GROUPS, societies and clubs from Abergavenny helped celebrate the 40th anniversary of twinning at Ostringen this month.

The party of fifty-five people comprising of local councillors, twin town members, previous hosts and local young footballers and their coaches, experienced a successful visit to the German twin town from September 10 to 14.

Early Saturday morning saw the unveiling of the town bench - a gift from Abergavenny which is housed in a specially developed small town square.

This was followed by the speeches by the Burgermeister and Abergavenny's deputy mayor Councillor Edwards who asked Nancy Willson, a twin town stalwart to carry out the unveiling.

Also on Saturday the adults joined a workshop with Ostringen councillors and officials to compare town plans and services such a town regeneration, tourism and housing.

Similar plans and problems were identified. Councillor Edwards talked on Citizen Involvement and Volunteering, Councillor Jordan on Regional and Town Regeneration and Chris Woodhouse talked on Recycling and Renewable Energy.

Meanwhile players from local football teams trained at the local football stadium and were treated to lunch by the senior members of the club.

In the afternoon the adults attended a fire service exercise with a simulated rescue and it was noted that the three villages that constitute the area of "Ostringen" with a population of 17,000 have 300 local volunteer fire fighters.

A reception was held later at the fire station. In the evening the local equestrian centre held a Spanish Horse Riding Gala with lots of music, flamenco dancing and a splendid barbeque.

Following a Sunday church service the footballers were invited to be the first team to play on the new town football pitch, a splendid €3million centre with a running track a third of which was sponsored by a local entrepreneur Mr. Hop, who is the equivalent of Terry Matthews with his empire made from computers.

The lush pitch was the finest available and the youngsters felt very privileged to set foot on it, with the temperature in the high 70's half time saw 1-1 but with Josh Stephens completing his hat trick saw the Thursdays boys win 4-1 and being presented with the Chronicle Cup by Burgermeister Muth .

On Sunday night three hundred people met at the local hall for celebrations. The locals provided three hours of entertainment which included the Junior Circus on unicycles, break dancing by local footballers, music led by the Ostringen Band, The Church Choir, formal speeches were kept at low key.

There were formal presentations of Town Medals to some of the visiting party including Mrs. Nancy Willson who has actually been involved for over forty years.

On Monday a trip to Baden Baden was highlighted by a guided tour of the famous casino. Monday evening was football time again played at the towns traditional stadium, this must have suited Ostringen side better as they won 1-0.

The friendships between the players was quite obvious, following the presentation by Councillor Edwards of a local cup the Thursday's boys gave each of the home side a Thursday's AFC shirt which was most appreciated.

After celebrations at the Club House it was up bright and early for the return trip.

To honour the occasion Abergavenny' s Deputy Mayor Councillor Douglas Edwards spoke of the contribution made by Mr Alun Griffiths in donating the tree trunk, Fox the Mover the haulage company who delivered the bench to Ostringen and the sculptor Neil Gow for his skill in creating the bench. Councillor Edwards read a message from Abergavenny's Mayor Councillor Norma Watkins expressing her disappointment she was unable to be present. 

She said the seat was a unique piece made from a single trunk of local oak and it demonstrates our commitment to the strong relationship between the two towns.

Councillor Edwards said he and his wife Edna had been members of the  twinning association was for 22 years and the pleasure of hosting and being hosted had created long lasting friendships in Ostringen.

He invited the Mayor of Ostringen Walter Muth to join him in unveiling the seat and accept the gift from the citizens of Abergavenny.

Councillor Edwards also invited Mrs Nancy Wilson a member of the twinning since its commencement and Mr Andre Arkell Chairman of the Association for the past 22 years to assist in the unveiling.

Thanks were expressed to the Mayor of Ostringen for creating  an area for the bench to be known as Twinning Square.

The Council and the Association are extremely grateful to Alun Griffiths for his practical help and also Fox the Removal Firm for generously transporting the bench to Germany. Abergavenny Chronicle for their support and excellent newspaper articles. Their journey was very safe and comfortable thanks to European Heritage and their very courteous and helpful drivers.

The Twinning Association will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Friday October 15 at 7.30pm in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall in Abergavenny, and would be very pleased to welcome anyone who wishes to come along and join in.