Once again we sent a representative from RAIFA to be the Maid of Honour at the annual Féte des Fleurs festival in Louveciennes. Priscilla Meigh reports:
Under a clear blue sky and warm September sun, my ten year old daughter Emily and I spent a wonderful weekend in Louveciennes. The two days were a whirlwind of welcoming smiles, French food, funfair stalls, fireworks and flower-studded floats.
We arrived at lunchtime on Saturday, having caught the Eurostar at 8am at St Pancras. In front of the Mairie we joined a large delegation from Vama, Louveciennes’ twin town in Romania, who were celebrating ten years of ‘jumelage’ with local French officials. After drinks and snacks we were then invited to a nearby house for a splendid array of cheese, dessert and fresh fruit, where I had a friendly meeting with my French counterparts for Radlett twinning.
We were warmly welcomed by our host, who lived on the same road and with whom we were soon at ease, passing swiftly from ‘vous’ to ‘tu’. Emily enjoyed a couple of hours at the funfair, demonstrating equally alarming skills in the dodgems and the rifle shooting. It was not long before it was time to go for a delicious dinner at a restaurant bordering one of the many chateau parks in Louveciennes. After several short, entertaining speeches of welcome by our French hosts and of thanks by our fellow Romanian and German guests, we picked up our forks and tucked in. The evening was rounded off by a spectacular fireworks display.
Oh, the joy of fresh French patisserie for breakfast! A Sunday morning stroll around the nearest chateau and park saw us back in good time for a barbecue lunch at the Mairie. Soon the procession was assembling and we watched as float after float set off, studded with flowers to depict this year’s theme of television serials, including Little House on the Prairie and The Magic Roundabout. They were truly impressive. The final float was of course the most special, with the French Flower Queen and her beautiful English and German princesses, the former being Leila Quinney from Radlett. Separated by colourful marching bands and majorettes, the floats meandered through the streets of Louveciennes all afternoon. As they returned to the Mairie, it was time for us to say our goodbyes and head back to Paris to catch the Eurostar home.
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It was a weekend of extraordinary generosity, goodwill and effort by the French organisers. We felt most privileged to be there.
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