A reminder of the background to the connection between Aalten Round Table/41 Clubs and their counterparts in Scarborough.

The first visit to Holland in 1963 was marked by a particular kindness that has remained one of the key features of all such visits since. All seven Scarborough Tablers were able to stay in the homes of Aalten Tablers. The Scarborough contingent still benefited from the impressive linguistic skills of the Dutch and their impressive fluency in English, conversely matched by the poor efforts in Dutch by various Scarborough speakers!

The original English party of ‘1963 spent a week in Holland and built up such a friendship that, before long a return visit by the Dutch to Scarborough was planned. So it was that, in May 1964, four Dutch Tablers from Aalten 88, with their wives, made the crossing to Scarborough.

The fellowship and friendship engendered from those early visits was so warm and mutual that they continue to this day. The two Clubs meet every two and a half years, alternating location. Now visits last over a long weekend, and Round Tablers past and present, with their partners, enjoy a weekend of events to help them to get to know their hosts’ area better and to meet socially. On the Saturday evening there is a formal dinner and dance, although formality soon wavers as liquid hospitality is shared and enjoyed. ln another tradition of the Saturday evening, members of each club ln turn perform a light-hearted (and often badly-rehearsed) sketch or song. Most importantly, the tradition of staying in each othe/s homes has endured since 1963, cemented by many long-lasting friendships, which continue beyond the regular twinning visits.