Madam, Councillor Bramer's comments about the town's twinning arrangements were unjustified and unworthy.
The affairs of both the Betzdorf and the Condé Associations are conducted in a business-like manner. Their AGMs will shortly be held, when the audited accounts and balance sheets will be presented.
If Bramer has the nous to do so he may ask (very politely) for copies of the balance sheets, to satisfy himself that nothing untoward has been going on. The fact that he has not already done this is noteworthy.
The organisation of these reciprocating visits is quite complicated and much depends on the dedicated, voluntary efforts of the respective officers and committees. Those original pioneers of the associations, such as Bert Raven and Roy Garfield, would soon put Bramer in his place.
One thing that puzzles me is the brief reference at the tail end of your article to a twinning arrangement with Namatumba in Uganda. This must have crept in very quietly last year. It seems to me that the Town Council has taken the initiative with this and it is bound to affect the public purse. Bramer had his chance then to make his views public but nothing was reported. He would be more usefully occupied by drawing attention to the shocking road surfaces in his Penyard Ward.
H Byers, Upton Bishop