MORE than 50 visitors from Abergavenny's French twin town Beaupreau were fascinated to learn about the history and traditions of our mayor.

The party of students, aged 14-17 years, visited Abergavenny Town Hall during their eight-day stay when they were hosted by pupils from King Henry VIII Comprehensive School, Abergavenny.

They were greeted by the mayor, Councillor Raymond Hill, and town and county councillor Alan Breeze, the chairman designate of Monmouthshire County Council. The former languages teacher is a fluent French speaker and he explained the rich history of the mayoral system which is unlike the French one.

The exchange was arranged by KHS languages teacher Marje Luke, who has been organising the trips for the last ten years. She said: "They all enjoyed their visit and were impressed with the pomp and ceremony of the mayoral role which is very different from France.

"They were a particularly nice receptive group of students who appreciated things like our hills and our lambs and the totally different scenery. They remarked on how friendly everyone is and even the weather got better and better."

Among the places the party visited were Llancaiach Fawr, Big Pit, Gwent Police HQ, Caerleon Roman town and Cardiff Castle.