Hi everyone,
The Chairman of the Chew Valley Twinning Association (Steve Ward) wrote to me earlier with a request whcih I’m only too happy to oblige. I’m sure many of you know that the valley has enjoyed a vibrant link for the past few years with Vern-sur-Seiche, a village of some 7,000 people just south of Rennes in Brittany. Now that population equates more or less to the total population of the villages in the Chew Valley. Several members of course who live in Compton Martin.

VIEW THE LARGER INTERACTIVE MAP HERE
Now I’m not sure how many of you are aware of Googlemaps, but there has been a transformation where you can view virtually any area from a satellite area view and also the new “Street View” which has caused some controversy in the past and this has been done for both Compton Martin and Vern-sure-Seiche (click and drag the little fellow in orange on top left to anywhere that is highlighted on the map and you’ll get the street view.
Double click your mouse and it will zoom in on the map or use the scale on the left to pan out.
Type in Compton Martin on Googlemaps.com and pan in and use the street view option – if you see your house and you don’t want it there, I believe there’s a report function so they can block it out, luckily for me, the lazy car couldn’t be bothered to go up the small drive, but the French car went down every alley as you’ll see! It can be addictive viewing (as I discovered nosing out various ski resorts and the hairpin bends in the Alps!!!) :)
OK, the Official Vern-sur-Seiche website IS HERE
It even has a McDonald’s nearby (I discovered this on googlemaps) ;)

OK, here is some information that Steve Ward provided for me:
Chew Valley Twinning Association
An informal group of people of all ages from across the Chew Valley (including Compton Martin) who have a common interest in France and the French way of life. We have enjoyed a formal link for the past 6 years with Vern-sur-Seiche, a village in Brittany just south of Rennes. We are not a formal organisation, and our over-riding aim is to enjoy ourselves. There are several of us who can’t speak French.
Activities
There have been several very successful official visits from the Chew Valley to Brittany, and vice versa. We intend to take a group to Vern every other year, and the French will pay us a return visit in the intervening years.

The next such visit will be to Vern from Saturday 23 October to Tuesday 26 October 2010. The cost is likely to be around £110 per adult and £60 per child under 16. There would be no further meaningful outlay, as our French hosts pay for everything while we are there. If you are interested – or if you would simply like further information – then please do let us know. Contact details below.
We are encouraging other groups around the Valley (schools, music, youth, sports, historical, church etc) to liaise closely with their French counterparts – indeed, our Breton friends are also very interested in contacting any choirs in the Chew Valley, and any groups of young adults who perform traditional local music / folk / dance, with a view to arranging exchange visits. The primary schools around the Chew Valley are in touch with their counterparts in Vern with a view to establishing pen-pal exchanges.

Aside from the visits, we aim to have lively social activities throughout the year – we have enjoyed quizzes, skittles, barbecues, Murder Mystery nights etc.
Membership and meetings
There is no formal membership, there are no subscriptions, and there are certainly no age limits. Meetings are ad hoc. There is a formal AGM every February.
Contact: Steve Ward
Tel: 01275 333708
A group of English & French youngsters bonding nicely in Vern (Oct 2008)
