France 2007

Here you will find the diary of our 2007 trip over in France. It was a massive success, building on friendships made last year and creating new ones! A huge thank you goes out to all who helped make this trip possible, Joyce and Dave for having us, Richard for driving the coach, Paul for helping make the trip what it was, all our friends from France who were so accommodating and of course Simon for arranging such a trip for the second year running. Thank you!

Day 1 - May 25th/26th

We set off from Corfe Mullen on time and without incident at about 10.45pm, we then proceeded to head toward Dover, stopping at a service station on route. Once in Dover, we had about a half an hour wait before being able to board the Ferry. We departed the Ferry at about 7am and are now on our way to Saumur to set up camp and this evening we will be playing with a band that we met last year.
At about 1.00 we arrived at the second set of services in France. So far the trip has been quiet, with a few videos playing, as a lot of the members have just been sleeping!

We arrived in Alonne at about 3pm ready to set up in the gites, as we were short on tents and there was plenty of space going in the gites. We then proceeded to prepare for our event with Allonnaise Band in Alonne. We marched into the town were we played to Allonnaise Band and an audience. The crowds watching us seemed to appreciate our playing, which was then followed by an exciting selection of tunes from Allonnaise Band. After they had finished playing, we played a few more tunes and headed back up to the building in which Allonnaise are based. Once there, we started preparing to play our concert piece which also went down well. Allonnaise played a few more tunes before they began to set up for a buffet and drinks with ourselves. This was much the same set up as last year, with plenty of food a drink to keep us going all evening! It was a great night with our friendships from last year being reinforced by meeting all of the members again this year.
After a very long tiring day we headed back to the gites to get some sleep, we were told we would have a lie in in the morning which was very much appreciated by everybody! 

Day 2 - May 27th

We were granted a much needed lie in this morning, followed by a very much appreciated cooked breakfast. We had a relaxed morning, as we were gradually getting ready to join Allonnaise band in Alonne for a fete. Once there we marched around the fete, following the Allonnaise Band. After they had played in the centre of the fete, we marched in and played a few of our tunes followed by the two bands playing The Swing March together. The audience were very accepting, and a few of our younger members very bravely went out in front of the band to perform a solo. Very well done to them!
Once we had finished playing another band marched on and played a few more tunes. Following that, a few members from all three bands got together to play another rendition of The Swing March again. Once all had finished playing we marched off one by one and stopped to socialize and have a few refreshments. We then fell back in and marched around the fete, once again, stopping to play in a cafe/pub and the centre of the fete. Now that all our playing was finished with, we went back to the coach to grab a change of clothes and went to grab a quick snack and some more refreshments. 
We then headed back to the Allonnaise Bands hall to grab some more refreshments before heading back to camp for dinner and a relaxing evening. Some of the members from the Allonnaise band turned up to enjoy a few drinks and play a few games with us. 

Today proved to be a huge success, despite the weather not necessarily being on our side all the time. Our friendships within the Allonnaise band are still strong, with the aid of a couple of phrase books and dictionaries!

Day 3 - May 28th

This morning was a much earlier start than yesterday, which was a shock to the system for most! We were up at 7am, washing, having breakfast and preparing for a visit to the Troglodyte caves. We met up with a couple of the members from L'elan Saumurois (a band based in Saumur), where we were taken to the Troglodyte caves. We had an introduction to the caves, followed by a brief tour around a couple of the rooms. Then the children were given a quiz whilst going around the 20 varying caves, used for different purposes.
Once our trip at the caves was complete, we loaded back onto the coach to head out to the premises in which we will be playing with L'Elan Saumurios. Once there we were given a lot of Foulles (bread, which you cut open and fill with jam, pates, bean soup etc.). After spending our time eating our lunch we headed into the changing rooms to get ready for our two performances. We played our concert piece, which was then followed by a set from L'Elan Saumurios. After a short interval we were back on again, this time we did some marching and just played a selection of tunes that suited the mood and moment. L'Elan Saumurios then played another set to finish off the afternoon concert. This seemed to go extremely well with the audience responding well to everything we played! After that we had a few drinks to celebrate a good afternoon and headed back home to have dinner and relax. Once we arrived home, as the weather had cleared we thought it best to get some games out. Some of the children played football, whilst others just chilled out. The games had to be interrupted to allow for some dinner however, which was promptly followed by more games. This time there was a Frisbee, some football and the younger girls came up with a dance routine. Eventually however, it became too dark to play and we were all in need of some sleep. Some stayed up and relaxed for a bit, whilst the rest went to bed to prepare for a busy day to follow.....

