WHERE IS LANNION?

This was the first question we asked ourselves when a request was received to consider a twinning arrangement. Little did we realise the effect that request was to have upon many lives in Caerffili and its surrounding areas.

First a visit - a delegation came to meet with us in Caerffili. On a cold February morning we met with Phillipe Le Goff, Jacques Gicquel and Jean Jacques Monnier - three people who become instrumental in the eventual twinning. After seeing the sights of the town - the castle, the view from Caerffili mountain and the town itself- we found that we readily related to each other. They were ready to return to Lannion and recommend twinning. This they did and much to our surprise we were asked for the Council's view as soon as possible and, at the same time, a Council delegation was invited to Lannion! (Who said these things take time?)

The Council considered the matter and decided that the Mayor, Councillors Phillip Bevan, Elizabeth Evans, Jean Lear and Lynda Paddock, would form the delegation and would be accompanied by the Town Clerk, Mervyn Rawlins. (Accompanying spouses had to pay their own expenses.) It was also agreed to ask Richard Parsons to be our interpreter

So it was on a fine March morning that the party arrived in Lannion. We parked in the town car park and viewed this lovely town with some admiration and a sense of "what have we to offer" in a twinning relationship with such a prosperous area as this.

Our welcome to the town was as if we had been twinned for years! From the moment we met our hosts, we laughed together like old friends. There was no doubt in my mind that a natural affinity existed - not only in our ancient languages but also as people. We felt that the people of Caerffili would just as readily relate to the people of Lannion. We received splendid hospitality and we had serious discussions as to the meaning of twinning, what was involved and what we could share to strengthen the bond between us. We relied heavily throughout the visit upon Richard Parsons' linguistic skills and his knowledge of things French/Breton. It was in these discussions and in what we saw in Lannion that we as a group became more and more aware of the benefits a twinning relationship could bring to the two towns.

At the end of our brief visit we were unanimous that we would recommend to the Council that we should accept the invitation to twin with Lannion. We were unable to inform our hosts of our decision until the Council had considered our report and looked into the matter in greater depth and, most importantly, discussed the matter with the people of Caerffili. It is a matter of history now that Caerffili Town Council decided to accept the recommendation to twin with Lannion in Brittany subject to the support of the townspeople of Caerffili.

It soon became obvious that it was not only the Town Council that was interested in twinning, but that the Community Councils and residents of Llanbradach, Penyrheol, Trecenydd and Energlyn as well as Aber Valley were also keen to be involved in the arrangements. Meetings were arranged with interested organisations and the Twinning became "Caerffili and District" with "Lannion and District". Organising this new development depended very much on Mervyn Rawlins' industry and application - it would be fair to say that without his support and hard work the whole procedure would have taken far longer. As Mayor of Caerffili, my tasks would have been immeasurably more difficult without his guidance and wisdom.

The decision had been taken! Now the hard work began. Organisations interested in taking an active part in Twinning were contacted and the matter of funding was discussed. In true Welsh fashion, local choirs came to our aid. I particularly remember when Cor Rhiannedd Cwm Rhymni conducted by Sian Griffiths and the Aber Valley Male Voice Choir under the baton of Geraint Evans performed on a bitterly cold February evening in the Caerffili Workmen's Hall. As the ladies were later going to Lannion without their spouses, I assured the ladies I would pro­tect them from marauding Frenchmen only to be told to mind my own business!

Other fund raising events provided much fun. Many will probably remember Mark Newman and Phil Nichols as the BBQ chefs at the Station Inn - eyes streaming from the smoke, to be followed by the skittles match. There were also enjoyable evenings during these early days at the Groeswen Inn where we were entertained by the in-house tenor and spoon player Snowy.

The serious business of Twinning was still ongoing. A delegation of various organisations from Lannion visited Caerffili and met with interested local bodies at Caerffili Rugby Club in order to establish direct links under the umbrella of the Twinning Association. Plouberze had by now begun to develop their own links with Llanbradach - a development encouraged by the Association.

