Il semblerait que la jonction Toussus / Duxford ne se fera pas.
Ce ne serait pas par manque d'efforts entre le groupe de coordination français et nos amis anglais, mais tout simplement par un manque d'attrait de la part de la commune anglaise à officialiser cette relation à travers la nomination d'un chef de groupe qui coordonnerait les actions et les échanges venant de G.B., de la même façon que nous avons pu le faire à Toussus.
Une attitude qui laisse perplexe plus d'un, chez nos amis à Duxford.
D'où , ci dessous, l'article paru dernièrement dans le bulletin Chatterbox, du mois de juillet, rédigé par notre ami John Holme.
Croisement des chemins, nouveau départ, nouveaux horizons ?...
Ce ne serait pas par manque d'efforts entre le groupe de coordination français et nos amis anglais, mais tout simplement par un manque d'attrait de la part de la commune anglaise à officialiser cette relation à travers la nomination d'un chef de groupe qui coordonnerait les actions et les échanges venant de G.B., de la même façon que nous avons pu le faire à Toussus.
Une attitude qui laisse perplexe plus d'un, chez nos amis à Duxford.
D'où , ci dessous, l'article paru dernièrement dans le bulletin Chatterbox, du mois de juillet, rédigé par notre ami John Holme.
Croisement des chemins, nouveau départ, nouveaux horizons ?...
Pour sa part, le Conseil Municipal de Toussus lors de sa dernière réunion du 2 juillet a donné son feu vert pour continuer ce type de projet.
L'équipe qui sera en charge de ce nouveau départ planchera sur la direction à prendre.
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Is Africa the New France?
As many in the village will know, for the last 18 months several of us have been looking at the possibility of developing links with Toussus-le-Noble, a village very similar to Duxford, a few miles from Paris and Versailles. An approach was made to Duxford by the Toussus Council and interested villagers, and in May 2009 a small delegation went from Duxford to Toussus, at their invitation. Discussions were held on possible ways forward, and who needed to be involved, and in January 2010 a reciprocal visit was made to Duxford from Toussus. Toussus was extremely interested and enthusiastic about linking with Duxford,because they could see many similarities, and some great opportunities for cultural, social and educational links; our village does not seem to have the same positive attitude.
In spite of many attempts, it has been impossible to find anyone interested enough to find the time to take on the role of coordinator for Duxford, and whilst some organisations, such as the Scouts, the School, the SaturdayWorkshop and Duxford Massive, have expressed interest in developing links, this has not been replicated elsewhere.
The Parish Council has made it clear that it is not interested in links with Toussus.
At June’s Parish Council meeting, the Chairman made a statement about Toussus, and said that he thought twinning with somewhere in Europe was very 1970s, when everyone today had Belgian beer and French cheese in their fridge, and went to Europe for holidays. He felt that if Duxford twinned with a village anywhere, it should be with a village in Africa.
He suggested that the Allotment Society could become involved with ideas on cultivation. Another councillor suggested Uzbekistan, whilst a third suggested Malawi, where we could send medical aid, and where village gap year students could spend some time working in their schools. It would appear that there is no wish to be involved with Europe, and even District Councillor Williams, who originally promoted the Toussus Twinning idea in the village, appears to have lost interest.
So there we are. Twinning with Toussus is dead. We have written to our French friends and told them they should look elsewhere for a friendship link.
Those of us who met Gerard Finan and his colleagues, both here and in France, have been assured that on a personal level, we will always be welcome in Toussus, but for Duxford, the future’s bright; the future’s Africa, or perhaps Uzbekistan...
John Holme
Chatterbox - July 2010
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L'équipe qui sera en charge de ce nouveau départ planchera sur la direction à prendre.
-------------
Is Africa the New France?
As many in the village will know, for the last 18 months several of us have been looking at the possibility of developing links with Toussus-le-Noble, a village very similar to Duxford, a few miles from Paris and Versailles. An approach was made to Duxford by the Toussus Council and interested villagers, and in May 2009 a small delegation went from Duxford to Toussus, at their invitation. Discussions were held on possible ways forward, and who needed to be involved, and in January 2010 a reciprocal visit was made to Duxford from Toussus. Toussus was extremely interested and enthusiastic about linking with Duxford,because they could see many similarities, and some great opportunities for cultural, social and educational links; our village does not seem to have the same positive attitude.
In spite of many attempts, it has been impossible to find anyone interested enough to find the time to take on the role of coordinator for Duxford, and whilst some organisations, such as the Scouts, the School, the SaturdayWorkshop and Duxford Massive, have expressed interest in developing links, this has not been replicated elsewhere.
The Parish Council has made it clear that it is not interested in links with Toussus.
At June’s Parish Council meeting, the Chairman made a statement about Toussus, and said that he thought twinning with somewhere in Europe was very 1970s, when everyone today had Belgian beer and French cheese in their fridge, and went to Europe for holidays. He felt that if Duxford twinned with a village anywhere, it should be with a village in Africa.
He suggested that the Allotment Society could become involved with ideas on cultivation. Another councillor suggested Uzbekistan, whilst a third suggested Malawi, where we could send medical aid, and where village gap year students could spend some time working in their schools. It would appear that there is no wish to be involved with Europe, and even District Councillor Williams, who originally promoted the Toussus Twinning idea in the village, appears to have lost interest.
So there we are. Twinning with Toussus is dead. We have written to our French friends and told them they should look elsewhere for a friendship link.
Those of us who met Gerard Finan and his colleagues, both here and in France, have been assured that on a personal level, we will always be welcome in Toussus, but for Duxford, the future’s bright; the future’s Africa, or perhaps Uzbekistan...
John Holme
Chatterbox - July 2010
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