Old friendships are renewed as Storrington welcomes our town twinning guests from Villerest, France
In June Storrington & District Twinning Association welcomed old friends from Villerest, our twin town. Eight guests from Villerest enjoyed the hospitality of host families and the Association organised a full schedule of events for them to enjoy out and about in Sussex.
Members of the Twinning Association took our guests on to Nyman’s Gardens at Handcross and followed this up the next day to the Chichester Boat Canal, with lunch at The Boat House at Chichester Marina. The final trip was to the Borde Hill Garden Festival, where we sampled the excellent sparkling wines of the Wiston Estate and enjoyed the many interesting stalls and musical entertainments at the festival not to mention the lovely gardens themselves.
Members of the Association have enjoyed regular exchange visits with the people of Villerest since the Association was formed in 1997. Villerest is a beautiful medieval town situated on the banks of the river Loire in the spectacular Auvergne Rhone-Alpes region of France, 60 miles from Lyon. Our visitors from France love the rolling green countryside of the South Downs National Park, our many historic sites and of course the warm welcome they receive. For more information on Villerest please visit its website www.villerest.fr
For many years exchange visits took place between schools and families in both towns and the friendships forged have continued up to the present day with the then children now in their thirties. This visit has reminded everyone of the importance of these ties across national boundaries and shown that we can retain these ties even in the face of our departure from the EU.
The Twinning Association would love to involve more local residents in its social activities, including hosting French visitors and visiting Villerest themselves. Anyone interested in becoming members of the SDTA can find further details on its website www.storringtontwinning.co.uk or by contacting the Association’s secretary on the following email address: secretary@storringtontwinning.co.uk
