Summer 1910. Cycling was all the rage. The Tour de France was in its 10th year. An up-and-coming bicycle company suddenly appeared on the French scene amongst the dozens, if not hundreds, of similar tiny companies. It was called Cycles Brighton. It seems to have had a very short but vigorous lifespan.
A landmark in the sporting history of Brighton was recorded in a French newspaper and can now be revealed for the first time in 65 years. On 5 December 1955, the regional weekly La Bourgogne Républicaine carried the news of what was probably a sporting world “first”.
I have just signed for Fleury 91 in my native country of France, but I shall be sad to leave The Seagulls and Brighton. I arrived in Brighton in August 2019, but in March 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown, I became very homesick and decided to go back to Paris, back to my partner and my lovely cat Newton.
“The French team which will take part in the annual athletic contest between France and England, to be held at Preston Park on Saturday, will leave Paris on Saturday morning and proceed via Dieppe and Newhaven”
… and here is the team in their rather natty shorts:
France – Angleterre, défilé de l’équipe de France. Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF
Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF
TO MEET AT EXHIBITION BOUT
AT BRIGHTON
“Georges Carpentier and his manager, François Dechamps, are coming to England to take part in the annual boxing programme promoted by Brighton’s most popular townsman, Mr Harry Preston.
On this occasion Deschamps will don the gloves with the genial Harry, who, in his prime was a great boxer. Georges will be in his manager’s corner, while another world-famous fighter will second Mr. Preston.”
PALL MALL GAZETTE 14 Oct 1921 Continue reading
A southern French game similar to bowls but played, usually on a sand or gravel surface, with metal balls which are thrown toward the jack. (Oxford English Dictionary 2017) Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌpeɪˈtɒŋk/
Provençal pèd tanco « pied fixé » (au sol) (Le Grand Robert de la langue française 2001) [From the provençal “ped tanco” feet fixed to the ground.]
Le jeu de boules dénommé pétanque n’est pratiqué qu’à de petites distances, sans être assujetti à des règles précises. (Nouveau Larousse universel 1948)*
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French Brighton 