Future Events

Newsletter from Glyn

We will be holding a get together to discuss the trip and just generally next year's visit and possible fund raising ideas. This will be in the upstairs room at the Town Hall Wednesday 11th July at 7:30 p.m.
Please bring a plate of something savoury to nibble/share and anything sweet if that is what you enjoy.
There is limited car parking behind the Town Hall and I’m afraid it will be a case of first come, first served.
 There are also 2 fund raising events we are looking to take part in.
 Firstly, 4th August on the seafront, Devon Air Ambulance are holding a street fair and we will be running a raffle. Prizes and offers of help please.
 Secondly, 27th August is the Carnival Street fair. That will be a Tombola stall and again prizes and offers of help wanted please.

Dates of the Exchange

By oversight, the last newsletter unfortunately omitted the date of the exchange for this year, although it was widely circulated in previous correspondence.
so to confirm..
Friday June 8th to Monday 11th June inclusive
There is still time to book, but the clock is ticking!

French Film in Lyme Regis

One of our members David Johnson is manager of the cinema in Lyme regis and has suggested that twinners might be interested in this weeks silver screen showing. He writes:

Silver Screen operates in the Regent cinema in Lyme on Thursday mornings. The film on Thurs 16 Feb (doors at 10am, prog start 10.30) is a delightful French film called My Afternoons with Margueritte, with Gerard Depardieu, finishing about 12.15. The film society showed it in October and it had 109 5* ratings from members! It isn't yet on DVD as far as I know. Tickets are only £3.25 incl coffee and biscuit and twinners are assured of a warm welcome!

Newsletter re AGM & Visit Details - Very Important

Greetings Everyone,
Welcome to my final newsletter as Secretary, here’s hoping it will be as factually correct and entertaining as its predecessors!
As previously advised I will regretfully be resigning at the AGM on the 24th of February at Crossroads 7.30 p.m. start. However, even more regrettably, after 15 years as Treasurer Avis has decided to stand down as well. Please let me know as soon as possible please if you would like to offer yourself for either position or to serve on the Committee. To date and somewhat predictably there have been no offers! Irene has asked me to pass on to you the importance that these posts be filled otherwise the Association cannot operate. The Grizzly will be on the March. 11th.
The Association have volunteered to act as marshals once again. Gerry Dawson is kindly acting as co-ordinator but please advise me if you are available to marshal the event as soon as possible. Even if you have confirmed verbally I need these offers firmed up please. We get well paid for this event and I had hoped that we could run two points, but I suppose that everyone else has the same thought!
The date of the visit to Thury has been arranged for Friday June 8th, returning Monday June 11th. This will mean an early start around 4.00 a.m. as we have to sail from Portsmouth because as to date the Barfleur from Poole is not in service. If you are interested in going on the visit please let me know as soon as possible. Sweatshirts and polo shirts can be ordered and I will be looking into fleeces as well. I think the corporate look had a great effect on our visitors in June and I would like to think we could impress when we visit. Finally if you have anything you wish
to be placed on the agenda for the AGM please get back to me ASAP. There will be a bar and light
refreshments and an interval quiz amongst all the other joy. Thank you all for your patience and I
hope to see you at the AGM full of ideas.
Regards,
Glyn.

Request
Please can you contact Gail on 21833 with any prizes that you may have for the raffle for the AGM.
Suggestions: Bottle of wine, chocolates, unwanted presents, plant, fruit basket

Newsletter November 2011 - French Lessons etc

Greetings everyone

Just a quick update to let you all know what is going on and hopefully you will come back to me with your opinions etc.

Firstly and most importantly the date for the visit to Thury next year has been set for Friday 8th June until Monday 11th June. It would be nice to get as many across as possible.

We will be running a tombola stall in the Town Hall on Sunday the 27th November.

Mavis and Tess have control of this one and are running a bottle stall. We would be grateful for any contributions which can either be taken to the Hall by 09:30 on the day, or to Janet at Panic Design in Marine Place. If you feel like assisting as well please give Mavis a ring as I’m sure she will be glad of your help.

The Grizzly next year will be on the 11th of March. As this is such a good earner for us the Committee has decided that this time will we be marshalling two points so we would like up to 12 volunteers please. Names to me at this stage please.

Various locations are being sounded out re our Christmas dinner, watch this space for a date in January, space will be tight so I’m afraid it will be first come, first served.

