NEWSLETTER MARCH 2005

The excitement mounts - Laonnois visit is confirmed for the weekend of May 13th to 16th

The weekend programme is as follows: (exact timings to be confirmed)

Friday 13th May.  

French visitors expected to arrive at the Winchester Hotel car park (formerly The Moat House) at 1700hrs.  Hosts will welcome guests and return home with them for an evening meal.

Saturday 14th May.

A 49-seater coach has been booked to join the French coach on a day's ex­cursion to Portsmouth Dockyard which is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Both coaches will leave the Winchester Hotel car park at 0930hrs. If there is an insufficient number of members for the excursion to warrant a separate coach, volunteers may be asked to take their own cars once the French coach is filled.

We will alight near the Naval Dockyard and be given group tickets to visit HMS Victory, Warrior, Mary Rose and the Naval Museum followed by a boat trip around the harbour. As we are such a large group the ships' tours will need to be supervised individually by members. For lunch there will be a choice either to take a picnic, where an area has been reserved under cover, or to eat in the Dockyard res­taurant or one of the many nearby restaurants. We plan to return to Winchester at around 1800hrs for supper with hosts.

The cost per person to visit the dockyard will be £10.50 or £8.50 for seniors and students. The addi­tional cost per member for the coach will be £10 to £15 depending on numbers. Dockyard fees for the guests will be paid by the Association.

Sunday 15th May.

The Mayor has kindly offered to host a reception with light refreshments at 1100hrs in Abbey House. This will be a good opportunity for official guests and first time French visi­tors to meet the Mayor. Numbers are limited to 40 people but there will probably be some room for Association members who wish to attend. Lunch will be with hosts and the afternoon free. Possible activities include a tour of Winchester College (Sunday afternoon tours are at 1415hrs and 1530hrs. Costs are £3 or £3.50 depending on the tour). Also Lynne Coburn an Association member and a City Guide has offered to take a party around Winchester. Members who would like to take part in the walk will be notified of the starting time and place once we have an idea of the numbers involved.

For the final event of the weekend we will dine together in the Cathedral Refectory commencing at 1900hrs. A three course dinner together with an aperitif and wine will be served. The cost will be £25.00 for each member, guests will be paid for by the Association.

Monday 16th May.   

Guests from Laon will leave from the Winchester Hotel car park after break­fast.  Exact time to be confirmed.

Association Members are asked to respond as soon as possible; It is hoped that in addition to the host families and visitors many other Association members will be able to attend all or some of the planned activities to welcome our weekend guests. To facilitate the smooth organisation of the various events please reserve your places for the Portsmouth excursion and the Refectory Dinner by contacting June as soon as possible.

In calculating the cost we have anticipated a large participation from members, so we ask as many of you as possible to join in the welcome and the festivities. You are assured of a pleasant weekend.

French Student Teachers join in the Fete du Printemps

Once again the annual visit of the student teachers coincided with the beginning of spring and our Fête du Printemps social event.

This year the party from IUFM in Laon numbered 11 students and their English tutor M. Jean Moral. They arrived on Sunday afternoon the 13th March and Chris Slattery kindly hosted the reception and dispersal of the visitors from her home in Winchester. M. Moral has now built up a good relationship with the Heads of many Primary Schools in the area and was able to place his students without difficulty. Harry Wright organised the hosts and sends his thanks to all those who helped in this way.

The objective of the visit was for the students to gain an insight into the English Primary School System and to improve their English. They attended their respective schools for three and a half days and had Thursday afternoon free.

A Fête du Printemps "bring and share" supper was held on the Tuesday evening and was a very enjoyable (and noisy) Spring celebration with over 40 people attending. On Thursday after­noon Harry took the party on a short tour of the Cathedral after which they went shopping.

On Friday morning they left from Chris Slattery's full of praise for the English School System, their hosts and the beautiful English Spring morning!

Host wanted in the Summer for a French student

The Association has been asked whether any member would be willing to host a young lady French student for two weeks or so during July, August or September. She is 21 and studying engineering and while she writes English quite well she needs to spend time here to improve her spoken English and absorb our culture.

Her grandmother lives in Laon and is a regular correspondent with the Winchester resident who initiated this request. The student is happy to pay for her accommodation and is prepared to spend more time here with different hosts if sev­eral offers were forthcoming.

If you can help please contact the Association Chairman, Thierry De Nitto at 88 Wavell Way, Stanmore, Winchester S022 4EG. Tel:01962 626962.