It was indeed a meeting of the United Nations when Elisabeth Durham hosted the annual French evening at Chez Nous on Saturday, to mark the anniversary of June 1 1879 of the death of the Prince Imperial, Louis Napoleon, at the hands of the Zulus at Qwe Qwe in the Nquthu area.
First arranged by Pietermaritzburg French lecturer, Glen Flanagan, the French soiree, is one of the highlights on the social calendar.
This year was no different with the French Consul General from Johannesburg, Raymond Quereilhac, gracing the event with his wife.
Also there were two Americans from the Peace Corp who are working in the rural areas of Northern KZN, Chenoa Murray and Cathy Wisniewski, an Australian visitor, Denis Shelley and many local tour guides and historians.
The Scottish flavour came from Dominic Skelton, who is a bag pipe player based in Johannesburg, and will be representing the country at a bag pipe festival in Brittany, France, later this year.
A highlight of the evening was a presentation by Xavier Maillart of France whose ancestor, Xavier Ulman, was the personal valet to the Prince Imperial. He devoted his life to the Prince and was able to offer personal insight into the Prince’s personality and life.
