News

It is with great sadness that Bristol Hannover Council must announce that Derek Brockwell, former Treasurer of BHC has died at the age of 85. Derek joined the RAF at 18, served in England, Germany and Cyprus and rose to the rank of sergeant. Derek loved Germany, met Alma his German wife and came to Bristol, where they were married in 1959. They bought Beese’s Tea Gardens in 1964, but due to its previous neglect, they only opened it again to the public in 1978: Alma ran the tea gardens and Derek operated the ferry. Derek loved boats and the history of the Avon valley and its wild life. The last...

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Lord Mayor and President of the Bristol Hannover Council Clare Campion-Smith welcomed over 25 BHC members and friends to a delicious lunch in the Hannover café at the German Xmas Market in Bristol at the weekend. The Gluehwein flowed and the Wurst was covered in Senf as anecdotes from this year’s amazing programme were exchanged. Possibly the busiest and most exciting year to date for the BHC has come to an end and spirits were high for 2016. BHC chairperson Ann Kennard mentioned some of the cultural and educational highlights and also referred to the increase in visitors from Hannover due to the European...

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Frau Margitta Schuermann, the wife of Hannover Mayor Thomas Hermann, recently donated a set of books about Hannover to the Twin Cities section of the Central Library, which is upstairs in the reference section. Frau Schuermann had originally brought the books with her to offer as gifts during the more formal aspects of the City Leaders Summit at Engine Shed. However, following a visit to see the Hannover Love Tree at the Central Library with Ann Kennard and Alix Hughes, Frau Schuermann decided the books would be better placed there for all the citizens of Bristol to enjoy. We are very grateful...

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On Friday 13th November, in a ceremony led by the German Ambassador, Dr Peter Ammon, Tim Illston was installed as Honorary German Consul for Bristol.  The ceremony was held in Bristol at the offices of the law firm Burges Salmon, where Tim is a partner.  Dr Ammon thanked the outgoing Consul, Ann Newby, for her work over many years and welcomed Tim Illston to his new role.  Tim, a member of Bristol-Hannover Council committee, responded with a comprehensive account of the firms, German and British, who were already doing business and others who were in a good position to do so.  Tim hopes to support...

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Erster Bürgermeister Thomas Hermann (SPD party) attended the City Leaders Summit as part of the European Green Capital 2015 series of events. He was accompanied by his partner Margitta Schürmann, who was a local SPD party councillor in her own right. The Mayor contributed to the discussions as well as giving an interview to camera. He sat with Mayor Ferguson for one of the informal dinners and struck up a good relationship, discussing Jazz as both are fans. It was Mayor Hermann’s first visit to Bristol for ten years as he had been part of the Trade Union and Socialist exchange which ran between...

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As part of Bristol’s year as European Green Capital, the Hannover Urban Futures Network group spent four days in the city on a Green Capital study visit. They met with a range of Bristol City Council officers and also NGOs from the sustainability sector. They had a great time and went home buzzing with ideas for future collaborations.                  

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                Anne von Thadden-Schmidt the outgoing chair of the Hannover Bristol Gesellschaft (HBG) has been awarded the Lord Mayor’s International Medal. Pictured from left to right are Helga Wawra (HBG deputy chair), Lord Mayor Clare Campion-Smith, Anne von Thadden-Schmidt and Dr Ann Kennard, chair of the Bristol Hannover Council. Anne has been chair of the HBG for over ten years and has been involved for many years before that as interpreter and active member. For the first time she admitted she was speechless! The...

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The Hannover Love Tree, a work of art by Mansha who is Hannover’s foremost street artist and yarnbomber, has been installed by the BHC in the Central Library for a month. The tree displays messages of love from the people of Hannover to the people of Bristol which were collected during a special twin cities event in Hannover in the summer. The Love Tree was designed as part of this year’s Bristol Urban Paint Festival where Mansha and her assistant Mina were special guest artists. Their visit was financially supported by the BHC and Hannover City Council and special thanks must go to Frank and Lynne...

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At the time of writing, we are halfway through our programme of visits from Hannover this summer: the weekend of 18/19th July, a great reunion of the youth exchanges from 1965/6 took place, most of the participants not having met since that time! It took months to do the research and find as many as possible on both sides of the Channel, although some had emigrated much further afield e.g. to Australia! The spadework here was done by Ingrid Hüper in Hannover, and Lynne Evans and Jonathan Radnedge in Bristol. They came for the Harbour Festival weekend, so they were lucky with the weather… Not...

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Hannover’s top female urban artist Mansha and her assistant Mine created the Love Tree at this summer’s UPFest. Bringing lots of messages of love from the people of Hannover, Bristolians also wrote messages of love on the tree for the people of Hannover which Mansha took back with her. Hundreds of Bristol Hannover Council postcards were given out and everyone was fascinated by the installation. A big thanks to Lynne and Frank for hosting Mansha and Mine and to John for sourcing the tree!                                             Mansha...

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