BIENVENUE a
SOUTH PETHERTON
Twinning
2008 FAQ
Have you ever driven into a town or village, seen a sign announcing that it is ‘twinned’ with somewhere abroad and wondered exactly what that means ?
Do you suspect that it is just something that is organised for the benefit of a few individuals and not for ‘ordinary’ people.
There are currently over 2000 twinning links in the UK, 50% of which are with France and 25% with Germany. The remaining 25% are with communities all over the world, including the USA, China and many countries of the Commonwealth.
This article sets out to explain what it is all about; why a group of South Petherton residents have now established a twinning link and why we hope that YOU might want to become involved.
‘ Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice and hatred':
These days, we rather take travel for granted. It is possible to go to any of our European neighbours quickly and cheaply by plane and we do so in our hundreds of thousands. AND YET…. When we do go away, how much do we really absorb of the local culture; how many local people do we really get to know ? Probably very few.
Twinning gives us an opportunity to change all that. It permits us to ‘adopt’ another community and, in turn, be adopted by them. It lets us show our guests how we live and who we are. In turn, we learn about them and in the process, make new and lasting friendships. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.
WHAT IS TWINNING ?
A twinning link is customarily defined as “a friendship agreement involving co-operation between two communities in different countries, endorsed by both local authorities. The two twinned communities organise projects and activities around a range of issues and develop an understanding of historical, cultural and lifestyle similarities and differences.”
In other words, it is an opportunity for people from the two twinned towns or villages to get to know each other, to visit and stay in each others homes, to become friends and understand each other’s way of life and to share and exchange experiences. It allows people with similar interests, whether sporting, musical, educational, gardening or any of a thousand others, to realise that ‘they’ are not so very different after all.
WHO CAN JOIN ?
Pretty well everyone who wants. All that is required is a willingness and ability to share between 4 days (normally a long weekend) and a week of your life, usually once a year, with a family or individual from the twinned community. One year they visit us, the next year, we pay a return visit—as simple as that.
It emphatically is NOT just a club for the few to go at ratepayers expense on a ‘freebee’. It is also NOT an excuse for ’tree planting’ or long winded speeches by civic dignitaries. It’s about creating friendships and a willingness to try new experiences.
WHAT DOES IT COST ?
We are proposing an annual fee of £10 per person or £20 for
a whole family. When we travel to our exchange partners homes, we will
pay our own transportation costs.
WHERE DO WE STAY ?
Accommodation is provided by club members. In other words, you stay in their home, they stay in yours. Some people find the idea of having ‘strangers’ staying in their home a little alarming, but in practice, it often takes only a few hours together for strangers to relax and become good friends. It’s just the same as having friends or relatives to stay and often, a lot more interesting !
HOW DO WE KNOW WE WILL GET ON ?
One of the functions of our committee members who organise the exchanges, is to work hard to try and match up people who they feel will get on together and have similar tastes. That is why we will ask you to fill in a questionnaire when you join about your personal details, likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies etc.
SUPPOSE WE DON’T LIKE THEM ?
Yes, that can happen, despite our best endeavours. If it does, a quiet word with your local organiser will ensure that ‘next time’ you will host, or stay with someone else. It’s in everybody’s interest that we are happy with our new friends and acquaintances and want to see them again.
WHAT DO WE DO WITH THEM ?
When their club members come to our village, you are not expected to ‘just get on with it’. Throughout the year, we will have been working to arrange a programme of events and visits to show our new friends something of our region and our way of life. This may take the form of a ‘day out’ to somewhere local, perhaps an event which shows them something of the way we live ( eg our open gardens day), perhaps a group Barbeque or welcome party. The possibilities are only limited by our own imaginations. The main objective is to make friends, both here and abroad, and to have fun.
WHAT IF I DON’T SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE ?
You will be amazed how easy it is to communicate with gestures and smiles! You’ll also very quickly pick up a few words of each others language almost without trying. One thing that is virtually guaranteed is that you WILL succeed if you want to. Remember, your guest is there because they want to be part of this friendship too and they will be making just as big an effort as you to make it work.
I’M NOT A GOOD TRAVELLER
You don’t ever have to travel if you don’t want. There will be lots of opportunities to meet and help our foreign guests when they come to visit. You could still offer accommodation to someone, perhaps arrange an event such as a picnic, or simply contribute towards the catering. All will be welcome.
SO WHAT NEXT ?
We have now established an initial link with Javene, a small town in France, of similar size to our Parish, and with a similar, predominantly, agricultural base. The S.P. twinning group first visited them in May 2007. We chose France because a) Many of our children are learning French at school, b) transport links are easy and relatively cheap and c) we feel that twinning with a French town is most likely to succeed. If the initial twinning is a success, there is no reason why, in a few years time, we might not also twin with a second town somewhere a little further afield.
Our trip to Javene in May 2008 was to formalise the relationship between our two communities. We have jointly signed a charter and are now officially twinned with them. Our ‘pioneer’ travellers had a wonderful time and already feel that we are creating genuine friendships with our ‘opposite numbers’. You can read elsewhere on this site about our experiences.
Next year it will be the turn of the people from Javene to visit us. In the meantime we will work to maintain and strengthen our ties, both amongst our own members here in TA13 by regular social events and with our friends in France . We are also happy to act as ‘enablers’ to effect introductions for any groups here who feel they may like to establish contact with people of similar interests in France. Do please get in touch with any of our members listed below if you would like to explore possibilities.
CONTACTS
If you are interested in becoming involved in the South Petherton Twinning efforts, then please get in touch with one of the following
Brian and Judith Turtle 01460 241073brianturtle@tiscali.co.uk
Tony Charman or Judy Bosanko 01460 249009 tony.charman@virgin.net
Malcolm and Sharon Blake 01460 242124 m-s.blake@overstratton.fsnet.co.uk
Rosemary and Hartley Heard 01460 240726 hh13rh@hotmail.co.uk