Henley Falaise Leichlingen Twinning Association

DURING the last few months, we have been busy with our 50th anniversary visit to Falaise and our summer party, both of which were great successes.

We are now planning our annual pétanque afternoon in September, followed by the visit from our Leichlingen friends in October. There is always lots of opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Friday, May 24 saw the return of association members to Falaise in Normandy. This visit marked the second part of the 50th anniversary celebrations between our two towns.

This year’s visit was particularly moving as it took place two weeks before the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches (June 6, 1944). It was the Canadian armed forces who fought and won the battle of the Falaise Pocket, liberating the town on August 17, 1944.

The visit began on the Friday evening with a formal mayoral reception in Falaise town hall — the Hotel de Ville. Guests then left to spend the evening with their hosts.

On Saturday morning, most guests took the opportunity to visit the weekly market in the recently refurbished market hall.

Following this, guests could enjoy dancing demonstrations from various local artists, as part of the annual Spring show, Danse de Tous les Sens.

Guests and hosts came together on Saturday evening to enjoy a special dinner at the Pressoir. During aperitifs, guests were entertained by a young group playing lively French folk songs and, after dinner, another small band played an impressive range of French and other songs, eliciting lively audience participation. Dinner itself was a spectacular five-course feast.

Sunday was left free for guests and hosts to do as they pleased. In addition to a pre-booked delicious three-course lunch at an auberge, there were opportunities to visit local gardens, chateaux, villages or the coast.

Forty members enjoyed a summer lunch party on Sunday, July 21 in the picturesque setting of Remenham village hall. We had drinks outside in the sunshine before sitting down to a delicious two-course lunch provided by the committee.

As we were relishing quiches, cold meats and a variety of salads, followed by scrumptious desserts, we were entertained with background music by Robin Jacob-Owens.

A raffle with some super prizes donated by both individuals and local businesses raised £117, some of which will be used to buy much needed tablecloths for our association.

Overall, it was a most successful afternoon, an ideal opportunity to mingle, catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances.

We will be holding our annual pétanque competition on Sunday, September 15 at the Wallingford Boulodrome, the winner receiving the Peter Lowery Memorial Shield.

As usual, the event will start with a picnic at 12.30pm, followed by an afternoon of pétanque, with all equipment provided, and the games expertly arranged and guided by members of the Wallingford Pétanque Club.

No previous experience is necessary, nor does anyone need to seek to be part of a team in advance. Guests will be very welcome. The cost for the day is £6 per head (under-16s free). We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.

The Wallingford Boulodrome is part of the Sports Park, Hithercroft Road, Wallingford, where there is ample parking and a bar and toilets available to us in the clubhouse. Dogs are not allowed at the Sports Park.

There are a few picnic tables available at the Boulodrome but it is advisable to bring rugs and chairs, and perhaps a folding table. We bring our own food, but part of the invitation requires us to purchase our drinks from the sports club’s bar, rather than bring our own.

If you would like to take part, in what always proves to be a fun event, please email Liz McEwen by September 2 at the latest on lizmcewen@hotmail.co.uk

For payment details, please email HFLTA73
@gmail.com

It’s not long until we welcome guests from Leichlingen and plans are well underway for their visit from October 3 to 6.

On Thursday, October 3, from 6pm to 7.30pm, there will be a reception in the town hall. On the next day we will leave Henley at 9.30am for an Inspector Barnaby — Midsomer Murders — themed day in Wallingford and Mapledurham.

On the Saturday, guests will spend the day with their host families, followed by a dinner in the evening.

We are still looking for hosts for two couples, and day-hosts for guests who are not staying with families. If you can help, please email HFLTA73@gmail.com

Following last season’s successful revival of the annual twinning exchange between AFC Henley and S C Leichlingen, the two clubs have been in contact again regarding S C Leichlingen U13s’ traditional visit to Henley in October and AFC Henley’s return visit during the Easter weekend next year.

However, disappointingly, S C Leichlingen has been unable to generate sufficient interest from players in the visit to Henley, so the October exchange will not now go ahead. However, AFC Henley U13s still plan to visit Leichlingen next Easter.

Meanwhile, our current U14 age group has expressed interest in a possible link with Falaise.

An approach has been made via the twinning association and we await their response. The last football exchange with Falaise was about 20 years ago. We do not yet have a date for our autumn party but it will probably take place on a Friday evening in mid-November.

Our website was launched in June. Please note that the sections are more obvious on a computer than on a smartphone, where clicking on the little pair of parallel lines reveals the navigation menu. Do visit online and take a look at:

• The brief summary of Henley’s twinning history.

• Illustrated information about our twin towns (Falaise and Leichlingen).

• Our diary of forthcoming twinning events and visits.

• A collection of members’ photos and anecdotes (Twinning Memories).

• The news section, which is updated every few weeks with reports on twinning activities and snippets from Falaise and Leichlingen.

To learn more and to join the association, visit https://henleytwinning.word
press.com

The online contact page offers a way of sending an email to the committee via HFLTA73@gmail.com

Members Sue Fitzsimons and Fiona Franks were recently invited to a meeting organised by Robin Hart, a representative of the British German Association (BGA).

Robin brought together other town twinning contacts from Oxfordshire to exchange ideas and thoughts on the future of twinning. He is particularly interested in Youthbridge, the BGA’s schools’ network. For more information about this, visit britishgermanassociation.org

Café Parlez (French conversation) meets in the bar of the Relais Henley hotel for French conversation every two weeks on Tuesday evenings and Thursday afternoons. All are welcome.

To join in, please contact Angela Lenman at angela
_lenman@hotmail.com

Dates for August to October are: August 22 at 3pm; September 10 at 7.30pm; September 26 at 3pm; October 8 at 7.30pm and October 24 at 3pm.

Deutschkreis (German conversation) sessions take place on Tuesdays at different venues and cake is always provided. All abilities welcome.

Dates for August are Tuesday, August 13 and 27, both at 2.30pm, and thereafter fortnightly. To attend, please contact Sheila Dickie for locations and directions (lifts can be provided) at smdickiebrae@aol.com