Le Weekend - Flew by!

The party of about 30 French “twinners” from Laon arrived at the Worthy Lane car park at precisely 5pm on Friday May 1st. The weather was good but not great; we were all keeping our fingers crossed as a number of outdoor events had been planned. As usual, guests were taken straight to the homes of their host families, where they were suitably refreshed and entertained for the evening.

On Saturday, hosts were free to entertain their guests as they wished. Some explored Winchester for the first time; others went further afield. Everyone was back quite early as the main entertainment had been planned for Saturday evening – a Barn Dance at Littleton Memorial Hall.

At the Barn Dance we were joined by the new Mayor of Winchester, Councillor Dominic Hiscock, and his wife Caroline. A very good band provided the music and an excellent caller organised the dances. Everyone got up and danced, some more skilfully than others, and our French guests really enjoyed themselves. During the evening we enjoyed a copious “bring and share” supper, helped down by several glasses of lovely French wine (for the non-drivers amongst us) brought over from Laon.

On Sunday our wishes had been granted and we awoke to brilliant sunshine. A few showers had been forecast but fortunately the rain clouds came nowhere near us. Our first visit of the day was to the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens near Ampfield where we toured the gardens, walking among the superb azaleas, rhododendrons and magnolias that are at their best in early May.

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (formerly known as the Hillier Arboretum) are named in memory of their founder, the late Sir Harold Hillier (1905-1985), a member of the nursery family. In 1997 the Gardens were included by English Heritage on the Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England for the value of the plant collections. These collections continue to be enhanced and developed, and now boast the largest Winter Garden of its kind in Europe and the Gurkha Memorial Garden with an extensive collection of Nepalese plants.

After a traditional Ploughman’s Lunch in the restaurant at the Gardens, we went on to our next port of call, the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover.

The Hawk Conservancy Trust is a charity whose mission is the conservation of Birds of Prey. They are members of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, The British Trust for Ornithology, International Species Information System, African Bird Club, Vulture Study Group, Raptor Conservation Group, Raptor research foundation and the World Working Group on Birds of Prey and Owls.

We were treated to a wonderful flying display (“The Valley of the Eagles”) featuring red kites, buzzards and eagles, among others. Some flew directly over our heads and we were advised to duck. Unfortunately for most of our French guests the commentary was all in English, but a member of staff, who is French, gave a brief explanation about the work of the Trust, and what we had just seen, after the display. Some of us then went on to watch a second display featuring owls; others explored the rest of the site admiring the other birds, including a pair of Great Bustards.

Our friends headed home on the Monday morning. We had all had a most enjoyable weekend, and look forward to meeting our friends in Laon in 2010.

Send email to Phil Waterton (phil@waterton.org.uk) with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Winchester-Laon Twinning Association
Last modified :  19th June 2009