Our Head Office, Dartmouth House, is open to members and their friends from Monday to Friday from 09h00 to 18h00.
A huge “thank you” to Monique S. for having organised the May Day Walk 2025. Beautiful sunshine and temperatures higher than the norm for the time of year combined with an amazing setting to make it a special day for all who attended. 25 members and friends set off on the walk at a leisurely pace, chatting and making new acquaintances as they covered approximately 5 km through woodland surrounding the Château de Pignerolle near St. Barthelemy-d’Anjou. Wildflowers and birdsong were plentiful, confirming that spring had truly arrived. Amongst the greenery, several abandoned bunkers were reminders that the Château had been requisitioned by German Marines during WW2 to be used as a base for handling communications with Atlantic ports.
Arriving back at the starting point several members were waiting to join the walkers for a convivial picnic lunch in the picnic area in parkland facing the neoclassical style Château. Built in 1776, and resembling the Petit Trianon at Versailles, prior to the Revolution the Château was owned by Marcel Avril de Pignerolles, director of the Royal Equestrian Academy in Angers.
The AGM took place the morning of Saturday 12 April in a meeting room at the Maison des Associations in Saumur. 28 members were present, and others unable to attend had forwarded proxy votes in advance. During the meeting, the chairman raised several issues currently proving challenging to the committee and requested help from the membership regarding ideas for events and venues and for assistance in our aims to promote communication skills, in particular among young people. All ideas put forward will be investigated further by committee members.
The serious business of the day over, after the meeting attendees were joined by members and friends to relax together over an aperitif before sitting down to enjoy an excellent lunch in the restaurant “Le Cinq 7”, just a few minutes’ walk from the Maison des Associations.
Saturday 22 March at lunchtime, members and guests gathered at the Auberge de la Rose in Doué-la-Fontaine for an excellent meal preceded by a talk by member Chris Taylor. In a previous life Chris toured England and Wales delivering after dinner speeches to raise money for charity. Chris’s experience in this field was evident when he entertained everyone with an amusing talk entitled “Allegory”.
Starting with Moses, Chris explained how the prophet had used allegory to persuade his people to escape Egyptian slavery and cross the red sea to freedom. Authors and artists have used allegory throughout history to illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways easily understood by all. Allegories were used by Shakespeare in ‘the Tempest’, by George Orwell in ‘Animal Farm’. Even children’s nursery rhymes are often based on true stories. We learned that ‘Baa, baa, black sheep’ tells of the medieval wool tax introduced by King Edward 1 whilst ‘Ring o Ring of Roses’ tells of the Great Plague and the two characters in ‘Jack and Jill’ stand for Louis XVI and his wife Maire Antoinette who both died at the guillotine in 1793.
We have come to expect excellent food and service from the Auberge de la Rose. We weren’t disappointed on this occasion, and with friends and guests had a convivial, enjoyable meeting learning about ‘allegory’ from an experienced and entertaining speaker.
A great deal of fun was had by all those who attended the branch annual quiz and photographic competition, which took place 15 February over lunch at the “Auberge de la Rose” in Doué-la-Fontaine.
Whilst relaxing over an aperitif, 34 members and friends had time to catch up with each other and cast their votes in the annual photographic competition. The aim of the competition is to select several scenes that reflect the beauty and history of the area we live in, to be featured on our website and Facebook page during the course of the year 2025. There were 14 entries in total, but with a score of 21 points, the winner was Colin Morison with his entry “Sunrise”. There were 3 entries tied for 2nd place with a score of 19 points, Colin Browning with “The Loire Poppy”, and Maureen Sargent, with her photos “Murmuration” and “Rainbow”. Congratulations to the winner and runners up, and well done to everyone else who entered.
It was soon time to settle down in teams at table to enjoy the excellent meal and answer questions that would tax the brain cells of everyone present. Teams had been chosen to mix nationalities so all would have a good chance of answering the questions. These, which covered a variety of themes, had been set by the branch Treasurer, Roy Powell, and assistant Secretary, Patricia Nickels. Inevitably noise levels rose, particularly when the answers were revealed. Question master, Terry Orner, managed somehow to control the noise and the inevitable haggling and arguing over the allocation of marks. The winning team displayed a great deal of general knowledge especially of rules and regulations, French landmarks, music and films. Our thanks to all concerned for their hard work and patience and to the proprietors for allowing us sole use of their restaurant.
