Dear Editor,

Whatever your stance on Brexit, we will always be a geographical part of Europe and it is almost time for the annual Ross-on-Wye/Condé-sur-Noireau Twinning Association trip (this year to Conde-sur-Noireau) and we are looking for new members to join us and make this year special!

In the 1970s, not long after the country decided to join the EEC, Ross-on-Wye and Condé-sur-Noireau got together and formed the Ross-on-Wye/Condé-sur-Noireau Twinning Association. Over the last 40 years our two communities have travelled back and forth. Lovely friendships have grown over those years, some of which have lasted generations.

Condé is in Normandy which is well-known for its produce, and rich history: William the Conqueror, Henry V, the D-Day landings, to highlight a few. There is always something new to discover in Normandy and it’s great to have French people proudly showing it to their Ross houseguests.

The Twinning Association is made up of families, couples and individuals, of all ages, each twinned with a similar French household in friendships that grow year by year. Our twinning weekends (we visit France one year, they come here the next) are full and happy; genuine cultural exchanges where, through eating, drinking and living together, we expand our knowledge of each other and our countries, finding out what makes us different and just how much we have in common. With Brexit on the horizon, it feels like twinning will become even more important – a way of keeping our connectedness to people in Europe even as we disengage economically and politically.

This year, we are visiting Conde for the second leg of our 40th anniversary of being twinned, the dates are May 2nd - 6th. We have a ferry crossing booked, and I’m reliably informed our French hosts are planning lots of good things to do so we are looking forward to a special and eventful weekend and we would be delighted to welcome new members.

To see a little of what we do, take a look at our Facebook page, Ross-Condé Twinning. If you would like to take part in this twinning trip please contact me, Alison Field on 07800799528 or by email to [email protected]. And don’t worry if you can’t speak French as our French hosts are usually very keen to practice their English!

Vive l’entente cordiale!

Alison Field

Chairman, Ross-Condé

Twinning Association