Where is Precigne?
Precigne is a small market town of 3,000 inhabitants near Sable-sur-Sarthe, south-west of Le Mans in Anjou, western France.

How did the idea of Twinning start?
The Secretary of the Twinning Committee of Precigne, which had already established a relationship over 40 years ago with the village of Wewelsburg, near Paderborn in Germany with regular exchanges organised between Precigne and Wewelsburg, having spent some time in Otford as a child, contacted the Chairman of the Otford Parish Council in July 2006.

What is the Twinning process?
Twinning allows people to discover another way of life internationally and build up friendships between youngsters and older residents in the villages. There is a folder containing accounts of meetings and other interesting information in the Otford Heritage Centre.

Is it too late to join in?
Definitely not. This initiative will only work if there is a real positive practical support from both Precigne and Otford – the only prerequisite from Otford is an enthusiasm for France and all things French – lack of language need not be a barrier – we can translate for you.

We are a self-funded group and need to raise funds for joint meetings, visits to local sights of interest and assistance in entertainment expenses for our French visitors.

We shall be holding a Quiz evening with a French flavour with a ploughman’s supper (please bring your own bottle and glasses) on Friday 16 November at 8pm in the Club Room of the Otford Memorial Hall. Tickets at £5 from Jane Lawrey 01959 522360.

What type of links are envisaged?
A delegation of 12 from Otford has already visited Precigne in May 2007, two local girls spent a fortnight in Precigne in August 2007 and a 21 year old law student spent a week in Otford, visiting London and we are about to host a 14 year old French boy who will be attending a local school for seven weeks to improve his English.

We are looking forward to welcoming a delegation from Precigne to Otford in May 2008 and a party of French teenagers is planning to camp in Otford in July 2008.

Furthermore it is anticipated that a group of Otford residents will visit Precigne in May 2009.

Everything is possible. What would you like to do?