Photography in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine March 2007

On Friday 9 March 2007, six members of the Braintree Camera Club, together with Diane and Ken from the Twinning Association, set off at 6.15am to represent England (well Braintree actually) in a Photographic Exhibition.

The Eurostar from Ashford to Gare du Nord was a swift smooth means of transport, taking just two hours to reach the heart of Paris. We were warmly welcomed at the station by Jacque Dupont and Georges Vidal, leading lights in the Photo-Club de Pierrefitte (PcdeP) and each of us were given a red rose, each of the ladies that is! Then it was on to a local service for the three stops and Pierrefitte was our oyster.

We were taken for lunch to Jacques’ house and were entertained by him and Georges in style. A tasty Cassoulet and plenty of wine, French of course, followed by a projection of a wide range of images taken by their Club members, set us up nicely for the weekend ahead. Jacques was very busy and did just about everything possible to make us welcome, although, unfortunately (?) he didn’t serenade us on his guitar or give us a drum solo on his electronic drum kit.

After lunch we met our hosts, i.e. those poor families who were unlucky enough to be lumbered with us for our two nights stay. Having sorted ourselves out, we then set out on a photographic tour of Paris. Paris by night is a sight, or sights, to remember and for the older ones among us with fading memories, the many pictures taken will help considerably. The evening was crisp and clear, so hopefully our photographs will be as well. At around midnight we returned to Pierrefitte, tired but very impressed with the generosity of our hosts.

On Saturday morning, we caught the bus to the Basilica at St Denis, a vast Cathedral like building with more stained glass windows than I’ve ever seen in one building before. Very old, the original structure dates from 250AD, the various additions and alterations taking place over the centuries have resulted in an amazing building, the interior of which is beautifully lit by natural light coming through those stained glass windows.

Back to our hosts for another superb meal, with wine of course, which was so good you wanted to have a sleep afterwards, but no way, as it was off to the exhibition. Eight of our Club members can now claim to have exhibited their (photographic) works of art in Paris, a total of fifty of their prints being on display.

The Exhibition was opened by Georges, the President of the Pierrefitte Club and the Mayoress of Pierrefitte and there was a good sized crowd to see this event. Fifteen of the Pierrefitte Club’s photographers were displaying their work and it was interesting to see the difference in approach between the choice of subjects and how they were handled and presented. We spent a couple of hours viewing and discussing the prints and chatted to the PcdeP members and also some unsuspecting members of the general public. Having asked us a question, they were quite surprised to receive the answer in pigeon French from an Englishman!

That evening, together with many members of their Twinning association, we were treated to an informal dinner. Lots of wine, lots of laughter and lots of happy people made it a very enjoyable evening which didn’t finish until one o’clock in the morning.

But we were still up bright and early the next morning, I think, and we visited the premises of their photographic club. Based in one of the buildings surrounding an old chateau, they were small (but perfectly formed) and comprised of a meeting/projection room plus a dark room. Despite the current takeover by digital cameras, they are still happy on occasions to produce some work by the age old methods. The premises and much of their equipment is provided by their local Council, who also help with projects such as the Exhibition that we attended. The grounds of the chateau provided a very picturesque setting with some formal gardens, a lake and a petanque pitch (or is it a field or a ground – whatever). Unfortunately, I let England down when I was beaten 13 – 1and 13 – 4 in my first ever games. The “kind” Frenchman, Louis, obviously saw me coming and thrashed me. Never mind I’ll get him in a return match (what am I saying?).

We had another nice lunch, in the chateau overlooking the lake, when Mike thanked our hosts and the two Associations involved. It was then a reluctant departure for Gare du Nord to catch the 17.10 train for Ashford.

We were so impressed with the hospitality and kindness shown to us by the PcdeP and members of their Twinning Association. But even more generous was the amount of time given by them to make our visit run smoothly and enjoyably. It would be difficult to thank these people enough for making our visit so memorable, but hopefully we managed to convey our appreciation of their efforts and how grateful we were for the considerable amount of time they gave up to look after us.