Doug and Shiona Rudge came up the idea of running French lessons. The Committee have taken this on board and think that it would work best if the more expert speakers

Doug and Shiona Rudge came up the idea of running French lessons. The Committee have taken this on board and think that it would work best if the more expert speakers among the members are willing to oversee the rest of the not so fluent. We think that we might meet once a month in a pub at 7:30 p.m. and speak French on a pre-determined topic for an hour. For a small charge the pub is willing to do some refreshments. Expressions of interest either as a tutor or student to me please.

Finally, the date for the AGM is set as Friday 24th February. I understand that The Chair and Treasurer are willing to stand again as are most of the Committee. If, however you would like to volunteer your services names to me please ASAP. If thereare more nominations than places we will have to have an election!

Glyn

Message from Glyn Roberts - Our New Secretary

Greetings Everyone,

For the benefit of those of you who don’t know me, my name is Glyn Roberts and I am following in the illustrious footsteps of Clare, who stepped down at the AGM. Should you feel the need to contact me there are several ways as set out below;

By post, phone or fax to the details above; there is an answer machine on that number so please feel free to leave your name number and a brief message and I’ll get back to you – eventually!

By mobile or text to 07837793466

And finally e-mail to glyn.roberts@live.co.uk.

To the business in hand:
Firstly, there are a number of you who have not paid your membership. This is due NOW please - £7.50 for a single and £15.00 for family membership.

Even more importantly, there are only 10 weeks to go before our trip to Thury. So far only 15 members have confirmed they will be going. That leaves a lot of space on the coach and an even greater space in the bank balance! Names of those wishing to go must be with Avis together with your payment of £85 by the 29th of March please.

The coach will leave the Coach Park on the Underfleet at 10:30 a.m. Departure from Portsmouth at 15:30 with arrival in Cherbourg at 19:30 local time. The committee feels that this late arrival means we will have to forego our usual stop in Bayeux.

Departure from France on the Monday is earlier than usual. We need to be at the ferry for 16:00 check in. Regrettably this means that the market at St.Pierre is also likely to become a casualty but the committee is actively seeking other options – watch this space!

Once again a reminder please; names and money to Avis by the 29th of this month.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.

See you soon,

Glyn

PS Apologies for the short notice of this letter but our computer has just undergone major surgery as is now on the road to recovery.

Newsletter 17th July 2009

Dear Members,
We are writing to you to confirm arrangements for the forthcoming visit of our friends from Thury-Harcourt. Please read this letter carefully and reply as soon as you can if you wish to participate in any way.
The dates are 21st August to 23rd August. The French party will arrive at St. Clare’s at about 5pm on Friday 21st August, and that first evening will be spent at home with host families. On Saturday 22nd we will meet at the coach park opposite the tram station at 8.30 am, to travel to Exmouth for a boat trip from 10 o’clock until 12 noon. The coach will then collect us and take us on to Exeter. We will be dropped at the quayside . Pick up from the quayside will be at 6pm and we will then go straight to the Harbour Inn at Axmouth for the dinner at 7.30pm. It may help your daytime choice of meal to know that the menu for dinner is roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
The boat trip and meal for our guests are as always paid for by the twinning association, but hosts pay for their own meals and entertainment. The costs are
Boat trip: £6.50 per person
Dinner, including wine and entertainment £20 per person
Please note that it is not necessary to attend both boat trip and meal. We are hoping that there will be a good number taking part in the boat trip. Please feel free to invite friends and family to come along and join in the day.

Please find attached booking slips for both the meal and the boat trip. It is important that you make your bookings and pay by cheque by the 1st August. We need to know numbers in order to make final arrangements.
We are also looking for people to host our guests. We have already spoken to some of you who have hosted before, but would like to give everyone the opportunity to share in this rewarding experience. If you would like to host, please contact any member of the committee, as soon as possible so we can answer any questions you may have

February Newsletter about AGM

Please find enclosed the minutes for the 2008 AGM. Please bring them with you to this year’s AGM on Friday the 27th February at 7.30 in the Crossroads Christian Centre in Homer Lane Seaton. If you’re not sure where this is do phone a member of the committee to find out. Please also remember that the annual subscription is now due (£7.50 for individuals, £15 for families). It can be paid to Avis in advance or at the meeting itself.
There will be wine and nibbles available and the evening is always a pleasant one.
After the business of the meeting there will be a quiz, as well as the usual raffle, for which donations of gifts would be appreciated.
At the meeting you will learn about arrangements for the visit of the French this August. Our plans are almost complete and we believe we have a very enjoyable programme.

