Birgham, a village in the Scottish Borders, has become known for its unique sign at the entrance, proudly proclaiming its twinning with Bedford Falls, the fictional town in Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life. The idea originated over a decade ago when a local man started running a film club which regularly showed the movie to members along with mulled wine and mince pies during the festive period. The idea was to put up the sign for just a short time but it has remained in place ever since.
Fiona Livingstone from the Birgham Community Development Trust (BCDT) explained that the village has always had a close-knit community, with a variety of groups using the village hall and pub. She credited two local residents, Dai Evans and Gordon Robb, with the idea of putting up the sign and the project gathered momentum after a few drinks in the pub.
Apart from the Christmas classic connection, Birgham also has a tenuous link to one of the movie’s stars, Henry Travers, who played Clarence the angel. He was born in Prudhoe in Northumberland, just across the border from the village, and lived in Tweedmouth for a while, which is only 18 miles away. There’s a possibility that he may have visited Birgham at some point before embarking on his acting career.
The Scottish Borders is home to at least one other village that has made a fictional twinning claim. St Abbs on the coast has claimed to have stood in for New Asgard in the filming of Avengers: Endgame. Perhaps Birgham was the trendsetter that paved the way for such whimsical twinning ideas
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