The signs are all over the country, so why not visit the town you are twinned with ? it might be the start of a beautiful friendshipLook at the sign at the entrance of your town and you'll spot a phrase that goes something like this: "Twinned with , ". Maybe you've always been curious about that interesting-sounding place. Maybe you've visited, and met the people, possibly even had some fun.Still, the chances are, as curious as you might be about twinning, you've never visited the region twinned with yours. So you've never met the people or experienced the fun. And you don't know anything about the interesting-sounding places that the signposts around the UK inform you of.Town twinning, as an official relationship-builder, started in Europe after the second world war. The idea was simple: repair damaged relationships between France, Germany and the UK. Find towns that suffered during the wars and pair them. Then encourage people from these areas to meet, mix and get along. That's why town twinning ? at its core ? is a good and important thing.I'm writing this in a flat in San Sebastian in northern Spain. It's wet and cold outside (Jesus is looking down from Monte Urgull through the mist). It's been wet and cold for the past two weeks ? in fact, since I drove off the ferry at Calais, poised for a three-month road trip around 50 European twin towns. A fortnight in, I'm starting to learn about twinning ? the good and the bad.From the experiences I've had, Marie in Douai has told me it helped "create Europe" after the second world war. S�bastian in Issy-les-Moulineaux seems to be using it to attract business to the area and in Huelgoat, Tim had me in tears with stories of a Breton visit to St Just in Cornwall (it involved marshmallows and prank phonecalls). While in Poitiers, Christiane said how difficult it is to have a good, active relationship with Northampton these days (not much has happened between these two in the past five years). Next I'm off to Porto, twinned with Bristol. Time for more stories and more adventures.I'm fascinated by town twinning (or "jumelage" if you live in France). That fascination started a year ago when I popped to Hoerstel in Germany, twinned with my hometown of Waltham Abbey. For years I'd seen the sign. At school I'd even had the opportunity to visit. But I was like many of the people who have suggested their twins for my road trip ? curious, yes, but not curious enough to take the time to cross the Channel. It never felt like something I needed to do. But Norma, a feisty old lady who runs the Waltham Abbey Town Twinning Association, persuaded me otherwise.In three days, I visited the villages that make up Hoerstel, cycled through Bevergern, played basketball outside a shipping container with some German teenagers, ate raw pork, drove for an hour to a spectacular midnight funfair, and shared raclette with people from Germany, Poland and Italy.But it wasn't easy. Getting to know your neighbours isn't easy. Especially if you live in the UK ? because your European neighbour probably speaks a different language to you, and eats different food, and lives in a different culture. Also, it can be cold and wet. And you can feel completely out of your comfort zone.So why do it? And why have twin towns? After all, people can travel all around Europe easily, cheaply and freely these days, as Christiane in Poitiers pointed out. Because town twinning is a relationship. It's long-term. It starts, it grows and it can flourish. When it's good and healthy, it puts its people first. It introduces them to new experiences and new friends. It helps us all to meet, mix and get along. The relationship is about you and the people in your twin town ? not councillors or committees. It's yours to mould. You just need to find Norma-like energy to get involved and make something happen.You and your twin share something. A history, some DNA. You're twinned for a reason and that reason will be positive. So you should pay them a visit. They'll love it if you do.? This article was commissioned after a suggestion by OrokliniEuropeFranceFranceSpainRob Self-Piersonguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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