The Navy Larks visit to Saintes
THE NAVY LARKS VISIT TO SAINTES
SEPTEMBER 2018
Here's some information about our trip to Saintes, South-West France, twinned with Salisbury since 1990. This will combine singing from our wide repertoire, together with the opportunity of sightseeing in this very interesting Roman town and of course delighting in all that French culture and cuisine have to offer over a long weekend.
This note gives an update on the proposed programme, following extensive consultation with the Chair and Secretary of the Saintes Salisbury Twinning Association who, along with their members, are very enthusiastic and looking forward to greeting us all.
Dates
Thursday 27th Sep- Mon 1st Oct 2018 (core times are Friday evening to Sunday)
Proposed Programme
Travel either independently or in a group, as desired, to arrive and settle into accommodation by the afternoon of Friday 28 September.
Friday evening- private party- there will be a reception by the Mayor of Saintes and the Saintes Salisbury Town Twinning group, followed by a buffet supper. This will also provide us with an opportunity for an informal “warm-up” performance by The Navy Larks.
Saturday 29 September
Morning
Open air singing in various strategic locations in Central Saintes with the chance of some sight-seeing as we move around
Afternoon
Visit to a local cognac house to hear about the process of making cognac and to sample the wares….
Evening
Public Concert
The Navy Larks to perform in a concert at the Salle Saintonge (booked and paid for by the local twinning group). We will be joined by a local choral group, Music OK, run by a resident Scot, Allan Mottram.
There will be no charge for tickets but a retiring collection for charity.
Our twinning friends are confident of achieving a good-size audience. We are expecting that several members of the Salisbury-Saintes Twinning Association will come to Saintes for this event.
Sunday 30 September
A visit to Rochefort with maritime connections for singing and sight-seeing.
Monday 1 October
Return travel or continue with independent arrangements.
Thanks
Lastly, we would note that this trip would not have been possible to organise without the enthusiastic assistance we have received from our friends in Saintes, in particular Catherine Vieuille and Jacques Blanc.
