THE “twin towns” of Lymm and Meung-sur-Loire will this Easter celebrate 50 years of friendship – and the anniversary will be marked over two “home and away legs”.
This year, around 70 French visitors will arrive Lymm to mark the first contacts between the two towns, in 1967.
Next May, a party from Lymm will travel to the Loire Valley.
Lymm Twin Town Society chairman Peter Birchall said: “Many of the original members of the Twin Town Society are now in their eighties, so more younger families would be most welcome to join.
“The society is open to everyone living in or near Lymm. As ties with Europe threaten to become less secure, there is no better, or more enjoyable way of making and developing lasting friendships with our nearest ‘foreign’ neighbours.
The relationship between the two communities started back in 1967 when Lymm francophile and French-speaker Peter Dixon happened to meet a French air force officer on secondment to USAF Burtonwood, in Lymm’s Spread Eagle pub.
After a few pints and lengthy conversation they decided to approach their respective councils with a view to creating a formal link. The next year, 1968, the then Lymm Urban District Council and Meung’s Conseil Municipal signed an official Twinning Charter.
This year’s French visitors will arrive on Easter Tuesday, April 18, for a four nights’ stay with host families in and around Lymm, many of who have been good friends over the entire 50 years, while others are making new friendships.
There will be a “Welcome Apéritif” at Lymm Hall and a Golden Anniversary Dinner on the last evening at the Statham Lodge Hotel, attended by more than 120 adults and some 20 children.
During the rest of their stay in Lymm the French visitors will enjoy hospitality and a variety of outings with their English hosts, doing their best to communicate in each other’s language and to avoid mentioning Brexit or the French presidential elections, which take place the day after they return home.
Lymm Dam - a popular venue for anglers
“Twin towns” to celebrate 50 years of friendship
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I had no idea that Lymm was ‘twinned’ with anywhere. Interesting article.
Having just googled and seem photo’s of their exchange visits between the two places over the past few years it looks like great fun too. It reminds me in a way of ‘The Experiment in International Living’ project that our neighbours were involved with when we were growing up (late 70’s and early 80’s are the people and visitors I remember most who were from places like America, Japan and Greece but many others came over the years too). The groups from the different countries would come over and each person would stay with a host family. Some were quite young too and I often thought how brave they were to come all this way and do that. Sorry I’m reminiscing and rambling again…oops…ha ha
Does anyone know what the 1968 Lymm Urban District Council and Meung’s Conseil Municipal signed official Twinning Charter actually says ?