Taking part in the Villeneuve feria 2012 Visiting a Mediterranean village festival on holiday is one thing - taking part in one is quite something else, as our group of 12 discovered when we travelled  to Wrington's twinned village of Villeneuve-lès-Béziers in early July in response to the Mayor's invitation to provide a Wrington presence at the 'feria' week-end. Across the three nights of the festival we ran a stall with a display of local produce for sampling to give a sense of food and drink that is made in or near the village. This included a variety of cheddar cheeses supplied by Peter Alvis, a selection of Butcombe beers and Thatcher ciders (organised by James Langford of The Plough), and fruit juice and jams from Jack at the Walled Garden. Miles West Country tea was also available! Our cultural presentations ranged from a display of local painting, organised by Julie Kingcott, to recorded local music from the Redhillbillies (supported by Acker Bilk, the Worzels and Portishead) and a bar skittles game (again kindly provided by James) with Nick Walters on hand to provide expert advice.  There was a display of maps and pictures of the village, and the whole stall was rather gaudily framed by union flags and bunting.    There was a warm welcome and excellent support from the French administrative team, who provided the covered stall and all the other essentials. We were joined on the stall by local residents with a good grasp of English who helped out with the language as we talked about the produce and answered questions about Wrington and the region. When not on duty there was plenty of time to see what else was going on in the feria. This included live music, pop-up bars and restaurants ('bodegas') and live music, DJ concerts and professional displays of dance - all with the Spanish influence very evident. Our involvement extended to participation in the open boules competition where we entered two teams, led by Jan Walters and Roger Owen. To their great credit they were awarded a trophy for their outstanding efforts on the away ground against expert opposition… We also set up a croquet pitch on the patch of rough grass adjacent to the boules and this provided a major attraction for younger Villeneuvois keen to be introduced to the game by their contemporaries from our party. Each day there were a number of events celebrating horsemanship, including displays of the skills required working with bulls which provide a feature of life in the Midi going back some hundreds of years. Otherwise there was plenty of time for excursions to the many regional attractions (sea, mountains, rivers, historic villages and sites, vineyards and more), or simply to sit in the shade of one of the local bars and enjoy the theatre of daily life on the main square. We also met informally with members of various village groups and societies. We were presented with T-shirts by the rugby club, the 'gardiens' (traditional horse skills) and met with other individuals interested in pursuing various aspects of twinning. All in all a memorable weekend, which certainly achieved its aim of providing a high-profile public presence for Wrington in our twinned village. We have already been asked to make a return visit with a view to making this a regular exchange. Groups from Villeneuve have already taken part in events in Wrington, most recently the village pageant and fair week, and we hope these kinds of exchange will gather momentum. Photographs of all visits and events are on the village website. In early Autumn the Twinning Committee will be contacting village organisations with further information about the twinning project and, if their members are interested, discussing how best to develop links between groups and individuals. Everybody is also welcome to the Twinning Association annual meeting on 9th October, which includes a talk by David Cuthbert on French painting in the Churchill Building, U. of Bristol Vet School, Langford. Details (or call John on 01275 474233).

Photos from John Adams