Argentan
Sint-Niklaas
Schongau
Lucca
Colmar
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See also 2009 Events, 2008 Events, 2007 Events, Future Events and the Newsletters. An "American Party"Friday 30 July 2010 - 37 Ock Street, Abingdon
Norma Steer very kindly offered to host a party for the visitors in the company of all those who went on the trip to Abingdon, Virginia. The party took place in Norma’s garden where around forty guests enjoyed an excellent buffet. After, everyone packed into Norma's hair salon for a lively musical evening - dancing continued to midnight!
Visit from Argentan Scouts12 - 23 July 2010 Abingdon and Argentan scouts (17 Explorers, 3 Leaders and a Priest) held a very successful joint camp at Youlbury. Ashmolean TourSunday 18 July 2010 Following her fascinating talk at the March meeting, Sheila Hills took a small party of ADTTS members on a private tour of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which was most interesting and much appreciated. Abingdon Language Course11 - 18 July 2010
Report of the language course week in Abingdon My name is Christel Van Marcke and from the 11th of July until the 18th of July 2010 I went to Abingdon to take a language course, with 4 others of Sint-Niklaas (Mia, Christine, Ivonne and Patric). On Sunday the 11th of July we all left Sint-Niklaas at 07.35 to take
the train to Brussels. From there we took the Eurostar. After we arrived
in London St Pancras we had to take the bus to Victoria Station where we
had to take the bus to Oxford. In Oxford we took the bus to Abingdon and
at 15.00 we arrived at the Parish Centre. Peter and Anne were already
there to welcome us with tea and cake. Already a warm welcome! In the evening we had dinner with them, so we had the chance to learn
to know each other a little bit better. In the evening we took a walk
along the Thames and we visited the Pub. On Monday we had our first language course and we met all the teachers. On Monday we visited the town of Abingdon: we saw a lot of interesting
historical buildings. In the evening we went to listen to a choir of
Colmar. Very beautiful. I was mostly amazed by the Chapel of the College.
I never saw something so beautiful. This week in Abingdon was a very short week. Before we realized it, it was Sunday so that meant that we had to leave to go to Sint-Niklaas again. I’m going to remember a lot of things from my visit to Abingdon: I would like to thank all the ADTTS members and my host family and I hope to see you all again in the near future! Christel Van Marcke
See also pictures of the language week taken by Mia Steel. Visit from Colmar ChoirMonday 12 July 2010
The concert (see poster) also coincided with our Twin Towns’ Language week, so we were able to take our twinning visitors to hear them in the splendid setting of New College Chapel, and entering the college from Holywell St and seeing the town walls was an added treat for us all. The singers and our three Language Week visitors from Colmar doubtless found it a bit bizarre to be coming across each other in Oxford! The choir performed – beautifully - a varied programme of sacred music by Durufle, Mendelssohn, Faure and Mozart, both a capella and with organ accompaniment. A guest female soloist, Nathalie Schneider, joined them for part of the programme. This was followed in the second half of the concert by African music and American spirituals, with lively clapping and swaying. Some of us found the unwritten, unspoken rule of no applause in the chapel somewhat constraining – how can you NOT respond to joyous African chants and Gospel music hallelujahs? – and the choir must have wondered what they had to do to make us more appreciative! But others found contemplative silence the right response in the awe-inspiring surroundings of a candle-lit university church. Les Petits Chanteurs came to us from Ealing Abbey and Sittingbourne, where they gave concerts, by way of Stonehenge and the White Horse, and then went north to Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales and over to Conwy to complete their 2010 British tour. Concert by Sint-Niklaas ChoirSunday 4 July 2010 - St Helen's Church, Abingdon
We were delighted to welcome GYNAIKA Girls Choir back to Abingdon on Sunday 4th July when they gave us a delightful concert to a very appreciative audience in St. Helen's Church. Under their conductor Gotfried Van de Vyvere we were treated to wide range of songs - English, Flemish and worldwide - all of which made a great showcase for their versatility. Longer standing members of the Society will remember the last time Gotfried brought over his choir - then known as De Wase Lijsters or The Wassland Larks - in 2003 when they stayed with us for several days and made a great impression, and even further back when the choir was led by Veerle Spiloes during the 1990s. Although the members of the choir are regularly changing the high standard demanded by their conductor maintains them at prize winning standards and we much look forward to another visit in years to come. Michael Matthews (The choir recently joined others in an amazing flashmob performance in Brussels Central Station.) Pavlova Visit to Colmar18 - 20 June 2010
