Dear SHTA Friends,
This is the first newsletter of the new season for SHTA, so a big welcome to our new
members and welcome back to all those of you returning for another year.
We’re contacting you at a particularly sad and historic time for the nation with the
news that the Queen has died aged 96. It is very unlikely that we will see such
remarkable service and devotion again for many years. Members of SHTA and other
residents of Sandwich join many others throughout the UK, the Commonwealth and
the wider world in acknowledging the contribution the Queen has made over seven
decades.
We were fortunate during the Summer in being able to combine with the members of
the Honfleur Association to produce a ‘Livre d’Or’ or ‘Golden Book’, an inspired idea
of Pierre Jan, which drew together comments, photos and newspaper articles from
Honfleur and Sandwich to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the book was
then sent to Buckingham Palace. Pierre, on behalf of the Honfleur Committee, has
sent their condolences to all of their Sandwich friends on the loss of their sovereign,
and lets us know that the flag at the Honfleur town hall flies at half-mast. The Mayor
of Honfleur, Michel Lamarre, who personally met the Queen in 2004, has also sent
us a very lengthy and personal tribute.
Firstly, thank you to all who attended the Annual General Meeting back on 14th
July to round up the 2021-2022 year and to elect a new committee for 2022-2023.
Congratulations to the nine and thank you in advance for your contribution over the
next year on behalf of our SHTA members. Names and contact details of committee
members are at the end of this newsletter.
One of their main responsibilities, of course, is the formation of a programme of
events and this process is well underway. An integral part is the selection of
films to be shown monthly at the Empire Cinema. We’ve decided to revert to 3
films in the Autumn, i.e. September, October & November, and 5 films in 2023 from
January to May.
Our first film will be on Wednesday 14th September, entitled ‘Ce Qui Nous
Lie’ (English title ‘Back to Burgundy’), which we did show last year to a limited
audience. It was very well received and appreciated, therefore, we thought it an
opportune time for those who missed it as well as being a chance for those who did
see it to enjoy it again. The cinema doors will open at 7.00 for a 7.30 pm start, the
cost remaining at £7.50. If you’d like to book your place, please contact Jan Cooper,
as usual, on jannicooper@icloud.com . A brief resumé of the film is as follows:
“After a ten year absence, Jean returns to his hometown when his father falls ill.
Reuniting with his sister Juliette and his brother Jérémie, they have to rebuild their
relationship and trust as a family again.”
As mentioned above, the new committee will be devising a full programme of
events, including some old favourites both in the remaining months of this year and
also in the first half of 2023, which we will let you know about in the next newsletter.
If you have an idea of a specific outing, activity or film title for the committee to
consider, please let me know.
However, one event you will probably want to note in your diary immediately is the
Christmas Dinner & Party, which will be on Thursday 1st December at
Tan Bueno Restaurant in Sandwich. If you’d like to attend one of SHTA’s traditional
and, dare one say, almost legendary nights out, please contact me to ensure
yourself a place.
Further dates to attach to your fridge, office notice board, or paper/phone diary are
for the SHTA Group Visit to Honfleur in 2023; the dates for this, confirmed
by Pierre Jan and his team, are: Friday 23rd – Monday 26th June 2023.
Again, if you’d like to take part in this biennial trip, please do get in touch with me to
ensure that you’ll be able to stay with people whom you have hosted or if you’d
prefer to be the guest(s) of someone new. If you’re a new member who hasn’t yet
been to Honfleur I’d definitely encourage you to join the group and visit one of the
most beautiful towns in France.
These dates, along with up-to-date information about upcoming events, photos of
committee members and other activities are all on the SHTA website, now organised
by Simon Mallet and Sandra Jones and which you’ll find at:
sandwichhonfleurtwinning.org.uk
Now that we’re into September I should remind you that annual subscriptions
are due by the end of the month. These remain at £12.50, and you can pay either by
bank transfer or by cheque. If you choose the latter, it’s payable to SHTA and given
to Steve Laslett who is at 104 St George’s Road, Sandwich, CT13 9LE. Please write
your name(s) on the reverse of the cheque together with ‘SHTA Subscription’.
If you choose to pay directly online, please use the following details:
Sort code: 30 90 09
Account number: 42027168
Unfortunately, the final piece of news for this newsletter concerns the very sad death
of one our members, Ian Waddell who died suddenly whilst he was out cycling. He
and his wife, Viv, as SHTA members, have attended and participated in many of our
activities over the past few years. We send our heartfelt sympathy and condolences
to Viv and her family and will welcome her warmly as and when she feels able to
attend future SHTA events.
That’s all for this newsletter. There will be further information regarding upcoming
events coming your way shortly. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing as
many of you as possible at the Empire Cinema for next Wednesday’s film night.
Best wishes, Stuart & the Committee
2022-2023 Sandwich Honfleur Twinning Association Committee
Chairman: Stuart Jones stuartpjones100@yahoo.co.uk
Other Committee Members:
Vice-Chair: Mark Moorhouse mark.moorhouse@btconnect.com 07395 037889
Treasurer: Steve Laslett steve.laslett@blgservices.co.uk 07736 057836
Secretary: Christine Ratcliffe christine.ratcliffe@outlook.com 07803 238733
Siobhan Matthews siobhan.matthews22@btinternet.com 07909 972700
Sandra Jones: sandrajones172018@gmail.com 07786 062685
Rick Ratcliffe: richard.ratcliffe51@icloud.com 01304 813036
Simon Mallet simon.mallett@gmail.com
Steve Thomson sythomson01@hotmail.co.uk 07908 910168