Shipston on Stour is twinned with Torigni sur Vire in Normandy, France and visits are arranged regularly with alternate years in England and France. The twinning has been taking place since 1985.
Members of Shipston on Stour Twinning Association welcomed 38 guests from Torigni sur Vire from July 12th – 15th. The party from France had taken the overnight boat from Ouistréham, and after spending some time in Portsmouth, including visiting the Mary Rose museum, they arrived in Shipston on Friday afternoon.
For three of the French families this was their first experience of being guests in English homes. For the others it was a matter of renewing acquaintances with old friends. After a welcome drink or two everyone went to their respective hosts’ homes for the rest of Friday evening.
Saturday was spent with families and several outings had been arranged by the Shipstonians. Some visited the Shakespeare properties of Anne Hathaway’s cottage and Mary Arden’s House. Others went into the Cotswold villages including Broadway, where they climbed the tower, and Snowshill where they were impressed by the lavender fields.
On Saturday evening everyone gathered in the Townsend Hall for a social occasion. Glasses of Pimms and canapés were gladly consumed on arrival and then the French and English families worked together on a light-hearted bilingual quiz , the winners of which were Sue Bradley and Philippe and Babette Compère who have been “twinned” for well over thirty years.
There followed a fish and chip supper with desserts prepared by Hilary Bryan. Retiring president Keith McCarthy officially welcomed the French guests and wished them an enjoyable weekend, and thanked the host families for their participation. In return, Nicole Mauduit, president of the Torigni sur Vire twinning association thanked the English committee for organising the weekend and all the host families for the generosity and kindness shown to their French counterparts.
Then the brilliant band, Now and Then, David and Stephen Neath, Jamie Neath and Deslynn Smith began to play a selection of music ranging from the sixties to the present day whilst those who had the energy danced for the remainder of the evening.
On Sunday, two coaches took everyone to Upton on Severn and Malvern. After a typical English Afternoon tea which the Torignais loved, there was time for people to counteract the calories with a climb up to the British Camp on the Malvern Hills before returning home to spend the rest of the evening with host families.
All too brief was the weekend and after a few choruses of “Ce n’est qu’un au revoir “ (Old Lang Syne ) and much hugging and kissing on Monday morning the French set off on their return journey, delighted with their stay and looking forward to welcoming their English friends next year.
To find out more about the Shipston on Stour Twinning Association please get in touch.
We are always looking for more host families as the French always seem to have a greater number of people eager to participate. It is a thoroughly fulfilling experience even for those with little or no French. The organisers try to ‘partner’ people with some affinity and there are a number of French Families who enjoy practicing their English and it’s amazing how far you can get with even the most basic of knowledge of the French Language. If you think you might be interested then contact us and we will happily explain everything and put you in touch with others who will be equally happy to share their experiences. If you’d like to get to know us more informally then why not come to one of our fund raising events – we’d be very happy to see you!
Our next visit will be to France in 2020. There are new families who would love to twin with you. Please get in touch for a chat.
It really is a great experience to live with a family in France and they are most welcoming.
Don’t speak French: not a problem we can still find you a suitable family. Indeed we have a family in France who speak English who are eager to host a family from Shipston.