Time to Twin! The Lannion Twinning Association and the Lannion Town Council invited Caerffili and its representatives to Lannion for the inaugural Twinning Ceremony on the weekend of February 15th - 18th 1991. The date was specifically requested so that our choirs would be the first to perform in the newly built Lannion Concert Hall.

The organisation of the trip was all done by Mervyn Rawlins who had to collect the names of all the choir members and others travelling in order to arrange hosting in Lannion - this was a mammoth task. Transport had to be organised and paid for. We were ready and so were Lannion! Jean Jacques Monnier had faxed us a programme covering our arrival in Roscoff to the time of departure. The planning in Lannion was very thorough which again showed us how welcomed we were.

Two coaches carried about 100 representatives of Community Councillors, sporting organisa­tions, local leisure groups and of course the choir members who gave splendid performances on the journey. We were met in Roscoff on a wet Saturday morning not only by representatives from Lannion but also by a Welsh Water tanker on the other side of the quay! Welsh Water in Brittany on a wet Saturday morning - we felt almost homesick!

Our hosts greeted us like long term friends - which some of us had become. The formal lunch for the Councillors and representatives of the Twinning Committees was a fine occasion with excellent food consisting of local crab. Conversation flowed naturally and set the tone for the whole weekend. It was at this time that Mervyn Rawlins learnt that the Lannion Council had an annual budget of approximately £3m. It was rumoured that "Merveen" did in fact ask for a free transfer!

Following the feast, the formal twinning ceremony was convened in the Hotel de Ville. This was both a proud and awesome occasion at which to speak on behalf of the people of Caerffili. The Mayor of Lannion, Alain Gouriou, impressed me with his message to the young people of both towns. The Twinning Oaths, read in four languages, made us realise the importance of respect for one another, not only in Lannion and Caerffili but in the rest of the world. All the proceedings were expertly translated by Richard Parsons.

In the evening the magnificent concert hall was packed for the evening concert. Cor Rhiannedd Cwm Rhymni and the Aber Valley Male Voice Choir were both in splendid form and their singing was much appreciated by the audience. Many thought that the conductor was Sir Geraint Evans! A truly memorable occasion that filled us with pride.

The bonding between the two communities was truly strengthened by the wonderful reception and the warmth of welcome from our hosts. It is impossible to recount all the events that made this weekend so memorable - the exchange of gifts, the exchange of flags, hot-air ballooning to name but a few. One special memory however does stand out for me as the Mayor of Caerffili. I was invited on the Sunday morning to a church service at St John's Catholic Church in Lannion. During the service the Aber Valley Male Voice Choir sang hymns before a large spellbound congregation. The Choir performed beautifully and were spontaneously applauded by both the congregation and the priest.

When we first visited Lannion with the prospect of twinning, I wondered what we in Caerffili had to offer. On our return I was in no doubt that we have much to offer our friends in Lannion - from the choral singing to the warmth of the welcome and the deep sense of friendship with our Breton friends.

Aneurin Banfield

TWINNING BETWEEN LLANBRADACH AND PLOUBEZRE

Not many months after becoming Chairman of the Twinning Association I received a phone call from my counterpart in Lannion, Monsieur Jean Moy. He had been approached by committee members from Ploubezre who wanted to know if we thought it possible to put the existing rapport between the villages of Llanbradach and Ploubezre on a more formal basis by allowing them to have their own twinning ceremony.

This request was passed on to Councillor Colin Mann, who reported back to the committee that they thought it was a good idea, and that the date for the first ceremony was fixed for August 1994, with the second ceremony planned for 1995 in Llanbradach. A sub-committee was set up to work on this project, which meant a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun at the same time, and the result was that two very different but equally successful twinning ceremonies were held.

I felt very privileged to be the Chairman for both these years, and for my own part saw these ceremonies as a perfectly natural way to recognise the special friendship that existed between these two villages.

Anne Burnell