MY FIRST THOUGHTS
My Introduction to TWIG
Well, I’ve just got back from my fourth TWIG event and would recommend this group of very disparate women to anyone in the area. Having recently moved to the Toulouse area I was beginning to find that there were only so many conversations I could have with my husband and I was in need of making some new friends fast. I found out about TWIG and eventually plucked up the courage to send off an e-mail about the “welcome, new member’s coffee morning” advertised later that very same week. Two minutes later my phone rang, it was the coordinator inviting me along, telling me the essentials and generally making me feel that it would not be that scary to turn up on Friday (I’m never very comfortable meeting new people).
Friday dawned, directions were good and I arrived safely for a pleasant morning with the coordinator, 3 other brand new members and a fourth who had recently joined. A lovely morning soon passed, lots of chat (including what the group was all about) washed down with Yorkshire tea. It was enough to convince me of the merits of becoming a “TWIG” and I duly sent off my paperwork once I arrived home.
Next up was a trip to a chocolate museum, I rang some woman I had never met to get a lift and successfully met her at the local pharmacy. There were 14 of us at the chocolate sculpture museum and, it has to be said, the smell was amazing! As were the three different chocolates we got to taste, each from a different country. Now I may not know much about chocolate (apart from eating it) but even I could taste the difference… they were all gorgeous of course. Lunch soon followed at a local restaurant and the food, wine and conversation was brilliant. Everyone was really friendly and the Chairlady made a point of introducing herself to me during the course of the day.
The next event was the Christmas market to which I took my children and husband. We all had a lovely time, eating homemade cakes, winning prizes on the tombola and bottle store, visiting Father Christmas and browsing all the other stores including British goodies. I did feel very guilty for not volunteering some of my time (only having one car in the family makes it awkward sometimes) and next year would like to be more involved. I recognised several people already and it was nice to see people I knew as well as my husband’s work colleagues.
There are numerous special interest groups within the organisation and I had been receiving e-mails about “walking” and “girls nite out” since I joined. I decided that the December walk would be an ideal one to start with and duly found my walking boots in the garage. After I had dusted off the cobwebs (don’t do much walking with a 3 and 4 year old) I was ready to go. The early rain didn’t put us off and the sun even came out as seven of us braved the cold for an hour and a half walk through the French countryside near L’Isle Jourdain. Having earned our lunch we enjoyed sitting in the warmth of a local restaurant washing down three courses with wine whilst discussing where to have the next walk and, almost as importantly, what to eat afterwards! I was really touched that my opinion was sought and I look forward to many more events with this very friendly organisation.
December 2010 by Joanne Hipwell