A group of around 50 people from the Okehampton and District Twinning Association celebrated 40 years of twinning recently with their twin town of Craon in the Mayenne region of France.

Craon’s other two twin towns also joined in the 40th anniversary celebrations in the French town — Buchenberg in Germany and Iszkaszentgyorgy (pronounced Iska St George) in Hungary.

There was a strong emphasis on music and dance this year, with Buchenberg’s brass band and Hungary’s traditional dance troupe. Okehampton’s excellent contribution came from members of West Devon Folk Choir from Wren Music led by Paul Wilson and dance from the Cogs and Wheels Ladies Morris.

With more than 300 people taking part, the organisers had their work cut out but everything ran smoothly from the unveiling of the commemorative plaque, where there were speeches from representatives of all four countries as well a representative MEP, to the visits to Jublains archaeological and Roman theatre, Bagnoles de L’Orne, a fun European quiz in the grounds of the classic Craon chateau, picnics and the annual dinner dance where all three guest countries were able to exhibit their music and dancing skills.

In between, there were plenty of opportunities to socialise with the hosts and for the singers and dancers to give impromptu performances — Paul Wilson’s ‘Big Sings’ encouraged people from both sides of the Channel to join in and the Cogs and Wheels delighted people with their dances. They were much admired for continuing to dance, in full costume, as everyone processed through the town in 30 degree heat!

A special thanks was expressed to Nike Westman, chair of the association, who not only led the committee to organise the trip from the British side but also did a splendid job of representing the British contingent by standing in for the Okehampton Mayor Jan Goffey, who was unable to attend this year.

Okehampton first twinned with the town of Craon (pronounced Cron) in 1977 — set up to further Anglo-French friendships with opportunities to share culture.

The Okehampton association said there was no better way of getting to know the real French than by staying in people’s homes and experiencing their individual hospitality and friendship, where good food, the odd glass of wine and a simple French-English dictionary soon overcame any language barrier!

Exchanges take place every year — the association is very keen to encourage new members of all ages to join. Contact Nike Westman on 01837 52246 or email nikehariades@hotmail.