|
|
|
|
NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2006A MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR “LE TWINNING” ?
Bonjour!A short but very important message from your Chairman:The Twinning Association is approaching a crisis. A crisis of membership and of people to help organise events and visits. We still have really positive contacts and links with Laon and had a great visit there in May—despite having too few members for a coach. But I’m not sure how long we will be able to continue. The committee is now down to less than a handful and we need help! We have a French choir “La Villanelle” coming to us next year, and we need to provide both venue and accommodation for the singers. Any help towards organising the event would be most gratefully received. The choir’s visit may take place over the same weekend as the next exchange visit from our friends in Laon. The Association has neither Treasurer nor Membership Secretary—two very vital roles! If you do not feel able to join the Committee, could you perhaps take on a specific job within the Association e.g. selling tickets for concerts or cooking for social events? We all need to work together and “pitch in “ to ensure such events happen. We need new members as well, so please try and persuade family, friends and colleagues to join - this is crucial if we expect the Association to carry on. As a start Harry Wright has kindly stepped forward as temporary Treasurer and Membership Secretary so please pay your subs to him as soon as possible. Details are given elsewhere in the newsletter. A big turnout at the AGM as a sign of support for the Committee and Association would be very much appreciated. I am happy and willing to continue as your chairman but we cannot go on as we are doing at present. Thierry De Nitto.
Rendez-vous at the Rond-point – Our visit to Laon in May
It was the turn of Winchester to visit Laon this year some twelve years after the inauguration of the official Twinning of the two cities, and in many ways, the visit this year was very special. Sadly, we did not have enough members wanting to go by coach, largely because a number of would-be participants would either be in France already, or would be continuing from Laon to other continental destinations at the end of the weekend. In the end, some twenty-four of us, adults and children, took part from Friday 26th to Monday 29th May. Pam and I stayed with M. Jean Moral and his wife near St.Quentin immediately before going on to Laon, so we had a very easy journey to meet our hosts for the Laon Weekend at the Place Victor Hugo, our traditional meeting point. We had heard of the honour that Laon was bestowing on Winchester by naming a Place, with a new rond-point, carrefour or roundabout after our city. The dedication ceremonySaturday morning began as grimly in Laon as it had been doing in England earlier – grey with drizzling rain, and quite cold. All the English, and many of our hosts arrived for a short but impressive ceremony at which M. Antoine Lefèvre, the Maire of Laon, and Chris Pines, the Deputy Mayor of Winchester, unveiled (actually for the second time) the plaque on one of the posts on the roundabout carrying the words La Place de Winchester. Luckily, the rain held off for a quarter of an hour and after cheers and claps, and warm acknowledgement of the friendly co-operation of the traffic police who somehow managed to keep traffic on the move (not always where it wanted to go) throughout the ceremony. A vin d’honneur
A visit to the Château de Chantilly
Musée du Cheval, in sight of the famous race-course. The Prince de Condé, who owned the Château had the idea that he would be reincarnated as a horse because he loved everything to do with horses so much, so he built stables worthy of himself, as a horse. Apart from all the fascinating exhibits in hundreds of rooms, we saw a demonstration of dressage in one of the exercise rings. Two very confident young ladies initiated us into the basics of horse riding, from making it go or stop (more important to me) to demonstrating fancy manoeuvres and graceful bows. Lunch in ChantillyFor lunch, we had reservations in a restaurant in the town of Chantilly. Suitably refreshed, we returned to the Château to a guided visit led by an English-speaking guide. The house contains an enormous collection of paintings (the next largest, I was told, after the Louvre), sculptures, illuminated books and manuscripts - all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable treasures – indeed, some of us felt quite sated with the volume of impressive things to see. All too soon it was Monday morning and time to move on or return to Winchester. Pam and I were able to savour one more bite of the cherry: we had arranged to meet and stay with some friends from former visits to Laon – and then move on to our family in Belgium, only about 50 miles away. My abiding memory of this weekend will be the generosity, the kindness and consideration that Pam and I received. There was so much genuine friendliness expressed that it was hard not to shed a tear when we finally had to part. Harry Wright.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGThe Associations 14th Annual General Meeting will be held at St Lawrence Parish Hall, Colebrook Street, Winchester on Friday, 20th October, 2006 commencing at 7.30 pm. Members wishing to add an item to the agenda or propose a member for election to the Committee should let the Secretary know at least two weeks before the meeting using the enclosed form. AGENDA 1. Welcome & apologies 2. Minutes of the last AGM 3. Matters arising 4. Chairman’s report 5. Treasurer’s report 6. Election of auditors 7. Election of committee 8. Any other business A glass of wine will be served at the end of the meeting and it is hoped to show pictures of the May exchange visit to Laon and the latest Laon Tourist Publicity. RENEWAL OF SUBSCRIPTIONSMembers are reminded that subscriptions are now due. They remain the same as last year £6.00 for a single member, £8.00 for a family membership and £12.00 for corporate members. As mentioned in the Chairman’s message Harry Wright is now acting as Membership Secretary and his address details are given on the renewal form enclosed with the newsletter. DATES FOR YOUR DIARYThe AGM…………........………20th October 2006Fête des Rois Social ……...5th January 2007 A provisional date for the next visit by our friends from Laon has been suggested for the weekend of April 27th-29th 2007. It is hoped that this can be combined with the visit from the Laon Villenelle Choir. Members will be advised as soon as this arrangement can be confirmed. Newsletter published by the Winchester-Laon Twinning Association. Chairman: Mr T De Nitto, 88 Wavell Way, Stanmore, Winchester SO22 4EG. |
|
![[Under Construction]](images/undercon.gif)
Then
it was off to the Hôtel de Ville for another tradition: a vin d’honneur and the
speeches. Both M. Antoine Lefèvre and M. Philippe Bourgeois, the Président of
the Laon Jumelage or Twinning Association spoke of the significance of the new
roundabout and how much they hoped that its role of improving traffic
communications would be symbolic of continuingly increasing communications
between our two cities and our two nations – and the English must remember to
keep to the right! Chris Pines then replied on behalf of the Mayor and the City
of Winchester, presents were exchanged, and the champagne d’honneur was enjoyed
again (by the non-drivers!) We then returned to the homes of our hosts to spend
the rest of the day with them. Pam and I had a particularly enjoyable evening
as we were invited to have a meal with Philippe Bourgeois and his wife, and
Chris Pines. 
The
next morning, Sunday, we all had to be up early to take a coach to the
magnificent Château de Chantilly. We were blessed with the sort of weather we
had come to expect in France and arrived in glorious sunshine at Chantilly. We
went first to the vast stables where there is a