ANNUAL CHAPTER 29 March 2026

Bailli Clive Johnson declares the Chapter open.

Feeling a bit nervous and apprehensive. Becoming a Chevalier Bretvin or a Dame de la Duchesse Anne is an honour not lightly bestowed

I swear to always act like a good Bretvin and to adopt the Order's motto: “Drink the wine, be as good as it is"

Alas it is no longer ! This light-hearted but central part of the ceremony has been modified 

The traditional pipette has been replaced by a turkey baster, easier to use, for some

Bailli Clive formally made Sharon a Dame de la Duchesse Anne

Bailli Clive formally knights Charles Williams.

Newly knighted candidates now receive the medallion of the Order

Dames de la Duchesse Anne have their own daintier and lighter medallions.

Sharon and Charles are now members of a   respected brotherhood dedicated to the traditions, wines (especially Muscadet), and folklore of the Nantes region  

On Friday, June 6th 2025, 18 intrepid travellers began their journeys by plane or train to the wonderful city of Brussels to share in the celebrations of the 55th Anniversary of the Baillage de Bruxelles. The Baillage was to have celebrated their 50thin 2020 – but we all know what happened that year. There is a certain irony to that – as I’m sure you all know by now. 

The journey from Cardiff to Paddington saw Le Bailli Clive setting up a WhatsApp group so that we could all stay in touch – in theory. Those of us travelling from Cardiff are eternally grateful to Anning’s Tours. Getting 12 people of a certain age, laden with luggage from Paddington to St. Pancras via the Hammersmith and Circle underground line is no mean feat. But Richard got us all there and didn’t lose anyone. Champagne breakfast was of course the order of the day.

Fully fed and watered we made our way dutifully through security. All was going so well up to that point. But unfortunately, our train was not feeling too good and we ended up waiting an hour for them to find us a new one. Crammed into the holding bay with not enough seats and hundreds of other travellers waiting to go to Paris and Brussels cannot have been healthy – as we proved. 

  Some well-deserved R & R on our arrival in Brussels, but soon we were collected by Chevalier Philipe and made the short walk to dinner at Aux Armes de Bruxelles. We were welcomed in French, English, Italian and German, each speaker explaining why this event was 5 years late. And guess what, Covid is the same in every language!

  We enjoyed traditional Belgian dishes cooked by Pedro the Portuguese chef. For many of us, this was our first meeting with Lilli – our effervescent hostess who bubbled like fine champagne – or maybe that should be Belgian beer - the whole weekend. 

  Saturday dawned slightly overcast but Chevalier spirits are never dampened so it was off to meet our guide, Laura.

  She took us on a walking tour of central Brussels, starting at the magnificent Bourse, meeting the Manneken Pis, Jeanneke-Pis (how weird was that!) and Jacques Brel (more of him later), 

  Viewing the wall art reflecting the city’s links with comic strips, our taste buds constantly tempted with the mention of beer and chocolate.  

  Did you know that French Fries are actually Belgian Fries? The story is that soldiers during WW1 were given fried potatoes by the local Belgian people. However, the soldiers, thinking they were still in France, called them French Fries. It’s amazing what you learn on a Chevalier’s trip.

  We stopped in the converted market for a well-earned coffee/beer and comfort break. 

  Our tour ended in the magnificent Grand Place. Lunch was to be at Maison des Brasseurs, the Belgian Beer Museum which is the only house on the Grand Place still owned and used by a guild.

  Lunch was in a large room overlooking the Grand Place adorned with an array of brewing paraphernalia. 

 Of course, there was beer to be tasted served by members of the guild in their traditional costume, 

   and also a detailed talk on the history of brewing – in French.  It was a good test of how closely we had studied our French text books back in our school days, but I think I must have been away on the day they did the chapter on brewing. 

   As if by magic, the table that had held glasses of beer opened and an amazing array of tiny dishes emerged. Caterer Enzo (who was to be intronised at Chapter on Monday) had created 6 different dishes including eel in green sauce and revisited shrimp. But I assure you they were délicieux! And the desserts – well say no more! .   

After visiting the cupboard-like toilets (yes, Mrs Lawley, we know it said "Lavatory"), we rejoined Laura for a coach tour around Brussels. Was there snoring on the coach? Possibly.

We saw the Atomium, the Parc de Cinquantenaire (Brandenburg Gate vibes), the European Parliament (sort of), elegant houses, and Field Marshal Montgomery’s statue. As we passed Jacques Brel’s home (were you paying attention?), Laura played two of his songs, followed by Angele’s Bruxelles, Je t'aime.

But the evening promised a very different kind of music.

 After a quick turnaround, we were back on the coach to Waterloo—not for a battle tour, but to visit the Musica Mundi School, set in a former convent.

The final stretch was tense, as our 8'4" coach navigated what seemed like an 8'3" rutted lane. The driver may have brushed a wall, but he earned applause for getting us there.

   Aperitifs in the cloisters before moving into the beautiful concert hall. 

 We began the evening with aperitifs in the serene, vaulted cloisters, soaking in the peaceful atmosphere, before making our way into the stunning concert hall, a space as elegant as it was acoustically impressive. 

 Principal Hagit Hassid-Kerbel welcomed us and shared the inspiring story behind the Musica Mundi School—a vision she and her husband Leonid brought to life in a peaceful former convent on historic ground. Their mission: to unite young musicians from all backgrounds through music as a path to peace.

The concert began with 14-year-old Richard from Russia on Schumann, followed by Ephraim 14 from Switzerland playing Chopin. One after another, soloists, duets, and quartets from around the world—China included—amazed us with their talent, confidence, and stage presence.

  A delicious meal and plenty of wine followed and the evening ended with the Bretvin hymn. On stage and with the excellent acoustics it sounded really rather good. Although I didn’t see Principal Hagit inviting any Chevaliers to join her academy!

 There are about 800 vines in the enclosed walls of the abbey’s vineyard grown using organic methods.  

 We all now know exactly how to train our vines and were given a step by step guide to wine production – words like crushing, must, tannin fermentation, pressing, sulfites, filtration, clarification (I needed a lot of that!)  

Thankfully there was no written test at the end – just some samples to taste. 

  The microbrewery of the Confreriye des Hostieux Moines de L’Abbaye de Villers with their own hop yard. An entertaining explanation of the work of the brotherhood (they weren’t actually monks) who donate much of their profits to good causes.  

We tasted amongst others The Lumineuse blond at 6.5%, The Dom Cloquette triple blond at 8.5% and The Dom Placide dark “Christmas Special” at 8.5%

You may find this hard to believe, dear reader, but after Muscadet at lunch, wine in the vineyard, and beer at the brewery, no one could face the rum tasting. 

The group unanimously voted to head back to the bus. Philippe had to round up the Saarbrucken contingent, who arrived cheerfully—having stayed for the rum!

Sunday night was free, with people drifting into the nearest bistro before collapsing into bed. Meanwhile, the squares and bars were filling with Welsh football fans.