Billericay Twinning Association

A group of 21 members of the Friends of Chauvigny, the French section of the Billericay Twinning Association, has just returned from a five-day visit to Chauvigny, Billericay's twin town near Poitiers. Every two years, the Chauvinois come to Billericay and likewise we make a bi-annual visit to France. This was our fourth visit. Our French hosts organised a very interesting programme for us which included a day trip to the ancient port of La Rochelle where we had a guided tour of the town and a boat trip to the Ile de Ré.

May 8th was a public holiday in France to celebrate the end of World War II. At the ceremony at the Chauvigny War Memorial, the Mayor of Chauvigny, Monsieur Gérard Herbert, invited Marion Wilson, chairman of the Billericay Twinning Association, to lay the wreath with him. (See attached photo). He also asked David Clark, who is ex-RAF, to raise the Union Jack with the French Tricolour. The group photo shows the Billericay delegation on the steps of Chauvigny Town Hall.

The high spot of the visit was the official dinner and dance which was attended by the Mayor and Madame Herbert. During the two days of free time, our hosts took us to various places of local interest in this beautiful and historic part of France, as well as arranging many convivial lunches and dinners in their houses attended by as many as 16 persons at a time.

The area around Poitiers is known as the Poitevin and we were able to taste various specialities of the region. These include wild boar paté, broyé de Poitevin, a crisp, sweet shortbread, and macarone which is an almond cake. So delicious were these regional specialities, that the keen cooks among us have collected the recipes from their hostesses and the Association will be publishing them in form of a booklet. If anybody would like to enquire about the Friends of Chauvigny or the cookbook, contact Patricia Clark on 01277 625448.