With a permanent home at Château Vanderhaeghen and well over 400 members, Les Amis d’Ealing have grown a lot since the start of their twinning association with Ealing’s Friends of Marcq-en-Baroeul more than 30 years ago. Like their counterparts in Ealing, Les Amis organise a wide range of events for their members. At the Château there are English classes for adults as well as for children, scrabble groups, conversation evenings and film discussions.
Whilst the Friends of Marcq organise pre-Christmas shopping trips to France, the French come over for shopping days in England in December.
Then there are the events shared with Friends of Marcq that take place on alternate years in France: les pique-niques and walking weekends near to the coast, plus cultural weekends based in Marcq itself.
The committee of Les Amis d’Ealing is made up of members elected by Les Amis d’Ealing, together with a smaller number of Marcq-en-Baroeul council appointments. Key members of the committee include Christian Picaud (President) and Marie-Odile de Parades (First Vice President), both elected by Les Amis. Joëlle Longueval is the most senior of the council members on the committee, whilst the Bernard Gerard, the Mayor of Marcq-en-Baroeul, is Honorary President.