Recently our members spent a long weekend in our beautiful twin town of St Valery-sur-Somme in Picardy. We were welcomed at the Town Hall by the mayor with a Vin d’honneur. The square in front of the Church and Town Hall was a riot of colour in the newly planted gardens, as were all the lanes of the ‘Cité Médiévale’.
The next day out hosts took us to Abbeville. The centre of this nearby town had been razed to the ground by invading forces in 1940 and has now been re-built. Its beautiful churches have been restored and we visited St Sulpice where all the stained-glass windows were designed in striking abstract colours by local artist Alfred Manessier in the 1980’s.

After our tour we lunched in a woodland restaurant and then wandered around the parks and gardens of the town. Late that evening there was a lantern parade of children along the promenade of St Valery. They were led by the band of the Fire Brigade who played at the ‘Bal Public’, one and all danced the night away in the town square. Sunday morning saw us visiting the splendid market with a vast array of local produce and more exotic stalls. We lunched together in the newly restored ‘L’Entrepôt des Sels’ overlooking the river Somme.
Late that night we joined crowds on the quay to watch a magnificent fireworks display to celebrate Bastille Day.

Our last day saw us trying out a ‘plate’ game assiettes picardes on long tables, a game which was invented in Picardy. Amazingly the English team won this fun competition.
After, our hosts had prepared a delicious buffet lunch before waving us off on a fond farewell..