With the Pavlova Wind Quintet at Alsace festival, 18 - 21 June 2010 Recently nine of us from Abingdon, who had previously hosted members of the De Si De La choir from Wintzenheim, spent a few days as guests of members of the choir in and around their home town. We were invited alongside the Pavlova Wind Quintet, who had partnered the choir at an Abingdon concert, and were performing at the local solstice festival. Our host Marc Lischer had arranged a programme for us while the musicians were rehearsing. Wintzenheim, one of the myriad of –heims in this area, with its population of about 8000, is almost a suburb of Colmar, population about 80,000. But as the choir is of a high standard and attracts singers from further a field than Wintzenheim, we had different experiences according to where we were accommodated – the Greaneys got to know Rouffach way south of Colmar, the Brydens stayed in a village in the Munster valley where Albert Schweitzer lived and worked, and had the opportunity to listen to their host playing Schweitzer’s organ. But all of us had a very wine-filled weekend. An experience common to many of us was a tour of our hosts’ cellar area, rather greater than the floor area of our own houses back home, with special temperature-controlled rooms containing several hundred bottles of wine! On Friday the centre of Wintzenheim was decorated with model trains, cars and cuddly toys, as the theme of the festival this year was Les Jouets. After lunch we went to Lapoutroie, NW of Colmar, (not a –heim because it’s in the French speaking district of le Pays Welche) to the private Eaux de Vie museum, which is devoted to wine and spirits. We had an interesting tour and heard all about absinthe, a bitter green drink, allegedly responsible for much of the artistic brilliance in late 19th century France. Since those who got drunk on it could become extremely violent it has been banned in France since 1915, though we were told that the same drink can be sold in the EU provided it is given a different name! After a visit to the Lac Noir, which together with the Lac Blanc, form a pumped water storage scheme (a bit like a giant battery) we returned to Lapoutroie village hall where the Pavlova Quintet gave their first concert, with buffet supper beforehand and vin d’honneur & kougelhof cake afterwards! On Saturday the weather had turned unseasonably cold and wet – temperatures in Colmar in June are usually in the 30s. We were taken to Colmar, where Marc Lischer showed us round the Unterlinden art museum. He explained the significance of the symbolism in some medieval paintings and we saw the famous 15th century Issenheim altarpiece triptych. Afterwards we walked to the bandstand in the Place Rapp for the proposed open-air Pavlova concert, but as the bandstand itself was swept by rain and there were no spectators, the concert was abandoned and we headed for the nearest café to warm up. After our tarte flambé lunch, the weather had improved and we returned to Wintzenheim for the festival programme of music and singing, an art exhibition, marquetry, and theatre of the absurd. This latter consisted of four visual/musical sketches by Roland Dubillard and a piece by Ionesco. The latter involved a lot of word play which we found very difficult to follow. Meanwhile the Waterhouses, who knew Colmar well, were keeping in touch with the Colmar Twinning Association by joining them for their summer outing across the Rhine – a train journey from Breisach and a wet walk in the Black Forest to lake Titisee. Regenschirm de rigueur! Sunday - mass in the local church, St Laurent, where some of our hosts sang in the choir. Spiritually refreshed we made for Krick’s winery in the village itself for a tour, tasting (degustation) and lunch, where the 16 year old son of the family made a good attempt in English at introducing us to 6 of the 8 grape varieties grown in Alsace. After a necessary period of rest and recuperation we walked down to hear the Pavlova Quintet and the Wintzenheim choir performing in the modern church St Odile. The concert was excellent, with pieces mainly linked to the theme of toys, and included one piece where choir and quintet performed together. The performers deservedly got a standing ovation. (See reports from the local papers.) Then a reception in yet another of Wintzenheim’s many community halls. Monday: time for some individual sightseeing or visiting of friends before making our various ways home after another memorable twinning experience. Neil Hancox et al
Blewbury Manor Open Day TeasSunday 13 June 2010 - Blewbury Manor Garden
The Blewbury Manor had another garden open day as part of the National Gardens Scheme and we were again asked to do the Teas and Cakes. Ably organised by Stella and Nikki with plenty of willing helpers, this was not only a very pleasant afternoon but a useful opportunity to raise some funds for the Society. Visit from Sint-Niklaas Women8 - 12 June 2010
