Aberfeldy Votes to Stay Twinned With Texas; Town Prepares for Influx of Stetsons, Salado Braces for Midges

By our Transatlantic Twinning Correspondent

Aberfeldy has voted to press ahead with its controversial twinning arrangement with Salado, Texas, after a packed and, by Highland Perthshire standards, extremely loud public meeting, at which the phrase “with the greatest respect” was used at least forty times, never once respectfully.

The community council backed the link unanimously and says it will send a representative to Salado’s own Highland Games in the middle of November to make things official. The town immediately began preparing. The Square has been measured for a hitching post. A café on Bank Street has added “brisket bridie” to its specials board “on a trial basis, pending complaints”.

Opponents, who had objected to twinning with a corner of Texas that votes enthusiastically for Donald Trump, said they had not changed their minds but conceded the meeting had at least been “the most exciting thing to happen in Aberfeldy since the Birks got a new bench”.

In Salado, meanwhile, residents are said to be bracing for the cultural exchange. A briefing document prepared for Texan visitors reportedly warns that Aberfeldy’s “summer” is a state of mind, that a “piece” is a sandwich, and that a small biting insect will greet every visitor personally between May and September.

One Aberfeldy pensioner, who has bought a Stetson “to show willing”, said the twinning should be judged on results. “If they send us sunshine and we send them drizzle, that’s a fair trade. They’ve plenty. We’ve plenty. Everybody wins.”

The Perthetic asked a Texan, contacted via a cousin of a neighbour, whether Salado was ready for Aberfeldy. “Sir,” he said, “we have been ready since 1836.” It is not clear what he meant, but the community council has minuted it as a yes.

The real story: Aberfeldy Texas twin town deal survives angry public debate (The Courier)