Vale gras still best, says mayor after French trip (From Cotswold Journal)
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Vale gras still best, says mayor after French trip
11:00am Thursday 7th February 2013 in News
TRIP: Robert Raphael in the town of Sannois, where he joined the Asparagus Brotherhood.
ASPARAGUS from the Vale of Evesham is still top of the list for the town mayor even after sampling some of the green vegetable from the French town of Sannois.
Councillor Robert Raphael was invited to the town located north of Paris which is a similar in size to Evesham and also known for its asparagus growing.
He was asked to attend a weekend of celebrations by the Confrère d’Asperge or Brotherhood of Asparagus.
He visited alongside mayoress Coun Diana Raphael and Evesham resident Martin King, and spent the weekend enjoying traditional festivities, including a thanksgiving service for the harvest of the spears.
He said: “We hope to see many of them at our Evesham asparagus festival. At least four will be coming but I think we could have filled a whole bus. I was made an honorary member of the Confrère d’Asperge and we presented our hosts with an Evesham plate.
“Their asparagus wasn’t as good as that from the Vale of Evesham. They almost admitted it.”
