French Revels-ution, 1989 Photos courtesy Ron and Penny England October 2016
French visitors and a few Box collaborators prepare for the Banquet festivities
There was a bit of scared blueing and a lot of ooh la la-ing when Box celebrated the bi-centenary of the French Revolution in 1989. Box threatened to get ready by having a special drive-on-the right day on 1 April but it had to be abandoned because not enough villagers knew their gauche from their droit. Instead residents were asked to change the street lamps to red, white and blue.
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French Invasion from North Coast of France
La Boite, Wiltshire, said wee wee to a visit from friends at Wimereux, the closest French town to Britain which lies between Boulogne and Calais. In order to welcome our visitors the Revels committee distributed free French (droopy) moustaches via the Parish Magazine, which tickled people's fancy enormously. There was a fund-raising initiative when Box householders were encouraged to spend a centime to raise money for a public pissoire in the front yard of the Council Offices. After some resistance to the plan, those residents who said Non were obliged to attend an instructional course on which cheeks to kiss our visitors. Unfortunately many people got confused about how many kisses on how many cheeks. |
Allo Allo Banquet
There was a lot of entente cordiale at the Revels banquet on Saturday nuit. Votes were taken on who should go topless with Marie Antoinette and some Box villagers were seen in a new light in a Quasimodo look-alike contest and the oui oui game caused quite a splash. Some people lost their heads at the sight of Madame Guillotine, and the Can-Can girls of the Folies Bergeres lost other bits and pieces.
But it was our French visitors who stole the show with their magnificent rendition of La Marseillaise in all of its fifteen verses and choruses, although it is true to say that some villagers fell asleep in the third repetition of the anthem. Most Box people were pleased to say Francs a lot when it finally came to an ear-splitting conclusion and we could get back to the serious job of a bit of manger and boire.
There was a lot of entente cordiale at the Revels banquet on Saturday nuit. Votes were taken on who should go topless with Marie Antoinette and some Box villagers were seen in a new light in a Quasimodo look-alike contest and the oui oui game caused quite a splash. Some people lost their heads at the sight of Madame Guillotine, and the Can-Can girls of the Folies Bergeres lost other bits and pieces.
But it was our French visitors who stole the show with their magnificent rendition of La Marseillaise in all of its fifteen verses and choruses, although it is true to say that some villagers fell asleep in the third repetition of the anthem. Most Box people were pleased to say Francs a lot when it finally came to an ear-splitting conclusion and we could get back to the serious job of a bit of manger and boire.
Les amis Françaises, Nicholas et Claudine
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Les frères Laffailles
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It was all more improvised than the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which was put on in the Selwyn Hall on Revels Sunday. There was some confusion over this play, which is called La Nuit des Rois in France. Perhaps this muddled up some Box residents who got confused as to whether they supported the Emperor Napoleon or the Elector of Hanover (also known as King George III). Pictures of collaborators can be seen below.
Ron and Penny England enjoy life French-style with fine wine stacked up but we notice no spitoon
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Cathy Knight and Gill Banks join La Terreur pilote extraordinaire et Expert de Justice (??) Michel Dubernard
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Jour de Revels
Revels Day featured a range of stalls specially designed for our French visitors. We sold Parisian tarts and hors d'oeuvres at the famous Café René, and brics-a-la-Bracs and Livres from the Louvre; music was provided by the Corsham Youth Concert Band who played tiddly homme, pom-pom and by Hokum Focus with their chansons d'amour.
There was quite a lot of One for All and All for Me in the storming of the Bastille by Bath Sea Cadets. Quite a few people met a fete worse than death when Madame la Guillotine tossed a coin in our game Tails you win, Heads you lose. Some people earned a fortune making their own Picasso masterpieces and we marvelled at Philippe Roy's team of French maids and Foreign Legionaires who picked up the Jeux sans Frontieres shield, a very suitable victory because we had all enjoyed Philippe's magnificient Garden Party at Box House the previous day.
We had a marvellous hot-air balloon tethered burn on Box Rec the night before the Revels with balloons from Wimereux and another piloted by Roman Mohr and Roger Eaton but, unfortunately, there was no son et lumiere on the day because the wind was too strong. We almost lost one balloon as we prepared for lift-off and the planned flight had to be abandoned.
Revels Day featured a range of stalls specially designed for our French visitors. We sold Parisian tarts and hors d'oeuvres at the famous Café René, and brics-a-la-Bracs and Livres from the Louvre; music was provided by the Corsham Youth Concert Band who played tiddly homme, pom-pom and by Hokum Focus with their chansons d'amour.
