Abergavenny & Beaupréau Twinning Association has been in existence for well over 20 years following the signing of formal Twinning Charters between the Town Councils of both towns in the late 1980’s. Since then there have been regular exchanges almost every year alternating between our two towns with a major celebration in Abergavenny a few years ago to mark our twentieth anniversary.
Our Association is run by a small, hard working committee which is always looking for new volunteers to help out, and representatives of Abergavenny Town Council also take part in formal visits and events with our Mayor being President of the Association. We raise funds to cover our expenses by holding various social events throughout the year, but to help fund our twentieth anniversary celebrations we successfully applied for a grant of 20.000 euros from the European Commission which is keen to support links between European countries.
Beaupréau is a small town situated south of the river Loire between Angers and Nantes and about four hours drive from the main ferry ports in France. Historically, Beaupréau is famous for its manufacture of shoes which still continues there today, and also is renowned for its Petite Angevine fete which is held in late August each year and is the setting for horse racing on the town’s hippodrome and a large market selling local produce over several days.
This August we are planning a visit to Beaupréau by coach, leaving Abergavenny late afternoon on 23rd August and returning to Abergavenny around midnight on 27th August. We will be crossing the Channel overnight, returning on the afternoon ferry, and we hope that the travel costs per person for the coach will not exceed about £100. In addition accommodation on board will be paid for individually, but once in Beaupréau everyone will be hosted by local families and entertained with a full programme of events over the weekend. Any local groups or individuals who would like to join us on the visit would be most welcome.
If you would like to find out more, then please come along to our AGM which will be held on Friday 10th February 2012 at 7.30pm at The Council Chamber, Abergavenny Town Hall or contact our Chairperson, Annette Davies 01873 856557 or Secretary Ian Vicary 01873 854929 for further details.
We also organise a “Café langue” group which meets regularly on an informal basis to enable people to improve their spoken French, and new members of this group are always welcome.