Geoff Knight, Braintree Camera Club

An Exhibition of Photography by Braintree Camera Club and the Photo-Club de Pierrefitte, 26 October - 26 November 2007

The two camera clubs have mounted two public exhibitions of their photographic work this year. The first was much enjoyed by the six BCC visitors in Pierrefitte in March and the second in Braintree opened 26 October.

Three Pierrefitte members were met at Ashford International on Friday morning and apart from the train being delayed for an hour, the first stage of the visit went smoothly. We had lunch for seven at Mike and Pauline Childs’ house and tore ourselves away from the table in time for a brief walking tour of Braintree Centre in the rapidly fading light.

Twenty members, friends and supporters gathered in the Dome Gallery of the Braintree Library from 19.00 for the arranged Private Viewing of the Exhibition. The photographs were much admired and oohed and aahed over, increasingly so as the wine flowed and snacks nibbled. The attendees and visitors had a fine time and after assisting the wonderful Library Team to tidy up, we decamped for a “Pub Experience” at the White Hart.

We assembled bright eyed and bushy tailed on a sunny Saturday morning for a drive to Old Harwich. In fact, we parked at Dovercourt and walked into Harwich in the warm sunshine. This stroll actually revived jaded appetites for a well earned lunch at the Pier Hotel, the ambience of Old Harwich was sampled and photographed for posterity. The return walk back to the cars was a different kettle of fish as the weather cooled and the wind began to blow, thus we were all glad to be back in the warmth of the cars. We meandered back via Earls Colne, Greenstead Green and Stisted to complete the return to Braintree at 16.30pm, just in time for a reviving cup of tea etc. David and Chris Barker had prepared a fine table for dinner and nine of us gathered in St Peters-in-the-Fields to enjoy another wonderful meal.

The weather forecast was poor for Sunday, but what could deter our hardy Anglo-French photographic band or brothers (and sisters)? Nothing! So off we went again, this time “London Highlights” before the 18.10 Eurostar from Waterloo deadline. Fine drizzle was the best of the various forms that rainfall can adopt. We stopped at Canary Wharf for a security shakedown and a few shots of dripping wet tall buildings and all that which modern architects do to attract certain photographers. An expensive yet horrid coffee all round encouraged our intrepid team to new challenges elsewhere. The Tower of London and Bridge drew our lenses out into the renewed strength rain for the sheer joy of being alive. The thought of lunch sent us seeking the greener pastures of St James’ Park, but parking the car was the first obstacle to be overcome. Rochester Row, Victoria saved the day. We eventually enjoyed our dampish pique-nique in Parliament Square, out of the gaze of Lord Nelson of course. We did Westminster Abbey, the Bridge, the Embankment, Horseguards, Downing St (view of) Buckingham Palace, St James’ in the gathering gloom; it was the British Summer time farewell.

The parked car was becoming a yearned for dry haven by now and it should have been just where we had left it – BUT! WE could not remember exactly where we had left it! Panic over, some joker must have moved it! But a large coffee would have reinvigorated us all then but could we find a cafe anywhere? So we settled for another “pub experience” before trying to find the Eurostar International, high profile, prestigious location. It seemed easier to force a fat camel through the eye of the proverbial needle than to deliver our friends from Pierrefitte to their homeward bound train. Why can we as a Nation not organise access like that easily?

Hasty, but heartfelt, farewells were made whilst we double parked on double yellow lines and after many “a l’annee prochaine”s we went our own ways, until we all meet again.

We all agreed that we had a great weekend and if not a little tired, David Barker and I returned to Braintree just after 18.30pm.

Many thanks to all those who allowed their prints to be exhibited and to those who attend the Private Viewing. A particular thank you for all those who went out of their way to help me.

Mike Childs, Chairman Braintree Camera Club

French visitors: Georges Vidal, Denis Salmon and Monique Gontier

English hosts: Lesley & Geoff Knight, David & Christine Barker, Mike & Pauline Childs