STOP PRESS: Our July 2026 newsletter is here.

The visit of our friends from Rouen July 2026

Several months of planning culminated in a finely crafted programme of activities.

The coach with its 42 visitors arrived in Norwich on the afternoon of Friday 3rd July, to be met by their hosts, or for some of them to be delivered to the door of their hotel in the city centre. We send a big thank you to all those who stepped forward to look after one or two visitors, or who entertained hotel guests for dinner – these were both NNRFA members who have experienced the excitement over a number of years, and those who were new to the “twinning thing”.

Saturday 4th July saw our visitors go on tours of the Castle and Cathedral (the Norman Cathedral, as the Rouennais called it!) Thanks here go to the Norfolk Museums Service who provided the castle visit and guides free of charge, and to Sarah Patey and Annie Ogden, who skilfully provided the French language tour of the cathedral. During the day there was time for people to stroll in and out of the city centre shops and enjoy the warm Norwich sunshine.

 Photos below are from Yolande Heredia (castle) and Bert & Margaret (cathedral).

Sunday morning was spent at the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts.

In the afternoon 80 people gathered in the spacious garden kindly provided by Bob and Margaret Young. Warm sunshine encouraged everyone to mingle and exchange stories, and enjoy a delicious buffet.

The pictures below were provided by Bob.

Our guests had requested a visit to Sandringham House and Gardens, so that is where they went on the Monday, this time in much hotter sunshine. We walked round the beautiful gardens, visited the house and the Church. Lunch was taken all together in the restaurant. 

The photos below are by Lorna, and those in the restaurant at Sandringham are by Yolande Heredia.

Our guests had an early start on the Tuesday – as did their hosts! Eeveryone said au revoir as the coach left Norwich. We are all looking forward to our next encounter!

See report below: two members went to the Rouen Film Festival, 16–20 November 2025

Evenings at This is England and daytime around Rouen 

Mary and I arrived at Hotel Ibis in Rouen on a cold wet November evening but our welcome was warm and the following morning breakfast was perfection with a crate of oranges and a juicing machine - help yourself - Normandy Camembert, brioche and eggs boiled in what looked like a disembowelled toaster - time your own. And help yourself to coffee.

We were greeted equally warmly by the film festival committee who pressed free tickets on us for each evening’s programme of shorts and invited us to join them for cheese and wine before performances. The films, representations of England, varied, although serious themes underpinned most and at the end of each evening the film-makers answered questions from the audience.

The intricate stonework on the exterior of the cathedral was recognisable from Monet’s paintings. The interior was more austere although there were rich features including the stained glass windows and the Librarian’s Stairs. I was drawn to the recumbent effigies of the dukes of Normandy, small lions at their feet, and the stone statues of prophets and saints brought into the cathedral to protect them from further damage from the elements.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts required time but I could only wander through the rooms pausing before the occasional painting. The work of Alfred Sisley was familiar and I stopped to admire La Place du Chenil à Marly. However, responding to so much art was exhausting and I sought refuge in the Salle de Jugé where we witnessed a marriage ceremony. But the ceremony was repeated and we concluded that its purpose was promotional since two photographers were in attendance.

We visited the Musée National de l’Education housed in a 15th century pine building and the Musée Flaubert et d’Histoire de la médecine, Flaubert’s birthplace and childhood home and a museum. The bed for six would have accommodated six patients under Flaubert’s father’s care, I assumed, and I tried to imagine sharing a sickbed with five others. Medical and dental instruments dating from the Middle Ages were both intriguing and appalling. And here in Flaubert’s room were the remains of his parrot.

Eating and drinking were joyous experiences. One such experience was lunch at the Brasserie Paul where I enjoyed wine, salmon with lentils and sauce, dessert and coffee. The brasserie had tremendous atmosphere and two English women attracted a certain amount of interest. Also memorable were lunch at Le Vieux Carré, hot chocolate and almond cake at Café Addict and coffee at Les Délices de la Cathédrale.

I am now reading Flaubert’s Madame Bovary and know that I have walked down the narrow street where the Eau de Robec, mentioned in the novel, once flowed and know something of its history. Nearby was a florist’s shop with a display of Christmas roses and amaryllis and as we entered the shop, we passed the florist and his small son carrying a swag of greenery to decorate the outside of the shop.

Marie Askham 13 December 2025

Photos from Mary Gameson.

 World Calvados Day  

October 16th 2025

At the film night, we celebrated World Calvados Day with a toast, as did our friends in Rouen.