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Over the early May bank
holiday week-end, a group of 25 from Whitchurch and Goring Heath
went over to La Bouille for a week-end of fine food and wine and
an outing taking in two very different local places of interest.
As it is the 30th anniversary year of the Twinning, this was a
particularly momentous trip. This page relates the story
of the trip.
For more photos from the trip,
go to the Photos 2008
page
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Reception at
the Mairie
Upon our arrival, early Saturday evening, we attended a
reception at the Marie, given by the mayor of La Bouille and La
Presidente of the La Bouille Twinning. Speeches marking the 30th
anniversary were given and gifts were exchanged. The French gave
us a painting of La Bouille which will be displayed in a
suitable location for all to admire. Our gift to the French was
a clock with an inscription commemorating the 30th anniversary.
The French announced the launch of their Twinning website
www.labouillejumelage.com, which is well worth a visit.
Following the reception, we sat down to a magnificent meal.
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Chateau
de Beaumesnil
On Sunday we set off to visit two attractions in Normandy.
Our first stop was the chateau de Beaumesnil, a Louis XIII
baroque style chateau built from 1633 to 1640. The owners look
after the place themselves and the lady of the house gave us a
guided tour. The chateau houses a number of ancient book
bindings which are intricately decorated in gold.
We took a picnic in the magnificent grounds of the chateau and
enjoyed the warm sunny weather that blessed the entire week-end. |
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Haras du Pin
Next stop on the itinerary was Haras du Pin in Orne which is
one of the stud farms comprising the French National stud. The
stud was founded to provide horses for the many wars that France
was involved in. Now its purpose is to maintain the purity of
the breeds. There are only stallions at the stud, and mares
visit to be artificially inseminated. We were given a tour of
the stables and were able to see the stallions up close. They
are kept inside apart from short periods of exercise, as they
would fight if put together in a field.
The evening was spent dining with our host families.
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Art Gallery
On Monday morning we were free to wander around La Bouille –
a relaxing respite from the hectic activities of the previous
two days. We were able to visit an exhibition of paintings by
well-respected artists and the organiser explained about the
exhibition and the paintings.
After lunch it was time to set off back to Whitchurch and bid a
fond farewell to our French friends. |
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