Celebrating 20 years of the Houseparty

In 2004 Alison Dorricott and her husband David hosted the first ever Anglo-French Houseparty (although it wasn't called that back then!). It's gone from strength to strength over the years, and as we're about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, we caught up with Alison to ask her a few questions:

This is Houseparty's 20th year - what's it like seeing it flourishing 20 years on?

It’s a delight that we now have over 200 people coming, especially when it was originally thought up because there was difficulty in finding many guests who would benefit from a particular week late in the season. The first Houseparty (which was called “Week 16” the first year – guess why??) had only about 56 guests – and even that was about 20 more than we had booked in by July 2004!

What are some of your most enduring memories from these 20 years?

• The very first Houseparty where we didn’t know who or how many to expect and made a lot of it up as we went along! We had to change our hire car for a people carrier to do a shuttle to the supermarket and beach. It was such a hot year and there was no air con on site in those days, so I think some people caught the shuttle just to get some cool air!
• There was one year we had a baptism in the swimming pool, the first time it had been done I think.
• Yannick’s gourmet meals were legendary.
• Shirley the ~80 year-old would-be microlite passenger.
• The year we had torrential rain and we had to invent a completely new timetable!
• I could go on…

Why is it so important to have a space like Houseparty?

One element that I believe it has still retained is that because it’s not a week designed for families, people on their own or in couples are generally more ready to mix and spend time with others, making new friends. Some Houseparty friendships have endured over a decade, even two decades! And of course there have also been some marriages…

What are your favourite excursions and activities?

Cinescenie, the Sallertaine kayaking, sandyachting, cycle ride to Aprement, the bring and share lunches, Street Party (an original Houseparty idea which has now been copied every week of the season) collecting Pignons, and of course the Bouncy Castle.

What are your hopes and prayers for the future of Houseparty?

That it continues to be a space where people enjoy Christian fellowship, hear from God and make new friends. I know from many years of personal experience that it can be particularly daunting to go on holiday by yourself, so I hope and pray that Houseparty will always be a place and time where Christian solo travellers feel at home and can enjoy becoming part of a bigger community of like-minded Christians.

• See the Houseparty page for details of this year's event