IT is not that unusual for Bolton Rotarians to meet the town’s mayor and mayoress.

But it is unusual to have to travel 3,500 miles to do so!

Rotarians Bob and Sherrin Palmerteer met the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton, Cllr Norman Critchley, and his wife, Delyse, while visiting England from their home town of Bolton in Ontario, Canada.

The Palmerteers arranged the visit through Bolton Rotary as part of a longer trip to the UK.

And they could not believe the difference between the “twin towns”.

Mr Palmerteer, aged 61, said: “This Bolton is about 10 times the size of our Bolton.

“Our biggest soccer team, or football team as you might say, is also called Bolton Wanderers, but it is a lot smaller.”

Bolton, Ontario, is a small town with around 26,500 residents, compared to approximately 260,000 in its UK counterpart.

Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club, whose own badge mirrors that of our own Premiership team, bears more of a similarity with Bolton Lads and Girls Club. The community club relies on volunteers and has 10 boys’ and girls’ teams.

And the Canadian tourists found one more difference between the two towns — the weather.

Mr Palmerteer added: “We arrived on Tuesday and it was so sunny, we didn’t think we were in England. But today’s rain is more like it. Back home it is 20 degrees and sunshine so it is a bit different.”

Mrs Palmerteer, aged 62, added: “We are very happy to be here. The town hall is a beautiful building and it was great to meet the mayor and have a traditional English cup of tea.”

Mayor Cllr Critchley got a call on Monday to ask if he would like to meet the Canadian Boltonians. He added: “I said of course, why not? It seemed like a very appropriate thing to do and we were only too pleased to meet Bob and Sherrin.”

The couple stayed in Bolton with local rotary club members, Michael and Elizabeth Tatman.

steven.thompson@the boltonnews.co.uk The Bolton News: Bolton Ontario