Normandy owes a great debt to all the soldiers who came to liberate France,” declared Anne Terlez, First Deputy Mayor of Louviers at the Weymouth-Louviers twinning dinner. “We were delighted to welcome Her Majesty The Queen to France for the 70th. anniversary of D-Day and I want to thank your nation for freeing us. Louviers itself was liberated on 25 August 1944, an unforgettable day which we will be celebrating next year.” First Deputy Mayor Anne Terlez had earlier revealed it was her first visit to Weymouth- honoured to be representing the newly elected Mayor of Louviers, Francois-Xavier Priollaud, who sent warm greetings, looking forward to welcoming the Weymouth delegation when they visit Louviers in September.
Madame Terlez, an occupational therapist by profession, is the most senior of nine Deputy and Assistant Mayors elected in March, when the right wing alliance took control of the Municipal Council. She is also the briefholder for social and housing issues. “The new municipal team wants to strengthen the twinning with Weymouth,” concluded Madame Terlez, “we have many children and young people in Louviers who would like to participate in exchanges.”
Coun. Kate Wheller, the new Mayor of Weymouth & Portland, welcomed the First Deputy Mayor of Louviers with the 44 Frenchmen & women who formed the Normandy delegation.
Twinning Committee Chairman Cath Irving echoed the civic welcome, recalling “it is 70 years since the D-Day landings and we are all grateful to the allied troops for liberating Europe. We wish you all a happy stay in Weymouth.”
Jacqueline Hamon, Chairman of the Louviers Twinning Committee, said there was a need to create new links and contacts between the twin towns, specially for young people. They were the future.
The twinning dinner, at the Pavilion’s Ocean Room with 103 English and French members present, featured a typical English menu of prawn cocktail, roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding & horseradish sauce, followed by apple crumble & custard. The Highcliffe Charity Players put on a superb cabaret after dinner, featuring the songs and tunes of he 1940s, indispersed with recorded radio announcements from Winston Churchill.
On Sunday, English and French members were taken on an excursion around the Mendips, with a picnic lunch at Glastonbury Abbey. They leave for France today [Monday.] The twinning link between Weymouth and Louviers began in 1958, 56 years ago.
Michel Hooper-Immins