Visit of the National Memorial Arboretum with the Ashby-Pithiviers Twinning Association

It is thanks to the twinning that I came over in England on a long stay in 1988. I've been living in Pithiviers between 1984-88. I was working part time in my Dad's D.I.Y. shop. And I was independent for the 1st time : flat, car, job. Among other activities I was taking English conversation lessons with the twinning. One of my co-student, G., introduced me to P. from B. near Ashby when the Ashby-De-La-Zouch delegation came on a visit. Anyway to keep a long story short when I decided to go to England for a year (afterwards I came back to France for 3 months and went back to Ashby for a further 5 years) Ashby was the obvious place to be. For more info on the twinning see : http://www.ashbydelazouchtwinning.co.uk/
Last Friday with my famous friend P. we joined the association and the French visitors at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas near Burton Upon Trent (Staffs). This year is the 50Th anniversary of the twinning so it was well attending. The programme was as followed :
- Act of Remembrance and Welcome talk in the Chapel
- Donation of flowers in commemoration of soldiers killed in the Somme
- Guided walk (or on a small train). The most spectacular being the circular walls with all the names of the serviced people killed in any war during the 20th and 21st C. They add up names all the time.
- Lunch followed by Lola Lamour singing 40's, 30's, 20's hits. She is very good. And it was fun too because she invited people to participate.
For more info see : http://www.thenma.org.uk/index.aspx