Bienvenue à Sevenoaks
Published: 03 June 2025
On 29th May, Friends of Pontoise welcomed 15 guests from our twin town Pontoise, near Paris. All are members of Les Amis de Sevenoaks – the voluntary group in Pontoise which, like Friends of Pontoise here, has kept links between our towns and individual friendships going for 60 years.
Pontoise is an old royal fortress – once a bit like Windsor – now on the edge of the rolling countryside of Vexin, the start of Normandy. It’s also the cradle of Impressionist painting. Parts of the town and surrounding villages are recognisable in paintings by Pissarro, Van Gogh and Monet. Like Sevenoaks, it’s a commuter town in lovely surroundings, but with a big river, the Oise, running through it
My wife, Gill, and I have been on Pontoise exchanges since 1988, so we know almost everyone who came. It’s probably why our daughter studied French and ended up working and living in France!
We welcomed Les Amis de Sevenoaks at Bat & Ball Centre on Thursday evening, before taking them home to stay with members of Friends of Pontoise. Early on Friday, we took them to see a classic English country house at Polesden Lacey, followed by lunch at Denbies vineyard. Dinner followed in the evening, helped by the case of champagne our guests brought with them as a gift.
On Saturday morning, we asked our French friends to act as judges in a ‘Baker’s Challenge’ to show off the amazing range of artisan bakeries now operating in Sevenoaks (see my next blog for results). Over coffee in the Shambles at Malabar they picked the winners – and told us how impressed they were with the range of cakes, buns and patisseries here.
The rest of Saturday was free for walks, shopping, dinners, and for Christophe the French coach driver to watch his favourite team Paris Saint-Germain win the Champions League.
Early Sunday after farewell speeches they set off back, taking with them a gift from Sevenoaks – the classic seven oak leaf glass bowl.
Thanks to Mike Pembrey and Evy Drew for organising the event. If you’d like to know more about Pontoise and this Francophile group, you will find them at www.friendsofpontoise.com.
Cllr Tony Clayton
Mayor of Sevenoaks