“Laughter in Luxembourg” European Capitals Meeting (ECM) 2023
So, what is the ECM?
It all started in 2015 when Georges Metzger and 41 Club Paris invited 41 Club members and their wives/ partners from European Capital Cities to come along to Paris to enjoy Fun and Fellowship; a chance to experience 41 Club internationally and to form links between our respective 41 Clubs. We have met every year since then other than the “pandemic gap” that we are all familiar with.
Last year we all met up in Valetta in the beautiful, sunny island of Malta and here we are, 12 months later, in Luxembourg with our hosts all ready and waiting to welcome us on the Thursday night ………… with a Barbeque in the rain.
But did the weather make any difference? No, of course not!!!
It was amazing how quickly we all came together again to renew friendships and make new ones – that is what the ECM and Fellowship is all about.
Friday came and the braver ones went on a tour of the Casements – 23 kilometres of underground tunnels built over centuries, and which could shelter thousands of soldiers to defend the city.
But this was no ordinary tour. Whilst most of the Casements are open to the public, some are still private and our guide, Jean – Luc Linster of Luxembourg 41 Club and IRO, took us on a tour of a private section complete with refreshments and nobody got lost.
A leisurely lunch was followed by a tour of a local brewery with compulsory beer and gin tasting and then we all went back to our hotels to get ready for the Friday night party at the Café de Paris in the centre of Luxembourg.
With Andreas Neumann from Old Tablers Berlin leading the charge onto the dance floor, it wasn’t long before the roles were reversed with Café staff joined the party and ECMers pouring the drinks.
Some of us did of course prefer to maintain a smooth and sophisticated approach to the evening.
Having spent Friday in Luxembourg’s old town (Ville Haute, centred around Place Guillaume II and Ville Grund, a district in the valley below on the banks of the Alzette river), Saturday morning saw us on a guided tour led by Jacques Piroux, Luxembourg 41 Club’s ECM Convenor, around Luxembourg’s iconic buildings and European Institutions.
As part of our walking tour, we did of course manage a La La La in front of the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the home of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.
After a long and leisurely lunch at the Luxembourg Youth Hostel Association in Ville Grund, we continued our guided tour around Luxembourg with Jacques leading the way.
And so on to the Gala Dinner at the iconic and beautiful Neumünster Abbey, a cultural centre and former Benedictine abbey in the Grund district. Great food, great wine, but far more importantly, great Fellowship with a mix of nationalities on each table.
Yes, there were (a few) speeches and an exchange of banners but the most important part of the evening was our, by now traditional, Toast to Absent Friends coupled with Roy Kroos, Denis Jacquin and Flavio Papadia.
The whole evening was superb - a great tribute to our hosts.
And so, we came to Sunday and sadly it was time to say “Farewell” to all our friends in the ECM for such a fantastic weekend of Fun and Fellowship. In particular, a great big Thank You to all friends – old and new – from Luxembourg for all the hard work and effort involved in putting on a truly brilliant event. We will remember the 2023 ECM for a long time.
And now it’s time to look forward to the 2024 ECM in Copenhagen from 26th – 29th September where we will all enjoy some real Danish Hygge.
So, where are you Dublin and Edinburgh? You know where it is and when it is and what’s not to like about a great weekend of Fun and Fellowship. Come and join us.
Ralph Preston
London Old Tablers Society
