Dignitaries get into the carnival spirit at Wycombe's twin town (From Bucks Free Press)

What has this town twinning ever done for the people of Wycombe, , Fat zilch, Thats all that has been done. OH apart for all these freebie,s for high up council numptys, Have a nice break numptys on behalf of the tax payers of this town,,

Are we supposed to be happy about this in a time when cuts to services are being made left, right and centre.
No wonder the public sector workers have such a bad name - deeply shaming and massive own goal guys.

All this when the council are stopping care for the elderly, they cite cut backs are reason for this,,and yet they go off on there jollys,

As public funds were used to finance this little junket, and being a tax paying member of the public ie they used my money; would someone in the council please tell me how much of MY money was spent. Also, if a visit was also made in September, as is indicated by the Mayor, other than making new friends, please advise just 3 quantitative things that have been achieved, and can be evaluated, since the September visit. I won't be holding my breath till the reply..

Clown outfits, a highwayman and a gay sheriff outside are probably the appropriate costumes for this little junket. let's not also forget the amount of other junkets, paid for by those with a vested interest too. While the peasants eat stale bread, the lorded eat cake.

Can somebody remind me which of my outgoings is about to increase by 1.9%?
Not much of an increase.
I nearly didn't notice.
Nowhere near 2%.
That would have been outrageous.
.
Tact & diplomacy.
Qualities needed for politicians.
Not in this country.

It really is obscene. That is the only word that I can think of to describe this.

Poor show.

Wrong spending priorities!

Stop this waste immediately.

Publish the total costs of the trip & the achievements & justify the value.

Oh dear, there seems to be an outpouring of poorly informed opinion here. As a member of Beaconsfield Twinning Association I can tell you that cultural, sporting, artistic and friendship exchanges are funded by the members of the Association and through fund raising. They are not paid for by the Council. If you've not been involved in an exchange you won't appreciate the value they create for individuals and the community. Join your local twinning association, get involved and then comment. You'll find your viewpoint a little different then.

Community Spirit wrote:
Oh dear, there seems to be an outpouring of poorly informed opinion here. As a member of Beaconsfield Twinning Association I can tell you that cultural, sporting, artistic and friendship exchanges are funded by the members of the Association and through fund raising. They are not paid for by the Council. If you've not been involved in an exchange you won't appreciate the value they create for individuals and the community. Join your local twinning association, get involved and then comment. You'll find your viewpoint a little different then.

The whole thing privately funded ? Well, you would say that , wouldn't you ?
We have learned (allegedly) through bitter experience to unquestionably accept every single word politicians and their pals say.
.
After all they are so honest , open , credible and trustworthy , it is said

J B Blackett wrote:

Community Spirit wrote:
Oh dear, there seems to be an outpouring of poorly informed opinion here. As a member of Beaconsfield Twinning Association I can tell you that cultural, sporting, artistic and friendship exchanges are funded by the members of the Association and through fund raising. They are not paid for by the Council. If you've not been involved in an exchange you won't appreciate the value they create for individuals and the community. Join your local twinning association, get involved and then comment. You'll find your viewpoint a little different then.

The whole thing privately funded ? Well, you would say that , wouldn't you ?
We have learned (allegedly) through bitter experience to unquestionably accept every single word politicians and their pals say.
.
After all they are so honest , open , credible and trustworthy , it is said

Let your members dig deep in there pockets and fund for care of our elderly. Oh sorry no jolly junkets ,

Twinning associations are about friendshio and cultural exchange. In the UK there is rarely any civic financial support although personal support from councillors is welcomed and encouraged. In Beaconsfield ,members and councillors pay for their own travel. Fund raising from social events pays for entertaining our guests when they visit and supporting young people who go on exchange visits. I value all the friendships that I have made from twining visits both in france and UK.

Community Spirit wrote:
Oh dear, there seems to be an outpouring of poorly informed opinion here. As a member of Beaconsfield Twinning Association I can tell you that cultural, sporting, artistic and friendship exchanges are funded by the members of the Association and through fund raising. They are not paid for by the Council. If you've not been involved in an exchange you won't appreciate the value they create for individuals and the community. Join your local twinning association, get involved and then comment. You'll find your viewpoint a little different then.

So why are their activities not more widely advertised?
What value do they create exactly and why are there no stories?
Why has the council not made this clear?

It is only poorly informed opinion because no one has deigned to show or tell us otherwise over the years.
Perhaps now would be a good time eh?

demoness the second wrote:

Community Spirit wrote:
Oh dear, there seems to be an outpouring of poorly informed opinion here. As a member of Beaconsfield Twinning Association I can tell you that cultural, sporting, artistic and friendship exchanges are funded by the members of the Association and through fund raising. They are not paid for by the Council. If you've not been involved in an exchange you won't appreciate the value they create for individuals and the community. Join your local twinning association, get involved and then comment. You'll find your viewpoint a little different then.

So why are their activities not more widely advertised?
What value do they create exactly and why are there no stories?
Why has the council not made this clear?

It is only poorly informed opinion because no one has deigned to show or tell us otherwise over the years.
Perhaps now would be a good time eh?

