10th Anniversary Weekend 26-29 June

Festivities stated on Thursday morning with a Civic Reception, kindly hosted by Parish Chairman Thorold Masefield (pictured right) in his beautiful and very English gardens, where he welcomed our guests from Pont St Martin. French Mayor Yves Francois presented Thorold with a very splendid French mayoral sash and in return received a beautiful book about the New Forest. Many 'dark and stormy' cocktails were then consumed!

Guests, hosts and anyone in possession of one of many tickets sold by Bestsellers then enjoyed a cornucopia of events. Thursday afternoon was dedicated to rest and recovery after the long trip and we then held our annual BBQ in the evening. Our French guests were very impressed by all the delicious home-prepared dishes on offer!

Friday saw a trip by private bus to Boscombe, a stroll through the gardens to take the land train along to Bournemouth's Winter Gardens and shops, where we enjoyed some free time and a fish and chip lunch at Harry Ramsden's. After a ride on the old carousel we then took the boat at the pier and, after admiring lots of expensive shoreside homes, arrived in Poole for some free time and the return trip home by train, in good time for our Barn Dance and supper at the Village Hall. Live music was provided by the 'Corn Rigs' and over 100 people enjoyed a beautiful buffet supper (by 'Mange Tout' caterers). The French do not have anything resembling a barn dance but they soon got the hang of it and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

On Saturday we took a charabanc trip (courtesy of the French coach) to Arundel Castle where we saw the wonderful new Italianate gardens recently opened by Prince Charles and generally enjoyed our visit inside and out.

Our anniversary celebrations culminated on Saturday evening with a wonderful dinner concert in St Saviour's, where over 100 people first enjoyed a beautiful dinner (again by 'Mange Tout') and then settled down to listen to some fine musicians, both young and adult, courtesy of our very own musical maestro Cynthia Wilson. The audience was very moved by the concert and very impressed. Final speeches were made and various presentations made and suddenly our anniversary get-together was at an end.

However, in conjunction with the adult activities during the visit, another highlight was the inclusion of 27 Year 6 students from the Ecole Saint Joseph, along with their Headteacher Cathy Mansire and accompanying staff. They were hosted by local families and welcomed into Brockenhurst Primary School, starting with a special assembly, by Headteacher Trudie Bateman, her staff and pupils. One day was spent in school on joint activities with the English children, including enjoying the roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding at lunchtime, which went down very well!

On the Friday along with Years 5 and 6 from Brockenhurst, the French children travelled to Lymington by train, visiting Saint Barbe's Museum and the quay and they then spent the other half of their day on a Woodland Trail in Bolderwood, led by retired forester Martin Fletcher. They couldn't believe how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area. We hope to continue developing these links between the children in our two communities.

BTA would like to thank the many people who helped with the planning and preparation of the weekend, fetched balloons, moved furniture, washed up and bought tickets for the events and our previous fund raisers, enabling us to organize and subsidize this amazing weekend If you had a good time then please consider joining the Twinning Association and enjoying next year's visit to Pont St Martin!

For details contact Di Hastie on 622578.