Town Twinning

Visitors from Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne and Lunen near Dortmund arrived last Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their town's twinning arrangements with Salford.

I agreed a couple of months ago to lead a tour of Media City for our visitors. We all met for lunch at Lime, and then I took them on a walkabout - leaving some of the French contingent (the men keen on their footie) watching the France versus Ireland game at Lime. The German contingent were more patient - their game against Slovakia did not start until 5pm.

Everyone got their camera phones and cameras out when we got to the Media City Plaza. The "ticker-tape" news was  reading: "Two squares in Salford are named after its twin towns in France and Germany a day after district votes to leave European Union". The new squares are Clermont-Ferrand Square in front of the Lowry Hotel, and Lunen Square in front of the Swinton Gateway, with ceremonies held yesterday. Perfect timing !

We didn't discuss Brexit at all - it's all far too embarrassing. I guess the political and economic turmoil will continue for months yet, so we had better get used to it.

The food festival was getting into gear as we arrived at the Quays, so I took a few pics. A typical June day - grey skies, a few hardy souls sitting in deck chairs, and a young lady doing a good job on the stage.