1It's great to see so many members of the Twinning Association here tonight.
2Since the twinning link between our two towns, Stanthorpe here in England and Malatte in France, was established,
3the relationship between the towns has gone from strength to strength.
4Last month, 25 members of the association from Stanthorpe spent a weekend in Malatte.
5Our hosts had arranged a great programme.
6We learned how cheese is produced in the region
7and had the chance to taste the products.
8The theme park trip had to be cancelled,
9but we all had a great time on the final boat trip down the river,
10that was the real highlight.
11This is a special year for the Association
12because it's 25 years since we were founded.
13In Malatte, they're planning to mark this by building a footbridge in the municipal park.
14We've been discussing what to do here
15and we've decided to plant a poplar tree in the museum gardens.
16We considered buying a garden seat to put there,
17but the authorities weren't happy with that idea.
18In terms of fundraising to support our activities,
19we've done very well.
20Our pancake evening was well attended and made record profits.
21And everyone enjoyed the demonstration of French cookery,
22which was nearly as successful.
23Numbers for our film show were limited because of the venue
24so we're looking for somewhere bigger next year.
25We're looking forward to welcoming our French visitors here next week,
26and I know that many of you here will be hosting individuals or families.
27The coach from France will arrive at 5 pm on Friday.
28Don't try to do too much that first evening as they'll be tired,
29so have dinner in the house or garden rather than eating out.
30The weather looks as if it'll be okay
31so you might like to plan a barbecue.
32Then the next morning's market day in town,
33and that's always a good place to stroll round.
34On Saturday evening, we'll all meet up at the football club,
35where once again we'll have Toby Sharp and his band
36performing English and Scottish country songs.
37Toby will already be well known to many of you
38as last year he organised our special quiz night and presented the prizes.
39Now on Sunday, we'll be taking our visitors to Farley House.
40You may not all be familiar with it, so here's a map to help you.
41You can see the car park at the bottom of the map.
42There's an excellent farm shop in the grounds where our visitors can buy local produce,
43it's in the old stables, which is the first building you come to.
44They're built round a courtyard, and the shop's in the far corner on the left.
45There's also a small café on the right as you go in.
46I know that one or two of our visitors may not be all that mobile.
47The main entrance to the house has a lot of steps
48so you might want to use the disabled entry.
49This is on the far side of the house from the car park.
50Children will probably be most interested in the adventure playground.
51That's at the northern end of the larger lake,
52in a bend on the path that leads to the lake.
53There's lots for children to do there.
54There are a number of lovely gardens near the house.
55The kitchen gardens are rectangular and surrounded by a wall.
56They're to the north-east of the house, quite near the smaller lake.
57They're still in use and have a great collection of fruit and vegetables.
58The Temple of the Four Winds is a bit more of a walk,
59but it's worth it.
60Take the path from the car park
61and go past the western sides of the stables and the house.
62Then when the path forks, take the right-hand path.
63Go up there with the woods on your left and the temple is right at the end.
64There are great views over the whole area.