News of NNRFA events and activities

STOP PRESS: Our February 2026 newsletter is here. 

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Below a report - Evenings at This is England and daytime around Rouen.

Report : Rouen Film Festival Visit 16 – 20 November 2025

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 Cathédral.

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.