Braintree Chess Club First International Tournament

After having played in Pierrefitte not only against their French counterparts but also against players from Pierrefitte’s German Twin Town of Rudersdorf, the Braintree Chess Club organised a tournament which was held at Mount Bures Village Hall in April. As well as teams from Pierrefitte and Rudersdorf, there was a team from Machelen, near Brussels (friends of one of the Braintree players), two teams from Braintree and others from Chelmsford, Writtle, Witham and Suffolk.

The tournament was played over eight rounds and the overall winners were Writtle, runners up were Pierrefitte, and Witham came third. The trophies, made by Peter Copsey in Witham, were presented by Tony Evans, Chairman of Mount Bures Parish Council

On Sunday morning a petanque game was organised at the Rayne Swan between the English, French and Belgiums, whilst the Germans visited Colchester. Members of the Swan’s Petanque Club also came along to join in the fun. This was followed by lunch at the Willows at Cressing.

For photos, see Photo Gallery.

Visit from Pierrefitte

2005 was the anniversary of the famous botanist John Ray who lived at Black Notley, close to Braintree. The visit took in a tour of Braintree Museum and a talk by “John Ray”. There was then time to visit some of the villages around Braintree, such as Finchingfield. The Friday evening cheese and wine included an investiture for several Braintree members in the Brotherhood of Bangards.

This weekend also gave an opportunity for the initial plans for the 40th anniversary in 2007 to be discussed and 07.07.07 to be agreed as the date for the main event of the celebrations.

The second year of playing petanque for the Alan Wing Trophy unfortunately was a defeat on home territory for Braintree.

The Swan at Rayne not only provides the terraine for the petanque but also an excellent dinner on the Saturday evening, and Sunday lunch was at the Willows at Cressing.

For photos, see Photo Gallery.

Visit to Pierrefitte

The visit this year took part in June and the weather was very hot! The weekend started with a very early departure by Shuttle from Folkestone and a fairly leisurely drive down the N1 through the countryside of Northern France known as the Pas de Calais and Picardy.

On the Friday evening there were the delights of Yves Klein’s cellar followed by an excellent dinner. The weekend included visits to the Basilica at St Denis, where the kings of France are buried, the Sacre Coeur and Monmatre. We also visited the Chateau at Ecueon which contains many interesting historical exhibits.

There was an opportunity to hear the children’s string group play at the Conservatoire and a wonderful coloured jazz singer. Also a visit to the Pierrefitte choir rehearsing for a forthcoming concert of Latin American music. Unfortunately the Pierrefittoise were again the victors at petanque!

After dinner in La Galetee, there was a tour by bus of Paris by night. Lunch on Sunday was eaten al fresco in the Dupont’s garden and then an early afternoon departure for the return drive to the Shuttle at Calais.

For photos, see Photo Gallery.

Braintree Chess Club participate in Tournament in Pierrefitte

Pierrefitte hold an annual Chess Tournament (Tournoi d’Eches) on the third weekend in September. Braintree Chess Club enjoyed participating for the second time, although they did not come away with any honours. The competition was very strong and the age ranges very wide - from very young to not so very young! In the evening they were feasted with an al fresco meal of paella.

For photos, see Photo Gallery.