Entente Very Cordiale May 4th

The parish hall of St.James’ Church, Emsworth, was the venue for the bi-annual visit of the Twinning Association  from St. Aubin-sur-Mer, which lies in the Calvados region near one of the Normandy D-Day beaches.

We were met by the Chairman of the Emsworth part of the Twinning Association, Hazel Willard, and introduced to several of the guests.

After talking for a while, the evening proper began with a very nice buffet supplied by local firm, Fresh Catering, after which Hazel gave a welcoming speech, in English, which was translated by one of the members from Emsworth. I then gave a short speech in French which seemed to go down quite well. That was a great surprise to me, as my Fench is not very good. Thanks must go to Google Translate! At the end of my speech I made a presentation of a small clock set in glass with the Borough crest to the Deputy Mayor of St. Aubin.

Entertainment during the evening was provided by the ladies of the Devil’s Dyke Clog Dancers and the Fishbourne Morris Dancers.

The evening finished with singing, firstly from the Emsworth members, then by the French and, finally, all joined in.

Giving my speech in French!

Presentation of the clock..

The Dancers.