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PAST EVENTS 2008 |
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Go to 2009 Events or 2007 Events. See also the list of all Events since 2007, Future Events and the Newsletters. Many images can be enlarged by clicking on them.
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Christmas LunchSunday 14 December 2008 - The Cosener's House, Abingdon
Colmar Book Fair22 – 23 November 2008
ADDTS again accepted the invitation from Colmar to promote our twin town during their annual Book Fair (Salon du Livre). The two-man team (Stan Ponting, and Trevor Coley) travelled by car, arriving in Colmar late afternoon, to meet Marc Lischer who introduced us to Marie-Helene and David Mallen, who had kindly offered to host one of us for the first night and who later served us both a delicious dinner. Next morning we were taken by Veronique Ougier to a vintner’s warehouse to taste and choose a selection of Alsace wines for the ADTTS event planned for Wednesday, 18th February. Lunch was a gargantuan choucroute garni prepared by Veronique (with wine chosen by Marc); Marie-Therese and David Mallen also joined us. After collecting the twinning weekend programme at the Ibis Hotel, the afternoon was spent at the Exhibition Hall, greeting friends from the other Twin Towns: Lucca, Schongau, Colmar and Gyor (Colmar’s Hungarian twin), and setting up the ADTTS stand. Dinner each evening, at the invitation of Colmar’s Service des Activites Culturelles, was at different restaurants in the town. By 9.30 on Saturday and again on Sunday, crowds of individuals and families were flocking into the exhibition hall. Although most were visiting the book stalls, some were interested in the Twin Towns’ displays. Amongst the visitors were the mayor of Colmar and the Burgermeister of Schongau. Lucca’s team celebrated Puccini’s 150th anniversary by wearing costumes from the opera company’s wardrobe and showing videos of opera performances. A number of people visited our stand to ask questions about twinning or wanted to know where Abingdon is, but others expressed specific interest and took away a selection of leaflets. A number of school teachers were very keen to make contact with a school in Abingdon and arrange a visit for their teenage English language pupils. One father has two daughters who are interested in horse riding; he also has a son (15) who would like to visit a school in Abingdon. (Ask for contact details.) On Sunday morning, the Colmar Town and Twinning Association invited twinning representatives to an ‘apertif international’ after which a selection of typical food and drink was offered by each Twin. Abingdon’s contribution included sausage rolls, home made cakes, beer and English wine (from the East Hendred vineyard), all of which were much appreciated. At the end of the final dinner on Sunday evening, gifts were exchanged and speeches of sincere thanks were made by the visitors for all the hospitality and support provided by Colmar and members of its Twinning Association in making the event so successful. Trevor Coley Evening Meeting: Puccini RecitalWednesday 19 November 2008 - St Nicolas Church, Abingdon Poster
What looks likely to be the highlight of this season’s gatherings, the Puccini Recital, was held on 19th November at St Nicolas Church to mark the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Puccini in Lucca. We were delighted to welcome the Lucchese duo Tomei-Froli - Silvana Froli and her husband Marco Tomei. They presented a programme of Puccini, Mozart, Donizetti and Catalani, most ably assisted by our local tenor Guy Cutting. As our chairman said in her closing thanks to the artists - originally the ladies had all been jealous of Silvana because she had worked with Francesco Mosca on television. After the wonderful singing opinions had changed and everyone now thought that Francesco Mosca was very lucky to have met Silvana! Silvana’s effortless, beautiful and powerful voice filled the church and there were not a few damp eyes and pounding hearts as she sang Porgi amor, Vissi d’arte, Mi chiamano Mimi and other favourite arias, ably accompanied by Marco Tomei. The other surprise (to some) of the evening was the great voice of Guy Cutting from Abingdon School. His slight frame produced beautiful rich tone and power to match Silvana and we see a great future for this young man in his chosen route to the world’s opera houses. Encores demanded by the audience showed their great appreciation of a
most memorable evening. The thanks of the society must go to the church authorities at St Nicolas and to Abingdon School for their great support. Evening Meeting - "It all started with Sint-Niklaas."Wednesday 15 October 2008 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon
