At the end of August, the fantastic local Tewit Silver Band headed to Bagnères de Luchon for the Luchon en Fleurs festival, and also to give other concerts in the area. At the same time, another team headed out to build the Harrogate flower exhibit.

The flower team included language students from Harrogate and HIP volunteers, and linked up with students from the Lycée (high school) in Luchon. The previous three day Fête des Fleurs festival and international parade has been curtailed since the covid pandemic but it is hoped to reinstate this in full next year.

Flower decorating

On Friday, Harrogate was asked to decorate the large floral display, to be placed at the top of the main street – so some speedy work glueing the flowers to the wire structure was required. Also high-level work was required as the structure was tall – with ladders, an access tower and even a cherry-picker lift appearing as if by magic!

The parade

Following Tewit’s initial concert in the town centre on Friday, the Saturday parade was spectacular with multiple bands, dancers, and even horses and vintage cars taking part, all moving slowly up the main street and past all the static floral displays. There were a number of foreign groups (including from Ukraine), with others from elsewhere in France, while the wonderful mounted guides and the superb Fils de Luchon group in traditional dress showcased the local traditions. Tewit was in the thick of it, entertaining the crowds and even stopping outside their favourite bar/restaurant to get everyone dancing and clapping along!

Garin concert

That was followed by a wonderful Tewit Silver Band concert on the Sunday in the church at Garin, a small village up in the nearby valley, at the invitation of Myriam Dutoit who had been involved with making arrangements for the Harrogate and Tewit visitors. Any fears that no-one would come – or that the village audience might not like it – were very quickly dispelled. The church filled up (once the menfolk had been called away from watching the rugby) and very soon the church was packed and the whole village seemed to be there. The locals said the village had never seen anything like it, and were delighted that Tewit had taken the trouble to visit.

As ever, the sheer quality of musicianship shown by Tewit was clear for all to see, and the standing ovations went on and on! Myriam’s hospitality even included an invitation for the band to have a drink at her house next to the church – she explained that she was the third generation of her family to live there.

Chemins de la Liberté (Paths to Freedom)

And finally on the Monday, the language students and other visitors from Harrogate were given a guided walk (by Myriam) up part of the Chemins de la Liberté (Paths to Freedom) – following one of the routes used during the second world war to smuggle refugees and airmen across the Pyrenees between France and Spain. It features newly restored paths and new explanation boards which tell the moving and poignent stories in a very powerful and sobering way, and honour the memory of those involved.

Grateful thanks

Sincere thanks must go to Myriam Dutoit, who is a member of staff at the Lycée, and who was so helpful with the arrangements for the Harrogate and Tewit visitors – before and during the visit. Nothing was impossible and nothing too much trouble. Also to Jérémy Casat from the Services d’Animations (events and cultural team) at the Marie (Mayor’s office), and everyone else who helped us along the way.

And good luck!

And all best wishes and good luck to the language students from Harrogate. Flower sticking can be added to your list of skills!

Heading for….. Newcastle – Imperial – Edinburgh – Liverpool – Toulouse …..Our linguistic future.

At the end of July 2023, the first leg of an under 16s rugby exchange between Harrogate and Barrie saw the Harrogate team head off to Canada for a nine day visit.

Aside from the competitive rugby matches themselves, and the wonderful opportunities to make new contacts and friends, the local organisers had included some amazing visits and activities.

These included a visit to the spectacular Niagara Falls, going up the CN Tower in Toronto, a visit to a historical site dating from the time of the first settlements in the 1600s, and a taste of canoeing on the up-country lakes and rivers.

In Barrie itself, they visited the massive Spirit Catcher statue which overlooks the bay, went swimming in the lake at the foreshore beach, met Alex Nuttall the Mayor in the Council Chamber, and helped to mark Yorkshire Day on 1 August with the raising of the Yorkshire flag in Barrie.

Mayor Nuttall said:

“These young men were excellent ambassadors for Harrogate and their rugby club. They were a delight to host, and strengthened a rapidly developing link between our two towns. Both towns have so much to offer each other.”

There was much local coverage, including on the evening television news.

Harrogate’s twin towns have featured prominently in Harrogate town centre, as part of the town’s 2023 Floral Summer of Celebration.

Harrogate’s Floral Summer of Celebration is a two-week long campaign organised by Harrogate BID (Business Improvement District) which ran from July 21st to August 4th. It included ten unique floral displays around the town centre, celebrating the four twin town/city locations and other international links. The project involved a number of local businesses and was partnered by Helen James, the local florist who has won Gold at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The trail started near the war memorial with a globe showing the twinned locations, alongside the eye-catching obelisk which shows more detail for each one. A floral trail connected the exhibits, with explanation boards at each site. For those related to the twinned locations, these included a short summary of the connections and how they came about.

Harrogate has a well deserved reputation as a floral town, and the town sign outside Bagnères de Luchon says it is “Queen of the Pyrenees” and is twinned with Harrogate “Reine du Yorkshire – Cité des Fleurs” (“Queen of Yorkshire – City of Flowers”) so the reputation has spread far and wide.

Maintaining this reputation clearly takes a lot of planning and hard work by the local Parks and Environmental Services teams including its Horticultural experts, with similar efforts from local businesses, Harrogate BID, and other interested organisations for example those supporting Valley Gardens, the Pinewoods, RHS Harlow Carr and other spaces in and around Harrogate, as well as interested individuals and residents.

Advance notice of the Floral Celebration also featured the twin towns, with BID arranging for large attractive displays to appear on several vacant retail properties in key locations.

A truly stunning project, and it is great to see twinning and the town’s floral and international reputation given so much exposure right in the centre of town.

The Floral Summer of Celebration also formed a central part of the town’s presentation for the visit by the judges for the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Finals – Harrogate was selected as one of three finalists in the category for BID entrants, and judging took place on 26 July.

And so fingers were crossed until …

In October, at the national RHS Britain in Bloom awards ceremony in London, Harrogate was awarded the RHS BRITAIN IN BLOOM GOLD AWARD!!

Very well done to the BID team and all involved! What a superb achievement!