The Town Hall of Courcelles the Count gave us an appointment on Saturday 22 at 2pm, but the desire to meet was stronger and all the participants were already present at noon. A Courcellian pizza maker took up the challenge of preparing some of his specialties.
The afternoon was dedicated to Arras with first of all a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts which dedicated an exhibition in Versailles: "Arras makes you the court, the Palace of Versailles in 100 masterpieces". The guides of great quality made us discover these marvels full of symbols.
Then we went to the Arras Town Hall which prepared us a tasting of local beers and cheeses. 6 kinds of very different beers were served as well as 3 cheeses.
Then, a free time allowed the participants to discover or rediscover the places of Arras. With the weather helping, the bars were popular attractions.
In the evening, the commune had planned a buffet with local specialties much appreciated.
But before this meal, Mr. Mayor and Madame had prepared a little surprise for us: a parade of clothes and lingerie. The four models were local girls including the first miss National 2015 runner-up, Pauline Thuilliez. It must be said that Jean-Noel Ménage's wife is involved in the clothing trade and that she is a member of Miss juries. Maliciously, one of our members had challenged him last year…
On Sunday 23rd, after breakfast, the general meeting of the association was held.
We spent the day at the SAMARA prehistory nature park in Picardy. This park is based on the discovery of this period from objects, techniques, reconstructions as close as possible to the knowledge we have about this era. In addition, the guides who accompanied us during the day were very captivating and were able to transmit their knowledge in a fun and educational way. In the afternoon, we were introduced to the launch of the sagaie using the thruster, the creation of fire from flint or the minting of a currency. The lunch taken on the site was offered by the association.
In the evening, on the way back, after the farewell to those who were to leave, we went to see the church and the national necropolis located on the commune of Courcelles the Count.
For those who had wanted to play overtime, on Monday 24th, the forty people present went to visit the farm inn of Souastre. The family that operates this farm has accumulated a lot of objects that have been used on Picardy farms. These objects were classified by activities and the owner made us go around by evoking or showing their use.
In the early afternoon, we had to leave, promising to meet as soon as possible and of course at the next AG.