The first talk, to start our season of events was by our friend Herman Cole from Sint-Niklaas. He gave a fascinating talk about his home town in Belgium, together with an illustrated presentation of his visit to the great festival for Saint Nicholas held in Bari (Puglia, Italy) over several days each May. See the full report (in three languages). Abingdon, Virginia28 September - 11 October 2008 ADTTS sent a large party of forty-five (including one from Schongau) to Abingdon, Virginia in response to an invitation to join in the celebrations to mark their 230 year anniversary. The visit was a great success, with wonderful hospitality! Eileen Poole has written a summary of the trip. Here are a few pictures of some highlights:
Garden Party LunchSunday 27 July 2008 - 65 Oxford Road Our annual Garden Lunch was held at the home of Vice-President Michael Matthews. In accordance with precedent this turned out to be the warmest and sunniest day of the year to date. It was good to see so many old friends mingling with new members to partake of delicious foods and wines. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and were reluctant for the party to finish. Thanks are due to all those who put so much effort into organising the event from erecting the tents, making the wonderful dishes, manning the bar, the raffle and taking money. They were all the architects of a very successful and enjoyable day. Thanks must also go to Michael for using his garden and the hard work in organising this event - also for being the Master Chef, as anybody who tasted the salmon will agree. Recipe English Language Course5 - 12 July 2008 - Abingdon College
The Language Week was a great success. Thirty-five participants ( 7
from each of our twin towns ) arrived on Saturday 5th July and were
welcomed that evening by their host families and members of the Society at
a delicious buffet supper in St Edmund’s centre.
Pictures of the visit to Woolstone by Ruth Sillitoe Language student Katia Vael from Sint-Niklaas writes: The second week of July 2008 will be remembered as a most delightful adventure. It was very instructive and intense. Despite the occasional rain shower we have enjoyed the planned excursions to the most. The chosen gardens were not the most obvious ones and would probably not have been included in tourist circuits. Nevertheless they were true jewels of the English "garden" Crown. To us, Hampton Court Flower Show was somewhat commercial. The private gardens in Uffington on the other hand, were an unexpected and colourful highlight. We appreciated it even more when we discovered that the profits of our visit went to charity. The organisation and everyone involved in the Twinning Society tried their very best to deal with even the most unexpected situations. The cordiality of the reception at the college lasted throughout the whole week. French and German were spoken as well as English because of the contact between the participants from the different towns. So we can say that it has been a Language Week in the broadest sense of the word. Language student Daniela Vöst from Schongau writes about "Wonderful days in Abingdon": We, a small group of seven people from the twin town Schongau (and
surroundings) spent a really eventful, informative and impressive week in
Abingdon from 5th to 13th July 2008. Language student Helene Wicqhart from Colmar writes: In the name of the French group from Alsace I’d like to thank everyone of the association for the exciting week we’ve just spent in Abingdon. We’ve learnt so much and seen so much in hardly a week it’s really incredible. Thank you for taking us to those wonderful gardens of Hidcote and Woolstone. Everyone enjoyed them. Strolling through Oxford is always a treat of course and I’m always awed at the magnificence of the architectural heritage that has gone down so many centuries. Thank you to Stan who showed us Oxford from the top of St Mary’s church with a running commentary and drove us home many times. Thank you to Ian who was our guide for the visit of Hampton Court Palace and a most interesting guide as he had been to school there and thank you to my host who took me to the palace of Blenheim which I found most interesting. We realized of course that all that was achieved through a perfect and very smooth organisation. So thank you Stella and her team who did the actual organising and thank you to our hosts, of course, who opened their homes and gave of their time. All the people I talked to were very happy in their family and it was very important for us in the evening to go home and feel at home. Thank you also to the people who gave their time to come along and drive us who couldn’t walk so well (so thoughtful) whenever necessary? And last but not least thank you also to the two ladies who every day were behind their table in the college cafeteria offering tea, coffee or those lovely cakes. And if ever you come to Colmar or the area don’t hesitate to ring our bells and you’ll be made welcome. Evening Meeting: Visit to Archaeological DigWednesday 16 July 2008 - Marcham This site visit followed the talk given by Megan Price, an archaeologist from Oxford University, on 19th March earlier this year about the Romano-British Archaeological Dig near Marcham, at the back of the old Noah's Ark Hotel (off A338). Megan gave us a fascinating tour of the site, explaining what has been found there and bringing us up to date. French Tour of OxfordWednesday 11 June 2008 - City Centre, Oxford
