LEEK TWINNING ASSOCIATION
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any people will be aware that our little Staffordshire market town has an Italian relation, but to what extent the links now actually go may be fairly unfamiliar. Leek has been twinned with the town of Este, near Padua, in Italy for over 11 years now with the formal twinning process completed in 2002. Este, situated at the foot of the Euganei Hills has very ancient origins and is a similar size town to Leek, with a population of 18,000. It has a castle, beautiful gardens, a museum and a clock tower not unlike our own war memorial. Other cities near to Este are Verona, Padua and Venice. Although travelling to Este is quite straight forward, with two airports near Venice Treviso and Marco Polo which are both only about an hour away by train from Este, it is not a destination that many Leek folk may think of making. However after speaking to Twinning Committee member Bill Johnson about our european counterparts it sounds like a
place definitely worth a visit. The history behind the twinning goes a little something like this. At the end of the Second World War it was felt by many that a better understanding between the countries in Europe was required. Eventually in line with this belief a Council of European Municipalities was founded in Geneva by a group of Mayors. This became the Council of European Municipalities and Regions which today is the largest organisation of local and regional government in Europe, representing over 100,000 local and regional authorities. And so it was from this beginning that the concept of twinning came into being. Twinning in Leek however came about as a result of the ambition of the then Mayor, Councillor John Fisher, to establish a link with another township in Europe. So with the blessing of the Town Council a small group of like minded volunteers formed a Twinning Committee and set about finding a twin town.
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20 Leek Life September/October 2013