Could friendly Felixstowe have new twin?
IS Felixstowe the friendliest place in Suffolk?Its residents are always chatty, happy and helpful, making the most of life on the coast, with its record sunshine hours each year and the lowest rainfall.
IS Felixstowe the friendliest place in Suffolk?
Its residents are always chatty, happy and helpful, making the most of life on the coast, with its record sunshine hours each year and the lowest rainfall.
And now it seems the seaside resort just cannot resist making new pals everywhere - putting in place links with towns in other countries around the world.
Most communities of all sizes are happy to have one “twin”, but Felixstowe has buddies in America, China, and the old east and west of Germany, and is now to explore a new friendship in France.
The town council has been asked to twin with Voiron, a market town in the foothills of the Alps, and has agreed find out more.
The request comes just a few months after the resort - already twinned with Wesel and has friendship links with Salzwedel, and Hagerstown in America - agreed to explore links with Pudong, a “new town” on the edge of Shanghai.
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Suzy Guillard, chairman of the English Club in Voiron, said she had visited Felixstowe and liked it and thought it would be ideal for a link with Voiron and wants to arrange informal exchange visits which could lead to twinning.
“We are particularly interested in young people, sport, choirs, various clubs and societies, but would make do with a lot of different ideas as we are very adaptable,” she said.
Chris Slemming, chairman of Felixstowe Town Council's general purposes committee, said: “To go from base zero to twinning is a big jump to contemplate.
“We have some very successful twinning and friendship links and I think we can look at Voiron and take it softly and gently forward and see where it goes.”
Do you know of a community with more friendships? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
FASTFACTS: Voiron
Voiron is in the south-east of France, in the foothills of the Alps, and has a population of about 23,000.
Its nearest airport is Grenoble, just 16 miles away, with cheap Ryanair flights direct to and from Stansted.
The town stands at a height of 950ft on the Morge, a tributary of the Isere River.
It is a manufacturing base - a cloth is produced named after the town, and there are also silk-weaving factories, paper-making, skis and drink production.
