The band's trip to Chennevieres-sur-marne in France.
Day 1:
As with our trip to Germany in 2005, the group was split between those travelling on the coach with the twinning association, and those who chose to fly. The coach party were leaving at the unnatural hour of 6:30am and got off without a hitch. The flyers were much more leisurely, leaving at nearly 7pm later that evening.
The coach trip was fairly uneventful by all accounts and arrived at the hotel at a suitable hour where they party relaxed and freshened up before heading next door to the Buffalo Grill for an evening meal.
The flyers, on the other hand, were late. However, this was not down to the flight, nor the subsequent rail journey. No, this was solely due to the group stopping in the middle of Paris for a full 3 course meal in a restaurant. Bob, who was really rather keen to get into the culinary swing of things started the whole trip by tucking into Escargot and making the rest of the group feel somewhat nauseas! The meal was washed down with a handsome quantity of red wine before the group set off on the train to Chennevieres-sur-Marne.
Sadly, the train station at Chennevieres-sur-Marne was no where near the hotel and so Peter Laverick took it upon himself to guide the rest of the party to the safety of a pub. After much to-ing and fro-ing across the language barrier, Peter managed to secure two taxis to transport everyone to the destination which was in form of a somewhat basic hotel. For the weary travellers, this was fine (although I suspect that the hotel normally charged the rooms out by the hour!) and everyone got their heads down for about 4 hours.
Day 2:
The next morning came all too quickly for many people and there were lots of tired bodies struggling through breakfast. The plan for the day involved a trip around Paris and so we all clambered aboard coach number 1 which took us into Chennevieres. Once we arrived, we switched to coach number 2 and headed off towards the City.
Problem is, it was a Friday morning and just like every other city in the world, the entire population were trying to get to work so the roads were packed. This, combined with the warmth of sunshine through the windows meant that many people did get the opportunity to catch up with some sleep before we finally started our tour.
It was quite fascinating as the bus drove around the various famous landmarks and the guide imparted little snippets of information about their history. All the usual places were explored, such as the Arch de Triumph, Louvre, Champs Elysee etc and there was also a short stop at the Eiffel Tower where everone had a chance to look around, although sadly, there was not enough time to go up it. Still, most people found a coffee shop and indulged in French life for half an hour or so.
There was also a stop outside a large palace with glittering gold leaf adorning the architecture. This seemed like the perfect picture stop so the band gathered together and posed for various pictures like the ones shown here.
By this time, stomachs were starting to rumble so it was time for a wonderful meal that was laid on at a great little restaurant in the middle of the city. A full 3 course affair, with ample wine of varying colours, followed by traditionally strong black coffee. It was delicious and just the thing to set everyone up for the afternoon’s activities.
Before the coach set off again, a few members of the group went for a little wander around the town and being musicians it wasn’t long before the 4 people found themselves in a piano showroom trying out all the merchandise and scaring the staff. What fun!
The afternoon was to be spent looking around a stately home which was full of artwork, tapestries and numerous antique ornaments – even a 17th Century gift shop (although not at 17th Century prices I might add!). The guide was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English as she showed the group around the home. It was all very interesting but for some it was all too tiring so a number of people retired to the coffee shop to relax while the tour finished.
The return journey was a very quiet affair with most people sleeping soundly but as soon as we were back in Chennevieres, it was time for work. The band had a rehearsal booked at the town hall where they would be playing the joint concert the next day so it was important to get some practice in.
However, nothing ever runs smoothly and this was no exception thanks to one woman called Francoise Berard who did her best to reignite the flames of war between the English and the French. To put it simply, she wouldn’t believe that the two people standing next to her were actually there which, despite the fairly obvious fact that it wasn’t true, caused lots of problems to the point that a full blown argument blew up. It is never wise to argue with a musician especially tired ones who had not had an evening meal. Bob was called in to resolve the matter which put him in a foul mood and subsequently caused him to be rather short with the band at the rehearsal. Clearly what was needed was alcohol and lots of it.
So after the practice, that is what happened and a large group ended up at a Pizza Hut with yet more wine and some traditional French pizza!?! All that was required then was a good night’s sleep which was not difficult for anyone.
Day 3:
Today, everyone was left to their own devices and a large group of people decided to go into the city to see Mont Martre and the Sacre Coure. After breakfast, the coach driver, Barry, took everyone to Chennevieres train station to get into Paris. John Wyatt had other things he wanted to see and do so said goodbye to the rest of the group for the day whilst everyone else headed to Mont Martre.
