Hampshire TWINNING

Oise JUMELAGE

Canal Cottage, Crondall Road, Crookham Village, Fleet, Hampshire. GU51 5SY

CROOKHAM VILLAGE TWINNING WITH LEVIGNEN

For more than twenty-five years Crookham Village , in north-east Hampshire, has been twinned with Levignen in France .  Levignen is in Picardy, about 40 miles north-east of Paris , near Crepy-en-Valois, Senlis and the forest of Compiegne .

Every May or June there is a weekend visit of about 30-50 people from Levignen to Crookham Village , or in the alternate years, from Crookham Village to Levignen. We usually make our own travel arrangements (by car, rail, air, or some combination of these) and aim to arrive in Levignen about 5pm on the Friday (6pm French time, i.e. after work for our hosts) because we stay with French families. The normal pattern is to have dinner with the host family that evening, followed by a day sight-seeing or similar on the Saturday, a collective meal with music and dancing on Saturday evening and, on Sunday afternoon, a picnic followed by the Inter-Village Games which are always rigged to ensure that the visitors win!

Supper is normally with small groups of host families on the Sunday evening, and the visitors leave on Monday morning. Things vary from year to year and family to family, but this is roughly what to expect if you haven’t been to Levignen, or entertained a French family for the weekend in your home.

It is a splendid opportunity to see parts of France (and England ), experience French family life, learn some words of French, enjoy the French sense of fun, and also get to know people from Crookham Village and places nearby, whom you may not have met before.

There are also many informal visits, both ways, mostly when people go on holiday.  Many long-term friendships have grown up.  Parts of Levignen are now named after Crookham Village , and several streets in the Zebon Copse part of Crookham Village are named after French people and places involved in the twinning.

To lighten the financial burden on English hosts, we organise fund-raising social events during the year, to help cover the costs of entertaining visitors.  The French similarly organise fund-raising on their side to entertain us when we visit.

If you would be interested in learning more about the twinning, or taking part in any way, please contact Charles Hicks on 01252 850657.

 2009

On Saturday 30 May 2009 we took 49 French guests to the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth , to see the harbour and the Mary Rose, Victory and Warrior.   In the evening we had dinner and a Barn Dance to the music of Paul Earwicker and his band.  The maritime theme was picked up in the Sunday afternoon games, for which many people dressed as pirates.  The pictures were taken at the games and at a children’s painting competition prize-giving. Velmead Junior School in Fleet has formed its own links with schools in and near Levignen and many of the Velmead children attended the games and prize-giving.

                   
A present of wine from France - Entente Cordiale - Chairman of Parish Council presents aerial photo of Crookham Village to Mayor of Levignen - A Pirate Prizegiving

A great weekend was had by all, with new friendships formed and old ones renewed.

The next visit will be from Crookham Village to Levignen in May 2010.

CROOKHAM VILLAGE/LEVIGNEN TWINNING 21st ANNIVERSARY

On the first weekend in June 2004 45 visitors from the French village of Levignen in Picardy, about 40 miles North-east of Paris, visited Crookham Village .Twenty years have passed since the first "Twinning" weekend visit in 1983, and this year's visit was the 21st. Friendships have been created both within Crookham Village, and the surrounding area, and between people here and in Levignen. Numerous informal contacts occur every year as well as the official annual visits.

People stay in each others' homes, visit local places of interest, learn to speak a little of the others' language, and encourage friendship, rather than war! A certain amount of food and wine is consumed, and gradually we learn about French family, community and business life, and how it compares with our own.

Thanks to a Grant from the EU to help with. expenses, the week-end was packed with activities - a guided tour of Fleet Pond, courtesy of the Fleet Pond Society, to show how the community works to conserve wildlife habitat; a guided visit to the Wickham Vineyard near Southampton to learn how wine-making is beginning to flourish in England; a Dinner and Barn Dance; a guided visit to Odiham Castle, highlighting the French connection; a talk on how the Euro has affected French family and business life; . an Inter-Village "Sports" afternoon of fun events, such as "zap-a-rat" and a "waiters' relay race", with the winning Village being presented with a Trophy by Brian Leversha, Chairman of Hart District Council; a Champagne reception with an Anniversary Cake, speeches, and presentation of commemorative plates. All this, and a warm welcome in the homes of the host families.

Born out of the Twinning movement, which encourages international goodwill between communities, this Twinning has flourished over the past 21 years, with many lasting friendships formed. Numerous informal visits are made each year, as well as the one official one, and we look forward to the next 21 years.

To view photos click on thumbnails. Click back to return. Press F11 on your keyboard for bigger screen.

The website for LEVIGNEN is weblevignen.free.fr