Bibliothèque Anglophone d’Angers
English-Speaking Union Loire Valley
Maison de l’Europe Maine-et-Loire – Europe Directe
The 2025 Regional Public Speaking Competition in English took place in the Salons de la Présidence at the Préfecture, Place Michel Debré, Angers, during the afternoon of 15 March 2025, when 10 candidates presented their speeches on the theme “We know what we are, but not what we may be”, words expressed by Ophelia in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”.
In 2024 – 2025, teachers from 7 lycées in the region worked with their students towards the competition:
3 candidates were selected by the jury to represent the ESU Loire Valley in the national finals, 5th April, at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, when a total of 8 candidates representing this region, Aix-Marseille, and the Paris region, will compete to represent France in London at the ESU international public speaking competition between 12 and 17 May.
Our thanks to the judges and teachers involved and to our partners, the Bibliothèque Anglophone in Angers, and the Maison de l’Europe Maine et Loire – Europe Direct, for their work prior to, and during the competition.
NATIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION
The National Competition for 2025 will take place in the Salons at the Assemblée Nationale, Paris, during the afternoon of Saturday 5 April.
The regional competition 2025 took place 15 March 2025, and the lycées involved were: the Lycées Emmanuel Mounier, Joachim du Bellay, and Saint Benoît, in Angers, the Lycée Dom Sortais in Beaupréau-en-Mauges, and the Lycée Saint-Louis in Saumur. The theme was: “We know what we are, but not what we may be”.
Our Head Office, Dartmouth House, is open to members and their friends from Monday to Friday from 09h00 to 18h00.
The in-house catering is provided by Graysons who serve delicious menus with mouth-watering options for breakfast, with an array of tempting small plates and sharing dishes at lunchtime, not to mention cakes and afternoon tea and tipples. There is something for every occasion and every appetite and the excellent food on offer helps make Dartmouth House the vibrant and inclusive setting for the ESU’s charitable work it has always been.
Staff at head office look forward to greeting ESU members in 2025 and wish to remind everyone that membership fees help to provide young people with the life-changing speaking and listening skills and cross-cultural understanding they need to achieve their full potential and to change their lives and communities for the better.
A message from Miles Young, Chair of the English-Speaking Union:
I am delighted to let you know that, in the Birthday Honours announced on 15 June 2024, His Majesty The King awarded our Director-General, Charles Byrne, the honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
The honour was granted to acknowledge Charles’s service to veterans in his previous post as Director-General of the Royal British Legion. ‘I am humbled to receive this honour which reflects the efforts and commitment of the many people – members, volunteers and staff – who work for that great organisation,’ says Charles. ‘I firmly believe we are at our best and most effective when we work in the service of others and am excited to be embarking on a new challenge with the English-Speaking Union, making sure young people have the listening and speaking skills, and the international cultural understanding and friendships they need to thrive.’
On behalf of all of us at the ESU, I send our congratulations to Charles for this well-deserved recognition, and we look forward to working with him as he leads the ESU into its next chapter.
Miles Young,
Chair, English-Speaking Union
The unique English Speaking Union residential summer school, Debate Academy, takes place every year in August at Stamford School in Lincolnshire. This friendly, immersive summer school for 14- to 18- year olds offers top-quality coaching in debate to all ability levels. It’s a wonderful opportunity for cultural exchange, in a supportive and fun environment.
If you would like to send a student to Debate Academy, full information and booking can be found online here: https://www.esu.org/programmes/debate-academy/
ESU US hosted this year’s International Council Meeting (ICM) in Cleveland, where international delegates from around the world came together for three days of engaging and lively discussions.
The next ICM will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 29th September to 2nd October 2025.
The Centre Culturel Irlandais has invited ESU members to join them to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. For further information : https://www.centreculturelirlandais.com/en-ce-moment/tous/actuellement/fête-de-la-saint-patrick#filters
The Arts Society Paris
This society presents a programme of lectures that are free to their members and those of PADFAS and cost 15€ per head for guests.
Théâtre du Ranelagh
5 Rue des Vignes
75016 Paris
The programme for 2025 includes lectures on “Winterhalter and Worth – The mid-19th Century’s Masters of Design and Draughtsmanship” and “Scandinavian Modern: Behind the scenes”.