On a sunny afternoon a group of about twenty members met outside the Clarendon Building for a tour of Oxford with a French theme. Our blue badge guide had specially planned the itinerary for us and she had done an excellent job. We all saw Oxford with new eyes. We were pointed out French inscriptions outside Balliol College, heard about how the monarchies of our countries were intertwined and were surprised to discover that two future kings of England had been born in what is now a private garden in Beaumont Street. After the tour we all went for tea in the Crypt restaurant under St Mary's University Church. It was an excellent tour and now that our guide has done all the preparation for this tour, we are sure that she will be willing to do it again for people who didn’t get places this time and perhaps we can organise another themed tour in the future. Colmar Twinning Weekend29 May - 2 June 2008 ADTTS sent two people for this twinning weekend organised by Colmar. They had a very good time - which you do if you go to any of our twin towns. So perhaps more people may be interested to go in the future. Thank you Colmar for being an excellent host and making our members most welcome to your town. Carole Davis writes: This was my fourth visit to Colmar, but I never tire of such a beautiful town and the guaranteed warm welcome from our host. I thought I would try the new fast speed TGV rail line from Paris to Colmar and it was easy. Leaving London at 10am I arrived in Colmar at 5pm after a comfortable, stress free journey. The following morning, a quick hop on the train brought us to the central station in Strasbourg with its new dramatic, sweeping glass canopy covering the Victorian façade. We were then whisked off in one of the city’s futuristic trams to tour the Council of Europe. I only knew the Council was something to do with the EU, so it was interesting to learn about the important job they have, monitoring the human rights, democracy and the rule of law in each of the 47 member states of the EU. In the afternoon there was a relaxing river trip and a visit to the Cathedral with its fantastic astronomical clock and the museum. Back in Colmar my abiding memory of that evening was the incredible monsoon style storm and Françoise arriving at the restaurant looking like a drowned rat having left the roof off her car! The next day started with a guided tour of Colmar, this time highlighting the charming shop signs by local artist ‘Hansi’ whose delightful sketchings you can find in shops all over Colmar. Then it was off to the Mairie for an official welcome drink and kougelhopf cake. In the early evening we descended into the cave of viticulteur Stenz for a little pre-dinner degustation! All I can say is that we sat down to our evening meal at 11pm! Sunday morning was en famille. Starting at marche au puces, I was on the look out for any interesting corkscrews for my husband (no luck!), then it was on to an excellent art exhibition and finally into the park in Colmar to relax in the sun listening to the Colmar brass band. After lunch, we set off for a rendezvous at Hohlandsbourg Chateau which is a castle ruin high up in the hills above Colmar. We were taken on a gentle walk through the woods surrounding the castle and then into the castle for a guided tour and a walk around the ramparts. Of particular interest was the ‘medieval’ medicinal garden they have created there. The views from the top are quite magnificent and you can see for miles around. Finally, we gathered in the banqueting hall for a medieval dinner and much jollity. As ever, the whole weekend was a superb experience. Colmar School VisitWednesday 21 May 2008 - Abingdon A group from the Victor Hugo School in Colmar paid us a day visit and, after a tour of the town and reception at the Abbey Building, they met the Mayor and Vale Chairman and town Twinning Officer. Our thanks must go to Stella for the catering and to our gallant band of guides - Ian, Michael, Peter and Stan. Argentan School VisitSaturday 17 May 2008 - Abingdon Twenty-six students from the Jeanne d'Arc school in Argentan arrived on 17th May for a week's exchange visit with the three Abingdon comprehensive schools. To welcome them and their host families, the society, led by Richard Smart, laid on a reception and film show in the John Mason School hall. On the Monday the visitors were given a town tour and on Wednesday they were guided round Oxford. Dragon Boat RacingSunday 11 May 2008 - River Thames, Abingdon
