Final Day in Vaujours

Already the last full day had arrived.
The morning was pleasant and refreshing as we had a walk through the local park which until the 1970's was home to a gun powder plant and had now been reclaimed by nature, so I can walk through parks here in England why travel to France? Well its simple they have red squirrels and parrots. Ok so the parrots are a new alien invasion over the last 6 years or so (so I am told) and have bread and now have a large colony. It was quiet fascinating the history and now the way the park is developed.

Lunch with the Mayor of Vaujours was next on the agenda, we were joined by another Mayor from Belgium who is also twinned with Vaujours. This got me thinking and i have since started a map showing twinning links spreading from Tamworth. During this meal we exchanged stories and information such as a chat about the governance of local authorities and the roles of the Mayor, leaders and chief executives etc along with the history of wearing a chain or a sash. But this meal was not just about informal chat we also had some open and frank discussions about the role of twinning and how it can be moved away from just civic dinners to more meaningful twinning. It was apparent that our continental colleagues still have a firm grasp of where they want twinning to be going.

So with lunch over and a quick tour of Vaujours looking at their latest projects and then an hour off to prepare for the "Best Wishes" event that evening.

The Best Wishes event concluded my official stay in Vaujours (all I had to do is catch a plane in the morning). This event included a speech from the Mayor about the years successes and projects then followed by a buffet of various foods from different food outlets throughout the town.
The projects included a nursery built and opened, overhead cables in some streets buried beneath the road and a new football stadium. This was presented to about 400 local residents, I wondered if we could get away with such an event in the Uk where there is a basic dislike for the majority of politicians and local authorities. In France however this was a celebration of the councils achievements.

Another great day in vaujours and some real learning. I have three jobs to do in relation to true value of twinning and those links are already being made.