Twinning Report

Sainte Marguerite d’Elle

“Le Week-end Extraordinaire”

When we moved into the Ilsington Parish not so long ago, knowing nobody in the area, joining the Parish Twinning group seemed a good way to make new friends here as well as in France. We were not wrong.

With some apprehension we boarded the coach on Good Friday morning, along with thirty others, of all ages, whom we had come to know at various fund-raising events that we had attended over the past months. Why apprehen­sive? We knew nothing about the family we would stay with or the planned activities. And, how well could we communicate? My French was basic and Shirley's was non-existent.

As the coach arrived at Sainte Marguerite d'Elle's Mairie, all nervousness was dispelled. It seemed that half the village were there to greet us, including the Mayor and local press photographers. There followed lots of noisy, joyous greetings between the "veterans" of previous Twinning expeditions, the wine flowed, speeches in French and English were made, more flowing of wine and delicate pastries that you only seem to get in France.

Our host family, the delightful Brigitte and Robert Daburon, who were about our age, whisked us off to their home outside the village, where we quickly settled in and got to know each other over dinner - we hit it off straight away.

Having lived in London for twelve years, Brigitte's English was near perfect. Robert had been a master baker at a French Boulangerie in Notting Hill, working long hours, so his English was a little less practised. Needless to say, my French did not get used as much as would have been good for me.

In the next few days, our very generous and hospitable hosts showed us many places of interest, including the market in nearby Saint-Lo (where we bumped into half the Ilsington families), to many D-Day landing locations, Isigny-sur-Mer, the Bayeux Tapestry plus British Military Museum and Cemetery.

On Sunday the twinning families and their hosts came together for a day's outing to the West coast, and a vintage train ride from Carteret to Port Bail, with a fine lunch on-board and a reviving walk down to the harbour at Port Bail.

That evening the village hosted a wonderful dinner party in the Mairie, with more flowing of wine, pastis, beer and calvados. We were entertained by two young, excellent, singers. We all had a wonderful and very memorable time.

The weekend was a constant whirl of hospitality — aperitifs, dinners, birthday parties and visits. We made so many new friends in Normandy - some we could understand, some we couldn't, but a smile and a warm handshake goes a long way, especially after a glass of calvados or two.

With all apprehensions gone, we can't wait to entertain our new friends Brigitte and Robert next Easter.