Over the summer the YCW was heavily involved with the Diocese of Westminster's Young Adult Festival, Brightlights, (in fact, we hosted the three-day event in the grounds of our national offices). We also held an exchange with the YCW in France (called ‘JOC'). During the time that the English/French group were in England they helped to run the Brightlights Festival. Whilst in France, they helped to renovate one of the farm properties that JOC France own. Here Emma Stradling, from the YCW in South London, offers her memories of the Exchange.

Due to work commitments I couldn't spend time with the group until the Saturday at the Brightlights Festival and this was my opportunity to get to know everyone as we worked hard together to serve all the food and snacks for the festival. I remember vividly going into a bit of a funny mood when I realised Delia Smith was standing in front of me and I was about to serve her some chilli con carne as I didn't quite know how to react, which caused much amusement to Kemi and Michael! As well as working hard we had the opportunity to listen to some of the festival's speakers and I was particularly affected by Margaret and Barry Mizen whose son Jimmy was killed last year; as they showed a great sense of forgiveness and seemed to have this inner strength that held them together and helped them to talk about the effects of the tragedy. The time passed quickly and all too soon it was time to say goodbye and after a very loud and fun meal I was looking forward to our visit to France.

After a very early flight we were met at the airport by Stéphane, the JOC National President, who took us to the very large farmhouse we would be staying in - there was even a bread oven on site!

During our stay we were to help with the renovation and upkeep of the farmhouse. This included taking concrete and plaster off the kitchen wall, sanding and then re-sealing the barn doors, creating a path down to the lake and moving wood from all over the site into one of the large barns. The work was physically demanding, especially as the temperatures soared, but it was great to work together and have fun. By the end of the week we had a lot to look back on and be proud of, and I even had a bump on the head from a falling bit of plaster to remind me.

It wasn't all work, as in the afternoons we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves by; going to the lake and swimming, a minibus crash (bravo to Stéphane for keeping control of the minibus), visiting Limoges (ask Mog how she ended up in a dustbin!), going horse riding, visiting local towns, going fishing, cooking and chatting around the camp fire. I really treasured the new friendships I forged and being able to use my French for this purpose.

I can't pick just one high point from the trip as there were many, however, here's a few I'd like to share: being named the Queen of the fire and spending time at the lake playing piggy-in-the-middle, even if Mog and Pauline did win!

My thanks go to everyone who was involved in the exchange for making this a really great experience and one that will certainly stay with me for a while to come yet!