Our French friends arrived at lunchtime on Thusday as  foot passengers on Brittany ferries from Caen to Portsmouth.  A delegation from Denmead met them and  brought them back to Denmead for the welcome meeting  at the  community centre to formally start the visit. 

After the welcome speeches everyone enjoyed a typically English cream tea. A chance to renew acquiantances and make new friends over a nice cuppa!

On Friday  we took our French friends to Portsmouth's historical dockyard for the day.  

The visit started with a guided tour of Henry VIII"s flagship the Mary Rose, which famously sank in the Solent in 1545, where it remained on the sea bed for over 400 years.  

It was brought to the surface in 1982 and meticulously preserved. It is now housed in a specially built temperature contolled environment within a state of the art museum along with a fascinating aray of artefacts, from personal belongings of the sailors to massive bronze cannons.

On saturday each host entertained their twins as they wished. Some went on sightseeing trips for the day around the region, such as Brighton and Winchester. Others joined together for a scone making afternoon with a BBQ in the evening. 

On Sunday we returned our friends to the ferry port at Portsmouth to catch the lunchtime ferry back to Caen where their transport was waiting to begin their 4 hour drive back to Saint Georges .

An excellent and enjoyable weekend.