WESTBURY AND DISTRICT FRENCH TWINNING ASSOCIATION
Château du Loir / Montval and Westbury Wiltshire
WHAT IS TWINNING?
The dictionary definition of a 'Twin Town" is a town that has civic associations,
such as reciprocal visits and cultural exchanges with a foreign town.
To those belonging to The Westbury and District Twinning Association "Twinning" means
having the opportunity to make friends with families in Chateau du Loir / Montval,
welcoming them back to our homes, furthering our knowledge of their way of life
life, perhaps improving our language skills, and having lots of fun.
Twinning is open to all ages, either as a single person, a couple or a family group,
being a self funding group we have an annual subscription.
WHO WE ARE
OUR HISTORY
The origin of Westbury’s Twinning with Château du Loir
In June 1978 Westbury were Twinned with Soisy-sur-Seine just south of Paris, sadly the members in France gradually moved away from the area and others were becoming too old to participate in the exchanges. However the members in Westbury were still keen to be twinned so in 1998 Westbury and Soisy sur Seine were the first towns in Europe to be divorced following the demise of the Association in Soisy.
The rulebook had to be revised to allow this to happen before Westbury could proceed with any arrangements to find another twin.
The Wessex Association of Twinning groups and the region of Sarthe had agreed to try to promote twinning between towns within the two areas. For example Chippenham is twinned with La Fleche and Warminster with Flers.
At the time the chairman of the Westbury Twinning Association and his wife visited several towns in Sarthe that were looking for Twins in Wessex and as soon as he walked in to the Mairie in Château du Loir he felt that this was the right one for Westbury.
The following year a party of Twinners visited the Town to meet with the people from the Schools, Churches, Council and their Twinning Association. A link was formed and during 2000 the current charter was signed in the spring in Westbury and in the Autumn in Château du Loir.
We have never looked back.
WHAT DO WE DO?
Throughout the year the association hold fundraising events to raise the
money to welcome visitors from our twin town.
These events have included short walks, cream teas, skittles, fish & chip suppers, sausage & mash nights, barbecues, treasure hunts, coffee mornings,
quizzes, safari dinners, film evenings, guest speakers and probably more
that I have missed.
These events are aimed at having some fun and meeting others, and normally
end up with food of some sort. Even though we are aiming to raise funds the cost
of participating is kept low so it always good value for an evening out.
We visit Chateau du Loir / Montval every other year and they come here on alternate years. These visits are usually made over a long weekend, and include organised events, and
time for hosts to spend with their guests as they wish.
The visitors stay with host families and usually become good friends.
There seems to be no problem with the language barrier even though not all of us speak
French and not all of their members speak English.
These days most people have a mobile phone and its easy to download and use a translator
app. Several members use this method to communicate.
Many People think of Twinning as "Wining and dining" and yes, it is an important part
of the weekends. However, during receptions and evening meals you have the chance to
enjoy the company of all the members both French and English associations.
There is also a misconception that the visits are a cheap way to visit France.
This is not altogether true as although members only pay for themselves to travel they are expected to host when the visitors return here.
FUTURE EVENTS
