WHAT IS TWINNING?

Have you ever seen a sign when entering a village saying 'Twinned with....?' and wondered what it meant, wondered where the other town named is? 
 Town twinning is when two different towns or villages in different countries make a special friendship agreement. It is like having a pen-pal, but for a whole community! Here is how town twinning started, how it changed, and why it is still a great idea today.
The Original Idea: Making Peace
The idea of town twinning became very popular after World War II, which ended in 1945. Europe had just been through a massive, terrible war, and people wanted to make sure it never happened again.
The Goal: Build trust and friendship between former enemies.
The First Twins: Towns in Great Britain paired up with towns in Germany and France.Example: The English city of Coventry twinned with Volgograd (then called Stalingrad) in Russia and later with Kiel in Germany to show that peace was possible.By visiting each other, people realized that families in other countries were just like them. It is much harder to fight with people once you have shared a meal with them!
How Twinning Developed: Schools and Culture
As time went on, the world became safer, and twinning turned into a fun way to learn about new cultures.
School Exchanges:
 Students would travel to their twin town, stay with a local family, and go to a foreign school for a week.Learning Languages: It helped kids practice languages like French, German, or Spanish with real native speakers.
Festivals and Sports:
 Football teams, music choirs, and art groups would travel to play matches and perform in their twin towns.
Modern Ideas: Helping the Planet and Business
 Today, town twinning is not just about visits and tea parties. It is about working together to solve big world problems.
Saving the Earth: 
Twin towns now share green ideas, like how to recycle better or how to use solar energy.
Helping Businesses: Towns can trade local goods with each other to help shopkeepers make money.
Digital Twinning: Thanks to the internet, schools can do video calls and work on science projects together without even getting on an airplane.
The Big Benefits
 When a village twins with another country, it gets three big superpowers:Worldly Brains: People learn to respect different cultures, languages, and foods.Global Best Friends: You always have a community supporting you from across the ocean.Shared Brainpower: Two towns can solve problems much faster than one town working alone.

The latest edition of our NEWSLETTER, Issue No 5, is now available, and attached below. 

/260615 fifth-june 26 newsletter.docx

The latest edition of our NEWSLETTER is now available, and attached below. 

260424 Fourth Newsletter.docx

The latest edition of our NEWSLETTER is now available, and attached below. To ensure that you don't miss future copies, make sure that you are on our mailing list by completing the 'Contact Us' form.

260104 Third newsletter.docx  

We enjoyed a wonderful Musical Extravaganza, thanks to Darley Dale Brass Band, The Fishpond Choir, and St. Helen's Church. Thanks also to Joni's Cafe and The Church Inn for selling tickets. If you missed it, here's a little taster. We hope to hold more musical events so make sure you don't miss out next time!

Get your tickets now! Don't miss this fantastic event at St. Helen's Church, Darley Dale during the evening of 1st November 2025. Darley Dale Brass Band AND The Fishpond Choir will perform in one musical spectacular, not to be missed! Tickets are available in advance at Joni's Cafe or at the Church Inn, or, on the door on the night.

On Thursday 4th September 2025, the new Onzain Flower Bed, constructed by Darley Dale in Bloom in Whitworth Park, was officially opened by Darley Dale Twinning's first Chairperson, Shirley Davison. Accompanied by the Darley Dale Band, the grand opening was celebrated in true French style with a rendition of the Marseillaise, along with a heartfelt Happy Birthday to Shirley who has reached her 95th year. Congratulations!

We are going to have a 'Darley Dale and Onzain Twinning' gazebo in Whitworth Park on Sunday 24th August during the Gig in the Park' event (12-7pm.) It will be packed full of activities for children, and we'll also have members of our group there to talk about aspects of twinning and what we are doing to raise its profile within our Darley Dale community. Do pop over and have a chat with us; we'd love to see you.

A new Onzain Flower Bed is being constructed near the main entrance of Whitworth Park, Station Road, Darley Dale, by members of Darley Dale in Bloom. The border is already adorned by the Onzain Arch, which supports climbing roses. The new garden will provide plenty more space for a floral display celebrating our French connections. An artist's impression is attached, along with a recent newspaper article with more details.

