Over the years, Huddersfield French Circle has comprised between 10 and 30 members who meet together each month.  Currently we have 27 members and sometimes, including visitors, an attendance of between thirty and forty.

 

We listen to a pre-arranged presentation in French on a topic or place of interest often but not necessarily something connected with France.  The talk lasts 45 - 60 minutes and both before and afterwards members mix and mingle over a glass of wine or juice and chat in French or in English as they wish.

 

Visitors are most welcome at meetings whether they become regulars or not and the visitor fee is £3 although full-time students are not required to pay.

 

The annual membership fee is £15 after which attendance at meetings is without charge. 

 

Huddersfield French Circle is long-established in the town as it existed before World War II when it sadly had to fold. Fortunately, however, it was reformed in 1957.  The records of the pre-war circle were passed to the new one but unfortunately were subsequently lost.  Nevertheless, snippets of information from more recent minutes have enabled us to put together the following history.

 

There was no written constitution for the newly formed 1957 Circle, but it was the policy of the new Circle to promote conversation in French.  As a result, all meetings were conducted 'en français', with the exception of the AGM.

 

Meetings were always planned around a speaker who was very often a member of the Circle.  Additionally, sometimes speakers were hired from the Alliance française.

 

Over the years, the scope of meetings was broadened to include play reading, sales, quizzes, walks dinners and lunches, games of pétanque at Greenhead Park and cinema trips to see French films.

 

Records show that in May 1960, the Annual Dinner at the Farnley Cock restaurant cost 17s 6d (about 82p) which included wine for the toasts!

 

The Circle first met at the YMCA which was then on John William Street in Huddersfield.  It  then moved to a room at Huddersfield Library and after that, for many years, meetings were held in a room at the Albert Hotel on Victoria Lane. The then landlord, Mr. Moran, offered the room for free so long as the Circle bought its wine from the pub.

 

The trouble with meeting in pubs was the noise from the clientèle, so in September 2000, the Circle moved to a room at Huddersfield Town Hall where there are special rates for local societies.

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Some notable members over the years, among others, have been Paulette and Donald Flitcroft, French teachers, who in the 1960s sustained the Circle giving talks and encouraging young people to attend.  They were eventually appointed Honorary Members.  Annette Mollan gave regular talks on French historical characters until she turned 80. Jean-Claude Aragon, who came to Huddersfield as a Teaching Assistant and returned for a long career as a lecturer at the Huddersfield University, appeared frequently in the French Circle program of events giving talks on France and French Life.  

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                                                  Most of the text you have just read was written by Valerie Smithson who was                                                                       Honorary Secretary for our group for possibly forty years.  Valerie took minutes                                                                 of all the meetings, organized our speakers, kept records of members and more                                                                besides.  On her 90th birthday she was made an honorary member of the group.                                                              Sadly, Valerie is now deceased but we owe much of the longevity of Huddersfield                                                                French Circle to Valerie. 

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​​​​​​​​​​During the period of the Covid Lockdowns of 2020/21 meetings were held ‘virtually’ on Zoom.  Everyone missed meeting face-to-face but it enabled the connections of French Circle to continue and once again presenters were kind enough to give presentations over the internet and members created their own French ambiance at home by raising a glass together on screen. 

 

After the lockdown the room at the Town Hall was for a short while unavailable so meetings were held at the Brian Jackson Centre at the top end of Huddersfield Town Centre.  There were some logistical difficulties with this location though and so, as soon as the Town Hall became available again, the group returned there.

 

In 2010, the French Circle embraced modern technology by setting up this website where you have found this summary of the history of the group. You will also find here pictures of presenters or items related to their talks as well as photographs of the different dinners.

 

As I write this in 2025, we have twenty-seven ‘members’ of the Circle with a monthly attendance of between 20 and 25 members plus the occasional visitor. 

 

From September to April we have meetings in the traditional format of presentation followed by some general conversation.  In May, we hold our ‘Dîner annuel’ on the first Wednesday of the month followed on the second Wednesday by our ‘Assemblée annuelle’ (held in English), in June we have an off-site gathering, often Pétanque, in July we have our ‘Déjeuner annuel’ on the Sunday nearest to 14th July, and in August we generally have Soirée amicale at the home of one of our members or a more participatory meeting at the Town Hall

 

You can see the current programme on this website and for any specific queries, do e-mail us at: huddersfieldfrenchcircle@gmail.com

Mary Green : 8th May 2025.