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There are more and more towns throughout the UK 'twinning' with similar towns around Europe. Storrington is no exception to this, being established some five years ago, the resident's friendships and their links with the the town of Villerest in France continue to grow. It all started when a resident of Storrington (Mr Ian Ferguson) was approached by a friend of his from a village in France, to ask if he could recommend an appropriate village to link up with Villerest. As Storrington had no 'twin' at that time, the possibility was explored when following a discussion with the Parish Council, Klara Turner, a retired schoolteacher, took a trip over to Villerest. Having received an exceedingly warm welcome, the trip was succesfful and things have never looked back with the launch of the Storrington & District Twinning Association. Villerest is a typical old French village with a population of around 4,000. It is situated on the upper Loire close to the town of Roanne, about 50 miles west of Lyon. It is quite a journey to travel, taking a day by road or rail, but a trip well worth making. The aim of the Association is to promote friendship and understanding between the two communities. There are currently around 160 members with many more Storrington residents who help out with accomodation when the friends from Villerest are visiting. There is a children's trip planned this year, when the children will be enjoying sporting activities on the lake in Villerest. Visitors to Villerest always find the hospitality overwhelming, they receive good food, good entertainment and good company. Many friendships have been forged over the past five years and the recipricol visits by the children help to broaden their experiences and help to encourage and develop their launguage skills. Ironically, having won awards for his wine, the principle wine grower in Villerest is a past resident of Cold Waltham - Mr Simon Hawkins. There is already an area of Villerest named after Storrington, called 'Place Storrington' The friendship between Storrington & District and Villerest will be marked for history later this year, when a plaque is unveiled to celebrate the Twinning Association. At the corner of Old Mill Drive, a 1 metre welsh slate with the new name of 'Place Villerest' (kindly provided by H D Tribe), is there for all to see.
For further information regarding Storrington & District Twinning
Association, please contact Alan Brien (Hon Secretary) at Storrington
Post Office on An application form to download and further brief details will be available on these pages in the near future. |
