What’s Twinning all about ?
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.
On average there are two visits each year, one from Ayton to Ouzouer and
one from 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.
A SUMMARY OF GATA TWINNING VISITS TO DATE
June 1996
The Mayor of Ouzouer visits Great Ayton with 3 others to make preliminary
investigations, and attend our village fête.
Dan O'Sullivan and Daphne Hull (together with their spouses) visit Ouzouer
to make preliminary investigations, and attend Ouzouer's "Son et Lumière".
June 1997
28 members of Ouzouer's Jumelage committee come to Great Ayton
to sign the twinning charter.
October 1997
36 members of GATA travel to Ouzouer for the signing of the twinning
charter.
July 1998
30 members of GATA visit Ouzouer for the "Comice Agricole".
September 1998
19 Jumelage members visit Stokesley show (in the presence of
Sir Leon Brittan).
August 1999
24 footballers and 14 supporting GATA members travel to Ouzouer for
a football competition with their French counterparts.
May /June 2000
22 cyclists and friends cycle from Ouzouer to Great Ayton
August 2000
22 footballers come with 31 supporters for return matches with teams
from Great Ayton.
April 2001
18 young dancers and their families go to Ouzouer with 27 members
for a performance by the Bradley School of Dancing.
April 2002
20 dancers from Ouzouer visit us with 38 members and friends for
a performance by Ouzouer's Jazz dancers.
October 2002
40 members visit Ouzouer for activities with an Environmental theme,
and to celebrate 5 successful years of twinning.
July 2003
Return French visit to Great Ayton with an Environment
/ local economy theme.
August 2005
August 25th-29th - 50 members went to Ouzouer for a four-day event over the Bank Holiday weekend. The programme included a visit to Orléans and to a '13th century'
castle under construction using only the materials and techniques from the 13th century.
August 2006
August 24th-28th - We will be hosting a visit from Ouzouer in Great Ayton.
Great Ayton Twinning Association
Great Ayton, North Yorkshire,
United Kingdom
Tel and Fax : +44 (1642) 722964
peter@great-ayton-twinning.co.uk
Webmaster: Peter Chandler