Joue les Tours

A few years ago when Cumnock and Doon Valley had a very successful twinning arrangement with Joue-les-Tours, and a number of visits, covering a wide range of groups in the community, were organised over the years. An interesting visit from Joue was when their saxophone quartet played in Cumnock at a number of venues. A reciprocal visit by the Ayrshire Clarinet Choir was held the following year. They played throughout Joue, and their visit culminated in a concert to well over 1,000 people at a special 20th anniversary ceremony to celebrate Joue's twinning with one of their other twin towns, Hechingen in Germany.

On Friday 17th December 2010, nine members of the Choir travelled to Joue les Tours in France.We had been invited by the East Ayrshire Town Twinning Association to take part in their visit to Joue les Tours, coinciding with the Christmas Market there. Joue is also twinned with Ogre in Latvia, which had sent a party that weekend, too. We gave two performances while we were there: the second, in the local Church, giving rise to a standing ovation, which was most gratifying.

More recently.....

We were given a tremendous welcome by our hosts and enjoyed a wonderful weekend. We should like to thank all our hosts -  Catherine and Didier, Paulette and Jean-Paul, Solange and Michel, Monique and Dominique, Brigitte and Bernard, Dominique and Yves, Patricia and Jacky, Brigitte and Danielle and Monique and Fausto for all the excellent care and friendship they offered us. We also wish to thank the Mayor and his staff for all that they did for us - we had a most enjoyable dinner and party on the Saturday evening. Our visit was a wonderful experience - many thanks to everyone who made it such a success!