About 20 women from the Sint-Niklaas Women's Centre came to meet the Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor Women's Institute. On the Wednesday of their visit, after a reception by the Mayor in the museum, ADTTS members took them on a guided tour of Abingdon and also in Oxford the following day. School Visit from Argentan5 - 12 June 2010 Twenty-two students and two teachers from Jeanne d'Arc school in Argentan came for a visit. ADTTS assisted with a guided tour of Abingdon on the Monday morning and a tour of Oxford on the Wednesday. Schongau Twinning Weekend2 - 6 June 2010
Schongau held a twinning weekend (with a theme of Customs in Schongau) from 2nd until 6th June (Wednesday until Sunday). Frank Allen went from Abingdon, joining guests from Schongau's other twin towns of Colmar, Lucca, Sint-Niklaas and Gogolin in Poland. They enjoyed a full social programme - see Frank's report. Church Choirs Visit to Argentan28 - 31 May 2010 A group of twenty-five from several Abingdon church choirs enjoyed a most hospitable long weekend in Argentan, our twin town in Normandy: Singing in Argentan
Arriving in Argentan, I found I’d been paired off with Anne, who had been the first person to speak to me in the evening rehearsals. Our fears were immediately dispelled by the warm smile and firm handshakes of our host, Joel. We were whisked off to his lovely farmhouse in a nearby village, where we met his wife, Maria. Maria spoke no English at all, but as she proudly showed us her garden, we quickly realised that you don’t always need words to communicate. Joel’s English was quite good, but his patience was even better. Asked to summarise the level of my French, I’d said I could carry out a reasonable conversation with someone who could speak slowly & listen carefully, and that’s just what Joel did, all weekend. I think Anne would be the first to admit that my French was better than hers, and I quickly found myself taking on the role of interpreter. Anne’s speciality was to start a very complicated idea off in French & quickly resort to English, with the odd French word popped in. Joel would look at me, I’d try to put it into simple French, then dash upstairs for “Le Dictionnaire”. Each evening was spent in deep conversation over Joel’s precious Calvados, put to bottle to celebrate the end of WW2. Having to talk slowly made it all the more relaxing, and thinking and selecting phrases meant every word was important. By the end of the weekend, we’d discussed Afghanistan, the recession, Ecumenism, binge-drinking, the lot – I felt amazed & very proud! Oh yes – the singing! We had been told that we were giving two
performances – one in an old peoples’ home and the other in the main
church, as well as singing in the morning service. Even as we arrived in
Argentan, we were aware that we had never sung some pieces all the way
through – so confidence levels were pretty low. This wasn’t helped
when we found that we were actually having lunch in an old peoples’
centre and our first performance was to guests in a nearby church. The
lunch provided was great, but many of us would have preferred to be
rehearsing! However, our minds were taken off the problem by the lovely
indoor picnic and really interesting tour of a local chateau. The first performance had some pretty ropey moments, not least of all because no-one had realised that the start of an unaccompanied piece needs a conductor! However, the multi-talented Thorn family saved the day with some really professional solos and the small audience didn’t seem to mind being used as an additional rehearsal opportunity – even when we subjected them to Rule Britannia! We came away mildly relieved, knowing we’d be OK with a bit more practice. (I think all the wine drunk at lunch might have helped, too!) After the long journeys and even longer evening conversations, it was a huge effort to get up and out in time for a quick rehearsal before church on Sunday morning, but we knew we needed it. As Renee drove us into town, we saw the Church of St Germain rising above the countryside like a proud ship. My nerves got worse when I arrived and found it was more like a cathedral! We were still practising when the congregation started arriving for mass – their encouraging welcome was a much-needed morale-boost. I’d never shared a catholic mass in English, let alone French, so following along in the right books and knowing when we “were on” was something of a struggle. However, I picked up the odd familiar phrase from the liturgy and was delighted to be able to share mass alongside the French congregation. Our choral contributions were warmly received and it was unfortunate that we were there on Mothers’ Day, in that many of the congregation had to dash off for family commitments. It would have been good to talk to more of them.
