Trousseau shopping, Turkish bathing,

sight-seeing, the ice-show “Cinderella on Ice”, and of course, the England v France rugby international at Twickenham, were among the highlights of Bideford Rugby Football Club’s annual London tour.

Leaving Bideford early in two coaches, the party of seventy-five players, supporters and friends, had an uneventful road journey – apart from the two passengers who had a little trouble with a turnstile – and reached London only ten minutes after the scheduled time of arrival.

After sight-seeing, a party of about forty went to the international and one tour ‘veteran’ described the game as one of the best he has seen. For the women, of course, Bond Street and Oxford Street proved an attraction far outweighing rugby football.

Leaving the ice show, some of the party must have thought they had dreamed the whole trip for behind them they heard someone ask in the broadest of Devon accents, “Us b’ain’t going ‘ome yet, be us?” and then found themselves in the middle of an outing party from Bideford blouse factory of Jaquemand Ltd!

Gazette article dated 4 March 1955