ATA Exchanges

Mid-May saw the Abbotskerswell Twinning Association take part in their exchange visit. See a short video of some of the highlights here.

This year it was the turn of nearly 40 of us to visit our friends in the Normandy villages of Le Pre d'Auge and Les Monceaux. Our coach took us up to the ferry at Portsmouth, across the Channel then on the short distance to our destination. With reunions taken care of we then went to our hosts' homes after a long day.

On the Friday the French had laid on a day with a visit to the Dame Blanche animal sancturary, lunch at an excellent restaurant, followed by a tour of the Bohn factory - the last needle makers in France.

We spent the evening back at home with our hosts for a meal accompanied by pastis, pommeau, wine, beer, cidre and, of course, Calvados - their local speciality.  We all spent Saturday with our hosts visiting local attractions - Lisieux market, Honfleur, Deauville and the Normandy beaches. In the evening we gathered in Le Pre village hall for a buffet supper, dancing and generally renewing friendships. That went on until the early hours before we headed home to our beds.

Sunday, our last day, and more eating and drinking in the village hall before saying our farewells and heading off to Cherbourg for the return ferry.

Another excellent Twinning visit behind us and people making plans to return, especially now that Flybe have started a service from our local airport, Exeter, to theirs, Deauville. And many plans to lose a few pounds after all we had consumed over the weekend.