Dragon Tour

The usual Squadron weather looked as if it could cause a few problems but all aircraft arrived safely at Saint Junien airfield to be met with military precision by Patrick de Rousiers

After lunch at our hotel we set off for the Chateau de Rochebrune – owned by Patrick’s cousin, Henri de Richemont. A lovely chateau in pretty surroundings built in C16 as a military establishment and later converted to domestic use. It was once the home of the Bishop of Coutances and his elegant ring is now owned by Benedicte de Rousiers, and by special request she wore it that evening. Henri showed us round the main reception rooms and the beautiful original painted ceilings which were discovered during a restoration project some years ago. After a quick change, it was back in the bus and off to Le Rhus – a beautiful country house and chapel in a lovely setting which has been in the de Rousiers family for generations. What a marvellous feast awaited us! From the local specialities of fois gras and specially cured salmon accompanied by Pineau des Charentes a local drink – a favourite of both Patrick and Benedicte. Many delicious dishes arrived and were all eaten off Limoges porcelain hand painted by our very talented hostess. A wonderful and generous start to our adventure in south west France.

Wednesday dawned and we set off to Limoges to meet our guide Thomas at the Musée du Four des Casseaux. We saw the only remaining example of the enormous brick built kilns which revolutionised the production of porcelain in Limoges, and changed the life and fortunes of the people from a livelihood based on farming to that of industry and the wealth brought with it. We also visited the Musée Adrien Dubouche to see examples of the lovely porcelain produced through the ages.

Lunch was kindly hosted by Saint Junien Aeroclub, and despite some agitation about impending storms, and much inspection of weather apps, nearly all aircraft managed to get to Toulouse. Tim Williams and Guy Cregeen had departed from the UK earlier that day and had to abandon the Moth in Saint Junien and continue by car.

Toulouse / Airbus

Dinner in the Caves de la Marechal signalled the start of the Toulouse leg of the visit. The next day most of the group spent a fascinating day at Airbus learning about the construction of these enormous planes and the six-year planning from conception to completion.

Frank Chapman who so kindly organised our visit, gave us a fantastic insight into the testing of these airliners, which gave considerable assurance for when we are next passengers. A visit to the simulator, plus some take off and landings, proved that members of the Royal Air Squadron could certainly pilot the new age Airbus without causing too much concern!

That evening, and the second night generously hosted by Airbus, we visited the Assezat museum, a lovely C17 Hotel Particuliers which is home to the incredible art collection of George Bemburg – Maxi Gainza’s uncle. The museum has thirteen rooms all focussing on a slightly different era – the Venetian Room, the Louise XVI room, the Impressionist Room to name but a few. After the seemingly whistle stop tour lasting an hour (and most of us wished we’d had more time!) we went downstairs to a delicious dinner in the vaults of the building.

Emilion

Dodging a few storm clouds, we all got to Libourne on Friday morning as planned – including Tim and Guy who had been reunited with the Moth! By now the sun was shining brightly and all clouds had disappeared. We arrived at Chateau Quintus, owned by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, and were greeted by the Estate Manager, Francois Capdemourlin.

Francois and his assistant, Mariotte, were charming hosts and after some champagne on the terrace we sat down to another gastronomic experience – delicious food partnered with the most excellent wines. Following lunch there was a tour of the vineyard and there nestling in the trees beside Quintus was the object of this particular leg of the journey – Mark Coreth’s simply huge (surely bigger than life-sized) dragon. I’m not totally sure this beast was benign but it certainly casts a protective shadow over the vineyard!

Later walking round the picturesque village of St Emilion and during our final dinner in Libourne we were debating, as usual, what the collective noun for a group of pilots discussing the weather could possibly be. Any ideas gratefully received!

Saturday, 15 July was the last full day, and a lot of free time was provided following a tour of Valetta harbour on a vintage motor vessel in the morning. It was the same motor vessel that Her Majesty the Queen was transported in when she toured Valetta Harbour; cousins Marion Holloway and Vicki Storey were astounded to be told they were sitting on the very same spot – the same bench that is – that Her Majesty had sat on! The climax of the visit was a private tour of St John’s Cathedral in Valetta on Saturday evening before members retired early after private dinners for the journey back to England the following day. Needless to say, adventures were enjoyed by individuals on the way home, and the prize for flying the slowest aircraft on this remarkable trip went to Mark Coreth in his Jodel. Mark narrowly missed rest in Sicily on the way to Malta – but that is another story!

A post script is that members of the Royal Air Squadron who had been to Malta were invited back to Malta on 4 October, for the official anniversary event when His Royal Highness Prince Charles visited Malta. Peter Fernandez and Mark Coreth together with their wives were delighted to represent the Royal Air Squadron at this very special event, and a good time was had by all!