Day 4 - May 29th

We didn't have to get up early, so were up at 8am today. We sat down to a very nice cooked breakfast. Once we had all finished our teas, juices and breakfasts it was time to get ready to play to the Mayor of Saumur. We headed out to Saumur and arrived at about 10.15, we started to get ready at a nice pace, as we weren't due to play until 11am. Once ready, we fell in and marched over to where we would play to and meet the Mayor. After playing a few tunes, the Mayor came over and spoke to Simon, at which point we presented him with a plaque commemorating our trip and thanked him for letting us play through Saumur. We then headed out and found a restaurant where we tucked in to some food and refreshments. As the Sun was out, and it was rather warm, some of the children went to the ice cream stand for ice cream etc. After we had all finished our food and drink, we headed back to the coach to head out to Domaine de La Paleine (a vineyard in Saumur). 
Once we arrived we exited the coach and headed into the condition controlled warehouse to have an introduction to how the wine is made, stored and how the grapes are handled etc. After the introduction we were taken into a couple of the cellar/caves where we were shown how the wine is made and where/how it is stored for 12/14 months. We were then shown back up the ramp into the warehouse where we were able to taste a couple of sips of the delights from the vineyard. A few of the older members purchased some bottles, and we loaded back onto the coach to head back to prepare to play again at 6.30 this evening.
Once we arrived back in the town centre of Saumur we had some spare time before we had to start getting ready, so went around the shops to purchase souvenirs, gifts and ice cream. Eventually we had to start getting ready to march around a couple of venues within Saumur. The first area we played at was a "square" which there was a few restaurants and plenty of people to play to. After we finished playing, which was highly appreciated, we moved onto the next place, which was a park. There were a few children who enjoyed running around to our music, whilst the parents watched. The final place was a small gathering of people around some tables with food and drink. They fed us a few snacks and drinks, which we were happy to accept and then we moved on. This was and extremely tiring and long set of events so well done to all members!
Once we got back to the gites, we got the Frisbee and football  out and had a run around. As soon as dinner was ready we all piled into the kitchen and picked up our food. After a couple more games the younger members started getting ready for bed whilst the older members cleared up and prepared for the next day to come. 

Day 5 - May 30th

This morning we were all granted a much needed lie in until about 10am. As we all dragged ourselves out of bed we were given a lovely fry up and some cereal. Following that we all started to get ready for trip to the shops. Some of the children had been desperate to visit a shop called 'Decathlon', which we keep passing on our various trips, so it was felt this would be a good opportunity to visit it. We were due to go to the zoo today, but unfortunately when the weather is poor, the animals are put away so it wouldn't be all that entertaining with the majority of the animals out of sight. We all loaded onto the coach to headed out to the shops, some food was likely to be needed as this evening we will be entertaining guests from our visit so far this year and last. 
Some of the members went on into Decathlon whilst others moved into the Hypermarket to look around and purchase the varying items available. We stayed in the area until about 3.15pm when we headed back to the gites to prepare all the food and tables for our guests this evening.
Whilst the older members and leaders were preparing for the coming gathering, the children were playing football, Frisbee etc. Whilst some of the girls practiced a dance routine they had put together.
It wasn't long before our guests began to arrive and DYMB went to fetch their kit to show off our maneuvers and playing. After we had finished playing, Allonnaise picked up their instruments and started playing a selection of their own music, which was very entertaining as they played us back down to the area where all the food was being put out for serving. The night became incredibly entertaining and was a huge success, with our French guests mingling very well with the members of Dorset Youth. Eventually and unfortunately the guests began to filter home, and we finished off with a few extra refreshments and headed to bed.

Day 6 - May 31st

We had another lie in this morning as we had an event at about 3pm in the afternoon. We had our breakfast and prepared to depart to Saumur for some extra shopping and to complete our final event of the week. When we arrived in Saumur, the weather changed from the Sun that we had left at the gites and changed to a downpour of rain. We went around the shops none the less and some of the members purchased gifts whilst others just found shelter and refreshments.
We returned to the coach at about 2.15pm to finish preparing for the event that was to follow. When we arrived, there were some school children who had been given some time out of their lessons to come along and watch us play. A small crowd of people from the public gathered as well. We played a selection of tunes then proceeded to march up to some gardens where we set up the instruments for our concert piece and played to the crowd that had gathered. We went down well so we continued by playing a few more tunes to the audience, once we had finished we popped inside where we were treated to food and drink. The refreshments were all polished off so we headed back out after packing up all of our concert gear and marched to the top of the gardens until the heavens opened and we rushed back to the coach to pack up. We said some final good byes to a few of the Allonnaise members who had turned up to watch us play and headed on back to the gites.
Upon our return to the gites we began to pack the gear that we wouldn't need to rush and pack everything tomorrow morning. Some of the children played football and danced around whilst the older members started to load the coach in preparation for tomorrows departure. Dinner was served which consisted of meats, quiches salads etc. After dinner everybody went back to what they were doing before dinner and before long it was bedtime. The younger members went to bed to get some much needed sleep (due to the busy day to follow) and the older members stayed up chatting for a while, before heading off to bed themselves. Tomorrow was likely to be a tiring day, so hopefully everybody will get all the sleep they need. 

Day 7 - June 1st

It was 7.30 and we were all getting up to finish the last bits of packing and washing. We finished off our bowls of cereal and packed them away ready for our trip home. Everybody chipped in the tidying up, whether it was taking uniforms down to the coach or tidying the kitchen. We said our goodbyes and thank you's to Joyce and Dave for all that they have done for us. Our final task was a group photo which was taken just outside of one of the gites. Everything finished and all goodbyes said, we headed down to the coach and loaded all the members and any remaining bits and pieces before departing for Calais. We have made two stops in France, the first was for 20 minutes, when we popped into the services and picked up some lunch the second was for half an hour and just gave everybody a chance to stretch their legs. The coach journey has been rather easy going for the majority so far. A few are sleeping, a couple are on handheld games consoles and others are either watching the TV (for which we have a few videos to show whilst on the journey) or are just listening to music. We were able to get on an earlier ferry, as we were running earlier than expected and have just left the port at Dover to head back to Corfe Mullen. On our way to Fleet services we had a slight problem with the coach which meant that we had to pull over for some very prompt repairs by our Drum Major, Lewis (who happens to be a Mechanic also). Thank you Lewis! Back on the road again, we made one stop, at Fleet Services for a bite to eat before heading straight back to Corfe Mullen. We arrived home at about Midnight. It was nice to know that we were home, but I doubt any of the members would have minded staying a little longer!