The Twinning Association are happy to report another successful trip from our French friends from Ballon and St. Mars sous Ballon. The sun shone on the visit literally and this made the whole experience even more enjoyable. The visitors arrived late on Wednesday afternoon after a long coach trip from Ballon and, after a short welcome at the Village Hall, went with their families for an evening meal and an early night! This was especially needed in view of the hectic activities planned for the next day.
Thursday – two coaches headed for the Duxford Imperial War Museum. What an enjoyable day! The weather was beautiful, the exhibits interesting and there were even flying displays as aircraft arrived for the weekend Air Show. Outside picnics were the order of the day. There were so many amazing exhibits that it would be difficult to list them all but the newly constructed American Centre was particularly impressive. Everyone enjoyed a trip around the Concorde that was used for testing purposes. Below are pictures of some of the exhibits.
After an enjoyable day, the evening was also a success. We arrived at Woody’s near Ancaster after a long drive in the heat and were able to relax in the open with a nice cool drink. The children had plenty of room to let off steam. The meal and ambience were excellent although there was a little game of “Ou est le saumon?”. Everyone retired happy after a full but excellent day.
Friday – a relaxing day was planned. A large group of people visited the Primary School and the French children joined their English counterparts for lessons whilst the elders enjoyed refreshments. Then, the various classes of English pupils showed their prowess in French by performing a small show for the visitors. Needless to say, they were excellent.
The afternoon was free for families to enjoy. The evening was the Gala Night, held this year at the North Kyme Village Hall. The main part of the evening meal was taken with the host families with the “puddings” being served at the Gala. There were the usual speeches and the Twinning Committee would like to thank the Chair and Vice Chair of the Parish Council for attending. Thanks also to Mike for the wine and the speech! Music was provided by Haydn and Megan with that seasoned old rocker Nigel making a fleeting appearance – pictured below with the “Twinning Dance Group”.
It was another great day. The French presented Billinghay with a collage of photographs from our visit to Ballon last year – it is on display at Twells garage at present, although some people may think it should be kept hidden.
Saturday – this was a free day and although many things had been planned by individual groups – not all of these happened! Everyone seems to have gone for a relaxed day of eating, drinking and fraternising. Although there was an early start the next day for our visitors, many of them preferred to carry on celebrating into the late hours.
Sunday – a very tired group of French people boarded their coach for the trip home. They were very happy with the visit and since then have intimated that it was one of the best ever