I went on the trip as a newcomer to town-twinning, but now I would really love to do more. Yes, it was enjoyable, but more than that, I was bowled over by the warmth and hospitality of our hosts. I feel more confident in my French and my singing and have shared real Christian fellowship with people from another culture and Christian background. Our choir was (just about) ecumenical and I now know people from St Helens who I wouldn’t otherwise have met. Yes, we should definitely do it again – but next time, with representatives from all of our Churches in Abingdon! Rosemary Perrow Europe Day DinnerSunday 9 May 2010 - Pizza Express
Twelve ADTTS members met at a local Italian restaurant for our annual informal evening meal to mark Europe Day. Blewbury Manor Open Day TeasSunday 2 May 2010 - Blewbury Manor Garden
Despite the unpromising weather, ADTTS had a successful fund raising afternoon at Blewbury Manor. Nikki and her large team of enthusiastic helpers served tea and cakes to two hundred visitors to the lovely gardens. Film ShowThursday 22 April 2010 - Abingdon College, Northcourt Road
Evening Meeting - Art DecoWednesday 21 April 2010 - Preston Road Community Centre
The evening's refreshments included fancy cakes to reflect the Art Deco period. Visit to Eltham PalaceTuesday 20 April 2010
A large party of members went for the day by coach for a guided tour of Eltham Palace, a stunning Art Deco showpiece in south London. "This unique house combines the finest Art Deco home in England with the remains of a mediaeval and Tudor royal palace, the boyhood home of Henry VIII. Built for millionaires, the Palace reflects the glamour and allure of the 1930’s." On the way home we enjoyed a meal in Henley. Tour of Blewbury Manor GardensThursday 15 April 2010 - Blewbury Manor
Afterwards, most adjourned to the Red Lion in Blewbury for dinner together. French Language School10 - 17 April 2010 - Colmar
The Colmar Twinning Association (Les Amis du Jumelage de Colmar) hosted a week of language and culture for people from its twin towns. (Colmar is twinned with the Vale of White Horse.) It was an opportunity to visit this lovely part of France, to develop French oral language skills and to learn something about La gastronomie francaise. The course consisted of language lessons in the mornings and visits during the afternoons. Six members (Ruth Sillitoe, Christine Ewing, Brian Moylan, Frank Allen, Susan & Brian Read) travelled from Abingdon, joining guests from Schongau and Sint-Niklaas.
Arriving late Saturday, the next morning our hosts who took us out to see a nearby pretty village among the vineyards. There are lots of half-timbered houses, beautifully painted in a variety of pretty shades. With the frequent addition of a stork’s nest, complete with storks, it was like something from a fairy-tale. We joined the rest of the group of thirteen students for lunch with all the hosts in one of the week's succession of lovely restaurants, this time in the Vosges mountains at the village of Trois Epis. We had been warned that it might be cold up there, and true to form, it snowed gently whilst we ate our lunch. Luckily the sun came out when we had finished and we were taken for a gentle walk for an hour or two in the attractive wooded slopes nearby. The focus of the week was five half-days at a language school where the excellent and enthusiastic teachers helped us to improve our oral French whilst discussing topics relevant to the theme of the week, the gastronomy of France. We learned lots about the Alsace and France: Etiquette, the foods and cuisine, the wines, the cheeses and the breads. The programme was carefully chosen to prepare us for the afternoon activity each day, so we discussed breads before we visited the bread museum and wines before we attended the lecture and wine tasting. One day the programme was the other way round and we spent a morning working with chef Francis making our lunch and having to use a lot of vocabulary (some German!) before returning to the language school for the afternoon. One evening we were treated to a concert in Colmar where the soprano Silvana Froli from Lucca sang several well-known arias from operas, accompanied by her husband. We were amazed by their ability to produce such wonderful music without the use of a microphone. The week concluded by treating all the hosts to a convivial evening meal prepared by the students. For the return home the following morning, airport closures meant that two of the Abingdon party who had flown to Alsace had to hitch a lift by car, while the three us who had fortuitously chosen the train had a trouble free journey. I’d like to congratulate the Colmar twinning group and their President Christiane Wagner on an excellent week with an imaginative programme. Our hosts were very kind and generous and made us extremely welcome. I hope there will be an opportunity for us to visit them in Colmar again. Susan Read
