A delegation from Frome recently returned from Murrhardt in Germany, where they met with representatives of Château-Gontier sur Mayenne in France and Rabka-Zdrój in Poland, as well as with residents of Murrhardt. These visits normally take place annually, but because of the pandemic, the towns had not met since 2019 in Frome.
The delegation included members of the Twinning Association, past host families and young people. Unfortunately, Deputy Mayor of Frome, Philip Campagna, was unable to come at the last minute due to illness. Murrhardt Town Council had organised a very comprehensive programme, which included meetings, town walks, visits to the local area, and the annual summer festival. The young people were able to take part in a youth programme with their counterparts from Germany, France and Poland and enjoyed a duck race, swimming in the lake, visits to Stuttgart, a tree top experience, and a barbecue. Eleanor, 15, one of the youth representatives from Frome, rated the trip “10 out of 10 for the friends, fun and culture!”
One of the best parts of such a visit is staying with host families and getting to know them, the culture, with time to explore similarities and differences. Through these visits, personal contacts have been made and it was great to be able to renew these and to make new friends. One delegate, new to these meetings, reported, “We thoroughly enjoyed the twinning trip, and got on very well with our hosts, despite the language barrier. They had put together a very thoughtful ‘extra-curricular’ itinerary to showcase the local area.
As newcomers to the twinning organisation, we felt very much included, and could appreciate the sense of solidarity and ‘family’ at the heart of the arrangement with our European friends. It was particularly poignant given the conflict in Ukraine, and the enormous efforts made across Europe, but particularly in Poland, as we heard, to provide a safe haven for the large numbers of refugees.”