History of Twinning; attached is a research paper, prepared by Eve in Onzain, and translated (by Google) outlining the history of Twinning/Jumelage in Onzain up to the year 2000 that you may be interested to read.

250529 History of Jumelage English.docx

In Memoriam

Onzain Twinning Founder, Colette Bouffault,

aged 103 years

written by Shirley Davison

in memoriam colette Bouffault.docx

An interview with Shirley Davison- one of our founder members

250121 shirley davison.docx

Friday 14th March 2025, 6pm- save the date! 

Everyone welcome.

We would like to welcome Bob Hingston, who has agreed to be co-opted onto the Darley Dale Twinning Committee.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy and successful New Year to everyone in Darley Dale and Onzain. 

The latest Community Voice (winter 2024) has just been published.Take a look at the article about the new twinning committee's plans. We are hoping to encourage young people, community groups, and businesses in Darley Dale to get involved with Twinning. -see latest news for details.

We have a new Twinning Committee voted in at our AGM 2024 

- see Latest News for details.

Article in Community Voice Summer 2024 from Kevin reporting on our fantastic twinning weekend in May 2024.

35th Anniversary Twinning Weekend 2nd to 5th May 2024

Visit by Onzain to Darley Dale.

Here is the public programme of free events over the twinning weekend. Please come along and encourage your friends.

We have a new Chair of Darley Dale Twinning - Jason Atkin

See Latest News for results of AGM 2023

Darley Dale Twinning - We need your help 

Secretary

We need someone to be the Secretary of the twinning committee on a voluntary basis to work closely with the Chair and other committee members. Main duties are to take minutes of meetings, maintain the mailing list and issue notices.

For further information please contact our current secretary Bill Jameson (bill.jameson@darleydaletwinning.org.uk)

 

Welcome to our website

 

Darley Dale's twinning link with Onzain was established by Darley Dale Town Council and is managed on their behalf by Darley Dale Twinning.

In Memoriam Onzain Twinning Founder, Colette Bouffault, aged 103 years

In Memoriam Onzain Twinning Founder, Colette Bouffault,

WHAT IS TWINNING? Have you ever seen a sign when entering a village saying 'Twinned with....?' and wondered what it meant, wondered where the other town named is? Town twinning is when two different towns or villages in different countries make a special friendship agreement. It is like having a pen-pal, but for a whole community!Here is how town twinning started, how it changed, and why it is still a great idea today. The Original Idea: Making Peace The idea of town twinning became very popular after World War II, which ended in 1945. Europe had just been through a massive, terrible war, and people wanted to make sure it never happened again. The Goal: Build trust and friendship between former enemies. The First Twins: Towns in Great Britain paired up with towns in Germany and France.Example: The English city of Coventry twinned with Volgograd (then called Stalingrad) in Russia and later with Kiel in Germany to show that peace was possible.By visiting each other, people realized that families in other countries were just like them. It is much harder to fight with people once you have shared a meal with them! How Twinning Developed: Schools and Culture As time went on, the world became safer, and twinning turned into a fun way to learn about new cultures. School Exchanges:  Students would travel to their twin town, stay with a local family, and go to a foreign school for a week.Learning Languages: It helped kids practice languages like French, German, or Spanish with real native speakers. Festivals and Sports:  Football teams, music choirs, and art groups would travel to play matches and perform in their twin towns. Modern Ideas: Helping the Planet and Business  Today, town twinning is not just about visits and tea parties. It is about working together to solve big world problems. Saving the Earth: Twin towns now share green ideas, like how to recycle better or how to use solar energy. Helping Businesses: Towns can trade local goods with each other to help shopkeepers make money. Digital Twinning: Thanks to the internet, schools can do video calls and work on science projects together without even getting on an airplane. The Big Benefits  When a village twins with another country, it gets three big superpowers:Worldly Brains: People learn to respect different cultures, languages, and foods.Global Best Friends: You always have a community supporting you from across the ocean.Shared Brainpower: Two towns can solve problems much faster than one town working alone.

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