THE mayor of Weston, Cllr Ciaran Cronnelly, has visited Germany to further develop Weston's connection with its twinned town, Hildesheim.

Cllr Cronnelly outlined what he got up to on the trip on social media: "I've returned from my visit to Hildesheim in Germany which is twinned with our amazing Weston-super-Mare - and has been for 40 years.

"As the Mayor of Weston-super-Mare I'm keen to further develop our relationship with Hildesheim, to promote Weston-super-Mare and to learn from each other.

"I met with the culture department of Hildesheim and showcased our amazing community assets and outlined our local initiatives. Going forward we'll be looking to facilitate further conversations with the view of identifying opportunities to collaborate.

"I met with their team from their visitor information centre learning how they promote their city and their strategy for events to attract tourists. We'll be exploring how we could each promote our areas and our partnership.

"I met with the Lord Mayor of Hildesheim and his team and discussed the importance of education and students having exposure to other cultures. We've agreed to explore 'twinning' a school from Weston-super-Mare and Hildesheim.

"We celebrated the first twinning of businesses - two breweries between Weston-super-Mare and Hildesheim - that demonstrates the next evolution of our partnership. 

"We met with the local scout group about opportunities for scouts to go on international excursions to Weston-super-Mare and Hildesheim. These were really positive conversations and there's a clear appetite for taking this forward.

"I met their local food bank and heard about the cost of living struggles we're all too familiar with. I was so impressed by their volunteers who make over 400 meals a day!

"I met with journalists in Hildesheim and talked about how brilliant Weston-super-Mare is, and why people in Germany should visit us. 

"I met with a refugee charity and heard incredibly difficult stories about personal experiences, but also the astonishing resilience of refugees. 

"I also supported the Lord Mayor of Hildesheim in giving Christmas gifts to children from difficult backgrounds - all gifts were donated by residents.

"Hildesheim surprised us on our visit as they had commissioned some street artwork to celebrate our twinning. 

"Finally I signed the Golden Book - a ceremonial process - to recognise our visit and to thank the people of Hildesheim for their hospitality.

"And of course I gifted the Lord Mayor of Hildesheim a signed Weston-super-Mare AFC shirt which I know will be displayed proudly in their town hall."