CALAIS, FRANCE

Joe has been transferred once again -

this time his transfer has taken him on a very long train ride (3 hours - via Paris) to "CALAIS" a city that is furthest North in France.

I did some investigative work on Calais and this is what I found:

CALAIS is less than 40km from Dover – the Channel's shortest crossing – and is by far the busiest French passenger port. The port (and its accompanying petrochemical works) dominates the town; in fact, there's not much else here. In the last war the British destroyed it to prevent it being used as a base for a German invasion, but the French still refer to it as "the most English town in France", an influence that began after the battle of Crécy in 1346, when Edward III seized it for use as a beachhead in the Hundred Years War. It remained in English hands until 1558, when its loss caused Mary Tudor famously to say: "When I am dead and opened, you shall find Calais lying in my heart." The association has been maintained by various Brits across the centuries: Lady Emma Hamilton, Lord Nelson's mistress; Oscar Wilde on his uppers; Nottingham lacemakers who set up business in the early nineteenth century; and, nowadays, nine million British travellers per year, plus another million-odd day-trippers.

You can also see the white cliffs of Dover from the shores!

Says Joe: "We can see england from the beach here which is crazy! I just wanna catch a ferry over and go speak in English with everyone but I would probably get into trouble for that one so i'll just stay here!"

If you want to write to Joe, this is his new address: Elder Joe Ford

Les Missionaires

95 blvd Jacquard N°125

62100 Calais

France

He also had this to say:

"Don't hesistate to write or anything i'll be here everyday opening my mailbox everyday at 12:30 - Ha - just kidding. But seriously i do."

I think he loves getting letters ......