MEMBERS of Alveston Twinning Association welcomed 42 members from their French twin.

Alveston has been twinned with Courville-sur-Eure since a charter of friendship was signed in 1987.

Following an initial welcome reception the visitors went to their host family and then enjoyed a weekend of events planned by the Alveston committee.

Included in this was a visit to the Big Pit coal museum in Wales, where the group went underground and explored all the attractions on the surface, followed by a journey on the Brecon Mountain Railway.

The afternoon was hot so the scheduled stop at Pontsticill was most welcome as we all alighted the train and headed for the tea shop for ice cream and ‘lashings of ginger beer’.

On Sunday everyone gathered at the Limekiln Field for a Hog Roast and games evening.

During their free time, hosts organised outings including visits to Bradford on Avon, Gloucester, Tewkesbury and the Heritage walk around Thornbury.

A large group had lunch at the River Station in Bristol followed by visits to the M Shed, a boat trip around the harbour and St Mary Redcliffe.

Alveston Twinning Association chairman, Valerie Fergyson, said: “We had a great time despite the weather being a bit iffy on some days.

“A lot of us have made great friendships of many of our twinning partners in Courville and the partnership is great.

“Many of us have been to several weddings of our friends from Courville and we’ve even been, unfortunately, to a funeral.”

The Alveston Twinning Association have accepted Courville's invitation to visit them over the August Bank Holiday next year.

Many events are run throughout the year between Alveston and Courville, including games nights, barbecues, camping trips and wine tasting.

For more information on the twinning association contact the association's secretary, Jennie Walters, by emailing: rojenn@aol.com or call: 01454 411277.