Twinning stories do get reported. They are invariably 'good news' stories, so don't make the headlines. But checkout
www.beaconsfieldtwin
ning.org for example and you'll see plenty of stories. Or the Bucks Free, they do their fair share of reporting. Like life, the people who actively participate get the most out of the experience. So, get involved and then you'll have the first hand experience to lend your comments weight.

Community Spirit wrote:

demoness the second wrote:

Community Spirit wrote:
Oh dear, there seems to be an outpouring of poorly informed opinion here. As a member of Beaconsfield Twinning Association I can tell you that cultural, sporting, artistic and friendship exchanges are funded by the members of the Association and through fund raising. They are not paid for by the Council. If you've not been involved in an exchange you won't appreciate the value they create for individuals and the community. Join your local twinning association, get involved and then comment. You'll find your viewpoint a little different then.

So why are their activities not more widely advertised?
What value do they create exactly and why are there no stories?
Why has the council not made this clear?

It is only poorly informed opinion because no one has deigned to show or tell us otherwise over the years.
Perhaps now would be a good time eh?

Twinning stories do get reported. They are invariably 'good news' stories, so don't make the headlines. But checkout
www.beaconsfieldtwin

ning.org for example and you'll see plenty of stories. Or the Bucks Free, they do their fair share of reporting. Like life, the people who actively participate get the most out of the experience. So, get involved and then you'll have the first hand experience to lend your comments weight.

hmm - plenty of stories from the BFP.
A quick search using the word Kelkheim produced this...

http://www.bucksfree
press.co.uk/search/?
search=kelkheim

hardly current and impressive is it?

My comments lend weight because this is a democracy and I am questioning the use of councillors time - you have made it clear that it is not funded by tax payers money but nevertheless this seems a huge waste of their time.
So ... what does the twin town initiative do for the vulnerable of our community?
What projects is it involved with that demonstrates whole community cohesion?
What fund raising has it done that benefits the community of High Wycombe?
I think that it would be interesting to know - perhaps you could post some links that demonstrate this?

Personally, I'd prefer not to see my councilors dressed like this, partying in a distant country. I do not want people to think that this is represenative of my town. Also in times of severe austerity, it is kinda like rubbing the 'plebs' noses in it eh? Can't say as I've seen any benefit from this twinning, Maybe someone who was on this trip could list the percieved benefits for the town.

Tony Green went on the junket.
Come on Tony, summarise what real-world, quantified benefits the High Wycombe residents can expect from your recent trip. What is our return on investment?
And when responding, can you confirm that the trip cost the the taxpayers nothing - as is claimed in this thread?

I can't offer informed opinion on High Wycombe Twinning: I don't have any first hand experience. I can tell you how it works for Beaconsfield, and the big picture would be similar for most twinning organisations.
1. Volunteers run the Association, when and where councilors or the Mayor get involved they pay their way like everyone else.
2. Youth exchanges are a key part of the programme, and where financial assistance is required we contribute.
3. School get involved through projects which may only involve email or web based activities. So, travel is not always involved.
4. Friendship via cultural, artistic, sporting, music exchanges between twin towns also provides a great opportunity for people of all ages and interests to experience the benefits of 'home stay' exchanges and shared interests.
5. Twinning is about sharing between two communities - the scope is enormous, and the role of Twinning Associations is to facilitate and co-ordinate. And like so many things in life ... the more you give the more you get in return.

It appears the High Wycombe Town Twinning Association has its own website at

http://www.hwtta.org
.uk/index.html

I must say the emphasis does appear to be more on partying than any real benefits to the people of the town of High Wycombe. There is no list of aims or objectives of the association shown. There does not appear to be a youth exchange or anything like that. No meeting agenda. No meeting minutes. Although they do call the Carnival Party a "summit"!They are even looking at twinning with a town in France called Vernon. More jollies afoot.

Community Spirit wrote:
I can't offer informed opinion on High Wycombe Twinning: I don't have any first hand experience. I can tell you how it works for Beaconsfield, and the big picture would be similar for most twinning organisations.
1. Volunteers run the Association, when and where councilors or the Mayor get involved they pay their way like everyone else.
2. Youth exchanges are a key part of the programme, and where financial assistance is required we contribute.
3. School get involved through projects which may only involve email or web based activities. So, travel is not always involved.
4. Friendship via cultural, artistic, sporting, music exchanges between twin towns also provides a great opportunity for people of all ages and interests to experience the benefits of 'home stay' exchanges and shared interests.
5. Twinning is about sharing between two communities - the scope is enormous, and the role of Twinning Associations is to facilitate and co-ordinate. And like so many things in life ... the more you give the more you get in return.

I think we are all really moaning about the Wycombe twinning - if you guys in Beaconsfield are making it work then good on you :)

I used to run german french twinning exchanges for teenagers, quite a long time ago. There were also exchanges for the firebrigade, police and other organisations. But as mentioned earlier it is/was run by volunteers. It opens up possibilities of working abroad for example. The german french twinning association has been going for over 50 years now.
I might just get involved with the HW twinning association.

Oh and by the way, you need to grow up with the carnival to under stand it.