CROOKHAM VILLAGE
TWINNING WITH LÉVIGNEN
For more than twenty five years Crookham Village has been twinned with Lévignen in France. Lévignen is about 40 miles North East of Paris, near Crepy-en-Valois, Senlis and the forest of Compiègne.
Twinning party at Warnborough Lift bridge
Every May or June there is a weekend visit of about 30-50 people from Lévignen to Crookham Village, or (in alternate years) from Crookham Village to Lévignen.
We usually make our own travel arrangements for going to Lévignen (by car, rail, air or some combination of these). We aim to arrive there by about 5 pm on the Friday (which is 6 pm French time, i.e. after work for our hosts) – because we stay with French families.
The normal pattern is to have dinner with the host family that evening, followed by a day sight-seeing or similar on Saturday, a collective meal on Saturday evening, with music and dancing, and, on Sunday afternoon, the inter-village games (it is an odd thing, but the visitors always win!).
Good food enjoyed by all
Sunday evening supper is usually with the host family, or groups of families and friends, and we leave on the morning of a UK May Bank Holiday Monday, when our hosts return to work.
These arrangements vary from year to year and family to family, but give an indication of what to expect if you haven’t been to Lévignen.
It is a splendid opportunity to see parts of France (and England!), experience French family life, learn some words of French, enjoy the French sense of fun, and also get to know people from Crookham Village and the surrounding area whom you may not have met before.
There are also many informal visits, both ways, when people go on holiday. Many long-term friendships have grown up. Parts of Lévignen are now named after Crookham Village, and several streets in Zebon Copse are named after French people and places involved in the Twinning.
Plaque commemorates rhododendrons
presented by the twinners of Crookham Village
for the Lévignen community centre
To lighten the financial burden on the English hosts we organise fund-raising events during the year, to help cover the costs of entertaining the visitors on the Saturday evening. The French similarly organise fund-raising on their side to entertain us when we visit.
A spin-off from the twinning has been the development of a close relationship between Velmead Junior School and the schools in Lévignen and nearby Gondreville. The future looks bright.
If you would be interested in learning more about the Twinning, or taking part in any way,
please contact Charles Hicks on 01252 850657.