PLANS TO INCLUDE ALL IN PLAY AREAS
This summer the Parish Council asked TOCK Consulting to
evaluate King George V and Mill Lane play areas.The report,
which will be here very shortly, will help the Council to
understand the present accessibility and state of each area
and provide a strategy for making each area more inclusive,
in line with the Disability Discrimination Act.
Our aim is to make the village play areas accessible to children,
parents, carers and
grandparents with a disability, be it physical, visual, learning
or hearing.When we receive the
report we will be able to put together a programme for the
next few years.We hope to apply
for funding or grants to cover some of the costs of improving
and making changes to the play
areas. Any ideas or comments would be welcome from villagers
who use the play areas or
from those who feel unable to use them.
In the past months we have experienced broken glass in the
play areas and would be grateful
if people could contact the Parish Council Office on 416016
if they see any glass or damage to
the areas or equipment.
Sue Higton
SUN SHINES ON MARANS VISIT
Our visit this October was blessed with good weather. Our
French hosts welcomed us into their homes with great warmth
and friendships were quickly renewed.
The week before we arrived there had been a lot of rain,
but right on cue the sun shone for the length of our visit,
and at times the temperature reached 21ºC. On our first evening
the 22 visitors with their French hosts descended on a local
restaurant where a meal had been organised for us.The ambience
was fantastic and it goes without saying that the food was
superb.The caramel and vodka liqueur that was served after
the meal also went down very well.
In Marans there is a 15th century mill that has been fully
restored to working order and when we visited it on Saturday
morning, it was fascinating to see the grain made into the
three types of flour the mill produces. Our official welcome
was carried out in the Cultural Hall where the Mayor was presented
with a framed photograph of the millennium sundial.The hosts
were all given a smaller version of the photograph.
On Sunday we were taken to the Cognac
region and were first taken on a tour of a
bottle making factory that produced a mind
boggling two million bottles a day. Our next
stop was a Chateau where Otard cognac is
made. Part of the history of the place is that
Richard III was married there.We toured
parts of the old living quarters, then were
shown where the brandy is made and where
the hundreds of barrels are kept some of
them in cellars with walls three metres thick
where the temperature is constant all year
round.The aroma in the air was almost
intoxicating.
Rochefort was the destination on Monday with a visit to a
very interesting museum that featured old shops, complete
with original fittings. It was like stepping back into the
beginning of the 20th century. Lunch was in a fish restaurant
in Mornac S/Seudre, a lovely little village where we were
served with cuttle fish, a first for many of us including
the French. My husband and I spent the last evening with our
hosts at the home of a couple we had made friends with on
a previous visit. It was a wonderful night full of fun and
lots of laughter which is amazing when we speak no French
and only understand a little .It just proves that friendship
can overcome language barriers.
Val Gillings
TWINNING 10 YEARS ON
There will be no visit from or to Marans in 2005 because in 2006-7 we hope to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the official twinning; in Barrow in 2006 and in Marans in 2007. We hope that more people
will come and join us, especially those who have links from school exchanges. Please do not be put off by
worries about expense. We pay our own travel expenses, but hospitality is provided on a reciprocal basis
and both Twinning Associations fundraise during the year to pay for the cost of outings for the guests during
visits. Please get in touch if you would be interested in joining.
Kathryn Timmons 01509 416168
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