Somme museum

Several members of Bangor Trefoil visited the Somme museum in Newtownards as part of their International at home. One of the museum volunteers showed the group around and regaled the group with stories about the pals brigades and how whole villages were devastated when their brigade was wiped out in the war. The stories were fascinating, but harrowing and gave the group an insight into the history of one small part of France. For a couple of the members, it was a more personal journey as they found the names of their relatives in a commemorative plaque displayed at the museum.

French food

Another activity that the group did, was to bring in French food to the unit meeting and tell the group about their personal imagined journeys around France. One lady had researched the travels of St. Columbanus a local missionary who founded monasteries in France, another talked to the group about one of the French pilgrim ways, the villages along the route and the stunning scenery that can be seen while walking the trail. Two ladies used food as their inspiration for their journeys, with one lady researching all the food that the group had brought in and basing her journey around where they originated. This meant that the trip had to include a side excursion to the Kipling factory, as French Fancies have no origin in France. The other lady who used food as her inspiration based her trip on Asterix and the Great Banquet, so she had to find out all the locations that Asterix had visited and what their names are today.