FOUR decades of ties between Helensburgh and the French town of Thouars have been celebrated with a week-long visit.
A delegation travelled from Scotland to the commune in western France to mark 40 years of the formal twinning.
Helensburgh Twinning Association president Margaret MacInnes led the delegation of 21 people - and was made an honourary citizen of Vieux Thouars.
She told the Advertiser: “I was both surprised and honoured to be made an honorary citizen of Vieux Thouars.”
Along with archivist Anne Thorn, both were given gifts from the depute mayor at a civic reception at the town hall.
There was then a visit to the tomb of Margaret of Scotland and an official dinner.
It was part of a range of activities organised by the Thouars Jumelage Committee to suit all ages.
On arrival there was a welcome reception in the Orangerie of the Château. The next day the group visited the Château of Villandry and its impressive gardens followed by the “Petrified” Caves.
Thouars is very proud of its produce and with providing its citizens with up-to-date facilities therefore visits to the new Kiosk cinema, MZ community centre and mushroom caves were also organised.
The group travelled to nearby Doué-la-Fountaine to visit the Bioparc and had the opportunity to also see the Festival of the Roses – an annual display of roses.
The people of Thouars are proud of the town’s history and there are many historical buildings to interest the visitor.
A very informative local guide gave the group a tour of the outside of some of the buildings including the Château des Ducs de la Trémoille and its chapel, the churches of Saint Médard and Saint-Laon (which contains the tomb of Margaret Stewart, first wife of King Louise XI of France and daughter of King James I of Scotland) and the Hôtel des Trois Rois.
On July 14 there was a procession around the main square and the Mayor of Thouars welcomed the group in his speech to the community.
This was followed by a display of Highland dancing by four dancers from the Margaret Rose School of Dance.
In the afternoon the group enjoyed a picnic beside the river Thouet and took part in some quizzes and games including pétanque and pétit palais.
The day ended with a fantastic firework display just before midnight in the grounds of the Château.
On the penultimate day a wonderful five course anniversary lunch was held in the Missé Salles-de-fête. Music was provided between the courses followed by dancing from the Vieux Thouars group and dancers from the Margaret Rose School of Dance.
A spokesperson for the group said, “Margaret has been involved in the local Twinning Association since its inception and has been president for nearly 30 years therefore this is a very fitting tribute to her dedication.
"It was a fantastic trip. The hospitality we received was second to none. Twinning visits allow us to experience each other’s cultures and life-long friendships have been forged over the years.
"We hope that this will continue and that people with young families in the Helensburgh area will be keen to become involved in the Twinning Association and link with a family from Thouars.”
The Association can be contacted at Helensburgh.twinning@gmail.com or find them at the Helensburgh & Thouars Twinning/Jumelage page on Facebook.
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