30th Anniversary Visit to Lautertal

The Felsenmeer on a misty day!

  A group of 20 RAIFA members spent a long weekend (from Thursday to Monday!) in Lautertal from 23rd to 27th September to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our first twinning arrangement. Three of our party had been in the original group visiting Lautertal way back in 1980.

As ever, it was a very busy time for us all, taking in a visit to the artists' quarter of Darmstadt, a cabaret performance by Brünhild, a visit to a local brewery, the fantastic "Felsenmer in Flammen" son et lumiere presentation, dedicating a new twinning tree and culminating in  breakfast at Schönberg Castle, former home of Queen Victoria's grandfather, the Duke of Erbach-Schönberg.

Below are some pictures of the visit

Schmuker Brewery

 

Well, you have to try it don't you!

Welcome to Darmstadt

Russian church, Darmstadt

Watering the new twinning tree

Brünhild - beware- don't mess with her!

A present from the Parish of Aldenham

 

The Victoria Lime Tree - planted by the Queen herself

Shönberg Castle

 

Féte des Fleurs, 18/19 September 2010

Once again  we sent a representative from RAIFA to be the Maid of Honour at the annual Féte des Fleurs festival in Louveciennes. Priscilla Meigh reports:

Under a clear blue sky and warm September sun, my ten year old daughter Emily and I spent a wonderful weekend in Louveciennes. The two days were a whirlwind of welcoming smiles, French food, funfair stalls, fireworks and flower-studded floats.

We arrived at lunchtime on Saturday, having caught the Eurostar at 8am at St Pancras. In front of the Mairie we joined a large delegation from Vama, Louveciennes’ twin town in Romania, who were celebrating ten years of ‘jumelage’ with local French officials. After drinks and snacks we were then invited to a nearby house for a splendid array of cheese, dessert and fresh fruit, where I had a friendly meeting with my French counterparts for Radlett twinning.

We were warmly welcomed by our host, who lived on the same road and with whom we were soon at ease, passing swiftly from ‘vous’ to ‘tu’. Emily enjoyed a couple of hours at the funfair, demonstrating equally alarming skills in the dodgems and the rifle shooting. It was not long before it was time to go for a delicious dinner at a restaurant bordering one of the many chateau parks in Louveciennes. After several short, entertaining speeches of welcome by our French hosts and of thanks by our fellow Romanian and German guests, we picked up our forks and tucked in. The evening was rounded off by a spectacular fireworks display.

Oh, the joy of fresh French patisserie for breakfast! A Sunday morning stroll around the nearest chateau and park saw us back in good time for a barbecue lunch at the Mairie. Soon the procession was assembling and we watched as float after float set off, studded with flowers to depict this year’s theme of television serials, including Little House on the Prairie and The Magic Roundabout. They were truly impressive. The final float was of course the most special, with the French Flower Queen and her beautiful English and German princesses, the former being Leila Quinney from Radlett. Separated by colourful marching bands and majorettes, the floats meandered through the streets of Louveciennes all afternoon. As they returned to the Mairie, it was time for us to say our goodbyes and head back to Paris to catch the Eurostar home.

It was a weekend of extraordinary generosity, goodwill and effort by the French organisers. We felt most privileged to be there.

September Events

We have two events in September. Firstly we shall be sending a representative as Maid of Honour to the annual Féte des Fleurs in Louveciennes. Secondly we shall be sending a party to Lautertal to commemorate the 30th anniversary of our twinning.

Watch out for more details and reports!

Hungarian School Choir at the Radlett Festival

Twelve members of the Bakay Ervin secondary school choir from Dunaharaszti in Hungary travelled over 1,000 miles to sing at the Radlett Festival this year. They sang at the Saturday night concert and then again the following afternoon during the Village Fair. On the Sunday they also joined with Radlett's own Singing Circle for a spirited rendition of Abba's Super Trouper which went down very well with the crowds!