Bookings for the skittle evening with Axminster Twinning Association on March 16th may also be made at the meeting.

Members of the committee are helping with the marshalling of the Grizzly Run on March 8th this year, in order to raise funds for the twinning. If any member would also like to help please inform the committee at the meeting.
We look forward to seeing you at the AGM

December 2008 newsletter

Dear Members,

Please note the following important dates and information:

1 AGM This will take place at the Crossroads Christian Centre in Homer Lane on Friday 27th February at 7.30pm. There will be wine and nibbles and the meeting will be followed by a quiz.
Please note that membership subscriptions will be due. As notified at last year’s AGM the payment will be £7.50 for individuals and £15 for families. There will also be a raffle. Please bring a prize if you can, be it a spare bottle or box of chocolates that has survived Christmas or any Christmas present that is surplus to requirements.

2 Axminster Twinning Association have invited us to an event they are organising in March, as follows: a social evening with a skittles tournament and a finger buffet, from 7pm on 16th March 2009 at the Harbour Inn in Axmouth. The cost will be between £9 and £10 per person. If you would like to join in what promises to be a very enjoyable evening you can sign up for it at our own AGM on 27th February.

3 Fundraising: as ever, with the visit of our French friends due next August ( Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd) the need for fundraising activities becomes more urgent. We are always looking for fresh ideas for fundraising (and funraising) and for new people to get involved with activities. If you have any ideas please bring them to the AGM. Also if anyone feels they have anything to offer in terms of committee membership please come forward.
We are very pleased to announce that the Carnival Committee has generously given us the sum of £100. This is a very welcome boost to our funds, but there is much still to do.

4 CHRISTAS SOCIAL: As usual this will take place in January, when all of us have a little more time than in the pre-Christmas rush. This will be at the King’s Arms in Seaton, on January 16th at 7.30pm. The cost will be £10 per person. This is less than a month from now, so we really do need you to BOOK STRAIGHT AWAY PLEASE. Bookings with payment should be made to the Treasurer, Avis Hilder at the above address. Cheques should be made payable to Seaton and District Twinning Association.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

"Holy Relics"

Between the start of the exchange in 1982 and the 25th anniversary in 2007, both Seaton and our Association have received a number of gifts and other commemorative items from our friends in Thury. Some of these now lie in odd corners half-forgotten except by their guardians. For this reason some attempt has been made to catalogue everything. So far, the list is confined to items in the town hall, Seaton museum and Cliff Field Gardens, namely:

Football trophy, enamelled glass plate, and pottery vase in the museum

Twinning charter and framed picture of Thury-Harcourt in the town hall (upstairs landing), and

Park bench with brass plate in Cliff Field Gardens adjacent to the boules pitch

Photos of all these items have been added to this site and can be found by following the link which has been added to the list on the right under the title "Catalogue of commemorative items".

If anyone is aware of any other item not listed, could they let the committee know please. Equally if anyone from our 2007 visit has a commemorative coaster presented at they are willing to donate for display in the museum, could they do likewise.

Newsletter September 2008

Below is the text of the Associations printed newsletter - much of it is hardly news for those of you who keep up to date with the blog .

The text

Hopefully, you will find a number of items of interest in this issue of the newsletter. We have news of social events, both past and future, and some exciting developments with our website

Blogsite

The old defunct website has been replaced by a new blogsite at the address given above, The blogsite does all that the old site tried to do and more. Its format makes it easy to update on a daily basis and without the need for specialised file transfer software. It contains news of events, the text of newsletters, photographs, links and the occasional exhortation leavened with a bit of whimsy. Go to it and you will find links to online photo albums with over 250 photos of present and historical Thury-Harcourt, past visits and shots from the archives. There are also links to useful sites like Thury’s municipal and twinning association sites and the local French newspaper Ouest–France in case you want to keep up with the local gossip over there. Perhaps the most useful feature is that anyone can post comments, suggestions and features easily.

