www.wrington.net    Wrington, North Somerset      Villeneuve-lès-Béziers  Wrington Twinning Association is a membership organisation, with an annual membership fee of £5, open to individuals with the aims of: 1 promoting and encouraging relations between Wrington and Villeneuve; 2 maintaining communication links with the twinning committee of Villeneuve-lès-Béziers; 3 facilitating the exploration and development of mutual interests between individuals, businesses, organisations     and other groups of the two communities; 4 attracting funding to help defray costs incurred in so doing. See the full constitution. For further information send an email to twinning@wrington.org.uk There will be regular updates published here on the village website. Members of the Committee will be happy to give a short talk and presentation to groups who would like to think about ways of extending their interests and contacts with France through the Villeneuve links. Please contact John Adams in the first instance on 01275 474233 or via  twinning@wrington.org.uk. Membership of the Twinning Association   TMembership of the Association is open to individuals at an annual fee of £5. Download a membership application form and return it with £5 per person annual subscription to 25, Orchard Close, Wrington, BS40 5ND    Benefits of joining the Twinning Association Now anybody is free to visit Villeneuve or any other French town, and generate their own links - so why join the twinning association? Well, the main reason for the existence of the Association is to support any initiative that anyone wishes to develop in an Anglo-French context and where our partner village would provide an appropriate focus.  Another reason is that the twinning gives access to a developing network of contacts both in Villeneuve and in Wrington. We can provide information about Villeneuvians willing to provide accommodation (on a paid or like-for-like basis), help plan visits in the region, or simply meet for a coffee or a meal to make some initial contact. Back here we are running a list of Wringtonians who have visited Villeneuve and who are willing to share their experiences on a one-to-one basis with those thinking of including Villeneuve in their plans. The Association also organises activities in the village on a French theme, such as the cheese and wine tastings and the recent franglais evening. You can attend these events for a reduced cost - in itself saving more than the cost of membership! Membership ensures you are kept aware of events through membership postings. Through the Association, you can input ideas of what could or should be done and thereby help shape the direction of the twinning and the potential benefits it brings to the village which should grow over time to enrich many different aspects of the life of the community culturally, educationally, socially and recreationally. So, given that nothing can exist on thin air alone, £5 (current membership fee) is a small price to pay. Income from membership fees and profits from events are used solely to support development activities in Wrington. The association does not contribute to the costs of travel or subsistence in Villeneuve or elsewhere. Membership information from the panel above.                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Background to the formation of the Twinning Association Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, in the Herault Languedoc region of France, were looking for a compatible English community with whom to set up a twinning relationship. As there are several flights a week between Béziers and Bristol airports, they naturally searched this area of the country. They discovered the Wrington website and apparently liked what they saw of the village and its activities. A message from Yves Blérard Léglise, Assistant Secretary in charge of General Administration at City Hall, to the website inviting Wrington parish council to consider a twinning arrangement was duly passed on. On Wrington’s acceptance, Villeneuve proposed a symbolic signing of a simple Declaration of Friendship to be carried out in both communities. Wrington invited 4 representatives from Villeneuve, including Yves, to come for the weekend of 9th - 11th October, 2010. It is felt the twinning arrangement will work best ‘from the ground up’, with members of the two communities finding interests in common, each wanting to find out more about the other, and making their own decisions about how best to develop their relationships. Particular importance is placed on the contact made by Wrington School, whose International Administrator, Annabel Scot, has already received a warm response from the Head of Villeneuve primary school. Following the huge success of the Twinning Weekend, the twinning working group was formally constituted as the Wrington / Villeneuve- lès-Béziers Twinning Association.                          ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It is important to work within the framework for twinning established by the European Commission since this opens up funding possibilities in the longer term. We have currently identified 5 themes within which the range of interests evident at the signing ceremony can be framed: Sport, Culture, Education, Tourism, and Volunteering. These categories will be broadly interpreted, providing the basis for our development strategy. We are also planning to run occasional events across the year that will combine fund-raising potential with social interest around a French theme. Also in the early stages of planning is a 'Citizens Meeting' (to use the EC jargon) in 2012 that would provide an opportunity for a larger group from each village to get together for 2-3 days of social activity and planned events, subject to a successful EC grant application. We will continue updates through the Journal and on the twinning page of this website, and offer a warm welcome to new members (£5 annual membership). A member of the Committee will be happy to give a short presentation to groups who would like to think about ways of extending their interests and contacts with France through the Villeneuve link. Homepage