first of all we went to the Tower of London. We were met by a guide and had a tour of the Tower. We were also met by one of the Beefeaters, who had spoken to the Rotary Club at one time, and he took over. The ladies were most thrilled with the Jewel House, and then we went to Tower Bridge, London Bridge, and the Port of London. We went to St. Paul’s and other places, before going to Madame Tussaud’s, where we were taken into the Chamber of Horrors. We then went to have lunch at the Rotary House of Friendship, which I have mentioned before.
They were all prepared for us at the House of Friendship, with the tables laid out with red white and blue flowers, and French and British flags. We had a quick tour of the building and, after a good lunch, we went to Buckingham Palace, then on to Westminster Abbey where we had another detailed tour. We had to leave to meet our local Hornchurch MP, Godfrey Langton, for a tour of the Houses of Parliament. We arrived there and several other Rotarians joined us, together with our President, Stan, before we went in. We were guided by Godfrey Langton, and his words were translated into French for our guests. That evening we had a dinner at the Bell. All our members joined us. The flags of the two countries decorated the Bell. I remember that we had steak for the meal, because, in the letter of thanks we received from the President, he mentioned the lovely Scottish steak. Every word was translated by Val May. Val enjoyed the evening very much and ended up living in France for a time.
It is interesting to recall that not all the Clubs agreed with these contacts, but most of them took part in the dinner. It became a fellowship thing more than anything else.
The next day we went to Harry Chandler’s garden. It was unfortunate at that time because Peter, his son, was in hospital at the time and later died. We just had a few drinks there and they gave a special thanks to Harry for his hospitality. For many years the meetings ended up in Harry’s garden. He and Renee were very good hosts.
The Visits Continued
From then on the visits were regular. We went to Tourcoing and then they came to us. One or two years were missed, but, on the whole, it was every year. It was a tremendous success. One year we took our golf Clubs. We left on the Friday afternoon and came back on the Sunday. One year Archie Roger’s guest wanted to stay on to the Monday. Archie did not drive, but I
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