Funds

The Association manned a tombola stall at the August bank holiday street fair in Seaton as part of our all so important fund raising effort. Next year, perhaps as many as 50 French guests may appear, and we need to provide hospitality for them, and this includes all entry fees, transport, snacks and a formal dinner on our big day out. Fund raising is therefore not just an important issue, it is a vital issue. Thanks then to all who helped on Monday, and thanks to all who provided prizes. After expenses, we made just over £50 (that is not finalised) which all helps but there is still a lot to do. Nevertheless as the French proverb goes "Petit à petit l'oiseau fait son nid" (little by little the bird makes its nest)

Obviously, fund raising is becoming a priority, so please get your thinking-caps on, and come up with some fundraising proposals, especially if it entails a couple of hundred plastic ducks. The Association has had a stock of these for some years.

Future Social Program

Events are
Friday 5 September 7pm
Boules Cliff Field Gardens

Wednesday 17 September 6.30pm
Gerry has arranged another walk. Meet at Musbury Church for a choice of walks to and around Musbury Castle. This will be followed by a get-together at the Harbour Inn at Axmouth around 8.15. As at the earlier walk this year on the Undercliff local historian, Derek Stevens will be on hand to liven up the walk with his historical anecdotes and local knowledge.

Saturday 18 October 10am-3pm
The Association will be manning a stall at Seaton’s Community Activity Fair at the town hall. This is a great opportunity to showcase ourselves to the town and potential members. Any help in manning the stall or in effective presentation will be gratefully received

Christmas Festival- Seaton
Watch this space. The Committee have a few ideas for contributing to the festival in December and details will be forthcoming later

Finally:
We have just heard that Ralph Ravenhall has died recently. Long standing members will recall that he was Chairman of our Association in the early days. The Association remembers the work he did in laying the foundations of our links with Thury Harcourt and promoting international friendship. Our sympathy goes out to his family

From the archives Ralph Ravenhall (on right) welcoming French Visitors to Seaton, date unknown but possibly 1986

Newsletter June 2008

Newsletter June 2008

Dear Members,
Please read this newsletter carefully as it covers events going through to September.

1 Gerry has arranged another social walk for Wednesday 25th June. Details are as follows:

An easy walk out to the landslip, 1h to 1h15 minutes in total.
Meet at 6.45pm at the top of Steppes Lane in Axmouth (where it levels out and joins the green lane to the landslip on the right). Afterwards to the Harbour Inn in Axmouth for an informal social evening/drinks/food.
If the weather is wet it will be postponed until mid July, date to be notified later if so.

2 Following the very enjoyable visit to Thury-Harcourt, we would like to give everyone the opportunity to get together again soon and enjoy each others company. This applies to all members of the twinning not just those who went on the recent visit. If you were not able to go this time it will be all the nicer to see you again now. If you did go it will be a chance to share photos, exchange stories and enjoy memories as well as catching up with old and new friends. It was good to see so many new members enjoying the visit and we hope we will all get to know each other better. To this end, there will be an informal gathering at the Kings Arms in Seaton on Wednesday 2nd July from 7.30pm. Just turn up and enjoy yourself.
3 There will be a series of friendly matches at the boules pitch in Cliff Field gardens as follows. Beginners are welcome as well as more experienced players. Boules are provided.
FRIDAY 4TH JULY 7PM
TUESDAY 15TH JULY 9.45AM
FRIDAY 1ST AUGUST 7PM
FRIDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 7PM
4 French photo competition. To enter, get your photos to Graham Jones by post, by email to
seatontwinning@yahoo.co.uk, by bringing them to a social, or by any other means you can devise. If you don’t want to enter the competition but still have photos you would be happy to share, we would love to have them as Graham will compile a CD of photos and videos as a souvenir of the visit. This will be available to purchase for a modest sum to raise money for the visit of the French next summer.
5 Not many people know this, but the souvenir enamel coasters which were given to us by our French hosts at the dinner on the Saturday evening were manufactured in the enamel factory in Thury-Harcourt and followed a design by Gerard Gehanne, a member of the Thury twinning association. So take good care of yours, if you are lucky enough to have one!

If you have any queries, ideas or comments please don’t hesitate to contact me or any member of the committee. Hoping you enjoy the summer (when it comes back), and that you make it to as many events as you can.
Yours sincerely,
Clare Jones on behalf of the committee.