It was not as warm on this day and had become rather overcast and by the time we got up the hill to the Sacre Coure, it had started to spit with rain. Nothing too bad so a few people had a look around the inside of the building and then we decided to head off for something to eat. Just as we were walking round through the back streets, the heavens opened and we ended up running to get out of the rain and found ourselves taking shelter in a little restaurant. Ideal really as we were after some lunch so we sat there and had a meal.
The meal was delicious and, true to form, Bob wanted to experience more traditional French food so started with the onion soup and followed that with frog’s legs. In fact, a few people had the onion soup which had lots and lots of very stringy cheese which made the meal a rather messy, but fun experience!
After lunch, everyone walked round Mont Matre and saw all the artists creating some fantastic works in all sorts of styles. Anita, Nicky and Gill saw a caricaturist and using a combination of peer pressure and brute force, managed to get the conductor sat in the chair having his portrait done. The end result was quite…well…um…different.
Before: 
After: 
Recruiting?
Some time was spent looking round the shops before the group decided to head back for the evening concert and on the return journey, who should be on the train but John Wyatt who happened to be heading back from his day out. Instead of getting off at Chennevieres, we decided to go onto the next stop as it was supposed to be closer to our accommodation. However when we arrived, there was a small hiccup in our plan as there was a delay in getting the bus we needed so we decided to wait for it outside a little café.
Again, all the best laid plans seem to go awry and the bus we were waiting for never turned up. On closer inspection, it transpired that the buses to our hotel don’t run at the weekends and we were a little stuck - especially when the heavens opened. We tried to get taxi’s, spoke to locals to see if they would help and in the end had to call Barry to bring the coach to come and get us. This took almost two hours to arrange and almost made us late for our concert that evening.
Some quick changes were required when everyone got to the hotel before we were whisked back to the theatre for the performance which we made just in time. Of course, we had not had an evening meal but the host band provided cakes and drinks to give us some energy for the concert.
In the end, the concert went well and we played first to the large audience. The band did themselves proud and were cheered on by the English twinners who had come to see the concert. Then the French band did their turn and played equally well with lots of popular music and film music in their set. There was even one worrying moment when their conductor threatened to take his clothes off to the Tom Jones “You can leave your hat on” tune. Thankfully we were spared and once they had finished, it was time for all the musicians to perform one final piece together.
At the end of the concert, there were a number of presentations including a speech from John Wyatt in French. It went down a storm with all the French people laughing hysterically although whether that was due to the witty humour of his speech or his attempt at a French accent remains to be seen. This was followed by an Encore from the joint bands, conducted by both conductors at the same time – usually a very risky practice considering how territorial conductors get!
After the concert, we packed up and headed back to the hotel where we dumped our things and went back to the Charcoal Grill for some food. Everyone was there and we ordered large plates of meat, cheese, salad and chips and all tucked in. Morris then provided the evenings entertainment with his own brand of close-up magic and a particular trick with a piece of string went down a storm. (Musicians are so easily pleased!)
Once we had finished the meal, many people retired for the evening yet others went back to big John’s room to polish off 3 litres of red wine. There were rumours that a number of drunk people were heard chasing each other round the hotel balcony at all hours, but who they were remains a mystery!
Day 4
Sunglasses, headaches and aversion to loud noises was the standard for the morning for many of the party. Still, this had to be dealt with quickly as there was a farewell partly laid on for everyone. Lots of food and yet more wine was on offer and it was a chance for all the twinners from either side of the Channel and the band to meet and have a good time together.
Once the meal was over, in the best tradition, Auld Lang Syne was sung by everyone shortly before the coach left on its way home. The flyers had yet more free time available which they used for one final trip into Paris. Peter and Elaine made their way to the Louvre to admire the architecture and the art work, whereas Bob, Gill, Nicky, Paul and Anita decided to get a birds eye view of the city. (Jim also wanted to come but he sacrificed his place to look after our things - well... so he said!)
And where better to do that from than the Eiffle Tower. It took quite a long time to get to the top as the queues were quite long but they were soon at the top and admiring the view. Even the girls made it despite being so scared that none of them would go near the edge at first. Luckily for them, Bob was there and being so strong and brave, they took courage and eventually managed to get to the edge to admire the view.
After this excitement the flyers all met up again for a drink before heading home. In the end all groups got back late that night and I expect everyone slept very well that night after a great trip.