Elgin twin-town group makes youth appeal
The Elgin and Landshut Twinning Association is putting an emphasis on youth as it seeks to attract new blood.
The association, called Elta for short, organises biennial trips to Landshut, a town of 70,000 in the southern German region of Bavaria – with whom they have been linked since 1956.
The Germans also organise biennial trips to Elgin, so meets are a yearly occurrence.
While the German side of Elta has a wide range of ages, the Scottish side is largely older members – with the majority over retirement age.
Member Eileen Duncan said the group is not necessarily looking for teenagers, but stressed that they, along with members in their 20s and 30s, were welcome.
Anyone interested can contact her at motherhen11@gmail.com
Trips to Landshut give members a chance to stay with a German for between a week and 10 days, learn about the area and travel with locals.
Eight members of the group have recently returned from a trip to Landshut and were very popular visitors, with the local mayor and newspaper both having kind words to say about their guests.
During their stay, their Bavarian hosts took them on a trip across the Austrian border to Ried to meet another group, who have a partnership with Landshut.
Elta hosts one fundraiser per year, and meets once every few months for committee meetings in Elgin.
A range of Moray towns have links with cities and towns in Germany, France and the United States.
Fochabers has been linked with French town Magnac-sur-Touvre since 1993. Forres has two links, to Vienenburg, Germany, and Mount Dora, Florida, United States.
Keith, meanwhile, is linked to Kronach in Germany, while Lossiemouth is twinned with Hersbruck.
