Weymouth Mayor leads twin town delegation to Louviers

Councillor Paul Kimber, Mayor of Weymouth & Portland, will

lead a delegation of 35 townspeople to the Normandy twin town of Louviers next

week.

The Mayor will be taking a Weymouth Scout's scarf and a

specially made woggle, to present to Franck Martin, Mayor of Louviers, for the

twin town’s scout group at their summer camp. This gift has been organised with

the co-operation of Alderman Peter Rendall, a past Chairman of the

Weymouth-Louviers Society, who is Chairman of the Weymouth and Portland

Scouts.

The delegation will be received by Franck Martin, Mayor of

Louviers, at a civic reception in the Hotel de Ville [Town Hall.]  

Doris Eastwood, Town Crier of Weymouth, will accompany the party, in her dual

role also as Honorary Town Crier of Louviers. The twinning charter promising

perpetual friendship between Weymouth and Louviers, near Rouen in Normandy, was

signed by both Mayors in 1958, a warm link now in its 52nd. year.

The party travels to France by coach, leaving early on

Wednesday 25 August for the afternoon ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, staying

at a hotel in the French port overnight. The weekend’s festivities begin in

Louviers on Friday 27 August. They return to Portsmouth on Monday 30 August.

For Mayor Paul Kimber, it will be his first visit to Louviers.

"I am clearly looking forward to meeting and building further links to cement

our friendship between our two great communities, with our friends from

Louviers," says the Mayor. "I am very excited about our forthcoming visit and

will enjoy carrying out my role with our delegation to this beautiful part of

France. I am very proud to be a part of our delegation and looking forward to

meeting again our friends from Louviers. Helen and I met the Mayor and Mayoress

of Louviers and French friends when I was Deputy Mayor in May, at the very

successful Twinning Dinner at Weymouth College. We found a wonderful friendship

and a bond between our two great communities."

Ted Nicklin, Chairman of the Weymouth Twinning Committee,

comments: "We always enjoy meeting many of our old friends in Louviers and we’re

taking our new Mayor to introduce him to our twin town. Two days before arriving

in Louviers, we will be staying in Le Havre, which will enable us to see this

interesting city. There will be a half day visit to Honfleur, a charming fishing

town frequented by many artists. On the following day, on our way to Louviers,

we will visit Etretat and the Monastery at Fecamp."