THE Monmouth/Carbonne Twinning Association has again hosted a very successful visit from their French twin town.
As usual, the French visitors stayed with members’ families, and a number of group events were organised.
On the Saturday night there was a dinner at the Monmouth Golf Club to celebrate ‘l’entente cordiale’ between the Twin Towns.
The mayor of Monmouth, Felicity Cotton, presented a medal to Christian Lacombe, the president of the Carbonne Twinning committee to recognise his long service to the twinning, which is now 42 years old.
Mike Hargaden, chairman of the Monmouth Twinning Association, praised the fact that the bonds between the twin towns are “stronger than ever, even at this time of challenges within the European Community”.
Over the weekend, longstanding friendships were renewed, and new members, both French and British, were delighted that they could communicate with each other and strike up new friendships.
The finale of the weekend was a wonderful concert at Bridges followed by a traditional afternoon tea. In the first half of the concert, Mayhem, a highly talented local group of mostly Monmouth people aged 9 to 18, performed a selection of solo and ensemble numbers from their forthcoming production of “Les Miserables” in Coleford at the end of October: the enthusiasm and standard of musicianship on show were incredible and all present were extremely impressed!
They were followed by Monmouth Town Band and friends who played some wonderful pieces and medleys which everyone recognised and thoroughly enjoyed.
Before leaving Christian Lacombe invited them to Carbonne for a weekend in spring 2018.
New members are always welcome. Please contact the secretary, Marilyn Jones (712990) if you are interested. Throughout the year they have a number of social events to raise funds for their visits, and are keen to support other cultural and sporting events between the two towns.
At the end of October Monmouth Rugby Club is hosting 41 young French players from Carbonne Rugby Club.