Blog Archives

In February, BHC member Colin Evans gave the third and final part of his series of talks about German art of the last century. This series has been presented over the last 18 months and has been very fascinating for all who have followed it. Having given us a good picture of art in the Weimar and Nazi periods, Colin rounded the series off with his talk entitled 'German Art in the 20th Century' and as noted in our Newsletter of December 2017, he was concerned to answer the question: 'What happened to all the art?' (after the Nazi confiscations). It was a really fascinating talk, leading to an interesting...

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Some stories never tire in the re-telling. Thus it is with reality - recollections of how and why Bristol is twinned with Hannover. The tale has been retold, with perfect balance via poster displays, historic film, voice recordings and still pictures in the exhibition In Someone Else’s Shoes. The first phase of the exhibition ran from January 29 to February 2 in the Vestibules at City Hall, before being transferred to the Central Library on the opposite side of College Green. Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees addressed a reception on the formal opening of the exhibition on January 30, following...

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On January 25th, Richard White and Lorna Brunstein gave us a moving presentation, with film and sound, to show us the final result of their project of more than 3 years, retracing the route of a Nazi Death march, from Hannover to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945. The march was undertaken and survived by Lorna’s mother, Esther, and she ultimately came to England, where she became a human rights activist, but she sadly died just before the end of the project. The Death march was recreated first in Somerset in 2015, marking significant points along the way, but then in 2016 tracing...

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Another enjoyable German Christmas lunch was had by 33 members and friends of BHC, including the Lord Mayor and her consort. We were treated to a huge amount of food this year, with sausage, pork steaks, omelettes, mushrooms, potato salad and much more - as well as 2 mugs of Gluehwein each! Everyone enjoyed themselves and was keen to book up again for next year!

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The young gymnasts of VFL Eintracht Hannover visited the Bristol School of Gymnastics from Thursday 30th November to Sunday 3rd December - and  they were enjoying their 40th anniversary of their own partnership! Ann Kennard and Vivien Brown of BHC went along to watch the two clubs training together at the BSG's club on Gloucester Road, and saw some very impressive gymnastics, including watching Vicky Ashworth, who has been in the England Gymnastics squad for the last 3 years! They had a busy weekend of social events, including swimming at the Oasis, Swindon, a barn dance in Filton and visiting...

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On Wednesday 29th November, we had the privilege of listening to Niall Hoskin, baritone and Stephen Browne, piano, perform music by Beethoven, Fauré, Brahms, Poulenc, Tippett and Somervell as part of the 70th twinning celebrations between Bristol, Bordeaux and Hannover. Niall sang in French, German and English to commemorate such an occasion. It was a wonderful evening; our very big thanks to Niall Hoskin and Stephen Browne for so generously giving up their time and talents, and to every one of you who came along and supported.

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Hosted by the Lord Mayor, our final, major event of the year was held on 23rd November. Sixty-eight twinning friends and guests attended the 70th Anniversary Gala Dinner at the Mansion House for an evening of entertainment, good food and wine, excellent company and speeches to celebrate a full year of activities and events throughout 2017. It was great to welcome representatives from the German and French embassies from London – Charlotte Schwarzer who is the Head of Culture and Education at the German Embassy and Benoît le Dévédec, (French Language Attaché).

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Remembrance Day was on Saturday 11 November. Aaron Sims met British and German rowers whose cities have been twinned since 1947. In 1981 links were founded between the cities’ two rowing clubs as part of a friendly sporting exchange, and since then athletes have travelled over to compete with their rivals every other year. This year it was Ruderverein Linden’s turn to visit and, back in October, they joined rowers from Bristol Ariel Rowing Club, racing a testing 3km course along a beautiful twisting stretch from Hanham to St Anne’s.

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A project behind plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the twinning of Bristol and Hannover received a huge surprise when former EastEnders and Holby City star Don Gilet, revealed to the group that they are to receive a £6,800 National Lottery grant. Millions of viewers will witness the exciting moment which is being broadcast as part of the National Lottery Awards show on BBC One on Wednesday 27 September at 10.45pm. In Someone Else’s Shoes, Myers-Insole Local Learning CIC will use the funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a touring exhibition celebrating the links...

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Over thirty of Bristol-Hannover Council members and friends took part in a visit to Hannover to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the twinning. All participants covered their own costs and were hosted by the Hannover-Bristol Gesellschaft and Hannover City Council. The visit coincided with Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees’ official visit to Hannover. The Bristol Mayor undertook a gruelling programme of two 12 hour days with business meetings and a series of five key speeches including one at the Trade Fair grounds celebrating their 70th anniversary (founded by the British Army in 1947 with Hannover...

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