The president's report

" The day dawned bright and sunny " - as they say - for the "Forum de la Vie Associative" which took place this year on Saturday September 11th in the Allée des Platanes in Carpentras. At 8.30 am Raina, John and I set up our stand, displaying leaflets about our activities, about the website, English and French recipes, book marks a quiz and a few magazines. The faithful Franco-Brit banner was updated by adding a few small, detachable flags of the countries represented by our members - from nearby Belgium and Germany to far away Canada, not forgetting Bulgaria and Switzerland - with a ‘question mark flag’ - what new nationalities will we welcome this year? The leaflets were in smart new holders and were displayed in a coherent manner giving unity to our colurful stand.

Soon the first visitors stopped by, curious about the flags and about who we are and what we ‘do’ . Anita and Alison arrived to help out and we were all kept busy. Members dropped by to say hello, to renew their membership, to chat with the visitors. We took it in turns to visit other stalls and make contact with other associations.

The Mayor and representatives from the town council stopped by to admire the stall and make polite enquiries and proffer encouragement. One of the representatives exchanged a few words in English with us.

There was a lull at lunch time and then it was back to business. Carole joined us and we continued to answer questions and to share our enthusiasm for the "Franco-Brits". There were the usual queries from those looking for an opportunity to practice their English, also a couple of anglophones and some people who welcomed the idea of doing various activities in a multilingual background. Soon the page of names and email addresses of enquirers was filled. Those who seemed particularly interested were offered a ‘Franco-Brit’ pencil as a souvenir…

By 5 pm the crowds had dwindled and people were beginning to pack up their stalls so we decided to call it a day. The banner was taken down, the leaflets were put away and with satisfaction we read the long list of names… It had been a long but satisfying day…

Many thanks to all those who helped at the stand and those who dropped by to encourage us, your presence was much appreciated and reflected a thriving association. We are now reaping the fruit of "association day" - new members have joined, are participating in the conversation group and in "Let’s Lunch" gathering, others have sent emails asking to be kept informed of future events. "Vive l’association Franco-Britannique"!

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Images of the Association Day

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