Celebrating 24 years of twinning

WESTBURY recently welcomed delegates from its twin town, Chateau du Loir in France, to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the twinning between the two towns.   

The French entourage enjoyed a celebratory meal at The Laverton, a day out to Cardiff, a visit to various locations in the local area, as well as attending the Sunday Brunch in the town centre.

Westbury mayor cllr Mike Sutton said, “The twinning event went well and the food we put on at the reception on the Thursday was very well received and consisted of all food sourced locally. The evening dinner on the Saturday received praise from the French which is pretty good considering their food reputation.

“It is good to maintain relationships with neighbours both here and abroad; if people mix and understand each other across the globe there would be less strife and conflict. Understanding others is always better than argument and conflict.” 

Chairman of the Westbury Twinning Association, Norman Dew, added, “On Thursday 25th April, a delegation of 30 members from Chateau du Loir, France, now part of the Montval commune, arrived in Westbury to celebrate our 24th anniversary of twinning. This was the first time our friends had visited here since 2019 due to the pandemic. It was really great to meet up with our old friends again and to meet new ones.   

“The town council held a reception for them at The Laverton, where after the welcome speeches the delegates, including the deputy mayor Claire Coulonnier of Montval, exchanged token gifts and the French twinning members were each given a printed cloth bag supplied by the Heritage Centre. This was followed by a buffet of locally produced products which was well received by our guests. After the reception the guests retired with their hosts for the evening.   

“The following day, Friday, a coach was organised to take everyone to visit St. Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff for a day out. After joking with the French that they needed passports to enter Wales, we arrived at the rural museum believe it or not, in sunshine. After spending the day there and after visiting the different buildings and the castle we returned to Westbury to spend the evening with our guests.   

“On the Saturday, the hosts took their guests to various places to show them the local area. A group of 28 went to The American Museum near Bath, which was very interesting; others went to Wells. It all depended on where our guests wished to visit.   

“The Saturday evening was time for our celebratory meal with everyone meeting up at The Laverton for a delicious meal supplied by Events Horizon from Frome. During the different courses we were entertained by Juliette, a young French teenager who played her violin for us, an amazingly talented youngster aged 14 who has a wonderful future ahead of her.   

“It also turned out that another young teenager had her birthday that day so we presented her with a birthday cake with candles and all sang happy birthday in French and English. While the evening was progressing, a slide show of all past twinning events was being screened in the background which brought back many good memories. 

“Sunday was another day spent with our guests and various groups met up with each other for meals and trips out. Some visited the Sunday Brunch held outside the library, others took their guests out to lunch. And then, unfortunately, at 3.30am Monday morning it was time to say goodbye to our friends so they could catch the coach and make the long journey back to Chateau du Loir.

“It was a weekend that just flew by and was enjoyed by everyone, especially the French, some of whom said it was the best twinning event ever. The deputy mayor from Chateau du Loir, Montval, is already planning for next year when it’s our turn to visit them.”

If you are interested in joining the Twinning Association, you can contact the group at westburytwin@btinternet.com