Great Yarmouth Twinning Association

RAMBOUILLETIN – March 2011

matt — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:33:23 +0000

Hilary Evans – Chairwoman

Best wishes to all for 2011, I hope it will be a good year for you.

It is the 55th year of the twinning and we want to make a splash!

Established members who have not yet paid their subs are invited to do so: £5 per person, per year is not a bad deal and the more of you who sign up again the longer we will be able to keep the cost down. Cheques as usual made payable to ‘Great Yarmouth & Rambouillet Twinning Association’ and sent to me at the above address.

We have a trip to Rambouillet in June (details to follow in the next news-letter) and our friends from Rambouillet will be visiting us in September for the Street Festival.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,

Hilary

Mrs. H.Evans,

Marshlands,

Common Road,

West Somerton,

Great Yarmouth,

NR29 4DN

Tel:01493 393416

E-mail: hilaryevans294@tiscali.co.uk

John Russell – Rambouilletin Secretary

Last Christmas I was very pleased to receive several cards and greetings from friends I have made in Rambouyillet. It may be interesting to note that our ‘full-on’ celebration of Christmas has evolved from Victorian ideas when Christmas Cards and Christmas Trees were introduced, but for our friends in France Christmas is a much more low-key affair and their main celebration is the New Year. So it is not unusual to receive cards saying ‘Joyeuses Fetes’ (Festive Joy) which refers to Christmas and the New Year.

On the subject of festivals, six members have expressed an interest in travelling over to see the Fete du Muguet (Lily of the Valley Festival) over the week-end of the 14th/15th of May and we will shortly confirm arrangements and a time-table for them. We had assumed that the Festival was a week earlier but at a recent meeting of their Council the date was confirmed as the 14th/15th.

Still on the subject of festivals, like us the French also celebrate April Fools Day but they call it ‘Poisson D’Avril’ (April Fish), which conjures up memories of sticking paper fish to some-ones back without them knowing about it. So if you happen to be in France on that date, it might be worth checking your back regularly.

Our official visit to Rambouillet in June co-incides with a week-long Music Festival throughout France, and the Saturday of our visit will be the climax of their week of celebrations. John Stephens the Director of Music at Saint Nicholas Church, is busy putting together and rehearsing a Choir from Great Yarmouth to give a performance in the Churh of Saint Lubin in Rambouillet as our contribution to their celebrations. The ‘Fete de La Musique’ first took place on the 21st of June 1982 thanks to the efforts of Jack Lang, the Minister of Culture at that time. The original slogan was ‘faites de la musique’ (go and make music) which sounds the same as the current title, and took place on the longest day which is the Summer Solstice. It was a great success and was enthusiastically adopted and now consists of street music and concerts of all types.

The response to our enquiry in the last news-letter about your preferred method of travel was overwhelmingly in favour of daytime travel by car or coach. This will be borne in mind.

At a recent meeting (1st of March) the Leader of the Borough Council, Councillor Barry Coleman, led an open discussion about the future role of twinning and how it operates in Great Yarmouth. The Council are committed to the continuation and development of broader links within the twinned communities, but they would also like to see some changes. The exchange of ideas will continue and we will keep you informed of progress.

There will be a Social Evening with a buffet at The Priory Centre adjacent to Saint Nicholas Church at 7:30pm on Tuesday 15th of March.

Also in March, on Saturday 26th a visit to the Pier Pavillion in Gorleston to hear the Choir of Saint Cecilia perform a selection of songs from the shows called ‘Some Enchanted Evening’. This can be preceded by an optional meal at the ‘Pub on the Pier’ (Pier Hotel). The show (tickets £10) starts at 7:45pm and the meal at 6:00pm. If you are interested please ring Sue Knight tel: 01493 664140 to book your seat.

Au revoir,

John.

John Russell

Tel: 01493 780636

E-mail: johnrussell112@btinternet.com

Sad News

matt — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:45:25 +0000

I am very sad to report that on Thursday 21st January 2010, Betty Cox, our treasurer, fell ill and shortly afterwards passed away. Betty was a very kind lady and will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts are with her family at this time.

6 Year Olds Love Their French Club

matt — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:43:53 +0000

The end of 2009 saw a teacher at Cliff Park Infant School along with a member of the Twinning Committee start a small French Speaking Club at Cliff Park Infant School.

The children who attend the club for half an hour during school time can already use an number of words and sentences, including introducing themselves and members of their family. At their last meeting of 2009 they held a little party where they learned how to ask for different food items.

The children are reported to love their time speaking French in the club and are enthusiastic about practising French in 2010.

