Twin town integrity

FURTHER to Rosemarie Webster’s (Letters) comments about twin towns, she is obviously not aware that local authorities’ funding has been reduced to such an extent that they have difficulty in providing the most necessary services, and certainly don’t have money for the kind of free holiday ‘jollies’ to which she refers — what an old chestnut that is!

Twinning associations are run by hard-working volunteers, who keep links going with friends in other countries, with dance groups, choirs, sports groups and others, ensuring that young people can exchange and get to know how other cultures work.

It is due to the hard work of these individuals that Bristol, for instance, has been able to keep these relationships going for 75 years in its link with hannover, whose city council supports this friendship and takes it much more seriously than many do here.

LYNDA EVANS, Bristol.