Events
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Terracina Visit
13th July to 19th July
2024
Report by Beryl Whidden and Claire Mayer
Please click on link below for original pdf:
TERRACINA VISIT 2024 by Beryl Whidden and Claire Mayer (1)
What a start! The seven Italians arrived very late in Exeter to be greeted by rain having left the sunshine of 40 degrees C in Terracina. They were feeling the cold! The Italians were taken by their hosts either for a meal with friends, or to enjoy the sun setting from the Quay in Topsham.
A relaxing start to the day on Sunday was had by all then followed with a gentle walk down Fore Street Exeter to the Quay, winding their way through the Flea Market and the gem of St Nicholas Priory, where a member was on duty to help them. A delightful afternoon was spent on the Quay, listening to Jazz and enjoying the atmosphere. The evening finished in the beautiful garden of a member with the Final Football match being shown on TV. What drama!
The Redcoat Guide on Monday from the Cathedral Close to the Quay was a great success, despite the torrential rain. The excellent interpreter was much appreciated. On arrival at the Quay a group photo was taken on Piazza Terracina on the Quay. Time to recover for the Celebration Dinner with the Lord Mayor at the Rougemont Hotel. Welcome drinks were served in the Nelson Room and a dinner was enjoyed in the Derby Room under glistening chandeliers and candle lit candelabra. A Great success – the conversation never stopped. Tuesday was a free day for everyone, either relaxing or visiting Dartmoor, Bovey Castle, Okehampton and Tavistock or closer to home St James Football ground. More time was had for or chatting in the evening with old and new friends over drinks and nibbles in the evening in the garden of another member.
On the next day our trip a boat along the coast from Exmouth to Sidmouth and back, the sun shone and the sea shimmered in the light. Most Twinners disembarked at Sidmouth to wander around for a few hours, returning later on another boat. For the visitor’s last day, Thursday, we took them to Honiton on a gloriously sunny day. The Curator of the Honiton Museum showed us beautiful intricate examples of lace and valiantly answered many questions. The lace demonstration was watched with wonder. Before Covid the Museum had forty four lace demonstrators and now only have four. The Italian owner of Little Venice left his wonderful shoe and bag shop to join us and to help with translating. Lunch was taken in the garden of The Vine, down an alley off the High Street. The sausages and mash were declared to be the best ever by the Italians. Praise indeed. Instead of pudding we had a cream tea – an interesting experience for them all. Before returning to our cars, we stopped off to see a fabulous new exhibition named “The Invisible Threat” at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery. It is an exhibition by 15 contemporary textile artists wishing to push the boundaries and showing a diverse range of textile disciplines and perspectives.
On our way home The Walled Gardens of the Pig at Gittisham were much admired – and quiet drinks were enjoyed under the cedar trees. The evening finished with a flourish at the Beer Engine in Newton St Cyres – with Morris Dancing and most Twinners participating in the last dance. Retiring exhausted to bed in preparation for an early morning departure. Despite the Microsoft computer glitch there was only a slight delay with the plane. However, two of the Italian party got stuck in Paris for two days, but everyone is now safely home.
A wonderful week was had by all. Old friendships were maintained and new ones made.
Programme
Saturday 13th July 2024
Italian guests arriving mid-afternoon.
Evening with hosts.
Sunday 14th July 2024
Flea Market in Fore Street, Exeter (12:00 – 16:00) – The market is a rummager’s paradise, with surprises
around every corner.
St Nicholas Priory – Exeter’s oldest building (the original priory was turned into Tudor home and is now a
performance and community venue). It will be open 13:00 – 16:00.
18:30 pm – Bring & Share Supper Party @ Marija & Jeremy’s house – for hosts & guests.
11:30 Red Coat Guided Tour – Meet by the War Memorial, Cathedral Close.
This tour has been organised with an Italian interpreter and it is open to all members (first come first
served). It will last 90 minutes and will finish at 13:15 at Piazza Terracina.
18:30 Celebration Dinner at Rougemont Hotel – with the Lord Mayor and his consort attending – All
Members welcome!