On a gloriously hot Sunday, Anne and Peter Dodd looked after the ADTTS stand at the popular Dragon Boat races on the Thames. Schongau Church Visit8 - 12 May 2008 - Abingdon The Church in Abingdon Twinning Group hosted visitors from Schongau churches for the weekend 8th to 12th May. The visitors were hosted by ten church families, who joined the guests for many of the activities. Hospitality for meals was given by All Saints, Abingdon Baptist, Trinity, and St Edmund's churches. They visited Christ Church, St Edmund Hall and Oxpens College in Oxford and Blenheim Palace, as well as being taken on a tour of Abingdon. Many guests also visited the Dragon Boat Racing on the Sunday afternoon. The guests were most impressed with the good weather we laid on for them, the hottest any had ever experienced in England. Europe Day DinnerFriday 9 May 2008 - Pizza Express, Abingdon
To mark Europe Day, twenty-six ADTTS members enjoyed a lively Italian meal together in Abingdon's Pizza Express restaurant. Thanks are due to Peter Dodd for organising very enjoyable evening. Normandy EveningFriday 2 May 2008 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon NORMAN CONQUEST WITH TWIN TOWN CAMEMBERT
There was a packed audience of over 80 at Preston Road Community Centre to hear in French (manfully translated by Richard Smart!) all about Calvados and Camembert from the people who actually made it. We were very pleased to welcome them and our friends from Argentan. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly tasting the delicious cheese – so much better from the village of Camembert itself – and sampling the tasty (and very potent) Calvados. We must say a big thank you to Pierre Silliere for arranging the evening with his friends and we hope they had a very good weekend. The Argentan Evening was the last of this winter's successful evening meetings, each focussing on one of Abingdon's five twin towns. Watch out for details of the next series, starting with the AGM in September – make sure you keep the third Wednesday in the month clear. Colmar High School VisitFriday 22 April 2008 - Abingdon On 22nd April a group of students from a Colmar High School visited Abingdon. They were on a busy schedule and were staying with families in Oxford. ADTTS members gave them a short tour of Abingdon and then they climbed to the roof of the County Hall where they met the Deputy Mayor and Town twinning officer, being rewarded by a stunning view of the town on a beautiful spring day. They went on to the Long Gallery for cakes and soft drinks and a welcome by the Chair of the Vale and Deputy Mayor. Next on their programme was Windsor Castle. Abingdon Societies FairSaturday 5 April 2008 - Guildhall, Abingdon
Argentan Quasimodo Fair29 - 30 March 2008 Howard and Stella Carter represented ADTTS at this annual event. Argentan is nestled deep in the Normandy countryside. Driving through it they encountered villages with enticing names like Pont l'Eveque, Livarot and, of course, Camembert. Gnarled apple trees abound and their fruits are used for cider, pommeau, or the more fiery calvados. Our good friend Pierre Silliere from Argentan arranged to visit for us to learn about cheese making and the production of the liquid gold, in its different strengths, without leaving Preston Road Community Centre! Evening Meeting: Archaeological TalkWednesday 19 March 2008 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon
Megan Price, an archaeologist from Oxford University, gave a fascinating presentation about the Romano-British dig at Marcham. Many members will have visited this site over past summers and seen how the picture has been developing there. Now we were able to hear the latest theories and prepare ourselves for another visit when summer comes. As a nod to the Roman theme, the talk was followed by Italian refreshments. Winter Visit to Schongau21 - 25 February 2008 The invitation that all Schongau’s twin towns received welcomed us to share in a ‘Winter Wonderland’, but as I flew in to Munich via Zurich I scanned the landscape for snow but there wasn’t a patch to be seen. A few days later standing in line to visit Neuschwanstein Castle I found myself seeking out shade as the sun beat down from a bright blue sky. It was hard to believe that there was still one month more of winter to get through. It could have been early summer. Undaunted our wonderful hosts rewrote the programme to give us a magical experience instead. This was my first visit to Schongau and, on my own and unable to speak any German at all, I had e-mailed Elisabeth in the tourist office to ask if she could give me directions on how to get from Munich airport by train to the town. Back came the reply that Ingrid, who had been here for the Twinning conference in