Cheltenham has received a kind and generous donation of 10,000 disposable face masks from its Chinese twin town of Weihai. These will be distributed to frontline staff and key workers within Cheltenham with a large number going to local care homes. The Council is very grateful to Weihai. The Mayor of Cheltenham received a letter of support and solidarity from the Mayor of Weihai wishing all the people of Cheltenham a safe recovery and healthy future.
The Mayors of Cheltenham and Göttingen have exchanged letters of solidarity during this Corona virus pandemic, wishing the citizens of both towns health and success in dealing with the current situation.
Letter from Herr Rolf-Georg Köhler, Mayor of Göttingen can be read here.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS
Cheltenham Twinning Association is delighted to present the screening of the Russian film ‘One War’ which is being shown on Tuesday 24 March, 7pm at Chapel Arts to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and which is part of the Sochi International Film Festival UK awards programme.
The evening is open to all and tickets are available directly from Chapel Arts. Further information is here and we do hope that this screening will receive good support. The film does have English sub-titles.
See our presentation on the current and future proposals for twinning activities with our twin towns. Presented to Twinning Association Friends in February 2020.
This visit has now been postponed to October 2022 – details will be published later in 2021.
Cheltenham Twinning Association is organising a visit to its French twin town of Annecy, for local residents and people interested in twinning. The trip will take place from 7-14 October 2020 to coincide with the ‘Retour des Alpages’ 
– a traditional event in Annecy when the animals return to the lower pastures and parade through the old town. In Annecy accommodation has been booked at a central hotel to take advantage of the pedestrianised old town with its many restaurants and the nearby lake. It is also hoped to be able to arrange some homestays with local people for those who would prefer this option. The package includes an overnight stay in the historical town of Ypres on the way out and in the beautiful town of Bruges on the way back.
More information about this exciting visit can be seen here. Please register your interest as soon as possible to the Twinning Officer and complete and return the booking form with the deposit by the end of March.
THE DEADLINE HAS NOW PAST – PLEASE TRY US AGAIN IN 2021
Our French twin town of Annecy has a number of interesting work placement opportunities available this summer for young people aged 18-30 from Cheltenham and local area. A summary of the positions available can be seen here. Most are for a 4 week duration. The posts are fairly varied so interested applicants are asked to look at the minimum age required, the fluency of French requested and also the number of hours expected to work, as some are not for very long, which could be great, but conversely that could mean a lot of time on your own.
Applicants must be 18+ at the time of the placement to be considered and have a good standard of French. This is a wonderful opportunity for students studying French at university or about to go to university. These opportunities have been sent to all of Annecy’s twin towns, so early application is advisable.
To Apply:
The successful applicants will receive:
– accommodation of a single room with ensuite shower room and shared kitchen, paid for by the town of Annecy
– 70 euros per week to buy food.
– use of a bicycle for the duration of the stay.
We look forward to hearing from you.
To mark 60 years of twinning with the city of Sochi in Russia, three members of Cheltenham Twinning Association were invited to visit the Black Sea resort in November to strengthen relationships between the two “sister cities”.
Whilst in Sochi, the group attended the 4th Sochi International Film Festival Awards and the closing ceremony and considered plans for Cheltenham to host the 2021 UK event. They then attended the Sochi International Tourism Forum were they promoted our Festival Town to the Russian tourism market.
The group also visited the Olympic Park, location for “Professional Football Club Sochi” to discuss opportunities for sporting links and also participated in Sochi Day, an annual event held to mark the anniversary of the founding of the city.
The group were well looked after by their colleagues at Sochi City Administration and the busy programme enabled them to see much of the twin city. They experienced a classical concert, Georgian food, watched a live ice hockey match in the Olympic Park, attended a formal meal with traditional Russian dancing and singing and were warmly welcomed wherever they went.
One of the delegation, Martin Kimber, had visited Sochi before. He went twice in the 1990s when setting up youth exchanges and he noticed many changes. Martin commented,” The beautiful scenery on the Black Sea coast with the mountains behind and its warm climate, attracts many tourists. As a result of the massive investment for the Winter Olympics in 2014 which led to vastly improved infrastructure, including large numbers of new quality hotels and excellent transport links, Sochi now offers visitors a unique and enjoyable experience and is now a truly international resort. What hasn`t changed though is the friendly and hospitable welcome offered by the Russian people.”
On their return the group comprising, Richard Gibson, Martin Kimber and Dominique Leonard presented the gifts they had been given to the Chairman of Twinning in the Mayor’s Parlour.
The Cheltenham Twinning Association are hopeful that good relations have been re-established with Sochi and that following on from discussions held during the visit, school and football exchanges will be progressed and that there will be an opportunity to showcase Cheltenham to a delegation from Sochi in the near future.
The AGM of Cheltenham Twinning Association was held on 24 October 2019 and the minutes are available to read here.
The Retour des Alpages (Return from the mountain pastures) took place on 12 October this year and a group from Cheltenham were in Annecy to see this wonderful traditional spectacle.
This vibrant Annecy festival is one of the highlights of the Annecy year attracting many, many thousands of visitors from all over the world! It celebrates rich traditions of music, craftsmanship, Savoyard gastronomy and much more!
A procession of local and international folk groups in traditional costumes including the amazing Gloucestershire Morris Men process through the streets of the old town of Annecy together with geese, cows, St Bernard dogs, donkeys, chickens, horses, goats and sheep. Throughout the day the city comes alive with music and dance performances, opportunities to sample the best of Annecy and Savoyard foods and drinks, and chances to understand more about the local and historical traditions.
If you are interested in finding out more about the annual Retour des Alpages or many of the other festivals, events and touristic activities the beautiful city of Annecy has to offer visit: https://www.tourisme-annecy.net/retour-alpages.html
Written by Sophia Malden 11S1
At the ungodly hour of 4am, 11 year 10s from Balcarras School embarked on a challenging yet incredible opportunity – to spend a week living with a French family in Cheltenham’s twin town, Annecy. After our flight, we arrived in Geneva airport and travelled through the mountains, across the Swiss border and into Annecy. As soon as we arrived, we were thrown into the deep end as we spent the whole of the rest of the day with our French family. We arrived on the 14th July, the national day, so we celebrated the day with garden parties, picnics and fireworks by the lake. The rest of the week we spent exploring the beautiful old town of Annecy by having a guided tour, boat trip and a day on the Semnoz (a huge hill) doing fun activities like sledging. We also attended a reception at the town hall with the Mayor and were featured in the French newspaper! This experience really improved our French skills and developed our understanding of French culture. We are thankful to Mr Seguin and Mrs Hockenhull, our French teachers, for making this trip possible.
Cheltenham International Partnerships