TWINNING HAS burgeoned since the ending of the Second World War and has been the catalyst for the peoples of many nations to befriend others around the world and to become familiar with their way of life, their customs and their heritage.
The object of this international arrangement has been to enable two towns in different countries, usually similar in some way, such as size or industrial make-up, to become formally associated by engaging in reciprocal cultural visits to ensure that their ties become closer as the years progress. Bourne came late to this arrangement and it was only ten years ago that links were established with Doudeville in France, more of a large village than a town, and situated about thirty miles inland from Dieppe in Normandy.
The link began with an exchange visit between the Robert Manning School and the senior school in Doudeville and was developed under the chairmanship of the school's head teacher Mr Michael Kee. Then in October 1989, a coach took visitors from Bourne to the French town were the twinning agreement was signed by the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Mrs Mary Parker, and the Mayor of Doudeville, M. Raymond Laroche.
Around ninety people belong to the Bourne Twinning Association which celebrated its tenth twinning anniversary at the end of May 1999 with a trip across the English Channel for a long weekend bearing gifts for their hosts to celebrate the occasion, a glass paperweight for each of the 28 hosting families and a magnificent rose bowl for the civic collection in Doudeville Town Hall, all engraved by the Hanthorpe artist and glass engraver Terry Barnatt. The rose bowl was exceptionally beautiful and the engraved scenes included the Red Hall, the Abbey Church, Baldocks Mill and local wildlife including a deer and a pheasant. Thirty-eight members of the association who made the trip arrived in Doudeville to find a red carpet rolled out in their honour and the town festooned with flags and coloured balloons. They were royally entertained by the welcoming party who kept the champagne flowing throughout their stay and during the celebrations, the municipal choir sang, the town band played and the Mayor of Doudeville, M Louison Tartarin, signed friendship documents with Councillor Mrs Marjorie Clark, the new Mayor of Bourne.
Further exchanges are planned to mark the millennium year 2000 when French families will be coming to Bourne and will be presented with a tapestry to hang in the town hall at Doudeville. It is being designed by association member Bill Normington and worked by members with nimble fingers, consisting of twelve squares showing important buildings in Bourne and the town's coat of arms.
The association is also arranging millennium bursaries for both senior schools in the town to provide a shield and a book token to the pupils who excel in French at the Robert Manning School and the Bourne Grammar School.
These activities are all the more commendable when you realise that the association is entirely independent and receives no public money and is responsible for its own fund raising with events throughout the year that not only come up with the required cash but also keep the members keen and enthusiastic about their Gallic friends. The English are reputed to have a reluctance to learn foreign languages but this does not present a social obstacle during the many exchange visits. "Far more of we English have a go at French than the other way around", said the association’s secretary Betty James.
Vive l’entente cordial!
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