Get Together events and gatherings.
We enjoy keeping active and hold varied events each month including our popular Walking Group, Book Club & Library, History Group, Reading Circle and regular social events.
See below for more details on our activities and forthcoming events.
Forthcoming Events
Christmas Walk & Lunch – Thursday 5 December 10.30 in Exireuil/Reffannes
Two walks, on of 30 mins and one at 1:30 hrs starting from La Gaconniere near Exireuil at 10.30. The short walk is very easy with a mix of country lanes and a very small stretch of road ( but there is very little traffic). The longer walk has the same mix of terrain, with the added feature of a couple of up and down sections.
The restaurant is the same as last year, the popular Le Dix-Vingt, 14 Avenue de la Grande auberge, Reffannes, 79420. It offers superb value with its all inclusive menu.
The two menus are listed below, Le Gourmand and Le Végétarien both are €32 and includes, tea, coffee, still water, plus bottles of red, rose and white wine. As it’s Christmas it would be great to see as many Christmas jumpers or hats on display plus we will be giving away two bottles of champagne in our free raffle.
Reading Group – Wednesday 11 December 10.30 in L’Absie
After discussion, current members have agreed that we would prefer a fixed date for Reading Group meetings, and a fixed venue. Therefore, starting with the December meeting we will meet on the 2nd Wednesday each month in the Pause Café in L’Absie. It is easy to find as it is on the D949bis, in the centre of town, opposite the Credit Agricole Bank. There is plenty of parking available.
The book we have chosen for December is Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes.
Annual General Meeting – Friday 28 February 2025 in Le Tallud
We have booked a large room at the Maison d’Associations in Le Tallud. It is easy to find, has plenty of parking and is a central location for all our members.
Activities List
| Walking Group | A 8 km walk, with a short walk option of 4km, usually on the last Friday of each month. Organised by individual Members with lunch at a restaurant afterwards, which non-walking members are very welcome to attend. |
| History Group | Bi-monthly talks by Members on Anglo/French history and summer visits to historical places. |
| Reading Group | Adhoc meetings at a Members home to discuss and review the latest novel read by the group.. |
| Lunch & Wine Club | Meets monthly where people bring and share a starter and a dessert with a talk on and tasting of a particular wine complimentary to the dishes |
| Fine Wine Evening | An occasional opportunity to taste a selection of more expensive wines, with a presentation by our very own expert Member |
| Quiz Nights | We hold 3 or 4 quizzes a year in local restaurants with an evening meal at a reasonable price. A fun evening and not too challenging! |
| Social Events | Summer BBQ, Summer Garden Party, Ten Pin Bowling, Horse Racing Day. |
If you would like to hold an event of any sort please contact the Coordinators, they will check if the date is free, discuss the details with you and let you know the date they need information for the Newsletter. We welcome volunteers (especially new members) to organise events which we would assist them with if necessary. All members are very welcome at any Get Together event wherever it is held. All information for events and events reports should be sent to the appropriate Coordinator first rather than to the Newsletter Editor direct.
If you are planning a large non Get Together event and you would like us to try and not have an association event clashing with it please also contact the Coordinators.
The idea for creating a GT History Library came as a result of receiving the very generous donation from Carol Andrews – a past President of GT – of her late husband’s collection of 250 history books, journals and miscellaneous articles acquired over a number of years. Keith had been one of the founder members of the History Group.
This collection has been augmented by a similar number contributed by Vaughan Wells such that the library now comprises a comprehensive collection of reference and text books, biographies and articles on aspects of world history with special emphasis on events in Britain and France.
We owe Carol a big thank you for her kind generosity in making this material available and thus ensure that Keith’s interest and enthusiasm for history can be passed on to both present and future members of the Association.
Jeremy Luckett, Chairman, GT History Group Committee, April 2015
The Group are very pleased to accept the collection of history books and genealogical tables of English and European royal families from the estate of John and Pauline Tonks who died within a few months of each other recently. John and Pauline had been members of GT since coming to France in 2007, following their retirement and their marriage in England. Both had a longstanding interest in genealogy and as well as running courses in the subject for GT members, John had traced his own family back as far as King Canute. A particular interest was the family trees of English and European royal families and their interconnections as a result of which the Collection contains a large number of history books on monarchs and prominent public figures of their time.
The History Group is delighted to receive this kind donation from John and Pauline who, as well as being members of Get Together were also members of Les Jardiniers de Poitou gardening club and active in raising funds for the Combined Services Support Group.
Jeremy Luckett, Chairman, G.T. History Group Committee, February 2016
Requesting/returning a book or article:
The Library is available to all members of Get Together, but you must be a registered user. The catalogue is available to download below or a hard copy can be consulted at History Group meetings. Requests should be submitted by e-mail to hglibrary0@gmail.com, or by hand at HG meetings. For books you will need to include your user number, the author and the title; for articles please include also the reference number to be found on the right-hand side of the listing. The maximum loan period is two months, or one month if the book/article is in heavy demand: the maximum number of books/articles that can be borrowed at any one time is four. A list of dates and times when books/articles can be collected/returned (usually at Menigoute) will be regularly updated under Forthcoming Events above.
NB: Library services are free of charge, and operated on a voluntary basis by the History Group Committee. Donations from GT/HG members are welcome, however, and will be forwarded on a six or twelve monthly basis to the cancer charity [CLIC Sargent] in memory of Keith Andrews.