What is twinning
Twinning, or jumelage, involves a
friendship agreement between two communities. The aim is to encourage
understanding of the historical, cultural and life-style similarities and
differences. The first recorded British link was between Yorkshire and
France (Keighley and Poix du Nord in 1920) so our link is following
in a long tradition. Today there are over 2000 twinning links in Britain,
and about half of these are with French communities.
The Ouzouer-Great
Ayton approach is more informal and family-orientated than many twinning
links organised through local government authorities. We think that
friendship and fun are more important than councils and ceremonies. We are
particularly keen to involve young people as much as possible, and we have
had exchanges of football teams and dancing groups.
In recent years there has
one exchange visit each year either Ayton to Ouzouer or Ouzouer
to Ayton . Visits are usually over a weekend, with each visiting family
staying with a host family. Hosts provide accommodation and some meals,
but the days and evenings are generally filled with activities organised
around a theme. Aytonians have been folk dancing and canal cruising in
France, Oratoriens have seen the Black Sheep Brewery and Stokesley
Show over here.
Finally, a word about the language. Don't worry about
it! Both twinning associations have members whose language skills range
from almost zero to fluency, yet everyone seems to manage.