The choir arrived on Friday morning and spent the day on a sightseeing trip to London. They then travelled to Radlett where they were met by the families with whom they were staying. Over the weekend they were also able to visit St Albans and Shenley Park before returning home on Monday.

Despite a few challenges during their visit, everyone had a great time and we all enjoyed their enthusiasm and friendship. Well done to all involved!

RAIFA and the Radlett Festival 2010

RAIFA is closely involved with this year's Radlett Festival on this coming weekend, 12th and 13th June.

We will be welcoming a school choir from Dunaharaszti in Hungary who will be performing at both the Saturday evening concert and Picnic in the Park and during the Sunday Village Fair. The choir consists of twelve young people aged between 13 and 17 years old. They will be accompanied by their choir leader, another teacher, the Mayor of Dunaharaszti and one of the librarians from their main library.  We are grateful to the Radlett families who have agreed to host the young people during their short stay here.

We look forward to seeing you over the weekend!

Annual General Meeting - Wednesday 17th March 2010

The 32nd Annual General Meeting of RAIFA will be held at 8 PM on Wednesday 17th March 2010 at St John's Church Hall, Gills Hill Lane, Radlett.

All welcome!

Fete des Fleurs 2009

This year our representative at the Fete des Fleurs was Petronella Connett. This is her account of the weekend:

I was honoured to be asked by RAIFA (Radlett and Aldenham International Friendship Association) to represent Radlett and Aldenham during the weekend of 18 -20 September at the Fete des Fleurs (Flower Carnival) – a traditional event held in Louveciennes, France every year. For this occasion a princess-to-be is invited from the twin towns of Louveciennes  (Radlett,  Meersburg, Germany and Vama, Romania) to accompany the French queen of the Fetes during the celebrations. Louveciennes has been twinned with Radlett and Aldenham for 25 years and celebrated its silver anniversary last year. The town is located on the outskirts of Paris, in the neighbourhood of Versailles.
The Fete des Fleurs is a major event attracting a large number of residents out onto the streets. Although the festival is only spread over three days, the preparations begin several months before.
We travelled by car and visited the Somme region of France on our first day. After a long and tiring journey, we arrived in Louveciennes on Friday evening and were warmly welcomed with a champagne reception by our host family, Benoit and Catherine du Jardin.  Benoit is the English link in the French twinning association. We only had time for a brief dinner before we were whisked off to the opening event of the fete, which was Bingo. The town hall was crowded with players with their once a year chance to win something. My palms were sweating as one of my duties as a princess was to go up on stage and draw the lucky numbers!
After a good night’s sleep, we had time to go sightseeing in Paris (including the Musee Rodin and Notre Dame) on the Saturday morning before the next event, the evening parade. A multitude of highly decorated floats proceeded slowly through the narrow, historical streets of the town where famous impressionist artists, such as Renoir, Pissarro and Monet found inspiration and painted over 120 paintings depicting Louveciennes. This year’s theme was ‘space’; therefore every single float was intricately mastered to perfection, adorned with flowers, in a space theme, such as E.T or Saint Exupery’s Little Prince.  I was sat on the very last float alongside the German princess, accompanying the French queen of the fete.
The highlight of the Carnival took place on Sunday. Thousands of people swarmed down the streets, marching to the rhythm of the brass band and cheered the floats as they passed by. This time I felt like a real princess – at least as far as my outfit was concerned! Our costumes had been specially made to measure and the final adjustments were carried out in a frantic rush just before the main parade. Our dressing room was the Town Hall! All three of us looked like we had just stepped out of an eighteenth century painting. The procession ended up outside the Town Hall where a stage had been erected for the award ceremony, conducted by Mayor André Vanhollebeke. Prizes were given for the best float, the organization of the event, etc. I received a large bouquet of flowers and a beautiful silver bracelet.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Louveciennes and would highly recommend a visit to this beautiful town!
(Petronella Connett – 12 yrs)