2008 in Sevenoaks
Easter this year was about as early as it could be, and thus Ascension Day also. Traditionally that is the first day of our annual twinning weekend. So the prospect of receiving a coach party of French guests in Sevenoaks on the very first day of May had us somewhat apprehensive: was it really such a good idea to have organised excursions involving so much exposure to the elements? A feeling that increased as hail, rain and wind swept the country throughout April.
However, somebody must have been praying hard because as the coach from Pontoise pulled into the car park of the Town Council Offices that Thursday evening, the clouds rolled away, ushering in a heat-wave that August would have been proud of, and one that broke all records for the month of May.
Gathering in the Council Chamber for a glass of wine, old friends embraced while those new to the two associations, French & English, were introduced to each other. Mayor Richard Parry welcomed the party warmly to Sevenoaks, the new Madame Presidente bringing greetings from Pontoise. Our guests were then taken home to have supper and the weekend was under way.
As usual, two excursions were organised, with very different objectives. One was to Chatham Dockyard, now a museum of British naval history with many exhibits and recent improvements.
In addition to crawling all over the Victorian sloop HMS Gannet, the destroyer HMS Cavalier and the submarine Ocelot, our party learned all about rope-making in the fully operational Ropery.
The other excursion was in the direction of Lewes. In complete contrast to the Dockyard museum, the morning visit was to Charleston, the 17th century Sussex farmhouse that became the country retreat for artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and, consequently, a meeting place for many of the Bloomsbury group in the first half of the last century. The bohemian lifestyle of the household may have shocked the neighbourhood at the time, but proved fascinating to our group, as they toured a house transformed into a work of art by virtue of its decorated walls, doors, furniture, ceramics and textiles.
Then on to Lewes itself. First for lunch, carvery style in the conservatory restaurant of the White Hart pub in the High Street. Then let loose on the town, some to explore the Castle, others to shop or just wander through cobbled streets in the sunshine.
Saturday was set aside for our French friends to spend with their Sevenoaks hosts, at home or absorbing something of life in and around the town. We were to congregate once more, however, in the evening when we all attended the official dinner, this year held in the lovely old barn restaurant at the back of the Plough Inn at Leigh. Some 70 people attended, although not all visible from the minstrels' gallery from which the left hand photo was taken.
Just two full and enjoyable days were spent together, because on Sunday morning it was time to say goodbye again. Too quick, of course, but all good things come to an end....probably just as well though because one's stamina is not limitless! Farewells were said over coffee and muffins, and our guests departed once more for Dover. Then a great sigh of relief that, by-and-large, everything had gone according to plan!
