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St Germans & District Twinning Association.
“Our principal is to enjoy and experience making new relationships often developing into long term friendships, while sharing and experiencing our cultural differences. A knowledge of French can be useful but is by no means essential”.
Who are we? The villages of St Germans, Downderry, Seaton, Hessenford, Narkurs and Polbathic - are twinned with Plouguerneau (the name you may recognise on many of the road signs as you enter our villages). Plouguerneau, situated in north-west Brittany, is a small town and a succession of hamlets nestled into the beautiful, rocky coast of Finistère. To get there is really quite simple as it is actually quite close. Having taken the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff, once on French soil turn right. About an hour due west is Plouguerneau. (Travel arrangements are always made for those who prefer not to drive).
Our twinning relationship has been flourishing now for more than 30 years and is focused on our annual exchange visits where members host families, couples or singles in our homes and our Breton friends do likewise when we visit them. Alternative years those from Plouguerneau come to us and the following year we then visit them. In April 2018 we entertained more than 90 friends from Plouguerneau so in May 2019 more than 50 members of our Association visited Bretagne. In 2020 we were due to host our Breton friends again but the Pandemic and Lockdown hit us all.
In October 2022, 42 of our members visited Plouguerneau to rekindle our respective organisations although many of our friendships had continued in the interim via various forms of media and modern technology. We have the pleasure of welcoming 55 friends from Plouguerneau shortly for the weekend at the end of April, beginning of May 2023.
It is a real linking of the two communities as both they and us all stay with local families. We would again stress you do not need to be able to speak French - or Breton - some of our hosts do not speak English - or Cornish. But communication is a wonderful thing, and it is amazing how quickly over good food and wine, on the boules pistes, in families and among friends, out and about on fascinating trips in our two communities, friendships are born, relationships deepen.
During the year the association is very active in raising funds to support the biennial visit with much fun at occasions and get-togethers,
If you are interested in joining this very special Cornish/Breton experience, making new friendships that can last a lifetime, please contact Janine Badcock, Chair of the Twinning Association, on 01530 250708.
