March has once again been a full month, with pub quizzes, school visits, tourism expos and conferences keeping the team busy.
We were delighted to work with Anthony and the rest of the team from Le Māori 2.0 for what I believe was Le Quesnoy’s first ever set of trivia nights. Special thanks to Te Arawhata’s Learning and Education Manager, Lindsay Vanstavel, who prepared and hosted the quiz. Having lived in New Zealand for a year, she was keen to bring this popular Kiwi past-time to Le Quesnoy, and tested locals on everything from music genres to the Cambridge-Le Quesnoy connection.
Away from the Museum, the team continued to share the story of the liberation of Le Quesnoy, reaching hundreds of people at tourism expos in Reims and Aulnoye-Aymeries. These expos are also a great opportunity to connect with our friends and colleagues in other museums and experiences around Le Quesnoy, notably other establishments in our local region of Avesnois.
A highlight of the month for me was a school visit from nearby Lycée Dupleix de Landrecies. This English language class studied William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies earlier in the year and drew connections between the book’s themes and the realities of life on the Western Front.
As such, the students had prepared their own interpretations of aspects of the Museum before they then performed dramatised excerpts from the book in the Museum forecourt.
This month we have also welcomed back Arnaud Waquet from the University of Lille who presented apublic talk on cycling and the First World War. You can read about “Pédaler au Front” here.
This talk was delivered as part of an ongoing partnership with the University to support new research into this little-known aspect of the war. The month will close out with a further talk for students of the Institution Sainte Jeanne d’Arc in nearby Aulnoye-Aymeries.
On a sad note, this month we learnt of the passing of Wayne Wright ONZM. Wayne was a keen supporter and generous donor to Te Arawhata. Myself and the Le Quesnoy team together with the Trust in New Zealand send our condolences to the Wright family.
I conclude this month’s letter with acknowledgement of the terrible situation in the Middle East. Te Arawhata seeks to share the importance of friendship and international co-operation; of understanding and connection. More than ever, we must look to the past to better understand our present.
Kei roto i tō tātou hītori he oranga mō tātou.
Within our history is our future wellbeing.