A PACKED few days of activities were organised for 70 people from Redditch's twin town in France, including laying wreaths by the town's war memorial to commemorate French and English soldiers who lost their lives.
On arriving in Redditch on Friday, the visitors from Auxerre were welcomed by mayor Kieth Boyd-Carpenter.
The following day, they visited Arrow Vale Community High School and Specialist Sports College to view the facilities and for a discussion on Education Through Sport.
Later on in the day, the visitors were at the town hall for a discussion on Shopmobility for the disabled and also looked at the use of CCTV for security purposes in the town centre.
In the evening, they were welcomed by the Trinity High School steel band followed by Grace, said by the Rev Michael Herbert, before the official dinner.
After dining, the guests had the chance to dance the night away to music from George Zdanko, from Redditch Polish Club.
On Sunday, there was a more sombre tone as wreaths were laid at the town's war memorial before a bilingual service took place in St Stephen's Church.
Later on, the French visitors were whisked away to visit Whitley Court.
A spokesman said: "We're all excited at the moment as in two years, Redditch and Auxerre will celebrate 50 years of our twinning alliance.
"We're already planning what big events we can hold to mark this very special occasion for us."
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