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SUNDAY We were allowed a rather later start this morning and the focus was on serious matters as we convened with a large group of Villeneuvois at the village cemetery for the annual commemoration of all those who, during the Second World War, had been deported to the concentration camps, or assassinated by the Gestapo. Annabel provided a translation of the Maire’s moving oration. Commemoration of deportees in Second World War See also: The ceremony was followed by a reception in the tennis club building where we had the chance to thank our hosts for their warm welcome and the excellent programme of talks and visits that they had organised… This ended the formal part of the visit and half the group, who had to be back for Monday morning, were taken to the airport to grab a sandwich and catch the flight to Bristol. The remaining four of us, who had booked to stay for an additional day, took an afternoon tour of the surrounding countryside, starting with a visit to the historic town of Pézénas then off through the rolling vineyards to Faugères and on through the foothills of the National Park to the West. Unfortunately there wasn’t quite time to go to the delightful resort of Roquebrun, perched above the River Orb and a great centre for water activities such as canoeing. Instead we turned down to Cessenon and thence back to Béziers, ending the day with a delicious home-cooked meal.                                                                            Tour of the wider Béziers area We would like to thank our hosts again for their very warm welcome and for giving us such a well-organised and interesting visit. We discussed a number of ways of developing links further and these will be publicised in due course. One project includes the creation of a ‘pop-up Wrington’ day / week-end in Villeneuve, as well as contact and exchanges between the schools and youth groups. We are also encouraging links between village clubs and associations, especially those centred on sports, cultural and creative activities. If you would like information on future activities for yourself or on behalf of a group, please contact John Adams: <john.adams@gmail.com>.  It’s important to say that language doesn’t present a significant problem since, particularly with group visits, there is plenty of help at hand and mutual support … Finally, the Twinning Association is seeking to raise funds to support representatives of youth groups and village associations who want to visit Villeneuve to explore the possibilities of developing contacts. (It should perhaps be noted that such financial support doesn’t extend to members of the twinning association committee, all of whom have to pay their own way.) Again, please contact John Adams for further information.                                                                                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Photographs kindly supplied by Elisabeth Manetas