what is the point of twinning?

What is the Point of Twinning?

Could You Have an Estranged Sibling in Idar Oberstein?

Have you Had a Twinning Encounter?

Like me, have you ever driven past a town twinning sign and thought, what is that all about?

I have always thought it sounds rather enchanting and culturally progressive to have a twin in Europe, in fact several twins dotted all over Europe. How cool would that be?

Perhaps not so cool, when having scratched the surface, you realise your hometown's twinning is more synonymous with a Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger style of coupling – sadly, I would hedge my bets and suggest, we have become the 'less than perfect specimen, as opposed to the genetically enhanced twin'!

Apparently Broadstairs is twinned with Wattignies: a commune in the Nord dept. of Northern France. Margate is twinned with Idar Oberstein, a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany as well as Les Mireaux a town in France and Yalta in Ukraine. Ramsgate boasts several sisters, amongst them one even in Denmark. We've got brothers and sisters all over the place! How promiscuous can a place be?

Us Thanetonians appear spectacularly well connected on the European stage, but what does that mean? If you were to turn up on the doorstep of a house in Idar Oberstein, would they welcome you in? Provide shelter and refreshments? A bed for the night? Highly unlikely, although I am tempted to try it!

Instead, I do something else!

My fruitless search was disappointing. I started to wonder if mortals who inhabited our European twin towns were more informed about their homes' relationships with Thanet than their English counterparts. My quest to absorb a morsel of satisfaction and knowledge about 'twinning' irked a moment of impulsive daring; and as my impulses took over, before I knew it, I found my ear drum being the recipient of the international elongated dialling tone. I hadn't even prepared what I was going to say, but being an able conversationalist, I shrugged my lack of planning off – how bad could it be?

A masculine voice answered, he sounded professional and business-like, although I had no idea what he was saying. Sadly, I am one of many Brits who are limited to English only, with a few generic phrases of French in my pitiful repertoire of Languages. I had arrogantly assumed whoever answered would speak basic English at the very least; for this is at the very minimum my usual experience of speaking with Europeans.

“Good morning” I said in my best speaking voice.

“Do you speak English?” I hesitantly and humbly asked. Cringing and wishing, as I always do, when I ask that question, that I had paid more attention in class, and that I had bothered to listen and learn; as opposed to spending most of my French lessons standing outside the classroom door, pulling faces at my mates inside the class. Fat lot of good that did me – a thought of regret I have every year when in Europe.

“Un petit peu” came the reply. Ah, I knew this phrase, but knowing this phrase has severe limitations, as how are you supposed to reply?! I usually utilise body language, eye contact, and humour, but that's when you're in person, making communication somewhat easier. Being on the phone is distinctly not the same.

I introduced myself, speaking slowly and clearly, like we do, saying my name and that I worked for a local business based in Broadstairs, Kent in the Southeast of England.

How much of this he understood, I am not sure, he told me his name, 'Sebastian' and asked how he could help me. My moment had arrived. Up until now, the tone had been light and friendly, and despite our inability to have a fluent and fluid chat, I still felt optimistic and hopeful.

“Have you heard of Broadstairs? A town that is twinned with your town”, I ask.

“Pardon” he replies.

I am stumped. I say the word, “jumelage'. Silence. I try pronouncing it again and again. (This means twinning in French).

My cringe barometer is on full throttle. I want to slam the phone down and pretend this moment has never occurred, but I don't.

I try one more time.

He responds. His tone is hard to read: a mix of caution, apprehension, and incredulousness. I feel my behaviour is disturbing him: it's disturbing me – deeply! My cheeks pulsate red, despite being alone in my front room.

I try other English words, but the hole I am successfully digging is now the size of a tunnel, as I try various ways to say, “related”, “connected” and “family”.

“Pff chuis desole mais je ne vous comprendez pas Madame, Vous n'etez pas ma soeur.

Further horror struck me, he thinks I am saying I am his sister! (A word I do remember.) What if he thinks I am some long lost relative, God, this could cause a family row!

I apologise with a pathetic blend of pidgin French and English and hang up.

I sit and stare at my mobile, praying he doesn't call back.

He doesn't. Poor man. I sincerely hoped I had not unnerved him too much. My little fantasy in my head of having a laugh about the connection between our towns and perhaps finding out something of actual interest diminished.

Apart from a well-worn shabby signpost by the side of the road with European town names listed next to our local town names, what is the point of twinning?

Historically, twinning evolved in the late 19th century, encouraged by movements of social reformists, pacifists, and such like, but it was not until post Second World War, that twinning gathered momentum, and became prevalent. The objective to improve and enrich relationships between cities and towns Europe wide; to enhance prosperity, cultural exchange, reconciliation across our borders. The idea to create a sense of unity and partnership driven by the value of aesthetics and culture, as opposed to not being intrinsically linked to quantifiable economics. Have you benefited from any recent enriching experiences from twinning? I'd be curious to know!

Local government offices were formerly the main promoters of twinning, endorsing, and promoting family and school exchanges. However, having looked at the local councillors' website the information regarding twinning was hard to trace and quite frankly the web pages look like forgotten relics from the past: neglected and overlooked. Akin to the dusty down beaten road signs!

Perhaps twinning was a fig leaf for local MPs' exploitations, and elicit interludes, now bare bank accounts mean our connections with our paired European towns have been severed and relegated to the past.

Broadstairs and St Peters Town Council's page tells us the Major of Wattignies visited in December 1981 and the official twinning took place in 1982; this was the sum of the information I could source. On Ramsgate town's website their signage regarding twinning was slightly move vibrant with a candy floss pink background, but that was where the vibrancy began and ended. A few outdated comments regarding school exchanges stand alongside some crude images of our twin towns' crests, but very little information to extrapolate beyond the basics.

My excitement flickered for a fleeting moment when I read that Margate's twinning agreements were available in the Mayor's Parlour. I hoped to find a copy online, but they were nowhere to be found. The fact it says they are 'on display' suggests they too could be artefacts from the past. My excitement quickly evaporated.

It sparked briefly again when I came across the headline on the internet: Twin Town: from Margate to Les Mureaux

This was in the Kent and Surrey Bylines; the date of the publication was July 2021.

Finally, I thought, some twin town action, curiosity piquing, I began to read.

It was an endearing, rather delightful piece, supplemented with a retro 1970's photograph of the host family and the backdrop of school coaches. It was clearly a memoir inspired article firmly from the past; a recollection from a schoolgirl from 1973 entitled: 15-year-old's memories of a 1973 trip to compete in an athletics tournament in Margate's Twin Town of Les Mureaux, 35.9 km from Paris.

There was a distinct poignancy to the tone, but it was the final two sentences which stood out to me:

“I'm in my mid-60s now, and I still feel as European as ever. That first trip through the Twinned Towns system to Les Mureaux started my many years of exploring and falling in love with France.”

The potency and promise of twinning captured in a few simple words; the delight and value of cultural diversity and understanding; the evocation of desire to learn about our counterparts, and the instigation of life long international relations.

Before I forgot, I remembered the joy of Brexit, need I say more!

Nor did it take me too long to find the word 'austerity', references to resources being thin on the ground, the decline in cultural investment not a priority. Alas our twin towns, may now be in name only, poorly preserved by the shabby road signs and antiquated web pages.

Are we experiencing silent untwining? Next time, when you glance at a twinned town road sign, take a moment to think of our sister towns, and wonder what your extended, culturally dynamic family could have looked like!

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