Free Day with Hosts
20:00 – Drinks & Nibbles at Beryl’s House (for Hosts & Guests)
Boat Trip from Exmouth to Sidmouth
Meet at Exmouth Docks at 10.30 – Open to all Members
Honiton Lace Museum
10.30 – Meet at the Museum (Visit & lace-making demonstration). https://www.honitonmuseum.co.uk/
Lunch – picnic or café/restaurant with hosts. Why not try The Folly, former orangery, tucked away in the
garden of The Pig at Coombe, Gittisham, EX14 3AD (3.5 miles from Honiton).
https://www.thepighotel.com/at-combe/. Also, maybe a visit to Beer and Budleigh Salterton on the way
back to Exeter.
20:00 Morris Dancing at The Beer Engine, Newton St Cyres EX5 5AX – If you wish to join us – see you
there!
Early morning departure
Forthcoming Events
Incoming visit from Terracina 13th to 18th July More details to follow.
Previous Events
Incoming Visit from Rennes April 2024
To see details and photos of our May 2024 incoming visit from Rennes, please see the May 2024 Newsletter here: https://exetertwinningcircle.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ETC-Newsletter-May-2024.pdf
In order to see the programme for the the forthcoming visit from Rennes, please click the link below:
Rennes Visit 2024 – Programme
Visit to Bad Homburg - 29 September to 4th October 2023
We have been invited to visit our twin town of Bad Homburg between 29th September and 4th October 2023.
14 members have expressed their wish to join this visit.
Devon Twinning Circle Meeting - 22 July 2023
Exeter Twinning Circle is a member of Devon Twinning Circle. There are over 160 towns and villages in Devon currently twinned with communities overseas including France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, Uganda, New Zealand, Japan and Hungary, The Twinning Circle members meet regularly to compare notes, offer ideas and offer ideas on the development of twinning activities and foster contacts in other countries.
The 30th Anniversary of Exeter Festival Chorus Choir was celebrated with a joint concert with its partner choirs, the Bachchor, Bad Homburg and Hanauer Kantorei, performed at Exeter Cathedral on the 15th July 2023.
Images by Tom Hurley
The Dream of Gerontius - Exeter Festival Chorus - 15th July 2023
Exeter Festival Chorus – a joint concert with the choirs from Bad Homburg and Hanau. The Exeter Festival Chorus 30th Anniversary concert takes place in the magnificent setting of Exeter Cathedral. Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, widely regarded as his choral masterpiece, is a large and powerful work. This concert will be held on 15th July 2023 (7.30pm). There is a special discount for ETC members. When using the TicketSource system from the Exeter Festival Chorus website, you will see a box labelled “Use discount code”. If you enter “Twinning” here, the 10% discount will apply.
Joint Photographic Exhibition by Exeter/Rennes photographers at Thabor Gardens, Rennes
May 2023
This exhibition is a result of continuing friendship and collaboration between two photographic societies – one in Exeter (Exeter Camera Club) and one in Rennes (La Societe Photographique de Rennes). The theme of the exhibition was “Our Countryside” (“Nos Campagnes”) – Devon and Brittany. With 20 photographers from Exeter exhibiting in Rennes, this is a great example of cultural links between twin towns which we the ETC like to encourage. The exhibition was held at the Orangery in the beautiful park, Le Jardin du Thabor, in the centre of Rennes. The opening was attended by the ETC representatives (Marija & Jeremy Lees), Exeter Camera Club members as well as our twinning friends from Rennes.
Coronation Lunch – May 2023
A special Coronation Lunch was held in honour of our new king, King Charles lll and Queen Camilla at the Red Ruby Cafe, Exe Valley Farm Shop, near Thorverton. Thirty three of our members attended, as well as our VIP guest, Paul Bristow of the British-German Association. Paul, who is their regional representative for Devon and lives in Exeter, talked about the work of the British-German Association and various ways we (ETC) could expand and improve our twinning activities. Paul has since joined ETC, so we look forward to benefitting from his considerable knowledge and experience.