Argentan

Sint-Niklaas

Schongau

Lucca

Colmar

 PAST EVENTS 2007

Go to 2008 Events. See also the list of all Events since 2007, Future Events and the Newsletters.

Many images can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Christmas Lunch

Sunday 16 December 2007 - The Cosener's House, Abingdon

Twinning Conference

27 - 29 November 2007 - Abingdon

See the separate ADTTS Report and the official Conference web site.

Visit to Colmar Book Fair

23 - 26 November 2007

LOCAL ENGLISH WINE WOWS TWINNING CROWDS IN ALSACE

The most popular attraction on the ADTTS stand in Colmar recently was the chance to sample wines from East Hendred. Thousands of Colmar folk come to the annual Book Fair at the end of November. There was great interest in the Abingdon and Vale of the White Horse Twinning stand - next to the one from Lucca - throughout the 2 days of the Fair. Stan Ponting, Anne and Peter Dodd were on the stand to give information and advice to a steady stream of Colmar enquirers drawn to the stand by the displays about Abingdon and the surroundings. Many people came to share their good experiences in Abingdon and reminisce. There was a continuous showing of two DVDs about Abingdon, a quiz and the chance to sample WI cakes, mince pies and other local produce including local wine. We were a little nervous of offering English wine to people in this area of Alsace wine production. We need not have worried. Most people who sampled it did not realise that Oxfordshire - or even England - produced wine and were very complimentary after hesitant sips! We hope to put up pictures of the stand and the crowds on the ADTTS website shortly.

Anne Dodd

French Evening

Wednesday 21 November 2007 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon

We hope you enjoyed the music by the Les Clochards with coffee and cakes from Patisserie Pascal. Thank you for your support and we hope to see many of you next time.

Visit to Lucca

October 2007

[Pictures: © Keith Diment]

You just can’t believe how cold it can get in Italy. A group of 22 of us had left on a perfect autumn day, with cases full of short sleeved shirts and summer skirts and landed in a country so cold that, had it been January at home, we would still have thought it very cold. But what a perfect excuse to shop! Within its walls Lucca has more shops than I think I have ever seen anywhere and full of wonderful fashions, leather bags and shoes. But not fur coats!

Our first trip was to Carrara where we were lucky enough to visit the mine where marble for the great statues in the world has been mined over the centuries. The mine is vast, with columns, walls, floors and ceilings in the wonderful white marble that Michelangelo made famous with is statue of `David’. The following day many of us took the train to Florence and were able to see ’David’ for ourselves. Afterwards four of us ventured along the river bank to search for the colony of Argentinean beavers which escaped from captivity in the floods of the ’60’s and now live happily in the wild.

We had a wonderful guide called Wanda to take us round, after which several of the group hired bicycles to ride round the 4.2 kilometre walls. Reserved seats in the front rows for a Puccini concert made us feel very special and a cookery demonstration in a local cookery school has inspired us to al make our own pasta in future. We learned about Tuscan wines and, in particular, about Vin Santo and we enjoyed fine Italian food, both as a large group and on our own.

One of the many highlights was a day out in the hills above Lucca on the olive oil trail. We visited an olive farm and saw the olives being picked on the hillsides. Lunch was taken in the farm and featured ingredients with fresh, green, olive oil as an accompaniment. In the afternoon we went to a mill and saw the whole process of oil production. By now the north wind had ceased and the sun was shining and Tuscany was just as you would imagine. At night time Adolfo, the twinning officer from Lucca, had arranged a special meal in a local restaurant, featuring olive oil. We were joined by several friends, old and new, from the town and then wandered back to our hotel through the maze of narrow streets, stopping for a brief look at the amphitheatre and a last espresso.

Pisa airport is only about half hour drive from Lucca and we just couldn’t leave without paying a visit to the Duomo and, of course, the Leaning Tower. If you have never been to Lucca do think about a trip there. Each year we get an invitation to the Luminari celebrations in September and we will plan other visits in the future. Quite a number of our group thought Lucca lovelier than Florence. It really is a gem.

Stella Carter

Italian Wine Tasting Evening

Wednesday 17 October 2007 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon

This was a great success and well attended. Members and friends enjoyed the six Tuscan wines and learned a little about the different types of wines sampled.

Go to 2008 Events.