Henley Falaise Leichlingen Twinning Association

ON the evening of Thursday, October 3, we welcomed to Henley a party of 29 people from our twin town in Leichlingen, near Cologne in the Rhineland.

These were all members of the Henley-Club, the counterpart to the Henley Falaise Leichlingen Twinning Association and this visit marked 45 years of twinning between the two towns. Most of the visitors had been allocated to host families for the weekend.

The visit began with a formal reception in the King’s Arms Barn, attended by the Mayor Rory Hunt. The town council very generously provided delicious sparkling wine from Fairmile Vineyard.

Despite their long journey to Henley by coach and ferry, the Germans were all very excited to be reacquainted with their Henley friends.

This also allowed new members of both twinning groups to meet the people involved in twinning. On the Henley side, it was their first event with the association.

Following the reception, the visitors either had dinner with their hosts, or visited restaurants in Henley.

On Friday morning we travelled by coach to Wallingford for a Midsomer Murders-themed day. This was by special request of one of the German visitors who, despite visiting Henley on many occasions during the past 30 years, had not had the opportunity of visiting Midsomer Murders (known as Inspector Barnaby in Germany) filming locations.

The day started with an excellent and thoroughly interesting talk and guided tour in the Corn Exchange theatre (known as the Causton Playhouse) in the series.

We were amazed to see the enormous number of props in the costume department, all carefully organised and labelled. Following on from the theatre visit, we had exclusive entry to the town hall and Wallingford Museum. The hall was such a beautiful and interesting building to visit and the museum has quirky and interesting exhibits relating to Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie, a long-time resident of Wallingford.

After a relaxed and convivial lunch at the Bell pub, Crowmarsh Gifford, we drove through the beautiful Oxfordshire and Berkshire countryside to Loddon Brewery (another filming location) in Dunsden.

Our guests enjoyed sampling the beer, even purchasing a few bottles to take home, and the group arrived back in Henley relaxed and happy. The evening was spent with hosts or in Henley restaurants and several people visited Relais Henley to enjoy the live jazz music of the Annie Parker Trio.

Saturday was left free for guests to spend with hosts and most of the group chose to wander around Henley, enjoying the lovely weather and eating lunch by the river.

Several followed the Henley Trail as a means of finding out about the history and buildings of Henley. During the afternoon, there was an opportunity for our guests to watch the Henley Hawks’ rugby match against Dorking at Dry Leas as guests of Councillor Hunt. Although the result was not as hoped for, this gave the Germans an opportunity to experience a very British sport. Beer from the Oktober Fest tent was also very well-received.

To round off an enjoyable weekend, we attended a formal three-course dinner at Henley Golf Club. There were speeches by Cllr Hunt and the chairs of the Henley-Club and the association, who expressed their thanks to those who had helped to organise the weekend.

During the evening, the atmosphere was noticeably relaxed and chatty, with people enjoying getting to know each other and exchanging stories. The general feeling within both the Leichlingen and Henley groups is that the relationship between our two towns is very strong and likely to continue for many years to come.

The German coach departed from Henley early on Sunday morning. There were many hugs and even a few tears. We are looking forward to our return visit to Leichlingen from October 2 to 5 next year.

For more information, email HFLTA73@gmail.com or visit henley
twinning.wordpress.com

Sue Fitzsimons