Plaisance today

In 1972 when Lingfield first became twinned with Plaisance du Touch the two towns were much the same size. We had many features in common and the central government twinning bureau decided that because of our comonalities we were a good match for each other. Since that time we have seen limited expansion in the Lingfield area, largely due to the "Green Belt"status of the environment in which we lie. On the other hand Plaisance du Touch has expanded massively and is now part of the suburbia of Toulouse. With their expansion has come prosperity and the overriding impression of those who visit Plaisance witht the Twinning Association is "how do they manage to put on such a fantastic show for us?" The staus of twinning on the continent is considerably higher than we enjoy in the UK and this manifests itself in the splendid welcome we alway receive on visitin g them. They get a considerable amount of monetary support (unlike us), and twinning activities are central to the party atmosphere of the Plaisantines.

The net efffect of all the support they get is a ealthy, lively vibrant atmosphere where many people want to get involved. They are twinned not only with Lingfield but als with Carnate in northern Ialy and Utebo in northern Spain. These two associations are much more active than our liaison and they include all sorts of educational, sporting and artistic activities. Despite our best efforts we have been aunable to get the local schools involved and the same can largely be said for the sporting associations, although there have been a number of successes in the past.

However there is no reason with a burst of enthusiasm that we cannot get the shcools, clubs and other societies involved once again. At the initiation of the Twinning Association there was much interest from various clubs but this seems to have waned in recent years.