THE Westbury and District French Twining Association recently celebrated 20 years of Westbury being twinned with the French town Chateau du Loir, and gifts were exchanged as a sign of friendship between the two towns.
Westbury was due to celebrate its 20th anniversary of being twinned with Chateau du Loir in 2020, but this was postponed until this year due to the Covid pandemic. A delegation of 21 members of the Westbury and District French Twining Association and two town councillors made the trip to France in April, to celebrate the anniversary with their French neighbours.
Westbury received a bespoke clock that features the town hall of Chateau du Loir and in return, the Twinning Association gave Chateau du Loir a painting that combined landmarks from both towns. The clock was presented to the out-going mayor, cllr Sheila Kimmins, at a meeting of Westbury Town Council on Tuesday 9th May.
A representative of the Westbury and District French Twining Association attended the meeting and said, “As this was our 20th anniversary of the twinning, we had a celebratory dinner with the mayor, councillors, and members of both twinning groups and we exchanged gifts. Westbury gave Chateau du Loir a painting which was completed by a local artist and was a collage of Westbury and Chateau du Loir landmarks.”
Chateau du Loir is situated between Le Mans and Tours in the region of Sarthe and is in a rural area about the same size as Westbury.
While the town twinning is an official partnership of the two communities, the Westbury Twinning Association is a voluntary body separate from Westbury Town Council and run through its own fundraising.
You can find out more about the Westbury and District French Twining Association by visiting: www.westburyanddistricttwinning.co.uk
