The Wykehamist January 2020 Edition 1487 | Page 16

FRENCH EXCHANGE 2019 HISPANIC SOCIETY TRIP
GEORGE HALBLANDER-SMYTH (G) WILLIAM LEUNG (COLL)
In the early hours of 13th of December, a group of bleary-eyed Wykehamists set off on an exchange programme to On Tuesday 19th November, members of the Hispanic Society went on a trip to the Cervantes Theatre in
Bordeaux. At midday all arrived safely at École Sainte-Marie Bastide, a French day school on the rive droite of the city. We London to watch a production of Isabel Allande’s award-winning novel, La Casa de los Espíritus. It was the first
were welcomed by our correspondants and that afternoon we crossed over the Garonne into the heart of Bordeaux to watch trip Hispanic Society went on this year and was, for many of us, the first live production of a Spanish play we
Polanski’s new film, ‘J’accuse’, based on the Dreyfus Affair. Gripping as it was, and beautifully produced, it didn’t prevent have ever seen.
some of us dozing off: the last night of term, the General Election and a 3.30am departure time meant that we arrived slee-
pless in Bordeaux. It was therefore tempting-fate to seat us in soft chairs in a darkened room...
Set in Latin America, the play is an adaptation of the novel which describes the history of a country through
the life of a set of families. The history of the family is recounted by Alba, who looks back at the events in the form
Poor Dreyfus didn’t really stand a chance. Je m’accuse !
of a chronicle she has written. It starts with Alba in a torture cell from which she retells the story of her family and
ends with her being released from the jail cell, having led the audience through a whirlwind of events over four
After the film we parted ways to spend the weekend with our respective host families all in the surrounding areas of
generations in four acts.
la région bordelaise.
Upon entering the theatre, I was struck by how the close the audience was to the stage, and indeed, such inti-
Monday got underway with a cordial welcome from the headmaster, coffee and much appreciated French pastries.
But, attention: un pain au chocolat is not called un pain au chocolat in this part of France but une chocolatine. Forget this at your
macy allowed us to engage with the actors more directly. I think it is fair to say that the play was a huge success
and we all enjoyed watching it very much.
peril in a boulangerie. For those in the know, moreover: one buys ones local Bordeaux specialities – les canelés – inven-
ted by nuns using flour, milk, egg yolks (left-overs from wine-production when the whites were used, incredibly) butter,
All in all, it was an enjoyable evening and our thanks must go to JKH and RAH for organising this trip.
vanilla, rum and cane sugar not from the touristic rip-off shop – Baillardran - but from the much more satisfying La Toque
Cuivrée. You can then flâner en ville eating your delicious canelés, as we did, spending the afternoon on a tour of the centre
of Bordeaux, where the symbolism and history of many monuments and buildings were explained.
Mid-week saw us set off for Saint-Émilion, a UNESCO world heritage site and famed for its wine-making going back
to the Gallo-Roman period. Today one discovers a charming mediaeval village with many steep, and potentially deadly,
alleyways. We went to the top of the village and admired the panoramic view and gave ourselves vertigo climbing up the
church tower which was perilously built on top of a hollowed-out hill. This is one of St Emilion’s treasures: the monoli-
thic church. The biggest of its type in Europe. The church was dug out over a period of 10 years in the Middle Ages – quar-
rying both stone and creating a vast underground Church, impressive by its dimensions and its echo: beautifully exploi-
ted by Nat Morley’s spontaneous rendition of the Advent hymn 'Veni veni Emmanuel.' Neighbouring the church is a cave,
wherein, so it is said, a monk, Émilion, lived as a hermit in the 8th century. He is reputed to have performed a host of
healing miracles and was later canonised. The village and the wine-growing hills around it takes their name from him. It
would have been an insult, therefore, to both the Saint and his eponymous produce not to have settled down to lunch in a
local restaurant and partake. Generously.
This excursion was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.
Continuing our viticultural education in the erudite hands of M. Vieilleville, we also made a trip to the fascinating
Cité du Vin, Bordeaux’s world-famous and extremely well-curated wine museum. Walking around with our audio guides,
we learned about the natural and industrial processes of viticulture, as well as the economics and heritage of wine-making.
Throughout the trip everyone improved their spoken French, appreciated the cuisine, culture and history, both of the
beautiful city of Bordeaux and the surrounding region. We understand why the British tried to hold on to it for so long!
Drew Jug Winner: Chawker's
On behalf of the group I would like to thank AV and LPFD for accompanying us.
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