Twinning Group's peace tree lights up for Christmas

Twinning Group Christmas peace tree was switched on at Kirktown Garden Centre.

Jim Gamie, owner of the Kirktown Garden Centre, Linda, centre manager and Colin, aka Santa, along with all the staff at the centre helped in ensuring that the tree, donated from the Rickarton Estates, was firmly planted and decorated with lights.

Immediately after the switch-on a Zoom conference was held with the Mayors of Athens-Alabama & Acheres-Paris: Ronnie Marks and Marc Honore respectively as well as the French Consul-General to Scotland Mdm Pais Laurence joining from Edinburgh.

Both Andrew Bowie and Mdm Laurence congratulated the Twinning Group on establishing the links and said: "...that it was such links that were essential and valuable in a changing World with events such as the Ukrainian war, the environmental and in particular BREXIT etc that facilitated an ongoing back-channel for communication, understanding and friendship".

The Acheres Civic quoir provided the online conference with carols and a final appearance by Father Christmas wishing all a Happy and Merry Christmas.

Mdm Laurence promised to visit the North East in the New Year.

The Twinning Group has enjoyed continuous success over the last five years, Twinning with Acheres-Paris and Athens-Alabama.

In 2023 it plans to build on this as well as take advantage of the growing opportunities and support across the North East of Scotland as a whole particularly with tourism, food /drink and craft businesses.

The Twinning Group therefore plans now to restructure itself, with the help of a new member of the Twinning Steering Group: Vic Baxter, Chief Executive of Quo Vadis Ventures, into the North East of Scotland Twinning (NEST) Group.

Next year will see NEST extend its twinning relationships with Grosskrotzenburg-Germany, Amarante-Portugal and a historical link-up with a New Brunswick Canadian Scotch Colony whose ancestors – some 600 emigrated from the North East of Scotland in 1873.