DOWNLOAD Spring 2016 NEWSLETTER - Centre Le Page

Donkeys Reunited
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FIRSTS!
Classic
Cars
In October for
the first time we
hosted the club
‘Engrenage’
which literally
Spring 2016
Latest News
We’re really
pleased to
announce that we
have a Good Host
Award from
BOOKING.COM for
2015 for an
average rating of
8.0 from our customers. We think this
reflects the hard work we’ve put in since
we started last summer.
means ‘Gearing’
and is a great
bunch of classic
car enthusiasts
from
Rennes.
They
had
fantastic sunny
weather
and
lunched al fresco
in between the
lovely cars on
our drive.
The 2016 season has started with a
bang! Apart from February, we had
guests with a New Year celebration and
we have hardly stopped since.
Night Sky in Le
Quiou
We are all in the gutter, but some of us
are looking at the stars (Oscar Wilde)
In
March
we
hosted our first
public ‘Soirée’ and
were entertained
by ‘Heatwave’.
And already we’ve
received plenty of
under 10’s football
teams, rugbymen
from Jersey at several levels and from
the Département of l’Ariège in the south
as well as speed roller skaters for the
regional championships. We hope to
have swimmers staying later in the year.
Le Quiou is actually quite
remarkable in having less light
pollution at night than anywhere
I’ve ever lived when the street
lights are extinguished. Sometimes
you can’t see your hand in front of
you and you need a torch to get
from the centre to the apartment
across the car park! The stars are
quite awesome! Astronomy visits
are always a possibility.
What it means to us
We’re now open almost all year round!
With our sporting links we can reach out
throughout the year. Apart from schools
visitors the weekends are most busy
which gives us time to have the odd
break in midweek.
IMPROVEMENTS
Hanging flower baskets are already out
and thriving after the mild winter and
we’re completing a repaint of the
outside before summer!
Centre Le Page Newsletter Spring 2016
In April we hosted the association of
L’âne du Cotentin
members
of
which were here
for a weekend’s
course in Les
Champs- Géraux
to
learn
all
aspects
of
keeping
and
managing
donkeys.
FRIDAY UNDERGROUND! For our first
public gig on 4th March we promoted the
excellent HEATWAVE SOUL, a superb
soul/funk band which entertained a sit
down crowd of over 100 people in our
village’s only big hall. Although our
mayor could not attend, his adjoint,
Thierry came, together with Messieurs
Nogues and Gautier, Mayors of
neighbouring St André-des-Eaux and
Evran respectively. By all accounts they
had a great time.The food, Poulet
Basquaise went down a treat as did our
fine Lancelot Breton ales.
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Tour de Bretagne – May 8
In April the under 14’s of the
Whoosh! Once again, after coming Département
through in of l’Ariège on
2014, the the edge of
racers of the Pyrenées
the Tour took the long
de journey up
to Lannion for a tournament against the
4 Breton Départements of Côtes d’Armor
(ours), Ille Et Vilaine, Morbihan and
Bretagne
Finistère. Unfortunately the Breton boys
plunged down
often towered over the lads from Ariège
into Le Quiou
so it proved a difficult introduction to
Brittany for them.
Cycling
towards
our
kitchen
from
Tréfumel
before going on
to the finish in Dinan via Calorguen,
home of local 5 times Tour de France
winner, Bernard Hinault.
In May we’ve had this cycling group,
which used the voies vertes V2 and V3 to
get between Dinard/ St Malo and St
Méen-le-Grand or Rennes.
SPORT
Speed Roller Skating
January also
saw us host
two of the
roller speed
skating clubs
up for the Brittany regional qualifiers.
Very entertaining and very photogenic!
Rugby
In January
we
once
again
hosted
Jersey rugby club’s academy sides – this
time
the
under 10’s
and
under
11’s
who
played Bruz,
Le Rheu and
St Malo in the mud and in March, and
the Colts who played Dinan and
Plabennec.
Already we are getting other bookings
for the great cycling this area has to
offer.
EuroPoussins Football
Qualifiers April 14-15th
A lovely sunny weekend for the
Europoussins Qualifiers in Pleudihen. We
hosted 4 teams in the qualifiers for
France without
Brittany:
Claye-Souilly,
Elan-Chevilly
Boulogne
Billancourt
(ACBB), all from Paris and Sainte Adresse
But (ASSABUT) from Le Havre.
Eventual
winners were
a
superb
Torcy
side
who
devastated
our guests ElanChevilly 5-0 in
the semis.
E-C did so well
getting to the
semis but alas
couldn't win third place for a ticket to
the finals in June.
Centre Le Page Newsletter Spring 2016
On a sunny but chilly Sunday, Centre Le
Page hosted 2 teams for the Brittany
Qualifiers: Trégor from Lannion and
Plougastel from Brest. And we said
goodbye to Elan Chevilly who liked it so
much they stayed a second night!
Well done teams! Come again!
Family and Special Events
For the feast of St Sylvestre (New Year)
we also opened our doors for a private
family get together which was still going
when we arrived home at 04.00 on New
Year’s morning!
Already in May we have provided a
buffet banquet for a special birthday
celebration and have a banquet planned
for an
English
touring
cycling
group in
October.
For the
birthday
party the
Hall was
decked
out and as
well as a
fantastic
buffet which we prepared, the party was
entertained in the garden and in the hall
by some fine
musicians,
from
the
birthday
boy’s playing
career: fine
jazz
and
blues followed in best Breton tradition
by an accordion band with plenty of folk
dancing.
FUTURE
We have a
number of
French and
British
schools groups staying in the summer
and after the prime booking.com season
in August we will be doing more cycling
and family groups in September/October
until hopefully our next public soirée to
finish the year!
A bientôt!
Chris and Peter
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