Kingtsteignton Twinning with Orbec Association

A group of the Association consisting of residents from Kingsteignton including school children with their parents or grandparents enjoyed 5 days and 4 nights in Orbec. We were hosted very congenially by the residents of Orbec and received very enthusiastically by the local shops and businesses.

I enclose the itinary but I will give special attention to the Memory game devised by Giselle Motio, a teacher at Orbec school and organiser of Orbec Twinning.
We were given places to visit and to mark the name of street they were in. Some of us walked but soon took the option to go by car. Not easy driving in the very narrow streets of Orbec.

A reception took place as soon as we returned to the Place de Mairie where the Mayor of Orbec and Mayor of La Vespiere were on hand to welcome us. KOTA was represented by our President Veronica Chambers. A letter was read out in apology from our Mayor. Also an apology from our Chairman who was also not able to attend.

A visit to France Miniature was planned on Sunday. It is the largest miniature park in Europe situated at Elancourt near Paris. 2011 is the 20th Anniversary of France Miniature funded and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Rural Affairs ( if I have interpreted that correctly).
It is advertised as “A chance to visit all of France in less than a day”.
It was a very hot day, minus ‘mon chapeau’ I bought a baseball cap and wondered around the imposing figure of the Eifel Tower inaugurated 1889 for the Universal Exhibition The real Eifel Tower now has a television antenna on it. Also came across the le Mont St Michel and had my photo taken with my host Michel named after the Saint. The monestry was founded in 966 by the Benedictine monks. A tape could be heard of monks chanting. It was also a prison during the French Revolution.
There was a fantastic model of The Chateau of Versaille built by Louis X111 but characterised by his son Louis X1V the Sun King. The model takes 200 sq metres and took over 12 months to build.

Every now and again a passing TJV train would come through the countryside on the French Rail Network.

Another sound alerted us was a rocket being launched to remind us of the Launch Pad in French Guiana. It was the rocket Ariane 5 at Karou Space Centre. The model was designed by Sculptor William Glachant and took 1,500 hrs to complete.

Anne Lonsdale