Should you wish to set up something similar in your school and would like the assistance of the twinning association, please contact a member of the committee (see the Contact Us page).

French Conversation Evenings

matt — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:09:36 +0000

Our French conversation evenings will commence once again in 2010. The topics of conversation will change on a weekly basis and will be revealed on the evening. Both members and non-members of all ages and abilities are welcome.

Venue - The Dalton Room@ Fastollf House, 30 Regent Street, Great Yarmouth

Cost – Nominal Charge TBC

The conversation evenings will take place at Fastollf House on the following dates in 2010: -

Wednesday 27th January 7pm – 9pm
Further dates TBC

General Meeting with special guest speaker – Colin Tooke

matt — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:37:53 +0000

Our General Meeting for 2010 will be held at the Priory Centre in Great Yarmouth on the 8th March between 7 – 9pm.

This year we are excited to be joined by our special guest speaker, Colin Tooke. Colin will be talking about Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Through the Twentieth Century.

All members and any non-members who wish to join us for the evening are welcome. Refreshments and nibbles will be served following Colin’s talk.

We look forward to greeting you on the evening.

TWINNING CONNECTIONS

matt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:07:31 +0000

We are currently looking for anyone looking to make a connection or link of any kind with our French friends. We are especially looking for connections from a youth, educational and sporting background. For example, we have had a request from a cycling group in the Rambouillet area to connect them with a local cycling club or group in this area to enable them to join them for a ride or rides at a future date in this area.

Should you or someone you know wish to make a connection, please contact matt@fbpgroup.co.uk for more information

TWINNING SUCCESS

matt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:48:48 +0000

October 23^rd – 26^th saw a Gorleston based Keep Fit group join a group of members from the Great Yarmouth Twinning Association for a long weekend with French friends in Rambouillet.

The weekend visit forms a key part of the associations aim to promote and facilitate friendship by giving the visitors the opportunity to spend time with host families from the area, thus furthering educational, linguistic, cultural and social links between residents of the towns. This year the visit also gave the Keep Fit group a long awaited opportunity to meet up with friends from visits of over 25 years ago.

The French hosts and committee members gave a very warm welcome, with a series of enjoyable events and activities that gave all that attended plenty of opportunities to further the outstanding relationships that the twinning of the two towns has enabled.

Saturdays events included a Halloween themed autumn parade, with children and adults marching in their Halloween costumes through the main shopping centre, an afternoon reception with drinks and Halloween treats in the Rambouillet Hotel de Ville, finishing the day with a formal dinner at the Hotel Mercure, Relays du Chateau where they were joined for aperitifs by the newly elected Deputy (MP) M. Jean-Frederic Poisson.

On the Sunday, the visitors were treated to a coach trip to Paris, with a trip up the Seine on a Bateau Mouche, lunch at the café in the Museum of Architecture and a tour of the city which included the Dome des Invalides, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Opera, finishing up at the Eiffel Tower. The evening allowed the visitors a final opportunity to dine with their hosts, before packing for the journey home.

The return marked another successful and enjoyable French visit to Rambouillet for the Association and its members.

Press Release

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:04:08 +0000

TWINNING BENEFITS

Ever wondered what the twinning signs at the entrance to Great Yarmouth mean? More importantly, do you know where Rambouillet actually is and how the twinning of the two towns can benefit you?

The twinning of Great Yarmouth and Rambouillet was founded in 1956, when a unique bond was created between two vastly different towns in France and England. This was the start of a relationship that has now existed for over 50 years.

Today the Great Yarmouth and Rambouillet Twinning Association oversee this relationship on behalf of the residents of Great Yarmouth and the surrounding area, promoting the benefits of the twinning wherever possible.

The Association’s main aim is to ‘Promote and facilitate friendship between residents of the towns, Rambouillet and Great Yarmouth, by furthering educational, linguistic, cultural and social links’.

The committee are really interested to hear about what local residents, from school age upwards, would like to see from the twinning association at their mid session General Meeting on Wednesday 11th March at 7:30pm at The Priory, Priory Plain, Great Yarmouth.

During the meeting both members and non-members can find out much more about what’s on offer and how they can get involved. Following the meeting there will be plenty of opportunities to talk to the committee and members whilst enjoying some fine cheese and wines from both France and England.

For more information on twinning, visit www.gytwinning.com

Visits

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:14 +0000

The Twinning Association are currently proposing a visit to Rambouillet again. The provisional dates are 23rd to 26th October 2009.

All members that are interested in joining in on a very rewarding trip are genuinely welcome to come along.

More details to be published within the next Rambouilletin.