In June CTA members received 31 visitors from Chassieu, the French town in the outskirts of Lyon, which is twinned with Coleshill. At a welcoming ceremony in the Old Market Hall, the mayor, June Upton, said how pleased she had been to learn more about the association, which she congratulated on organising such hospitality, combined with so many varied and interesting excursions over the years. Malcolm Butler, the Coleshill chairman added that finding new places to visit was not easy but he hoped that the destinations selected this time would prove successful, and if they didn't, perhaps the restaurants chosen for lunch would compensate. Aline Duret, who presides over the Dialogues Chassieu-Coleshill said how pleased the Chasseulands were to be here again and to have brought some members who would be seeing this part of England for the first time.

The itinerary continued the following day with us all boarding a double-decker coach bound for the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford. On arrival at the airbase many chose to take a ride in a flight simulator and gain an impression of what it feels like to fly with the Red Arrows. They felt the thrills of aerobatics – looping the loop and cutting across the coloured smoke of the other planes in the formation - but they were happily spared the high G forces that the squadron leader described on the soundtrack. After this the group strolled amongst the impressive display of fighters, bombers and associated equipment until it was time to leave for lunch at the nearby Park Hotel, Shifnal. The meal was excellent.

It was planned to break the journey home with a visit to Walsall Arboretum but due to heavy congestion on the M6, it was not to be. However, an Anglo-French singsong was organised on the top-deck as the bus slowly made its way south – la Mer, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Sous Les Ponts de Paris, You Made Me Love You, and many more – which was some compensation for not seeing the trees.

Friday’s outing was to Bletchley Park, the world famous home of the code breakers, where, thanks to the services of an excellent French-speaking guide, our guests were able to appreciate the intricacies of the Enigma and Lorenz cipher machines. With a little imagination one could picture the site as it was in its operational days when the staff hurried between the country house and the surrounding Nissen huts, carrying secret messages that would be evaluated by the War Cabinet in London. The guide was interested to learn that the mother of one of our party had worked at Bletchley Park in its heyday.

Lunch was at The Boat Inn, at Stoke Bruerne, a traditional pub-restaurant in a picturesque setting on the banks of the Grand Union Canal. After a good meal there was the opportunity to take a short cruise up the cut for half-a-mile or so and into the long Blisworth Tunnel. Here the skipper held his course until all daylight had disappeared, at which point he put the barge into reverse and slowly returned to the quayside.

On Saturday evening host and guests celebrated with a farewell party at Maxstoke Golf Club. In a short speech Malcolm Butler asked us to remember two longstanding members of our associations, Jerry Maybury and Lucien Basso, who had sadly passed away since last we met. Mentioning the outings, he hoped that the flight simulator had not given anyone mal d’air and that the luncheons had been good enough for French palates (this brought approving applause). Aline Duret said how much the Chasseulands had enjoyed their stay and joked that a little while ago they had been fascinated to hear about the discovery of the Saxon Hoard near Coleshill and they would not have been surprised to arrive and find us all pushing metal-detectors instead of the customary lawnmowers. She concluded that our true treasure was indeed the friendship that has developed over the years.

The fine warm weather, which had begun the morning the Lyon plane touched down, lasted until Sunday, when, after a garden party held at Ha’penny Cottage, Curdworth, we said our fond farewells at Birmingham Airport.