In 1986 Lewes Bridge View Junior FC represented Lewes in an International Tournament  played at the impressive Stade des Allezs in Blois. The hosts Blois Union Sportif (BUS) returned to Lewes and competed in our own International Tournament at Malling Fields. There began a relationship that has lasted ever since seeing teams of all ages making the journey back and forth to play. After a break of 4 years, Lewes FC Veterans took up the challenge and a Tournament was organised again in Blois at the same stadium involving two teams representing the Ville de Blois and the Portuguese Sports Club of Blois aided by Blois Twinning and a certain M. Thierry Fontaine. Also participating was a team of veterans from the now disbanded BUS, who were incorporated into Blois 41 a semi professional club playing in the 4th tier of French National Leagues, who had several players from the ‘80s teams.

On arriving in Blois the team toured the magnificent Chateau Royal de Blois and the Maison de Magie of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin  the world famous 19th century prestidigitator and illusionist.  They were later greeted at a reception held at the Mairie hosted by The Deputy Mayor for Sport M.  Joel PATIN and Blois Twinning President Mme. Maryse Fontaine (no relation to Thierry) at which gifts and speeches, Pete Bull the Lewes Manager did particularly well, were exchanged and a splendid buffet shared.
Saturday saw a fine day with a visit to the locally much celebrated Marche de Blois, a proper French Market with a huge number and variety of stalls from the region. The tournament in the afternoon began with a very closely fought match ending with a 1-0 win for BUS over Lewes. Pete rallied his team and they won their next two games 1-0 and 3-0 against Ville de Blois and Portuguese Sports Club respectively. The final saw a very competitive match between Lewes and BUS, who had Wayne Woollard playing for them. Wayne is a true veteran of the Bridge View/BUS tournaments having played in at least 15 tournaments  over the years as a young lad and now well into his 40s, haha, sorry Wayne!! The match ended in a 1-0 victory for BUS and was followed by the presentation of trophies by Mm. Isabelle Laumond-Valroff, another Deputy Mayor, at The Portuguese Club House. Lewes Veterans were presented with a Runner-up Trophy, Best Foreign Team Trophy and an Historical Cup to be awarded at the next tournament to be arranged in Lewes in 2020 and all subsequent tournaments. The Player of the Tournament was presented to Wayne having topped his performance by scoring the winner in the final. M. Bernard Jousselin was the official photographer.
 
After the rigours of the Tournament and hostelries of Blois, Sunday dawned a bright sunny day and accompanied by Thierry and his brother Alain we all set off for a trip down the Loire valley to visit Plou & fils, a magnificent Vineyard that has been run in the same family since 1508. The tour was conducted by a son who is the one of the 24th generation. Having politely sampled their huge range of whites, reds, roses and sparkling wines , enthusiastically purchasing various bottles and cases, we set of to Amboise to look round the ancient streets, Chateau, Leonardo Da Vinci museum and the occasional restaurant.  Returning to Blois everyone gathered for a celebratory meal to embrace the great success of the weekend and to toast Thierry, Alain and Blois for their wonderful hospitality.
Monday was an early start to return to Lewes, a bit too early for a farewell reception from Blois, but they had already shown what real hospitality is.
Looking forward to next year at the Dripping Pan, Lewes.

Each year we are asked if there is a student from Lewes, or the surrounding area, that would like to work in our French twin town, usually at the Chateau.

This year, Rachel Thulborn, who is at Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth From College (BHASVIC), has gone over to Blois to work in the Chateau for a month.

Saturday 17th March was the Association's AGM, held at St Thomas's Church Hall, in the Cliffe.

Despite the day having been snowy, 24 people attended, including two new members and one guest.

The AGM was opened, and included an introduction, by the Mayor of Lewes, Michael Chartier (as Honorary President).

Almost every house in Lewes gets a copy of the Lewes News, the local freesheet which is published every two months and includes articles, local news and adverts from Lewes individuals, businesses, clubs, groups, etc.

After a suggestion from our Secretary, Cate Stocken, we started to submit articles to the Lewes News on a regular basis, with the latest issue being our third submission. These articles have proved extremely successful in raising the awareness of twinning in Lewes, as well as getting new members and offers of help to host guests for the upcoming visit from Blois (see our Upcoming Events page).

Remembering that the Lewes News is a small, low profit publication, produced by a dedicated team of volunteers and led by Fran Whittle, we recently donated a sum of £50.00 to them for all their hard work and as a thank you for their support of the Association.

However, we realise that there are many people who may be interested in Lewes twinning, but may leave in surrounding villages, who do not receive the Lewes News, we will be putting copies of the articles on this website for all to read.

Lewes Twinning Association was approached by Patina to see if we could ask our twin towns of Blois and Waldshut-Tiengen if they would like to be involved in the postcard campaign. On contacting the towns, they were both very happy to help and a staggering 400 postcards were sent from the children of those towns to the children of Lewes and surrounding villages who are moving on this year.