News & Events

Our Annual Dinner is an informal affair, and we change the venue each year. This year almost 30 of us met at Valentino’s in Westbury-on-Trym on Friday 27^th April, and had a delicious meal in very convivial surroundings. The restaurant was full and very noisy, but a good atmosphere, and after our meal we were treated to an after-dinner speech by committee member and long-time friend of Hannover, David Perkins, who regaled us with some of his experiences travelling in Germany as a young man, and later as a games teacher with rugby teams – Hannover is probably the most rugby-orientated city in Germany! If you have any suggestions for a lively venue for next year, let us know!

Bristol City Council had proposed to cut the Twinning budget by half the coming year and in full by 2013. This would have meant that BITA (Bristol International Twinning Association) which oversees all twinning activities would have ceased to exist. However, there followed a massive campaign across the city, supporting all seven of our city partnerships, with attendance by representatives of all twinnings present at three Council meetings. At the final one on January 26^th, the leader, Councillor Barbara Janke announced that it had been decided to withdraw the plan for the coming year, and to revisit the work of BITA with a view to changing the way in which it worked, and she would initiate discussions with the coordinator, Alix Hughes, the Chairs of BITA and the twinnings to discuss the way forward. In the meantime, Pete Levy, Councillor for Horfield Ward, has started to attend our committee meetings, and has expressed great interest in our activities. Our grateful thanks are due to all those who supported us in the campaign!

Every year Bristol International Twinnings Association holds a Quiz for all 7 twinnings, in memory of Paul Garland, the first Chair of the Bristol-Tbilisi Association, in whose name a cup is awarded each year to the winner of the Quiz.  Bristol-Hannover Council were winners in 2011, and so the committee was charged with setting the questions this year, but teams of 4 from all the 7 twinnings took part.  This event also took place at the Black Swan in Westbury on Trym, on Thursday March 15th.  This time the winners were the Bristol-Tbilisi Association, who therefore inherited the cup for the coming year, and will organise and set the Quiz questions for 2013. We were delighted to welcome Marmaduke Alderson, former Lord Mayor and long-time Chair of the Bristol-Oporto Association to the evening, after his long illness, and also that he is the first winner of the Lord Mayor’s new International Medal – many congratulations Marmaduke!

 On Monday February 20th we celebrated 'Rose Monday' or Fasching, the traditional pre-Lent carnival which is such a huge event in Germany, especially on the Rhine in Cologne and to a lesser extent in Duesseldorf and Mainz.  A lively group of us celebrated in the usual grand style, with Karneval music and German food, at the Black Swan, Stoke Lane, Westbury on Trym. Why not join us next year?! Koele-Alaaf!  

Attached is the Newsletter for the Bristol Hannover Gesellschaft in Hannover.

We were invited to attend a delightful Advent celebration on December 4th organised by the German congregation in Bristol at St Matthews Church, Kingsdown.  The congregation organised an exhibition of nativity scenes, collected from members of the church, but including scenes not only from Germany and Austria, but also Africa and India, and the cribs were made of all sorts of materials: wood, porcelain, stone, paper.  The celebration started with a short service at 15:00, after which the cribs could be visited and admired; there was then plentiful coffee and cake (Kaffee und Kuchen) and the celebration finished with carol singing from 17:30 to 18:30.  A most delightful and thought-provoking afternoon!

 A group of members met for a German lunch and a rare performance in German by the Clifton Singers on Saturday, 17th December at the Hannover Café (podium Broadmead) in Bristol’s German Xmas Market (see photos). We had Bratwurst mit Kartoffelsalat + Sauerkraut, 2 cups of Glühwein or 2 300ml glasses of Bier, and there was a free gift for everyone of one Xmas Gingerbread Heart. The Clifton Singers performed traditional German songs and carols. Conducted by Nick Barlow, they are a small choir singing mainly unaccompanied music at venues in and around Bristol giving 4-6 concerts a year. Next year the choir celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a Gala concert at All Saints Church, Clifton in June.

There was this year both a civic visit, led by the Oberbürgermeister of Hannover, Herr Stephan Weil, and also a visit from the Hannover-Bristol Gesellschaft (see special items on these visits).Cotham School and the Goethe Schule in Hannover had their annual exchanges, and the Lord Mayor welcomed the students at a reception at the  Mansion House. The '39 Club', a group of ex-Junior Chamber of Commerce members, also had a visit from their partners from Hannover and were welcomed by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House.

 The Annual General Meeting of BHC took place on  October 27th and was presided over by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Geoff Gollop, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress.  The Lord Mayor was very complimentary about the work of BHC, and stated that the work of the twinnings helped to raise the international profile of the city.  The Chair gave her Annual report, which showed how busy the organisation has been in keeping the links active between the two cities. Further information can be found here.