TIMS Dates for the Diary2

PRELIMINARY DETAILS OF THE TIMS MID‑TERM EXCURSION

“MILLS OF SOUTH‑WESTERN FRANCE”

4^TH to 11^TH JUNE 2006

This excursion is being organised for TIMS by a committee of a molinological charity 'ta Planète des Moulins", led by TIMS member Jean Rogier.

Assembly at Toulouse Sunday afternoon 4^th June, followed by six full days of mill visits. Departure from Toulouse Sunday morning 11^th June, after breakfast.

This excursion is open to paid‑up members of TIMS. Each participant may be accompanied by a companion who is not a member of TIMS. However, there will only be 39 places available.

The seven evenings and nights will be spent at Montauban, Villefranche de Rouergue, Rocamadour, Rodez, Le Caylar, Narbonne and Toulouse. We will be traveling through nine departments of Southwestern France: Gers, Tarn‑et‑Garonne, Tarn, Lot, Aveyron, Lozère, Hérault, Aude and Haute‑Garonne.

The thirty‑six sites visited will include watermills with horizontal wheels, both open and regolfo, windmills and animal‑powered mills. There will be corn mills, oil mills, a saw mill and a tilt hammer for copper working. We will explore fortified mills, submersible mills and an underground millstone quarry. We will tour a museum, a collection of working models and several special sights of the region, including the new Millau Viaduct.

Access to a number of sites will depend on a good degree of physical fitness, notably the mills at the Sources de La Foux and the mills in the Hérault gorges.

The cost of the Excursion will be 700 euros. This sum will cover all the expenses of the week, from 16h30 on Sunday 4^th June to Sunday 11^th June after breakfast: travel by coach, entry to sites, all meals and accommodation in shared twin‑bedded rooms. Those participants who wish to have an individual room will be charged an additional 119 euros.

Applications will be filed in order of their receipt. Since there may be delays with regular mail, the organisers advise the use of e‑mail. No applications will be accepted by telephone. In the case of application by post, the date of posting will be taken into account. E‑mailed applications will be acknowledged the same way.

We invite you to send in your application as follows:

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Application for a place on the TIMS Mid‑Term Excursion "Mills of South‑Western France"

Full name and address of the applicant:

E‑mail address:

Full telephone number:                                                Mobile phone number:

Full name of any companion:

Please send an acknowledgement to: (email address) or ( postal address)

to:

        Benoit Deffontaines,

        Rue du Paradis

        37510

        Savonnières,

        France

or email to:

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Once the 39 available places have been filled, a waiting list wilt be established in order of receipt of application. Those on this waiting list wilt be advised of their place on it and invited to confirm whether they wish to be considered if places become available due to withdrawal of a participant.

The 39 successful applicants wilt receive a confirmation form which they will be asked to complete and return immediately. They wilt be asked to commit themselves to the payment of a deposit of 300 euros before 1^st October 2005.

The balance of the individual cost of the Excursion wilt have to be paid by 28^th February 2006 at the latest in order to confirm the reservation. This balance will therefore be 400 euros for those willing to share accommodation and 519 euros for those desiring a single room.

Anyone cancelling a reservation before 28^th February wilt be entitled to a refund of 90% of their fee providing that a replacement can be found and 30% if not. From 1^st March only cancellations with a replacement available wilt be entitled to a refund. As and when a replacement is needed, it wilt be offered to those on the waiting list in order of priority.

Before payment of the balance and final registration, each participant will receive a copy of the Excursion rules and be requested to sign to indicate his/her acceptance of these rules. Two points are stressed at this stage:

1 . Each participant will be required to have taken out individual insurance covering third party responsibility, personal accident and repatriation and will be asked to communicate to the organisers the phone number and name of a person to be contacted in an emergency.

2  The organisers emphasise that visits to certain sites wilt depend on a good level of            physical fitness.

For the organising committee,

Jean Rogier

July 2005.

Click at these pictures for a larger size....

1. Condom, dep. Gers. “Moulin de Moussaron”. Equipped with Berton sails, which is exceptional for this region.

2. Collioure, dep. Pyrénées-Orientales. Oilmill. Unusual structure with basement.

3. Trentels, dep. Lot-et-Garonne. “Moulin de Lustrac”. Fortified watermill with horizontal wheels.

4. Cieurac, dep. Lot. Fine example of a Lot windmill.

5. St.-Lys, dep. Haute-Garonne. “Moulin de Bélard”. Brick tower mill with symmetrical cloth sails. All photographs by

Leo van der Drift

1. Condom, dep. Gers. “Moulin de Moussaron”. Equipped with Berton sails, which is exceptional for this region.	2. Collioure, dep. Pyrénées-Orientales. Oilmill. Unusual structure with basement.
3. Trentels, dep. Lot-et-Garonne. “Moulin de Lustrac”. Fortified watermill with horizontal wheels.	4. Cieurac, dep. Lot. Fine example of a Lot windmill.
5. St.-Lys, dep. Haute-Garonne. “Moulin de Bélard”. Brick tower mill with symmetrical cloth sails.	All photographs by Leo van der Drift