David and Diane Hawkins, representing Melksham & District French Twinning Association, were recently invited to attend a ‘Festival of Language & Culture’.
This was held in the Maison De La Valleé, Avon – Melksham’s twinned town – on Saturday and Sunday 29th and 30th September. This event represented some of the 50 languages spoken in Avon and included food, dance and art demonstrations by Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, African and Portuguese residents amongst others. It was a very colourful and interesting spectacle.
David was also able to attend a committee meeting at which future links between our two towns were discussed. Consequently, the president of the Avon Association, Michèle Hibon, arranged for David to meet with representatives of the Avon Football Club (USAVON) who, in response to an initiative by Ben Anderson, deputy mayor of Melksham, had expressed interest in arranging reciprocal matches between Melksham Town Football Club and themselves. It is hoped that many more local groups will be able to exchange and link with like-minded groups in Avon in the future.