Toulouse Women’s International Group (TWIG) aims to provide a diverse range of social, cultural, and sporting activities for its members of women living in and around Toulouse.
TWIG’s story…
Back in February 1985, when Heather Lemétayer hosted the first ‘Ladies Group’ out of her house with 26 ladies from the local community, the group was run very informally with no subscription and no official committee but it was always very democratic with no one person taking decisions and always open to anyone interested in joining. The group held monthly meetings with demonstrations and talks given by members on subjects such as cake decorating, painting on wood or the history of Toulouse, the Cathars.
In May 1985 the group organised its first guided tour of Toulouse and it proved so popular that it was an annual event for many years.
The group was ‘off the ground’ with growing membership and in 1987 Heather led the organisation to raise funds for charities by holding their first Christmas Fair.
The group began to grow rapidly and in 1988 registered as an ‘Association Culturelle’ under the name ‘The English-speaking Ladies Group of Toulouse’.
By the early 1990s the group was well established and had numerous members and released its first address book to ensure members could stay in contact easily. A regular magazine was also produced to keep members up to date with activities, events and testimonials.
In summer 1992 the members magazine was renamed Grapevine and is still known and issued as this today.
The group continued to grow and organise ever more frequent and varied activities. Naturally, over the course of twenty-five years things evolve and towards the end of 2005 a ballot was held to change the name of the group. The name change was to reflect the evolution and Toulouse Women’s International Group was chosen – and is now generally know as TWIG.