THERE is always an undercurrent of dastardly goings-on and intrigue in the background at one of Launceston Twinning Association’s murder mystery evenings and their ‘French Set Reunion’ on March 17 was no exception.

But in no way did the revelations of the night dampen the mood of the 70 plus guests. In fact, the disclosures of the awful actions of the evening’s speaker — including blackmail, deception, adultery and greed — seemed to encourage high spirits and good humour.

That, of course, could well have had a lot to do with the feast created by the 21 contestants in the first-ever ‘It’s a Twinning Bake-Off’ competition.

Each team produced a three-course meal for eight people and the quality and taste of entries impressed the expert judges — and the guests who went on to enjoy an amazing array of dishes.

There were pâtés, pasties and pies; fish dishes, meat dishes and salads; and cheesecakes, roulades and Pavlovas.

After guests were ready for some revelations and they came thick and fast as the murder mystery unfolded.

The scene was set when Madame Dubonnet (Jenny Worth) explained that she had invited a local solicitor and property developer to give a talk on her exciting plans for the future of Launceston. However, she admitted that she had had subsequently discovered that solicitor Susan Morris (Rachael Dewes) was an unscrupulous professional with a lot of enemies.

They revealed themselves as the evening unfolded with some explosive scenes and some sad moments. So when solicitor Susan came to address the gathering, she was greeted with boos, hisses and jeers — but she soon silenced them as she started to outline her development company’s plan for Launceston’s entry into the 21st century. They included a plan for a major casino and wedding chapel in the castle with flashing lights atop the dreary façade, and gambling machines and action 24/7, a skyscraper building in the square (to house the new Anglo-American Twinning Centre), and a mobile sewage system on the rugby ground.

The audacious plans had the audience agog with disbelief and roaring with laughter but, just as Susan was getting into her stride, she took a drink of water and collapsed — poisoned. Her instant demise prompted a round of applause!

Madame quickly took charge of the situation. She asked for the police to be called — and then, with absolute aplomb, told everyone to start on the dessert.

The chairman Jill Whitechurch expressed her thanks to all the teams in the bake-off, to the actors in the murder mystery, the young raffle sellers, those who had donated raffle prizes and everyone who had helped prepare the venue.

Winners of the bake-off competition were Lizzie Browning, Rachael Dewes and Mike Browning. Joint third: Issey Thorns, Daisy and Hattie de Glanville, and Dy Vivian, Pat Dawe and Hilary Trewerne.

The judges made special mention for the entry from the boys’ team of Indy, Jacob and Finlay.

The judges were: Jill Whitechurch, Graham Cornish and Alan Atkins.

The murder mystery cast was: Robert Carmichael, Indy Worth, Peter Birkett, John Whitechurch, Rachael Dewes, Kevin Worth, Jill Whitechurch, Pauline English, Jason Thorns, Jenny Worth, Tamsin Worth and Lucy de Glanville.