Trip to Bristol

April 5th

 The Lakeside coach leaves Ludlow Smithfield carpark at 9am prompt and will set off home at 4.30pm. Drop and pick up is at MacDonalds.

 Please see email below from Pauline with details of the next exchange visit:

I am pleased to tell you that we can now give you more details of our visit to France in May 2025

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Our coach will be departing from Ludlow on the morning (time to be decided) of Saturday 24th May for the 15.00 crossing from Portsmouth, with Brittany Ferries.

We shall be arriving at Caen for 22.00 and at La Ferté Macé before midnight.

On Wednesday 28^th May, we leave la Ferté Macé around 9 a.m. (to be confirmed).       

Our return crossing will be via Caen at 16.00, to arrive back in Ludlow late that evening.

 

We shall be making a lunch stop at a place of interest (to be decided) on our way back to Caen.

For the ferry crossings no day cabins have been reserved on either but, for those who require them, it should be possible to obtain these at the purser’s office on embarking.

 

Our friends in La Ferté Macé are already planning a programme for our visit, to include a communal meal (optional and at additional cost) and a visit to a place of interest, as well as arranging hosts, as always.

 

At this stage, if you wish to take part we now need to have a definite commitment. Even if you have already expressed an interest please confirm by Friday, 28^th February.

Whatever your reply please respond with a yes or no by email, by this date.

 

The cost per adult will be £190 – payment to be made by Monday 31^st March.

Children will travel free, funded by various Twinning money-raising events.

 

Remember – people of all ages, from the Ludlow area, are welcome to join the Association (subscription still at £12 per household) and to come on the visit, so please continue to spread the word.

 

Here are bank details for payment of subscriptions, due now for 2025, and for the visit in May  –  20 53 22     90533866.

Cheques should be made out to Ludlow Twinning Association and be sent to the treasurer, Garry Oram, Apartment 3, Dinham Hall, Ludlow SY8 1EJ.

 

Any questions – please phone me on 07745 531783 (or Grace on 07990 526203/ 01584 875902)  or use the email address pandgoram@gmail.com.

 

We have the technology!

               A big thank you to our committee member Shirley Davies who is helping us make more of our blog facility! Shirley is currently helping our UK committee with the technical aspects of adding a blog. This will allow us to produce more information in future about what is happening in Ludlow  which our friends in France will be able to access too! With Christmas coming up, we hope that there will be many more photos like the below- taken in December 2023- which we can now publish.

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei

 

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei

Set in the beautiful hills known as Les Alpes Mancelles, Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei is a picturesque village officially listed among the ‘most beautiful villages in France’ (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France®). This village was much loved by artists such as Corot and Courbet and pre-Impressionist landscape painters for its peace and serenity.

One of the ‘most beautiful villages in France’

Time appears to have stood still at Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei, on Normandy’s now quiet southern border. The most picturesque of medieval chapels looks swamped by the large meadow surrounding it, down close to the Sarthe river, which meanders peacefully by. The 11th-century Romanesque church, perched above the river, contains beautiful frescoes. There’s also the so-called miraculous fountain to discover. At this spot, so the story goes, the thirsty seventh-century Saint-Céneri and his disciple were delighted to see fresh water spring up in front of them. In addition, legend had it that this water had the ability to cure eye problems.

A painter's retreat

It’s no surprise that this small, lesser-known village, not far from the historic town of Alençon, attracted many painters. Run by the two Moisy sisters in the latter part of the 19th century, the Auberge des Sœurs Moisy was a place where renowned artists liked to come to rest as well as to paint. This inn’s most original feature is its celebrated Salle des Décapités, decorated with an intriguing panoply of black heads drawn in profile. The inn now welcomes visitors as an art museum.

 Stall at Ludlow market promoting Ludlow French Twinning.

 5th May An Historic Day for Europe

In  a historic speech in 1946, Winston Churchill spoke of the need to build and maintain peace in Europe- a continent shattered by war and destruction. Three years later, on 5th May 1949, the Council of Europe was set up with the aim of uniting the diverse peoples of the continent around a set of common values.- democracy and the striving for peace between nations. Against the backdrop of this huge cultural movement, towns in Europe began to create their own modest links with their neighbours  and the twinning associations were born. 

As one of those groups, Ludlow French Twinning Association is pleased to be able to celebrate the establishment of the Council of Europe. We have severed our membership of the EU but regardless of our political beliefs, we are still Europeans. 

 

Film at the Blue Boar: Le souffle au Coeur ,a well-known 2-hour film by Louis Malle

• Wednesday 6 March at 7.30pm (19.30 h)
  

• Venue: The Sitting Room, Blue Boar, Mill Street, Ludlow
  

• Meals and drinks are available from 6pm (18.00)
  

Important to note:

• Prior to the film, the Twinning Association will be holding our AGM in the Sitting Room at 7pm, for 25 minutes. All members are urged to attend.
• Non-members may also attend but will NOT be allowed to vote.