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Well to start
with, it's not about junkets for councillors paid for by the
council-tax payer. Everything we do is funded by us as an association
through our fund-raising events and our membership fees. We have
no public funding and we pay for our own air-fares when we go
to Chassieu.
It all started off in 1982 when the towns of Coleshill
and Chassieu (near Lyon in France) became officially twinned.
Over the years since then we have seen reciprocal visits
by pupils from Coleshill School and Chassieu College, the junior
rugby teams of the two towns and of course the towns' bands and
various other groups. The main focus of our activity is
though the visits between us and the folk in our twin town. We
visit each other every other year. This year, we went to Chassieu
and next year, 2010, they will visit us once more.
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- So what happens on these visits? I suppose
that most people who have been involved would speak of the warmth
of the welcome, the visits to
so many different places of interest (see the report
on this year's trip) and of course the putting on of weight.
Essentially, this is an activity which
is based on being welcomed into the homes of the members of the
association in the other twin town - and the emphasis is very
much on the word welcome.
But isn't it scary? Well yes, just a little
bit at first if you're going to stay with someone you don't know,
but the warmth of the welcome is invariably such that the nerves
disappear very quickly indeed.
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Do you need
to speak French in order to take part? Amongst our members you
will find a range of people - from those who speak no French
at all to those who speak it fluently. And on the French side
there is a similar range of ability. What we do as associations
is arrange for people to stay with people with whom they will
be able to communicate. So if you can speak no French then you
will not find yourself staying with someone who speaks no English.
That is not to say that communication will be effortless,
but making yourself understood is part of the fun of the experience.
And if you do want to learn French, then this is one of
the best ways of doing it! A number of us speak (as it were)
from experience.
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When the French come over here, is it possible
for non-hosting members to take part in the activities we arrange?
Certainly. The more the merrier. From our funds,
we pay for the French to go to see whatever we have arranged
during the time they are here and we pay for the lunches for
them while we are out on these visits. As members, though,
we pay for ourselves to go on the trips and, of course, for any
meals involved.
For those hosting a French family, they
would be your guests and you would be expected to provide all
meals not provided during the day trips. We often get together
for evening meals with friends from the association which means
that it can turn into a bit of a party. But then, twinning
is not a serious actiivty. We only do it because we enjoy
ourselves.
So why not come along to one (or more)
of our events and get to know us? Then perhaps you might have
the confidence to get to know someone from Chassieu as well...
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| P.S. To see the list of our
committee members and their contact details, click here |
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