SOME twenty members of Abergavenny Beaupréau Twinning Association along with the town’s mayor Teslin Davies and council representatives, have recently enjoyed a weekend of celebration and commemoration in Beaupréau, as the two towns reach almost thirty years of twinning.

They were joined by a number of families whose boys were members of the Abergavenny Rhinos football players, and a major part of the visit centred round an afternoon of matches played by boys, girls, and fathers, after a delicious al fresco meal.

Beaupréau boasts a signpost which points in the direction of their German and Welsh twinned towns, indicating the distances to both. This was proudly unveiled by the two “presidents” of both Twinning Associations, Dominique Bioteau and Judith Vicary.

Later, a most impressive dragon of gigantic proportions, ingeniously sculpted from part of the trunk of a felled cedar tree and formerly part of the chateau estate, was introduced to the dumbfounded Welsh visitors.

Their president was quietly chuckling, as later that evening, she would be presenting the town of Beaupréau with - a Welsh dragon weather vane!

The visit ended with an evening of music, a meal of banquet proportions, and an exchange of hope that the enduring friendship between the two towns would pass to the next generations.

“We expect to greet a number of visitors from Beaupréau next Easter, when we be truly celebrating thirty years of twinning, and we hope that this event will indeed be memorable, and that we will be able to reciprocate the warm welcome we received in Beaupréau,” said Mrs Vicary.

Among the other gifts presented was a piece of textile art by local artist Jan Thomas.

“Jan is inspired by the nature and countryside in the area and creates mixed media textile landscapes using a variety of techniques,” said Abergavenny Mayor, Councillor Teslin Davies.