HOW IT ALL BEGAN...
Prudhoe's links with Mitry-Mory go back to the early 1970's. Below, you will see a selection of photos and press cuttings from the archives. They cover a lot of happy memories!
Thanks to Mrs Hyde and to Noël Fraboulet for use of their scrapbooks, and to Jim Bolland of County Hall for technical help.
Great oaks from little acorns grow...
In 1971 Graeme Gilmore, head of Modern Languages at Prudhoe Secondary School (now Prudhoe Community High School) led the first exchange trip to the Collège Paul Langevin in Mitry-Mory.
1971 also saw the first visit to Prudhoe by a group of schoolchildren from Mitry-Mory, led by teacher Claude Chestier.
Tea with the Mayor:
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Already there was serious talk of twinning the two towns. The following is from Mitry-Mory's monthly news magazine, 'Evolution', June 1973:
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And then there were the footballers. Their first visit here was evidently quite an adventure!
LETTER FROM ENGLAND
or 4 DAYS IN PRUDHOE
('Evolution', 1974)
Wednesday 22 May: We leave Mitry around 4pm. At 9pm we set off by car ferry from Calais. Look, there's England! Prudhoe is still a long way off, we've still got 16 hours in the coach. We cross London in the dead of night; litter blowing in the streets, houses with glazed balconies, black taxis driving through the night. We find time to get lost, before getting onto the motorway. And it's free, no tolls, for the whole length! We are very struck by the courtesy of English drivers.
We stop off at a service station. How many francs to the pound?? The coach plays up, someone says we've run out of diesel; a policeman stops, we explain our problem and he very kindly gets us to a garage. We eventually meet up with our hosts near Newcastle, the town where later we will drool over shop windows (sorry, that should read 'do some essential shopping'). Newcastle is a university city, but also an industrial centre, which combines the traditional with state-of-the-art modernism. And tonight, we sleep in Prudhoe beds.
Friday: A trip to the sea, which is icy cold; and to warm, welcoming 'pubs', where men and women seem to have their own separate territory. Just time to notice that every town boasts at least one library and a theatre. Culture seems to matter in England. Four o'clock: it's the big match, Mitry against Castle Hill, and YESSSSS!!! Mitry win. We reckon we've got our name on the cup, and the victory is copiously celebrated. Well a cup is for drinking, isn't it?
Saturday: The weather's fine, we wander round Prudhoe, do some shopping, chat with people, everyone is friendly. Men seem to do as much in the house as their wives, 'They're very sober, the English'. (But what about the whisky? And the beer? And the whisky plus the beer?!!)
Three o'clock: Mitry plays Prudhoe, AAAARGH!!! Mitry loses. Goodbye to the cup! (The English organizer is celebrating, the trophy stays in England.)
Evening comes, we are the guests of the local Fire Brigade; we nurse our wounded pride and drown our sorrows.
Sunday: We're off, leaving our hearts and some tears in English soil. Farewell, island!
A. BOURGASSER
(The above is an unfaithful and much too brief account of the trip to Prudhoe in May 1974. Future editions of 'Evolution' will carry more information... To understand a nation, you first need to get to know them.)
(Well at least the visitors got a photo of the trophies...)
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Links were spreading way beyond schools and football. In 1977 Prudhoe Gleemen performed in the Salle Jean Vilar in Mitry-Mory.
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Early in 1982, two Deputy Mayors from Mitry-Mory, together with the Chairman of their Twinning Committee, visited Prudhoe to discuss final details for the Twinning ceremony.
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Welcome to the Twinning Celebration - Prudhoe & Mitry-Mory.
Peace and friendship
(The official programme for celebrations in France in April 1982)
Press coverage of the 1982 Twinning ceremony in Mitry-Mory. Mayors Noël Fraboulet and Bill Garrett were joined by the Mayor of the German town Schmelz, with which Mitry-Mory twinned just 6 months earlier.
'What started as a mild flirtation between two schools has ended with the marriage of two towns'
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Mayors Noël Fraboulet & Bill Garrett sign the Twinning Charter in Prudhoe, May 1982.
A ticket for the Official Twinning Ceremony in Prudhoe, May 1982.
To mark the ceremony in Prudhoe, WW2 veterans from the two towns marched together.
Mayors Bill Garrett and Noël Fraboulet paid tribute to the dead of both towns in World War II at St Mary Magdalene Church.
Reception for the French visitors at the Royal British Legion Prudhoe branch.
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Press coverage of the celebrations in Prudhoe, May 1982.
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Now jump forward 10 years...
1992: The 10th anniversary of the Twinning Charter is celebrated in both towns.
Another report from 'Evolution', this time on celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the twinning in 1992.
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1994: WW2 veterans from Prudhoe visit Mitry-Mory for the 50th anniversary of the Liberation.
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And another jump, to 2002...
'Mitry is working to English time... ' 'Evolution' reports on the 20th anniversary of the Twinning Charter.
Mayors Jean-Pierre Bontoux and John Grigor cut the 20th birthday cake, watched by the Chairmen of the two Twinning Associations, Irène Vasseur and George McCreedy.
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Which brings us up to date.
In June 2005, Mayor Eileen Burt, with representatives from Prudhoe Town Council and Prudhoe Town Twinning Association, joined in the celebrations for Mitry-Mory's 80 years as a Municipality. It was an opportunity to get to know the new Mayor of Mitry, Mme Corinne Dupont.
We were also joined by representatives from Mitry's other twin towns of Schmelz in Germany and Loumbila in Burkina Faso. Shortly afterwards, a group of young people from Prudhoe East Centre travelled to Loumbila and took part in community activities there. The Twinning has come a long way since 1971's school exchange!
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