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Dear Fellow Twinners,
This is my first Newsletter to you as Chairman and I hope this will be the beginning of a fruitful and successful relationship.
My thanks, first of all, to John Kent who worked very hard during his time in office and has left the Association in very good order for me to follow on from him. I hope he enjoys his time of respite.
The Association is currently planning for the summer, which promises to be busy and, I hope, enjoyable.

Visit to Barentin: 24^th to 27^th May:
This has now been finalised with a party of 36 people, travelling at various times and by various routes, but all converging on Barentin on the Saturday and staying until the Tuesday. We shall take a sundial with us as a gift for the Barentinois from our Association and we hope it will encourage the sun to shine on us during the visit. There will be a report of the weekend in the next Newsletter.

Visit by the Warendorfers: 5^th to 12^th July:
This visit approaches rapidly and we are looking forward to hosting our German friends, with planned visits to the Houses of Parliament, Winchester and Marwell, Salisbury and Stonehenge, Uppark and the Roman Palace at Fishbourne, and Chichester. All the accommodation is now arranged and we are grateful to all those who are hosting our friends during this week.
On the evening of Wednesday, 9^th July we have arranged with the Town Council to welcome the Winchester Morris Men to give a display of Morris dancing in The Square from 8.00 o’clock onwards, probably for about an hour. This will be a public display and we hope as many people as possible will come along to support them. It should be a different sort of experience for our German friends! The display team are not charging us a fee but would wel- come donations for charity. So please advertise this event among your friends and neighbours.

Youth Travel Bursary:
During the Easter holidays a small committee interviewed the applicants, who   were all charming and courteous, so careful consideration was given before offering the bursary to Alex Butler, aged 17, who intends to visit Warendorf during the summer to undertake two weeks’ work experience. He plans to carry out a study of German life and culture during his stay, and we look for- ward to hearing his report during the autumn.

Future activities

A June Walk: Ken Hick has kindly offered to walk us to Buriton on the evening of Tuesday, 24^th June. We shall leave The Grange Surgery car park at 6.00p.m., walk across the fields to Buriton and plan then to have a meal at The Five Bells. We should like to have an idea of numbers for the meal, so please fill in the tear-off slip at the end of this Newsletter if you wish to come, so we can make appropriate reservations at the inn.
Also, if there are members who would like to meet us at Buriton for the meal or just to socialise and then help provide transport back afterwards for those who don’t feel like walking in both directions, we shall be very pleased to hear from you.

Boules and Barbecue: Sunday, 7^th September at 1.30p.m.:
A combined boules and barbecue event has been arranged for the afternoon of Sunday, 7^th September at The Avenue playing fields and pavilion. Those of you intending to come along to this will need to bring your meat/fish dishes to barbecue, but salads and desserts will be provided by the committee. Please bring also your plates and utensils, glasses and drink, as well as garden chairs if it is fine enough to sit outside. Even if the weather is less than perfect we shall have the pavilion for shelter. The cost for this will be £6 per person.      . This promises to be an enjoyable social occasion. Again we need to know the numbers to expect, so please complete the appropriate slip if you would like to come. Our Treasurer, Phil Chapman, can supply meat, and possibly fish, for those who would like him to do so. If you are interested, please contact him on 01730 260990 to find out the cost and arrange with him what you would like.

Bring and Buy Sale: Morning of Saturday, 4^th October on Lloyds Bank Forecourt:
A Bring and Buy Sale is to be held to raise more funds for the Association. Please keep the date in mind so that you are able to help or buy from the stall. Also, we shall appreciate all offers of items to sell, from homemade produce to books and plants. Further details will be given later.

Finally, you may recall that the Association bought a gazebo last year. This is available for hire at £5 a day for any member who would like to use it during the summer. Please contact the Treasurer, Phil Chapman, who has the gazebo, if you would like to take advantage of this. His telephone number is as above, 01730 260990.

I hope to meet all of you during the summer at one or another of our activities. Meanwhile, here is a French/English crossword for you to try. Happy twinning! And best wishes!

                                               Your Chairman,

                                                          Gill Clarke

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Link to Current Newsletter

To see the February 2008 Newsletter click on this link

To see the Winter 2007 Newsletter click on this link

To see the September 2007 Newsletter click on this link