Twinning visit

MEMBERS of the Shepshed and district Twinning Association have been on a trip to Brittany, where they met up with friends from Shepshed’s twin town of Domont.

Eleven members flew from East Midlands Airport to Dinard and were were greeted by 35 French friends from Domont who had travelled by coach from Paris to meet them. Twinning Association chairman Penny Capoore said the group had two actionpacked days organised by the French in return for a successful joint visit to Liverpool in 2013.

“The two groups enjoyed a long weekend based in Dinan, a beautiful, walled medieval town by the river Rance. The blue skies and autumn sunshine made the graceful grey stone buildings even more stunning.

“A visit to the stylish seaside town of Dinard revealed that the resort had been established by a wealthy British woman in the 1850s. From Dinard’s port, the group looked across the Rance estuary to the delightful walled city of St Malo. A road over a dam now links the two historic towns. The dam also provides a good percentageof Brittany’s power needs using clean tidal power.

“The big variation in tides also favours oyster production. A visit to an oyster farm showed just how technical the work is, but the Anglo-French group also found out how good the oysters taste.

“Needless to say, there were plenty of good meals and good company – a chance to catch up and to discuss matters of concern in both countries. There was support for the notionthat Britain’s departure from the EU should not be allowed to damage the real friendships that have been built over many years.”

The Shepshed Twinning Association’s next trip will be to Domont in 2019 to celebrate 30 years of friendship. If you are a Francophile and would like to join the Association, you would be most welcome.

There is a variety of social events during the year as well as the opportunity to meet the very friendly French people who live in our twin town.Interested? Contactvia sheptwin@btinternet.com also visit the website atshepshedtwinning.co.uk