Dear SHTA Members and Friends,

Now that we’re into full-swing Summer mode, some thoughts are inevitably turning to cricket, football, tennis, strawberries and the like. However, whilst SHTA does take a two-month break from showing French films at the Empire Cinema, a whole variety of activities continues to flow through these Summer months:

Many thanks to all of those members who attended or helped during June at our stall during Le Weekend; our final film of the season; the New Members’ Do chez les Cooper; Bangers & Boules at the Anchor Inn; and our Picnic on the Quay Green.

You can read news below of what’s coming up in July, but first here is Vice-Chair, Mark Moorhouse’s introduction:

July in Honfleur, Normandy & France:

Honfleur has a full schedule of summer activities in July 2026. Highlights include La Fête Nationale on Tuesday 14th July, the Colour Festival in nearby Équemauville, the Wednesday Evening Markets, and the region-wide Normandy Impressionist Festival.

La Fête Nationale / Bastille Day: Honfleur celebrates the national holiday with a maritime festival featuring three iconic sailor games : –

• Mât Incliné (Inclined Mast Contest) – A traditional greasy pole contest that has taken place around the Vieux Bassin (Old Harbour) since 1880. A 12.5 metre long wooden pole is tilted at an angle of 15 degrees over the harbour water. The pole is heavily coated in black soap and grease, making it very slippery. The objective is to run up the pole to grab a French Tricolore flag at the far end, however, most runners slip and fall into the cold harbour water.
• Mât de Cocagne (Greasy Mast Contest) – Another classic greasy pole contest often set up in Place Saint-Léonard. It is a challenge in which participants must climb a 7 metre high vertical pole to retrieve a French Tricolore flag and either saucisson (dry-cured pork sausage) or jambon (ham) hung from a rotating wheel at the tip of the pole.
• Baptême des Tropiques (Baptism of the Tropics) – Traditionally refers to the maritime initiation ritual known as the “crossing-the-line” ceremony. Sailors would ‘baptise’ inexperienced crew members as the ship crossed the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn for the first time. This is a two-person contest in which one teammate sits in a sulky (a lightweight, two-wheeled trotting cart) while the other teammate pulls it as fast as they can. The person sitting in the cart holds a long wooden pole (perch). As they are pulled underneath a suspended bucket full of water, they must successfully aim the pole into a specific target hole directly underneath the bucket. If they hit the target precisely, they trigger a mechanism that blocks the bucket. If they miss, the target flips, and the bucket instantly drenches the participants in water, much to the amusement of the crowds.

July 14th ends with a stunning fireworks show launched from the East Jetty of the port to close out the celebrations

On Saturday 11th July head to the Raymonde Ricroch stadium in Équemauville for the Colour Festival, an energetic evening of live music and street food. Festival-goers are encouraged to wear white t-shirts for the four scheduled bursts of vibrant, non-toxic coloured powder. Organised by the Honfleur Tourist Office, this free event runs from 18:00 to midnight.

Summer Evening Markets: Every Wednesday evening, stroll along the Cours des Fossés (opposite the Office de Tourisme) from 6:30pm to 11:00pm for local crafts and food.

The Normandy Impressionist Festival which began on 29th May and finishes on 27th September, is a massive, region-wide event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet’s passing. The festival features over 70 contemporary art projects that turn all of Normandy into a giant, open-air art gallery

Key highlights in July:

• Le Havre: Visit the MuMa (Musée d’art moderne André Malraux) to see Monet in Le Havre, an exhibition highlighting the artist’s formative years in the city. You can also view Ai Weiwei’s massive Waterlilies made of 650,000 Lego pieces.
• Rouen: Head to the Rouen-Rive-Droite railway station to experience Jacques Perconte’s A fleur de mer, a monumental, immersive video projection blending flowers and seascapes. Additionally, look for the stunning facades of the Rouen Cathedral, which are illuminated with nightly projections.
• Giverny: Explore Before the Water Lilies at the Musée des Impressionnismes. This major exhibition showcases the landscape paintings and poplars Monet produced between 1883 and 1890.
• Honfleur: The Musée Eugène Boudin displays Monet’s early artistic days, focusing on his transition to painting en plein air (outdoors)

Many thanks to Mark for his usual very informative monthly contribution above.

Above: serious action from Bangers & Boules at the Anchor Inn on 25th June.

July and August at The Empire Cinema:

As mentioned above, we give David Nunn, our projectionist at the Empire Cinema, a well-earned rest during July and August. Our 2026-2027 film season will start on Wednesday 16th September when we’ll be showing ‘La Cage aux Folles’, a crowd-pleasing, rollicking and heartwarming musical based on the 1973 French play of the same name. 

You can, of course if you’d like, reserve your place now for our September film; if so, please send me an email on stuartpjones100@yahoo.co.uk. The cinema doors will, as usual, open at 7.00 pm with the film programme starting at 7.30 pm.

Other Upcoming SHTA Events:

• As I’m sure you know, France’s National Holiday celebrates the storming of the Bastille Prison and effectively the start of the French Revolution in 1789. If you’d like to join other SHTA members on Tuesday 14th July to mark the occasion in the garden of the Red Cow Pub, near the Co-op in Sandwich, please let me know that you’d like to attend. We’ll be there between 7.00 and 9.00 pm. I’ll be sending out a specific email with further details in a few days’ time.

• Two days later, on Thursday 16th July, SHTA will be holding its Annual General Meeting in the Jury Room at the Guildhall from 7.00 pm. Apart from summaries of the year’s events and accounts, there will be the election of a new Committee for 2026-2027. There have been nominations and seconding of members over the past week and these will have been completed by the time you are reading this. Please join us if you can; there will be wine, cheese and biscuits available on the night.

• Perhaps you’ve seen the news that the Bayeux Tapestry will be on display to the public at the British Museum from September to next July. We have recently been discussing the idea of taking a coach with SHTA members to see the 70-metre-long tapestry, depicting events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Activity in booking tickets has been busy to say the least and the earliest available slot for a group will probably be in early 2027. It would be useful to gauge the likely interest among SHTA members, so some feedback from you would be very welcome.

• Following the visit of the Honfleur group to Sandwich we found that the President of their Twinning Association had left an item of clothing chez nous. Therefore, Sandra and I are using that as an excuse to visit Honfleur ourselves from 9th -12th August, staying with our very good friends. All SHTA members might start to consider visiting Honfleur next year or hosting in 2028, so please do let us know your plans whenever it’s convenient.

That’s all for now folks. Hoping that you’re well and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes from Stuart & the Committee