60 years of Twinning
Thursday 10 October 2024
In October 2024 Warstein and St Pol-sur-Ternoise celebrated 60 years of twinning in Warstein. A delegation from Hebden Royd took part in the event.
It was a sad moment when just before our departure for Warstein our mayor Pat Fraser succumbed to a serious chest infection. Our friends in Warstein and from St Pol were deeply sorry not to see her and sent their best wishes to her.
The event was heart-warming and wonderfully organised, both for the formal and formal events.
We joined together to walk the Europapfad (European walk) around Warstein, then for visits to Körtinglinghausen castle or the fascinating museum in the Haus Kupferhammer (Copper House).
The formal event on the Saturday evening was a joyous combination of heartfelt words plus music and dance.
On the Sunday morning there was a festive service in St Pankratius with the St Pol music association and choir. Immediately after the service Burgermeister Thomas Schöne gave a moving speech on the dead and the missing from the two world wars and the current armed conflicts in Europe and beyond. When he and Maire Vasseur laid wreaths at the memorial, they spoke too of those who died in Warstein in the second world war as forced labourers from France.
After that our French friends departed and we bade them a fond farewell. We then relaxed with our host families for the rest of the day, before departing on the Monday morning following a wonderful weekend.
New members for the Twinning Society are always welcome! Anyone who is interested please contact Jane Jackson.