ONE of the founders of Bury's Twinning Association, who helped fuse links with foreign towns, has retired.

Mr Ronald Schwarz had held the post of secretary and publicity officer for the past 18 years.

He stepped down at the Association's annual general meeting, although Mr Schwarz will carry on with his other commitments.

His connection with twinning in Bury goes back to 1962 when, as head of modern languages at the town's Derby School, he was active in organising secondary pupil exchanges with what was then Bury's only twin town, Angouleme in France.

Later, when Mr Schwarz was headmaster at Unsworth Comprehensive School, he concentrated on adult exchanges which were greatly expanded during the last 25 years. He was one of the founders of Bury Twinning Association when it was established in 1978 and previously held the positions of vice chairman and chairman.

Asked what he considered his greatest achievements in twinning, he said: "The inclusion of both Tulle and Schorndorf, the latter in Germany, as Bury's twin towns were significant.

"But far more important was the spread of international understanding which had come about, thanks to twinning.

"As for my reasons for retiring, it has always been my philosophy that you should stop doing a job before it becomes too much for you or you lose interest and that is now the case."

Mr Schwarz will continue to support the Twinning Association and will also maintain his role as chairman of Bury District CAB.

To mark his service to the Twinning Association, he was presented with travel vouchers from colleagues on the executive committee.

The organisation's workload has now increased to four twin towns, the latter being Woodbury in the USA.

While the "umbrella" executive committee remains, the work of twinning has been divided into sub-committees for each of the twin towns.

The Tulle sub-committee is the first to organise a programme and will host 50 visitors from the twin town during a visit to Bury at Easter.

Among the party will be 25 young musicians from the jazz band of the Conservatoire de Musique de Tulle.

A busy week is planned for the visitors who will be in Bury between April 1 and April 8. There will be special events and visits, especially in Prestwich and Whitefield.

Hosts are being sought for the visitors and the musicians, particularly if they are interested in music themselves.

If you can help, please contact Mrs Jean Howcroft on 766 7194 for details.