First, I must say thank you to our hosts from the twinning association in Mouvaux, especially Annie Millecamps who coordinated the whole weekend. We are most grateful to Bruno and Béatrice Baussart who kindly provided hospitality to us in their home. And we must also mention Marcel Dendiével who acted as our guide around both Lille and a most moving visit to a nearby museum set in a restored German bunker (more below). And huge thanks to many, many others not least Jane and Howard Mordue who drove us there and generally held our hands as it were, and Stephanie Scrase who helped me translate my words (see below) and offered a warm welcome to her home town. And of course, a big shout out to Rory Evans who represented Buckingham and provided some amazing guitar music for the festival. Finally we must thank the Twinning Association of Buckingham itself which organised and funded the trip altogether. I am so grateful that we have this friendship with Mouvaux. Thank you to all the organisers who keep this twinning association alive.
I was able to present the book about Jo Cox to the library of Mouvaux. Below is a pic of Julie and I presenting the book to library President Madame Audouard and her colleague Madame Mely on the Saturday. (See below for the words that will be stuck into the book.)
Lille was just stunning and it is a city to which we plan to return. Just this one photograph below from inside the cathedral gives you an idea of the beauty of the town. Outside the face of the cathedral looks like a strange network of concrete slabs. But inside, when the sun shines, it is wondrous as I hope you will agree. The rest of the city is enchanting. Go see!
And on the Sunday morning, we visited the Verlaine Message Museum: which was once a German bunker with our host guide Marcel and two German colleagues from Neukirchen-Vluyn. We were inspired, intrigued, fascinated and moved by a brilliant local guide who brought all the exhibitions to life. It is difficult to explain the range of emotions I felt as we toured around, especially one week away from the remembrance ceremonies. Suffice to say, that we saw the room in which the German High Command received the coded signal that informed the Resistance (and the Germans got to hear too) that the D-Day landings were happening the next day.
So three days of memories that will stay with Julie and I for many years. Thank you to all who made this happen.
The Buckingham stall - almost everything was sold which helps fund the work of the Twinning Association
The programme of the festival
En route to France! Howard, Jane, Rory and Julie. We squeezed in rather well!
Handing over the Jo Cox book to Mouvaux Library (see the words below, which explains why)
Rory playing
The Cathedral in Lille: we got there just at the right time for the sunlight
The Museum of the Verlaine Message
The room in which the message was received by the Germans
A facsimile of the message
More pics from the festival
My speech at the opening ceremony:
I bring earnest greetings & deep friendship from Buckingham. It is a great joy for our community to be twinned with Mouvaux & through this glorious town to our friends in Neukirchen-Vluyn & Halle.
We live in world that seems to be experiencing more and more anomie and division. Where many people feel increasingly unsure of the present. And people feel great uncertainty about the future. This has many terrible consequences.
But here we are today celebrating our friendship & connections. Here we are increasing our understanding and knowledge of each other. And here we are joining together to work for a peaceful world. With all this we can help create more certainty and more stability. And also, I hope, there will be more people who are sure of their place in the world & in our communities.
Next week, we will all commemorate the 100 years since the end of the first World War. Let's do this with the same peace, love & friendship that we have in our hearts today.
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J'apporte des salutations sincères et une profonde amitié de la part de Buckingham. C’est une grande joie pour notre communauté d’être jumelée avec Mouvaux et à travers cette ville glorieuse à nos amis de Neukirchen-Vluyn & Halle.
Nous vivons dans un monde qui semble connaître de plus en plus d'anomie et de division. Où beaucoup de gens se sentent de moins en moins sûrs du present et ressentent une grande incertitude quant à l'avenir. Cela a de nombreuses conséquences desastreuses.
Mais nous célébrons aujourd'hui notre amitié et nos relations. Ici, nous fructifions notre compréhension et notre connaissance des uns des autres. Ici, nous nous unissons afin de travailler pour un monde en paix. Et ici, nous pouvons aider à créer plus de certitude et (plus) de stabilité. Et ainsi, j'espère qu’il y aura plus de gens qui seront sûrs de leur place dans le monde et dans nos communautés.
La semaine prochaine, nous commémorerons tous le centenaire de la fin de la première guerre mondiale. Faisons-le avec la même paix, le même amour et la même amitié que nous ressentons dans nos coeurs aujourd’hui.
My words for the bookplate for the book about Jo Cox:
Jo Cox was a British Member of Parliament who was murdered by a right wing terrorist on 16/6/16. Her life was dedicated to building communities where everyone recognises we all have far more in common than anything which might divide us.
This profound and noble aim is one I wholeheartedly support. So when I placed a bet on the June 2017 General Election and won, it did not take me long to decide what to do with my winnings. I chose to buy several copies of Jo’s biography and donate them to the libraries of my life.
I am honoured and excited to be able to add this book to Mouvaux Library. I do this in the earnest hope that current and future residents of our twin town, will be inspired by Jo’s life, and work for world full of love, and deep appreciation for the rich diversity and commonality of humankind. #LoveLikeJo
Jon Harvey
Mayor of Buckingham
2017 - 2019
3 November 2018
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Jo Cox était un membre du Parlement britannique qui a été assassinée par un terroriste de (d’extreme droite) droite seize juin deux mille seize. Sa vie a été consacrée à la construction de communautés où chacun reconnaît que nous avons tous beaucoup plus en commun que tout ce qui pourrait nous diviser.
Je soutiens de tout cœur ce but noble et profond. Ainsi, lorsque j'ai parié sur l'élection générale de juin 2017 et que j'ai gagné, il ne m'a pas fallu longtemps pour decider de quoi faire de mes gains. J’ai choisi d’acheter plusieurs exemplaires de la biographie de Jo et d’en faire don aux bibliothèques presentes sur mon chemin .
Je suis honoré et ravi de pouvoir ajouter ce livre à la bibliothèque de Mouvaux. Je le fais dans l’espoir sincère que les résidents actuels et futurs de nos villes jumelles seront inspirés par la vie de Jo et œuvreront pour un monde rempli d’amour, fermement attaché aux richesses diverses des valeurs communes de l’humanité. #LoveLikeJo
Jon Harvey
Maire de Buckingham
2017 - 2019
3 novembre 2018
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Thanks to Stephanie and Howard for the additional pics
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