A former Mayor of Narberth received red carpet treatment recently, but not in her Pembrokeshire town, overseas in Narberth, Pennsylvania!

Clr. Mrs. Sue Rees, and her husband, John, visited the town for the day during a visit to the states for a family wedding, fulfilling Clr. Mrs. Rees's long-held goal of seeing her town's namesake in the USA.

A lunch reception was held at a local restaurant where the Mayor, council and dozens of townsfolk turned out to welcome their special visitors.

"All I originally wanted to do was personally come and see your town," she told the crowd.

Clr. Mrs. Rees said she had been aware of Narberth, Pa., for years, and 'was fascinated to see what it was like'.

To prepare for the visit, Clr. Mrs. Rees contacted groups, clubs and organisations in her town so she could take greetings from Pembrokeshire to the states.

"I raked the whole of Narberth, Pembrokeshire, for organisations, corresponding to ones here," she said, "and gathered greetings and gifts for their representatives - so many, in fact, that I had to have a third suitcase on the flight."

Tokens of goodwill included a watercolour drawing by a local artist of her Narberth's historic town hall, "given to the people of Narberth to put in your council chamber."

There was also a letter from the Mayor, Clr. Colin Williams, and official council tie for Mayor Tom Grady, gifts for the police department and fire company, and greetings to the Narberth Business Association, garden club, veterans' and civic groups, senior citizens, community theatre and library.

Narberth, Pa., residents were especially touched when Clr. Mrs. Rees presented letters from the children at Narberth Primary School to their USA counterparts.

Narberth, Pa., meanwhile, had some treats in store for the Reeses too.

They started the day with a visit to New Horizons Senior Centre, where they were serenaded by the glee club. After the luncheon, the agenda called for a tour of downtown Narberth and its shops, and visits to Merion Friends Meeting and Harriton House in nearby Lower Merion, recalling the area's early Welsh settlements and heritage.

Mayor Grady presented Clr. Mrs. Rees with a Narberth Otters shirt - the team shares the same name and colours as the Welsh town's rugby club - and a Lions Club representative gave her a Narberth train station pin.

Council vice-president Aaron Muderick gave her a tin of his company's product, Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty, with the special theme 'Narberth to Narberth: Stretching Across the Atlantic.'

Clr. Mrs. Rees also took with her the latest copy of the Narberth and Whitland Observer, along with an Observer mug, as a gift of goodwill for the local newspaper staff on the Main Line Times, who covered the visit.

Clr. Mrs. Rees and her husband were in the States for the wedding of her goddaughter on Long Island, and were overwhelmed with the warm welcome they received in Narberth Borough.

On Clr. Mrs. Rees's return, she told the Observer: "I hope this is just the start of a long and fruitful relationship between the two Narberths and that in the not too distant future, we will be able to officially twin.

"I hope that all the greetings I took will be answered by the reciprocal groups in Narberth, Pa., and that individuals will build-up good friendships in the future so that we can pool our knowledge and learn from each other."

Clr. Mrs. Rees added: "I know that the Otters, Pa., are trying to arrange a rugby tour in Pembrokeshire for their team who are all under 19, and it would be wonderful if we could help to arrange that and offer suitable family accommodation to the young people for the duration of their stay.

"I have been trying to contact the Tenby and Narberth Lions to put them in touch with their counterparts in Narberth, Pa., and if any group would like to contact a similar group in the US, I would be happy to pass on the information."