Lisieux 2025

Rotary Weekend in Lisieux, 9-12 May 2025.

Rotarian Trevor Snow reports:

We arrived at around 5pm on the Friday to a warm welcome from our hosts, which set the tone for the weekend. Some of us, with our hosts, were entertained for dinner that evening by one of our longstanding Lisieux friends a lady now in her 90th year who had not only prepared a delicious meal, but  also gave us each a personalised menu card, with little English jokes and tongue twisters, all in the spirit of welcoming their English counterparts to the Lisieux Club.

The next morning, we set off for the main visit of the weekend, Claude Monet’s house and gardens at Giverny. The fine weather only enhanced the beauty of the gardens, and the water lily pond with its famous bridge was as stunning now as ever. This visit, followed by an excellent lunch, was a real delight for those of us who had been there before and a great discovery for first time visitors, English and French.

Saturday evening dinner was the moment for the traditional handover of the ‘chain of friendship’ and also the occasion for the installation of the new president of the Lisieux Club, another indication of the importance attached to the link between our clubs. This took place in the atmospheric setting of a restored medieval château with an unexpected link with Leeds Castle in Kent.

After a quiet Sunday morning, we all met up for lunch at a country house near Lisieux, belonging to a local businessman, whom the Lisieux club are hoping will become a Rotarian - like us, they are keen to recruit new members.

The house was occupied by the German command in WW2 with, close by, a launch pad for V2 flying bombs. The command post was bombed by the allies, unfortunately destroying a wing of the house in the process.

After this convivial lunch, some of us attended a performance of Fauré’s Requiem in the Cathedral.  

Finally, as our District Governor says: ‘The family of Rotary means: together have fun, make a difference and show how uniting together we are stronger’.

I hope fellow Rotarians will feel, as do those who took part this year, that these visits should continue. We had fun, we have made a difference (e.g. both clubs have supported the charity Himalayan Children), and so by uniting we are stronger.