There was quite a lot of One for All and All for Me in the storming of the Bastille by Bath Sea Cadets. Quite a few people met a fete worse than death when Madame la Guillotine tossed a coin in our game Tails you win, Heads you lose. Some people earned a fortune making their own Picasso masterpieces and we marvelled at Philippe Roy's team of French maids and Foreign Legionaires who picked up the Jeux sans Frontieres shield, a very suitable victory because we had all enjoyed Philippe's magnificient Garden Party at Box House the previous day.
We had a marvellous hot-air balloon tethered burn on Box Rec the night before the Revels with balloons from Wimereux and another piloted by Roman Mohr and Roger Eaton but, unfortunately, there was no son et lumiere on the day because the wind was too strong. We almost lost one balloon as we prepared for lift-off and the planned flight had to be abandoned.
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Aftermath
Unfortunately there was confusion over some of the Revels plans. The idea of a metric clock by deleting numbers 11 and 12 on the clock face succeeded in reducing hours spent at work but people who wanted to eat at noon opposed the enforced slimming diet. Our visitors decided time was right to branch out and, not content with taking over the Revels banquet entertainment (and the hearts of many of our women), the French invaders then widened their assault by airborne attack.
Unfortunately there was confusion over some of the Revels plans. The idea of a metric clock by deleting numbers 11 and 12 on the clock face succeeded in reducing hours spent at work but people who wanted to eat at noon opposed the enforced slimming diet. Our visitors decided time was right to branch out and, not content with taking over the Revels banquet entertainment (and the hearts of many of our women), the French invaders then widened their assault by airborne attack.
Take-off at last
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Flying over a bras mort, allegedly
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Bowling Over French Maidens
The idea of a cricket team from Wimereux taking on our finest village sides struck a chord and The Guardian newspaper ran a whole page about it in their Weekend Extra magazine.[1] The team was officially called Wicket Wimereux/ Cote d'Opale and they started with eight members, four stumps, a bat, a pair of pads, some wicket-keeper's gloves and a box. Unable to organise a match in Box they arranged a match with North Bradley, Trowbridge.
So on Revels Sunday they got the hot air balloon off the ground and set sail for the battle. After a heroic struggle they lost by about 50 runs insiting that les batteurs did bons but their lanceurs bowled too many boules grandes. Apparently, they never mastered their silly short legs.
The idea of a cricket team from Wimereux taking on our finest village sides struck a chord and The Guardian newspaper ran a whole page about it in their Weekend Extra magazine.[1] The team was officially called Wicket Wimereux/ Cote d'Opale and they started with eight members, four stumps, a bat, a pair of pads, some wicket-keeper's gloves and a box. Unable to organise a match in Box they arranged a match with North Bradley, Trowbridge.
So on Revels Sunday they got the hot air balloon off the ground and set sail for the battle. After a heroic struggle they lost by about 50 runs insiting that les batteurs did bons but their lanceurs bowled too many boules grandes. Apparently, they never mastered their silly short legs.
Entente Cordial, the French Cricket Team with a foreigner Joe England bottom right
Conclusion
We remember the visit in 1989 with great affection and recall all who took part, including the French families, Henichart, Lefevre, Bataille, Valke, Fourure, Totet, Lafaille, Paul and Dubernard, and their English hosts, Steve and Gill Culley, Derek and Joan Lovell,
Steve and Veronica Wheeler, Barry Rydz, David and Sue Hillier, Carol and Alan Payne, Alan and Mary Joy, Andy Jackson and Box's organisers of the visit, Penny and Ron England. And the verdict on the whole weekend ... Francs a lot it was in-Seine !
We remember the visit in 1989 with great affection and recall all who took part, including the French families, Henichart, Lefevre, Bataille, Valke, Fourure, Totet, Lafaille, Paul and Dubernard, and their English hosts, Steve and Gill Culley, Derek and Joan Lovell,
Steve and Veronica Wheeler, Barry Rydz, David and Sue Hillier, Carol and Alan Payne, Alan and Mary Joy, Andy Jackson and Box's organisers of the visit, Penny and Ron England. And the verdict on the whole weekend ... Francs a lot it was in-Seine !
References
[1] Tim Albert, The Weekend Guardian, 29-30 July 1989
[1] Tim Albert, The Weekend Guardian, 29-30 July 1989
If you have any photos or reminiscences of the early years of Box Revels, please let us know and we should be delighted to share the happy memories with others.
