In the latter part of October half term, the Mayor of Patchway Cllr Dayley Lawrence and residents from Patchway attended the latest Civic visit to our German Twin Town, Gauting.
The exchange was a reciprocal visit to celebrate 20 years of Twinning between Patchway and Gauting. Patchway had welcomed a large delegation of officials and residents in June, which was a great success.
This visit was a chance for the civic heads of all three towns to come together and to further strengthen the twinning partnership. The programme was packed to the rafters with sight-seeing and official visits.
After the delegation from Patchway had flown from London to Munich, they were greeted by their hosts and taken back to where they would be staying for the next few days. All of the delegation from Patchway had paid for their own flights and travel, showing their determination to make this visit a successful one.
On the first day of the exchange, the delegation were taken to a local high school whereby they received a presentation on waste management and recycling. They were then transported to a local brewery in Gauting and then a guided tour of the rural part of the German Town.
On the second day of the exchange, the delegation were welcomed to the town hall where they received a presentation on 'Patchway Anger'. This presentation was about a new development in Gauting and they had named it after our very own town! After this, they had a guided tour of the natural history museum and then a visit to Castle Nymphenburg. In the evening, the delegation were treated to a traditional Bavarian evening with dancing and food in abundance.
On the third day, the delegation had the chance to travel to anywhere that they would have liked to see with their hosts. In the evening, the civic dinner was held and all three Mayor's exchanged speeches around how the twinning partnerships can help with the ongoing struggles in the world. The evening was a great success!
On the final day, the delegation got to visit a historic Roman site in Gauting. The Mayor of Patchway stayed until the Monday and was given a tour of the town hall and their service department.
The twinning exchange had been a real positive step and has really strengthened our relationships with our twin towns. Moving forwards, we have the successful pen pal scheme for our young people as well as trying to re-establish our twinning committee. If this is something you would be interested in, please contact us via email to office@patchwaytowncouncil.gov.uk
