News

We were delighted to welcome back BHC member, Peter Davey, Bristol’s unique ‘tram man’ to recount the story of Bristol’s trams, sadly no longer visible in the city, though other cities like Sheffield and Nottingham have decided that trams are an excellent way of transporting large numbers of people quickly round the city. In Bristol the first trams were seen on St Michael’s Hill in 1875 (where the current Zero Degrees restaurant is situated) and the last one went up Whiteladies Road on 15th June 1939. Electric trams were to be seen on Old Market Street as early as 1895, run from the Bristol...

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The final talk in the series by our member Colin Evans, tracing the development of German art in the 20th Century looked at the contribution German artists are making in the world of contemporary art. The work of this eclectic group reflects the traumatic times they have lived through but the creative way in which they represent this also offers a beacon of hope for a more positive future. As international artists their standing is second to none and we could see why when we examined the works of five of them: Josef Beuys 1921-1986 and Rebecca Horn, born 1944, both noted for sculpture, performance...

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Congratulations to member Peter Davey, Bristol's trams expert, on receiving a letter from Her Majesty the Queen, congratulating Peter and his wife Teresa on their 60th wedding anniversary!  Zum Wohl!

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Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. This year this coincides with the European Year of Cultural Heritage, as well as the end of World War I a century ago, the start of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618 and its end in 1648. In order not to forget how precious peace is to us all, and bearing in mind the conflicts raging in different parts of the world, bells will be rung all over Europe this coming Friday 21 September...

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We had a wonderful few days this summer with 15 of our Hannoverian friends, with a very intensive programme of visits, which our visitors seemed to thoroughly enjoy!  Highlights were visits to St Fagan's Open Air museum of Welsh History (and Chepstow Castle on the way back), the new Aerospace museum in Filton, the Blue Glass factory at Henbury (where the glass blower made a decorative tooth from blue glass (see below) for our Professor of Dentistry, Husa!), Blaise Castle, a walk round the centre of Bristol, with an entertaining commentary by our guide, member Roger Harper, a visit to the Impossible...

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Come and meet three of the artists taking part in UPFest 2018 and hear about their inspirations, the graffiti art scenes where they live and work and ask them questions about what makes them do what they do! Dr Love is from Tbilisi the capital of Georgia which has been officially twinned with Bristol since 1988. He and two of his colleagues are here to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the link.                     Lady JDay is from Bordeaux in South West France which was twinned with Bristol in 1947 as part...

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As part of the week-long 45th Hannover-Bristol Dental School Exchange, Chair Ann Kennard gave an illustrated presentation showing the history of the overall city partnership, in the context of the 71 years of Bristol-Hannover Council. The students of the Medizinische Hochschule in Hannover were involved in very practical experience at Bristol’s Dental School, learning about dentistry and how it is taught at Bristol, "having a go at things" hands-on (we will avoid the gory details!), learning clinical skills, as well as observing clinical practice in different settings. In addition students learned...

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In addition to the upcoming visit of our friends from the Hannover-Bristol Gesellschaft in August, the dental students from Hannover’s Leibniz University will be here in June, visiting their counterparts at Bristol University. They will have a reception with the new Lord Mayor, Councillor Cleo Lake, and BHC Chair Ann Kennard will give an illustrated presentation on the history – and present! – of the link between the two cities. And recently we have linked up with Redfield Educate Together Primary Academy here in Bristol, where German has been introduced, along with other languages, as part...

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We are delighted to welcome Afra Gamoori, SPD Councillor from Hannover City Council, who is on a 3-month placement with Bristol City Council, until early August. She is working with various Council teams on Learning City, One City Plan and Migration. Welcome Afra!

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In April a group of artists from BV Studios in Bristol were supported by Bristol-Hannover Council to make an initial visit to Hannover to meet up with a group of artists there. This visit was initiated by discussions in Hannover during our 70th anniversary last year, and the April ‘recce’ aimed to prepare the groundwork for longer visits. Here a description of their plans from the Bristol organiser, Dave Morgan-Davies: They will have use of our work spaces at BV studios in Bedminster and we will also take them to local exhibitions and sites of interest linked to their practice. The artists...

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