November, would come to the airport to meet me. As I walked out of the gates to Terminal 2 there she was, full of smiles and with a plan to show me something of Munich before taking the train. My first impressions of Munich? Everyone was wearing a kilt. I have never ever seen as many kilts in Scotland as there were that day in the city centre. It seemed like the whole of Aberdeen was in town for the UEFA cup match against Bayern Munich. There was lots of singing, lots of beer and a lovely atmosphere. Sadly, as Ingrid and I enjoyed a meal in a Bavarian restaurant Aberdeen lost 5 – 1. The next morning I had another new experience when a candidate in the upcoming local elections gave me hand cream, promoting his party ‘if you vote for us you will be in good hands’ seemed to be the message. By the end of the visit I had also acquired three pens from the other political parties, prompting the question as to whether they would be considered bribes in Britain. I, certainly, have never been given anything. We were a very mixed group of people. Anna at seven was the youngest. There were also young people from Gogolin in southern Poland and a group of very experienced twinners from Sint Niklaas who had all visited the twin towns many times and kept asking after people in Abingdon that they knew. It is fun to share experiences with people of different ages as well as nationalities. I think the highlight of the trip for me was a ride in a farm cart, pulled by two cart horses, through the woods and onto the Bavarian meadows. As we ambled along our hosts offered coffee and pretzels with butter and then opened the crate of beer that was on board too. The landscape was soft and pretty and around a bend or over a mill we would come across a small village surrounding a church. In the distance, down towards to Austrian boarder (only 30 miles away) the Alps reached for the sky. They did have snow, but not enough for winter sports. Maybe I had a second highlight with my first visit to Neuschwanstein Castle, perhaps the most famous castle in the world, gleaming white in the bright sun, perched on its crag with a lake as a backdrop. I knew that Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty’s Castle on it. Being a devotee of Disney theme parks I was intrigued to see the real thing but very surprised to find that the interior also resembled Sleeping Beauty’s castle, although her interiors depict fairy tales whilst Ludwig II’s depicts scenes from Wagner’s operas. A definite highlight was the times we sat and ate gateaux and drank coffee, sometimes with stunning views as backdrops. No nation on earth makes more wonderful cakes than the Germans. They are magical! In reality the highlight of the trip has to be the kindness and the warmth of all the people we met, our hosts in particular. Grateful thanks must go to Evelin, Elisabeth, Ingrid and all the others that worked so hard to give us such a wonderful time and experiences that we could never have had on our own. The great thing is that we are likely to meet each other again, maybe here, maybe in Sint Niklaas or Lucca or Colmar or even in America. When we do we will be greeting friends. In ADTTS we get several invitations a year to make such visits. Usually they are open invitations to any member of the society. Dates are put in the newsletters. I do urge you to take up an invitation. Stella Carter German MeetingWednesday 20 February 2008 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon
This month's meeting featured the showing of the recent popular German film "Das Leben der Anderen" (with English subtitles). This was an enjoyable evening, with about 50 members present. We would like to thank Ruth and Rosemary for the very good German style refreshments. Belgian EveningWednesday 16 January 2008 - Preston Road Community Centre, Abingdon
Hosted by Anne and Peter Dodd, about 60 ADTTS members and friends attended an interesting Belgian Evening for the latest of our regular themed evenings. The evening started with Michael Matthews telling us how the twinning with Sint Niklaas started and Stan Ponting entertained us with some anecdotes about his numerous trips to Sint Niklaas, including on one occasion a 20 mile journey between main course and pudding. We then had a quiz about Belgium and the knowledgeable team who scored 20+ points out of 24 were rewarded with a box of Belgian chocolates. The main part of the evening was a presentation about Belgian beers by Peter Dodd and the opportunity to sample a number of these beers. Even some members who said they never drank beer enjoyed the apple/wheat beer and the cherry Kriek beer. The traditional Belgian snack of chips with mayonnaise was served during the beer tasting and the evening finished with some Belgian chocolates after a strawberry beer. |
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Go to 2009 Events or 2007 Events. |
