RAYNE  Twinning  Association

Twinning Weekend 22-24 May 2010

What a wonderful weekend it was.  The largest ever group of our friends from Verberie (57 - including 17 children) arrived in Rayne at mid-day on Saturday, 22nd May, for an action-packed weekend of enjoyment.

After lunch and an afternoon settling in with their host families, Verberie Twinners, together with their hosts, enjoyed a Salsa Evening in Rayne Village Hall, where a sumptuous buffet was served.  Instructions on dancing the salsa were given in both English and French as some of us struggled to learn the intricate steps.

On Sunday morning everyone turned up bright and early, ready for our planned visit to Woburn Safari Park in two coaches.  In the superb sunny weather, we toured the various animal enclosures - the monkeys proving the most popular with the younger members, especially when two of the bolder monkeys decided to leap on to the roof of one of our coaches.

After an excellent lunch in a private room in the Woburn Safari Lodge, the group split up, with some going on to Woburn Abbey for a tour of the house while the others (including the children) stayed on in the Safari Park to partcipate in the various numerous activities available, before the coaches joined up again for the return drive back to Rayne.

In the evening our guests were entertained to dinner by their hosts with a number of families joining together for this meal.

Reluctant farewells were bid to our guests on Monday morning as they set off for their return journey to Verberie, stopping off at Leeds Castle en route.

This visit was considered a resounding success by both English and French alike and there were many comments that it was the "best ever".

However, because of the high numbers, the visit had to be restricted to members of the Rayne Twinning Association so, unfortunately we were unable to include former members or non-members in any of the activities.

If you are interested in future Twinning events - we shall be visiting Verberie again next year - please contact Betty on 345810 or Sheila on 326742 to obtain an application form to join the Rayne Twinning Association.  The annual subscription is £10 per family and all visits are heavily subsidised by our various fund-raising events.