Following an invitation from Mike Munsing, the Burgemeister of Munsingen in Germany, Abergavenny Town Council liaised with Chairman of Abergavenny Twinning Association, John Prosser to organise a delegation to participate in a Town Festival and Youth project in Munsingen. The delegation included: twinning enthusiasts, in addition to ten young people.

A delegation of five “Twinners” plus ten Royal Air Force Air Cadets and two supervisors from the Abergavenny Branch travelled for the festivities with the Cadets staying longer to engage in youth camp projects with peers from twin towns.

Although Abergavenny is not directly twinned with Munsingen, both are twinned with Beaupreau and delegates often meet at joint events, a recent one being the successful trip to Beaupreau by Abergavenny Rhinos football club earlier this year.  

The event saw participants from Germany, Wales, and twin towns in France (Beaupreau), Hungary (Mezobereny), and Switzerland (Muensingen). 

Mr Prosser commented: “Abergavenny Twinning Association continues to embrace the ethos of twinning where friends across different countries develop friendships and experience each other's cultures and everyday life.

“This visit has culturally strengthened our relationship with Munsingen in Germany. It also gave the opportunity for student air cadets to participate in a European project.”

Councillor Kyle Jamie Eldridge one of those who attended, said: “The spirit of Abergavenny and Wales was in our hearts and we had the unique opportunity to have a crash course in international diplomacy.

“Above all, I am proud of our great Royal Air Force Cadets, as beyond the camaraderie that is quite often associated with young people today lies a very florescent silver lining of respect and tolerance of which I believe defines them as a generation.”. 

A spokesman for Royal Air Force Air Cadets at 2478 (Abergavenny) Squadron said: “Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. We had a really fun time, especially during the bike rides and working on youth projects with others who became good friends. The extracurricular activities, like visiting the lido, were fantastic, and the campsite was lovely. A great big thank you from the RAF Air Cadets at 2478 (Abergavenny) Squadron.”.  

For more information on how to join the Abergavenny and Beaupreau Twinning Association, please contact John Prosser via [email protected]