Page 23 - News Letter

Then came perhaps the most important part of the day. Each delegate
spoke about the current state of the breed in their country and the
problems which beset them. Although worrying it was also reassuring
to know that one was not alone in experiencing difficulties. The
worldwide gene pool for this breed is diminishing rapidly and people
must work together to improve the situation. I feel much more positive
having listened to the exchange of ideas and thoughts and realising that
committed individuals have offered the hand of friendship and
cooperation now that they have met in the real world.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to the French Bullmastiff and Mastiff
Club and especially to Anne-Marie Class because they have given us
the possibility of taking the first steps towards securing a world-wide
future for our Mastiffs. The next Mastiff World Cup will happen in
2019 in Italy and I hope to see more of you there!
Pamela Jeans-Brown

Here is an extract from an article in the New Zealand Club Newsletter which
was written by Hilary Stace on her trip to France for the first Mastiff World Cup
The French Club had arranged accommodation for us and other visitors at
the local camping ground. We had a ‘chalet’ to stay in, which was a small,
self contained motel. We arrived before most people, on the Thursday,
which gave us time to get to know our surroundings. There was a
restaurant on site with a bar, so we were able to meet and eat there, and
have 30 minutes free wifi every 6 hours. I went there once we’d settled in
and the first person I met was Gabrielle Simmonds (Marstenmoor) from
Victoria. We had a wine together and shared our travel experiences. We
were joined by the Bromleys (Spirithill) from Anglesey, UK, with Amber
their Mastiff. It turned out that all those who were staying at the
campground were eating there, so later, around 8.00 pm, we all met to
dine together. 8.00 pm is the norm for dining in France, if not later, and
as we found out, there is no rush to eat and leave.
So that evening, we joined Anne-Marie Class, the Club President who
had organized the show, along with the vivacious Francoise Vittori, who
lives in Dompierre and is a Club Committee member, along with quite a
few others from other countries. That included Pamela Jeans-Brown, a
judge and Chairman of the Mastiff Association in England, and Jean
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