For more details contact paris@theartssociety.org
There are 2 events. The first is on 8 April in Boulogne-Billancourt at Le Théâtre de la Clarté. The seccond is on 11 April in Le Théâtre du Heron in Paris.
See the posters for full details.
Tuesday 2 April at 6.30 pm Sophie Loussouarn will talk about the links between France and England that were reinforced by the Entente Cordiale in April 1904.
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Happy Hour
The ESU USA is streaming a series of talks that are engaging, fun, and informative. Speakers are live and cover a wide range of topics. All free of charge. The custom is for speakers to suggest a unique cocktail to create and enjoy at home during the talk, hence the name “Happy Hour”.
Sessions are recorded and can be viewed at any time.
For more details: http://www.esuus.org/esu/activities/happy-hour
ESU Australia has 5 branches: Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia & Victoria.
For details of activities organised by all branches contact Chris Perriam, chairman of ESU South Australia: perriamci@bigpond.com.au
A reminder to all that once you have subscribed to the ESU you can pay members’ rates to attend events organised by any branch in France or elsewhere in the world.
A full list of member countries can be found on the main website: simply click the continent you are looking for under ‘Show Me’ at the top of the page: https://www.esu.org/international-network/
Don’t forget to check out the other sites on our Links page.
60 rue Boisnet, 49100 Angers
Open to the public: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday 13h00 to 18h00 and Thursday 18h00 to 19h00
Meet the New Library Director Mandy Torsey-Guillet, shown here on the left with retiring director, Phoebe Marshall-Raimbeau.
For more details of the many social activities that are available through the library, please contact the front desk on 02.41.24.97.07, or consult the website.
Follow the links to registration forms for language-learning activities.
The website www.ellia.org gives details and links to registration for these and many other activities.
This activity offers students in secondary education the opportunity to speak and to interact in English within a small group. Weekly 45-minute sessions will be organized around various games and conversation topics.
Sessions will take place every Wednesday from 14h to 14h45 PM at the library (except during school holidays) between 25 September 2024, and 11 June 2025.
The cost is 160 € for the year. (Please note students must be library members to participate and the annual library membership fee is not included)
Silken
Friday 25 April 2025 at 20h30
After almost 30 years, the group Silken is saying farewell. Formed in 1997, the group consists of Mark Reeves, singer and guitarist, Gonzalo Fuentes, singer and bass player, and Valéry Gaignard, drummer, percussionist and singer. Singing mostly in English, their music focuses on hits of the 60s – 90s: Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Paul Simon, the Beatles, the Kinks, David Bowie, Sting, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Steppenwolf, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones……..
The concert will be opened by the Loire Valley Voices, a multi-national choir based in Fontevraud.
15€ per ticket. The number of places is limited so bracelets will be given on presentation of your ticket, which can be booked online via: sylvie.reeves@club-internet.fr
V&B Saumur
82-84 boulevard Des Demoiselles
Z.I. de St Lambert des Levées
49400 Saumur
Tél : 0241385820
The library has launched a reading challenge, inviting everyone to read (at least) 12 books in English throughout 2025.
This year's theme? Read Around the World!
This January head to Latin America. To inspire your travels, the library has six captivating books that are set in Latin America, penned by Latin American authors, or alternatively explore the rich culture and history of the region. All titles are available in our collection—visit the display at the front of the library to discover more!
Nine years ago, France launched a national festival called “Les Nuits de la Lecture”. The library is participating once again in this event which takes place in bookshops and libraries throughout France.
Readings in English (16+)
Join us as we read aloud from our most popular books in English.
Location: The library
Free and open to the public.
The library is a certified TOEIC testing centre and we are now offering computer-based exams.
For more information please visit the TOEIC page or to sign up go to the official ETS website.
Location: ISTOM campus
The association is currently seeking dynamic, creative, volunteers aged between 16 and 25, prepared to spend 24 hours a week from November 2024 for a period of 8 months working with the Service Civique to increase awareness of the European Union among young people. Remuneration: 619,83€ a month.
Full details from either:
or email maisondeleurope49@gmail.com
For more information on any of the following please contact:
01 49 55 73 00
contact@britishcouncil.fr
Holiday Events for the Young
If you are in Paris and wish to occupy your child during the coming holidays and to help them improve their understanding of the English language, reserve a place on a training session:
Renewal of our partnership with Cned to provide “English for Schools”
The Cned provides distance learning opportunities throughout France. Thanks to a new partnership, the British Council contributes resources for learning and teaching English for pupils, parents and teachers. More details can be found on the Cned site English for Schools
Do you like singing in French and in English? The Loire Valley Voices choristers have a repertoire that includes pieces by the Beatles, Sting, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Womach, Laurent Voulzy. They would welcome new members to their multicultural group, led by choirmaster, Stéphane Claire, who encourages each individual to find their true voice.
