St Germans & District Twinning Association
BECOME A "TWINNER"
The first point many people make when expressing an interest in becoming a "twinner" is that they cannot speak French.
We have a few long standing members of the twinning who cannot speak French and probally never will beyond 'oui' , 'non', and 'merci', some of our Breton hosts cannot speak English either. Problems you might think! Yet each visit these same groups of people look forward to welcoming each other into their homes and suceed in having a wonderful time in spite of (or perhaps because of ) the lanuage differences.
The second point which is raised is that people do not always have the room to accommodate visitors and so feel they wouldn't be able to return the hospitality if they were to join one of our twinning trips to Brittany.
This is not an obstacle to becoming a twinner. We always manage to accomodate all our Breton friends, some times we have more people offering accomodation than there are visitors to fill them.
If you do not host visiting "twinners" you will still be able join in the activities and events that are held during the visits.
So what is the association about and what do we do? Our charter sums this up.
To foster and develop mutual understanding between the people of St Germans & District and Plouguerneau.
To encourage and assist youth and adult organisations, clubs, companies,groups and the communities as a whole in St Germans & District and Plouguerneau.
To communicate and exchange visits with each other and thereby establish a firm foundation for future understanding, respect and friendship between the people of St Germans & District and Plouguerneau for all time.
During our visists we spend a lot of time on outings. For example in recent years we have visited theNational Maritime Museum in Falmouth, attended the Floral Dance in Helston, Morwellham Key and Mines. Been on river trips on the Tamar and Fal. Had a tour of Buckfast Abbey , Steam train trip to Totnes, been greeted by the Town Cryer and Mayor in Kingsbridge. Guided tour of Port Eliot house and gardens to name a few.
We spend time with our hosts in their homes, experiencing the differences in our ways of living and in the food we eat. Shopping and visiting local markets is always a popular pursuit.
For those who are interested in learning to speak or improve their french , twinning visits are an ideal way to learn or put into practice what you have learnt at school or college. It is a marvellous way for children to learn to speak or practice french when staying with a family with children of a similar age.
We have a few long standing members of the twinning who cannot speak French and probally never will beyond 'oui' , 'non', and 'merci', some of our Breton hosts cannot speak English either. Problems you might think! Yet each visit these same groups of people look forward to welcoming each other into their homes and suceed in having a wonderful time in spite of (or perhaps because of ) the lanuage differences.
The second point which is raised is that people do not always have the room to accommodate visitors and so feel they wouldn't be able to return the hospitality if they were to join one of our twinning trips to Brittany.
This is not an obstacle to becoming a twinner. We always manage to accomodate all our Breton friends, some times we have more people offering accomodation than there are visitors to fill them.
If you do not host visiting "twinners" you will still be able join in the activities and events that are held during the visits.
So what is the association about and what do we do? Our charter sums this up.
To foster and develop mutual understanding between the people of St Germans & District and Plouguerneau.
To encourage and assist youth and adult organisations, clubs, companies,groups and the communities as a whole in St Germans & District and Plouguerneau.
To communicate and exchange visits with each other and thereby establish a firm foundation for future understanding, respect and friendship between the people of St Germans & District and Plouguerneau for all time.
During our visists we spend a lot of time on outings. For example in recent years we have visited theNational Maritime Museum in Falmouth, attended the Floral Dance in Helston, Morwellham Key and Mines. Been on river trips on the Tamar and Fal. Had a tour of Buckfast Abbey , Steam train trip to Totnes, been greeted by the Town Cryer and Mayor in Kingsbridge. Guided tour of Port Eliot house and gardens to name a few.
We spend time with our hosts in their homes, experiencing the differences in our ways of living and in the food we eat. Shopping and visiting local markets is always a popular pursuit.
For those who are interested in learning to speak or improve their french , twinning visits are an ideal way to learn or put into practice what you have learnt at school or college. It is a marvellous way for children to learn to speak or practice french when staying with a family with children of a similar age.