ON Saturday, July 1 the Friends held their garden party and barbecue at Cookhill Baptist Chapel.

The weather was superb and everyone enjoyed themselves.

The Maypole (or was it a Julypole?) was up, its ribbons fluttering in the occasional light breeze but nobody had the energy to get up and dance round it, so it remained simply a colourful backdrop in the corner of the garden.

There were several garden games to play and some hardy souls made the effort, despite the heat, while others simply sheltered under parasols and chatted.

Jan Carr ran a quiz which sorted members all out, not for the first time!

The chapel garden is in a delightful situation, with wonderful views across open fields to the Malverns, ideally situated for garden parties and other outdoor events.

There is no event in August, as is usually the case, but on Sunday, September 10 the Friends of Auxerre and the Friends of Gruchet jointly will hold a country walk in which members of both groups are cordially invited to take part.

The programme of social events for the remainder of the year is taking shape, with one or sometimes two events each month in addition to the formal twinning visit to France in the spring.

Most events have a French flavour, and the Friends are currently trying to start French conversation classes again, due to popular demand.

Unfortunately, twinning has, with some people, the image of being a junket for councillors but that is far from the case with all of the Redditch twinnings.

Redditch can be very proud of its five twinnings, each one is different from the others, each has something special to offer its members, each is very welcoming and ''non-cliquey''. If anyone wants more information on the Friends of Auxerre, call the secretary, Peter Fraser, on 544589.