For more details please contact sylvie.reeves@club-internet.fr
Join our community of bilingual (English/French) families in the greater Angers area for fun outdoor activities this summer. If you’d like to attend any (or all!) of the events, email Hilary Hodge at hilarylynnehodge@gmail.com. She will send out an email before each event with more details.
The regional education board, the Académie de Nantes, is currently looking to recruit native English speakers to become full time or part time English teachers, either on a temporary or permanent basis.
They are looking for people from a whole range of different backgrounds, such as legal, medical, athletic, military, tourism, etc. Applicants can select the region in which they would prefer to work. If this is of interest, you can get in touch with the Académie via this link.
You will be asked for a CV, a short letter of motivation and your qualifications. If your application is successful, you will be invited to attend an interview during which all details will be fully explained.
Beauville Arts brings together young people and performing arts professionals to stage inspiring high-quality performances. With an ethos close to that of the ESU, their courses and summer camps “develop talent and boost confidence, helping to create lifelong friendships and precious memories”.
The company works with schools during termtime and provide courses and camps during the holiday period. Themes for 2025 include Cats, Bugsy Malone, Moulin Rouge, Frozen and Guys and Dolls in Beauville, the Story of Musicals, Mamma Mia and James Bond on the Côte d’Azur, and in Bavaria, Germany, The Lion King and Wicked v Wizard.
Courses are taught in English and help develop skills in the English language as well as nurturing performing arts talent. More details can be found on the website: https://beauvillearts.com/ or by contacting claire@beauvillearts.com
Daily English is an association that provides French young people with the opportunity to learn English by being immersed in a British family and provides British in France with the means to earn an income by teaching and hosting them. Click here to visit the website.
There’s a clear structure to these visits: the youngsters arrive on Sunday afternoon, and the hosts spend the first evening putting them at ease. From Monday to Friday, there’s a lesson after breakfast each day, then an outing and lunch. In the evenings they all play board games or watch English films. On Saturday, they leave by 11am. Lessons are prepared by Daily English Daily who provide a whole teaching programme and the hosts simply print off what they need.
For more details either on how to host or how to find a suitable placement contact Sally on 04 99 65 21 63 or send an e-mail to sally@dailyenglish.fr
30 Rue de la Petite Bilange, 49400 Saumur
Since September 2021, in association with Language Connexion, this primary school has been offering all its pupils every assistance to learn English from an early age. A young British teaching assistant motivates learning by using songs and rhymes for the early years and by using English to teach various subjects to primary and junior pupils.
WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, is an agricultural exchange that provides hands-on experience and education. WWOOF is not considered “work,” but rather a chance to exchange skills and language while learning about organic types of agriculture. Hosts provide housing, three meals per day, and other educational opportunities.
Typically, WWOOFers are expected to assist with farm work for four hours per day and eat with the hosts. During off-hours and weekends, WWOOFers, individuals with interests in agriculture, ecology, biology, environmental studies, sustainability, food systems, and/or English, can explore the locality.
Monthly skill shares and talks are hosted on the farm and talks are organised to nurture relationships with local universities and agricultural experts.
Asheville, North Carolina
In keeping with Asheville Sister Cities’ continued efforts in developing educational and international exchanges with our sister cities, the Summer Intern, Blake Noble, a UNCA student who is currently living on Peace Rock Farm is excited to offer a one to two-week-long educational and hands-on agricultural exchange program to individuals involved with ASCI through WWOOF.org.
Open to receive WWOOFers for one to two weeks from July – Aug 20th with the possibility of finding a week during UNCA’s School semester (Aug 21 – Nov 24th).
Our hostel-style Bunk has the capacity for 3-4 individuals. The laundry, bathroom, and shower are conveniently located nearby. For WWOOFers’ entertainment, there is also an outdoor movie lounge, a ping-pong table, a rope swing, as well as 50+ acres of land, trails, and winding creeks to explore and learn about!
For more information, email: bnoble@unca.edu
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