OSWESTRY has marked 40 years of being twinned with Combs-la-Ville, by hosting a number of visitors from the French town.

The groups celebrated the milestone anniversary ­– in fact its 43rd year after the cycle of home and away trips was interrupted by Covid in 2020.

At a celebration dinner at Weston Pools, the Twinning Association chairman David Davies referred to the friendships and family ties made over the decades, as well as cultural, sporting and educational links.

A number of teenagers made last week’s journey from France which he called ‘the lifeblood of keeping the two towns inextricably joined together’ to maintain the benefits that the twinning arrangement fosters.

He added: “And seeing a foreign country from within a host family gives you a real insight into the normal life of people abroad.”

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Bruno Barre from the French party, said: “We are delighted to be here, to celebrate that so many people from Combs-la-Ville over the years have benefitted from our two towns being together.

“Long may that carry on.”

Combs-la-Ville is 30 miles south east of Paris, a small formerly rural town that expanded with the coming of a direct rail line to the French capital.

For the anniversary visit, the French contingent visited Oswestry’s shops and markets, and enjoyed trips to Hereford (including the Cider Museum) and to Lichfield, as well having a lot of social and family time.

Combs-la-Ville is also twinned with the German town of Duderstadt, and via the links with Oswestry a cultural exchange of young people to Shropshire was arranged back in the 1980s.

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At last week’s celebration dinner, the Twinning chairman of the time, Geoff Cater, told a tale of those youngsters being brainwashed by the then isolationist East German authorities that British people were rough and poor, and there was nothing you could buy in the shops.

“Their eyes and minds were truly opened when they got to Oswestry,” said Mr Cater. "And that shows what twinning can really do.”

Mr Davies added: “A popular misconception is that the Oswestry Twinning Association is council-led.

“That isn’t the case.

“We are a voluntary body, organising social events open to all to fund visits to and from France in alternate years.

“I hope that can continue for a long time to come.”