RAYNE Twinning Association

Twinned with VERBERIE, France

TWINNING VISITS 2005

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The Rayne Twinning Association will be visiting Verberie for the weekend of 30th April - 2nd May, 2005. Departure by coach from Rayne Village Hall will be at 05.30 hours on Saturday, 30th April, returning on the evening of Monday, 2nd May. The cost will be £55 per adult and £27.50 per young person in full-time education. All members will be hosted by French families. An outing will be organised for the Sunday, but the French are keeping the destination as a surprise. Why not join us for this highly enjoyable event? An ability to speak French is not necessary and the people of Verberie are very welcoming hosts. For further information, or to book a place on the coach, please contact Maurice Steer, Treasurer, on 01376 326742, or any committee member.

2004 was the 10th anniversary of our twinning with the French town of Verberie, so we had various activities for the year. The first event of the year was our bienniel visit to Verberie by coach hosted by French families for the long weekend of 1st-3rd May. On Saturday a concert of traditional French dancing, to join in for those who wished to. The band included a hurdy-gurdy (rarely seen in Britain) and two bagpipe players. Unlike British bagpipes they are not blown, but pumped with a bellows under the player's arm.

On Sunday the day started with a visit to the Rex cinema in Paris. The huge building is preserved (in Britain it would be classified as a Listed Building) and used to demonstrate the history of cinema and a simple exlanation of the way a film is made. As we were led behind the stage and into the old projection room, we were being filmed secretly and at the end pictures of the group were merged into two short film sequences.

After an excellent lunch were were taken to a fairground museum, the largest and most comprehensive in Europe. We were told that the traditional travelling fairground as we know them operated in only four countries and were shown the difference between the British and other carousels We were allowed to ride on some of the exhibits, including one in the form of bicycles round a track which we pedalled and reached a considerable speed.

Return visit to Rayne by our twin Village from Verberie.

Our tenth anniversary celebrations continued with the arrival of 48 of our French friends from Verberie at mid-day on Saturday, 30th October. After lunch with host families we travelled to Great Dunmow where we were welcomed by the Town Crier, the Mayor and members of the Dunmow Twinning Association before an interesting tour of The Maltings and Dunmow Museum. The evening's entertainment began with the lighting of the Rayne Beacon in the grounds of The Swan Public House which was followed by a Barn Dance in the Village Hall where a Hallowe-en supper and dancing were enjoyed by all.

On Sunday morning the French coach was joined by an English one for the drive to Westminster Pier where we embarked on a Thames Cruise. The weather had decided to favour us and the sights of London had never looked so attractive under the blue skies as we progressed down the river to Greenwich and then passed through the Thames Barrier. With the sun still shining, free time was available to visit some of the many sights that Greenwich has to offer, although most people managed the walk up the hill to the Royal Observatory. All Twinners were presented with crystal keyrings engraved with "Verberie and Rayne - 10 ans" as a memento of the visit by the Verberie Twinning Association.

On the Monday morning we bid fond farewells to our French friends as they made their way home, with a stop-off at Harrods en route. This was an extremely successful and interesting visit which was thoroughly enjoyed by both the French and English alike. Everyone looks forward to their next visit, probably in May 2005. 10th Anniversary Visit

For further information on any of these events, please contact Martyn Phillips, secretary 344736, or any committee member.


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Twinning@Rayne-info.org.uk © Geoffrey Stone, Braintree 4-3-2005		Last Update 13-8-2006