On 22nd July 2014 the Mayor of Bracciano, Giuliano Sala, and the Deputy Mayor of Darlington, Tom Nutt, signed an Agreement of Friendship and Co-operation between the two towns.
This came about because of contact between the Hummersknott Badminton and Bracciano Badminton Clubs. Since early 2013 they had been planning a competition in Bracciano during the Darlington team's tour of Italy and Greece. Discussions then spread to the possibility of other sporting and cultural events and maybe citizens visits, and the Mayor of Bracciano then suggested the Agreement as a way forward. The agreement was then drawn up by Darlington, in both languages, for signing on the day of the competition.
Tom and Gill Nutt were on holiday in Rome at the time of the competition, and went with the team to Bracciano for the day, and at a Reception in the Town Hall speeches were made and the Agreement signed. Many townspeople were present and quite a few of these spoke good English. The competition then took place and following this we had a 90 minute boat trip around the wonderful Lake Bracciano, followed by a meal for both teams at a Lakeside restaurant, before returning to Rome later thet evening. Two days later the teams met again in competition, playing basketball and volleyball, as well as badminton, in Bracciano's fine sports arena.
Gill and I were priveleged to be with a great set of young people who were a credit to Darlington, and to Oxford, where four of the players came from. These are the kind of ambassadors we need abroad to further our international ambitions.
Hopefully the visit to Bracciano is the start of a beautiful friendship.
Report by Tom Nutt