I WAS disappointed to read the letter from MG Jackson (Just a Jolly? – letters, November 2) and would like to correct some of his facts.

The agreement signed between our mayor and the mayor of Marianske Lazne is not a twinning agreement; it is a community partnership encouraging a dialogue between groups from the two towns in the furtherance of economic and cultural links. It is not a twinning agreement because twinning has got itself a bad name over the years although the partnership is sometimes referred to as such.

The town council has not, and is not, planning to underwrite any of the costs of the partnership; the cost of funding the mayor and his four colleagues for three days was entirely by private donation. There are grants available from Brussels to assist future visits.

The success of the partnership depends on local groups and businesses and if no groups show an interest in exchanging ideas the partnership will lapse.

MG Jackson may be disillusioned about politicians but spreading false information is equally corrosive.

ROGER SUTTON, Malvern