroy next supported a contender to the French throne, Charles of Navarre and he organised military action on behalf of Charles. He was killed in a skirmish, but not until after he had already bequeathed the castle of St Sauveur and it’s sovereignty to the English king in his will.
Geoffroy had spent much time and expense rebuilding the castle in stone and refortifying it to make it ready to receive the King of England. The French king, Philippe de Valois had confiscated the castle (1343) but after Geoffroy’s royal pardon in 1346 Philippe allowed him to continue with the rebuilding programme.
Understandably the two periods of English occupation of the castle at each end of the Hundred Years War (1357 – 1375 by Edward III and 1420 – 1450 by Henry V and Henry VI) were not popular with the French who laid siege twice.
The fortifications undertaken by Geoffroy included the perimeter stone walls with towers which replaced the timber palisades of the interior space of the chateau which was formerly referred to as the barnyard. There was also a dungeon documented and that can be seen to be the ground floor level of the large, remaining keep tower. Note the absence of windows on the ground.
Simon had a particularly large Harry Potter style ancient key in his hand and he used it to open the door of the keep. The dungeon level had no windows and was dark and inhospitable. A narrow, steep spiral staircase in the corner took us up to the first level, a large single room which had a huge fireplace and windows as well as a higher ceiling. The integral mantel of the very wide fireplace is testimony to the work of an English Master Mason since it differs from the more superficially attached French mantels of the time.
The second storey of the keep Simon described as Royal private sleeping quarters, with a somewhat more secretive and intimate nature, accessed by steps down into the room from the spiral staircase, thus allowing some soundproofing from the traffic on the staircase. The quarters also had the luxury of a loo hidden in the opposite corner to the entrance comprising of a hole in the floor. The third storey were guards quarters and we did not visit them due to the unsafeness of the floor. From an arched window on the second floor we could see the Abbey buildings in the distance behind pine trees. On exiting the keep we walked into the courtyard where we noticed the rise in the air temperature outside. One boundary of the courtyard is a fine fifteenth century stone building dating from Henry V’s occupation, with a chapel attached (photos bottom right). This large building gave access to the kitchens (first floor) which in turn had earlier connected to the adjacent Keep tower on the first level via an elevated timber walkway. The adjoining chapel building is now a visitors’ information office.
The interior of the perimeter curtain wall shows evidence of previous adjoining rooflines of ancillary buildings within the courtyard of the castle. There was obviously greater accommodation in an earlier era since Louis XIV turned it into a hospital in 1598 and it was also used as a prison during the French Revolution. Truly a chateau Polyvalente!
Another fine piece of active imaging by Simon …. Thank you.
Tuesday began with an uncertain sky, the sort that encourages you to take an umbrella, which, of course, guarantees later sunshine, rendering the umbrella completely unnecessary. Our welcome at Le Poulailler was, as always, warm and friendly and the coffee and small viennoiseries were much appreciated. Before ten o’clock Anglophones had already started to gather to the bemusement of the solitary French local who had obviously anticipated a quiet few minutes for his coffee. I explained to him that we were Anglophones congregating for our annual meeting and he was surprised to learn that so many of us were residents, not tourists.
The Membership Secretary and his PA were kept busy with a continuous supply of membership renewals and cheques. Loik was kept busy with a continuous request for hot drinks. What a perfect place it is to meet! And, of course, the sky brightened, and we started to make our way in the cool April sunshine to Les Unelles for the meeting. Some thirty members attended in La Salle Jules Barbey D’Aurevilly. Who was Jules Barbey D’Aurevilly you may ask? Well, not just an obscure French name but actually a Byronesque literary figure, born in St Sauveur-le-Vicomte who was appreciated by Baudelaire and known for his dandyism and snobbery, adopting an aristocratic lifestyle and hinting at a mysterious past although his youth and childhood were actually relatively uneventful. His novels were famed for their risqué subjects. Weird Women, The She Devils and Happiness in Crime have each been translated into English if you are curious.
The President welcomed members to the meeting in an apologetic style, fearful that members might find the proceedings less than exciting. But how wrong could she be? Ahead of us was a treasurer’s report, the voting for the re-adoption of the charity, Les Sauveteurs en Mer for another year, news of three committee members who were giving notice of leaving the committee after three years of service and the cajoling of members to become new committee members.
There was a vote taken regarding whether or not the Association should apply for affiliation with the British Community Committee in France, which is an umbrella organisation of British associations in France, coordinating information on their activities and also able to represent their interests towards the British Embassy as well as the government in the UK. A strong majority of members voted in favour of making an application. The President advised members that this would be her last year so next April the Association will be looking for a new President too.
After the meeting the lunch at La Pergola was a pleasant opportunity to sit on the longest table in Coutances and shout at each other. We enjoyed good food which was efficiently served. My jambon in a cider sauce was delicious and the pizzas looked excellent. If you deserved it you got rhubarb tart and ice cream too.
On the evening of 15 March approximately sixteen Anglophones with a few guests assembled at the Bowling Alley at Coutances. For those who’ve never been there, “Le Yeti” Bowling is next to the Ice Rink (le Patinoire) on the Rue des Carrieres Saint-Michel opposite La Foir’ Fouille. The whole set up was very similar to that which I knew from family outings in South London in the 1990s. On our night it was quite quiet and we could use three lanes, so the action was fast and furious. Fortunately for many of us, a bar was available.
Raimund had had the bright idea of reviving what had once been a regular social event for the group. I don’t know when the last event took place, but with a few obvious exceptions, most of the participants had not held a bowling bowl for at least twenty years and, perhaps, that’s what made the evening so much fun. As a result of practice, lots of mutual encouragement and top-ups from the bar, everyone’s bowling improved. That is at least to the extent that most attempts led to the ball actually going in the right direction, staying out of the gutter and even knocking a few skittles over.
There was an abundance of laughter and banter throughout the evening. Everyone agreed that it had been a very enjoyable occasion. We’re most grateful to Raimund for his initiative and the time he spent organising the evening and ensuring its success. Please do it again soon!