The language students from Sint-Niklaas and Schongau Clubs & Societies DaySaturday 10 April 2010 - Guildhall, Abingdon For the biennial societies fair, ADTTS had a stand to publicise twinning in a hall packed with representatives from local organisations. Argentan Quasimodo Fair9 - 12 April 2010
This year two representatives from ADTTS (Angela Waterhouse and Peter Dodd) went to Argentan, along with our Deputy Mayor elect (Alastair Fear) representing our Mayor, his wife (Judith) and our Town Clerk (Nigel Warner). We attended the official opening of the Fair on the Saturday morning by
the Mayor of Argentan, walked around the fair, enthused about the tractors
and marvelled at the magnificent dairy cows. On the Sunday morning there was a special Mass at the main church with readings in German & English and much was said about the long standing and active links between Argentan and Abingdon – first twinned in 1956. Apart from a short walk in the beautiful Suisse Normande, the rest of the weekend was taken up sampling the local cuisine as well as enjoying some German meals in the temporary German restaurant at the fair. An excellent weekend which helped to strengthen the links between our two towns. See also the report and pictures on the Abingdon Blog. Evening Meeting - Ashmolean17 March 2010 - Preston Road Community Centre
Our guest speaker for the evening, Sheila Hills, spoke about the recently extended Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. She also talked about the history of the person who collected all the artefacts and then described a selection of items that are in the Museum. We are looking forward to the private tour on Sunday 18th July. Then the refreshments arrived, based on an Irish theme for St Patrick's Day, which everyone enjoyed, especially the Guinness cake. Thanks to Barbara Earl. Morris Men Visit Sint-Niklaas12 - 14 March 2010
We in Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers organised the trip, supported by a grant from Abingdon Town Council, to reinvigorate the Abingdon - Boerke Naas dancing links which had fallen into disrepair somewhat over recent years. We were very well looked after by Boerke Naas, staying in host family homes, and it is very probable that we'll invite them to Abingdon for the election of the Mayor of Ock Street in 2011. Tony Legge French Market12 - 13 March 2010 - Market Place
ADTTS had a publicity stand when the French market stalls visited Abingdon. We thank Anne & Peter Dodd and all their helpers who represented the Society to local shoppers. Evening Meeting - Lucca & Tuscany17 February 2010 - Preston Road Community Centre
The evening featured talks and a film about our twin town Lucca and surrounding area, with Italian refreshments. We thank our guest speaker, Martin Gray, who runs a small local travel company for study holidays in Italy. He described the fascination of Tuscan towns and his passion for the Italian way of life. Michael Matthews introduced an atmospheric slide show of Lucca. A delicious antipasto dish was served by Nikki Henton and Susan Read and complemented by a selection of Italian wines chosen by John Smith. Stella Carter concluded the evening to tell us about the proposed ADTTS trip to Lucca in September. (See future events.) Evening Meeting - German Beer and Snacks20 January 2010 - Preston Road Community Centre
On Wednesday January 20th the monthly meeting was on the theme of German beer and wine. In the first part of the evening Peter Dodd talked about German beer and particularly the Reinheitsgebot or beer quality law that restricts the contents of all German beers to just a few natural ingredients. Members then tried three German beers – a traditional malt beer, a wheat beer and a dunkel or dark beer. During the break, German rye bread was served with a selection of Bavarian hams and sausages and Fran Pike from the Friendship Force spoke about her international organisation that arranges reciprocal groups visits to other groups all over the world – something rather like worldwide twinning. A number of members were very interested in finding out more. In the second half of the evening we learnt about German wine industry and how it is much more than Liebfraumilch and Blue Nun, and that about a quarter of German wine is red wine these days. We tried a Riesling wine, a Pinot Gris, a German rosé and a Pinot Noir. Ann Dodd
THE FRIENDSHIP FORCE Fran Pike spoke briefly about this international friendship organisation at the January meeting. For those members who would like further information, Fran’s email address is franpike@btinternet.com and her telephone number is 01865 881382. The website address of the friendship force is www.thefriendshipforce.org. The Oxfordshire branch has an Information Sheet (Word document). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also 2009 Events, 2008 Events and 2007 Events. |
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