News

**  The significance of the relationship between the UK and Germany, especially amid current events, was one of the themes reviewed by Baroness Ashton of Upholland in the annual parliamentary day lunch organised by the British German Association. Baroness Cathy Ashton, a former Leader of the House of Lords, had steered the Treaty of Lisbon through the House of Lords in 2008 and later served as the European Union's first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Baroness Ashton addressing the BGA Parliamentary Day lunch Her address and responses to questions reviewed...

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** Thanks to all those who have already filled in their forms, transferred money and let us know their menu options for the upcoming visit. If you have not yet got around to doing it, there are a few days still left before the deadline on Monday, June 23 to submit your return to Lynne [Lynda.Evans1@btinternet.com]. Thanks for doing this as we needed numbers to secure venues and make transport arrangements. Please refer to the original email for the forms. IAN TURNER, Chair

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** A happy band of BHC members gathered at the Post Office Tavern in Westbury-on-Trym for the annual darts contest. Our pictures shows Tony Kennard throwing a winning 7 and a typical incident where we try to retrieve an errant dart from behind the stove! ###################    

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** On April 22 at Stoke Lodge Catherine Philips gave a talk on the Dunera Boys based on the research for her Masters 20 years ago. The background to the story was the fate of those enemy aliens who were arrested en masse at the outbreak of the Second World War and interned for fear they could prove to be spies or saboteurs. As the Germans occupied France in 1940 and the invasion of Britain was thought to be imminent, many of these aliens were shipped overseas to Canada or Australia. One of the most controversial cases was the group of aliens transported in the steamship Dunera (above)...

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** One evening recently at Stoke Lodge, Ann Kennard gave a very entertaining talk to an interested audience. Having had close ties with Germany and its border countries for many years she was delighted last year to be able to visit East Germany, the former GDR, at the invitation of Christine and Jürgen Heck, with whom she and Tony had stayed in Hannover. Despite her many years of connections with Germany through her studies and work she had not had the opportunity to visit East Germany on more than a couple of occasions. This she was keen to rectify and when the chance presented itself...

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** Margit Spitta, who died recently, was a long-time and very active member of the committee of our partner organisation, the Hannover-Bristol Gesellschaft.  Margit was a very lively and imaginative person, who spoke excellent English.  She ran the Gesellschaft’s conversation classes “Speaking English is Fun” for many years.  She and Ann Kennard discovered that they had both attended the Interpreting Institute at Heidelberg University, possibly at the same time.  Ann and Tony stayed several times in their house with its welcoming balcony, where we enjoyed many a glass of wine, and Margit’s...

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** On Wednesday, March 19, Bristol Hannover Council's Ann Kennard convened a host of groups and individuals from Bristol engaged in teaching and learning the German language for a meeting over Kaffee and Kuchen in the Folk House with the GermanAmbassador Miguel Berger. The Ambassador visited the city to celebrate #ShoutOutForGerman, a campaign to highlight the benefits of learning the German language. A mixed group of all ages and levels of language proficiency drawn from the population of Bristol succeeded in convincing the Ambassador that German is alive and kicking in the city. In...

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** On Monday March 3 the BHC and its guests gathered once again at the Black Swan for the traditional celebration of Rosenmontag. Ann Kennard explained that the occasion traditionally marked the start of Lent. The Lord Mayor and his consort joined more than 30 members and friends for our celebration and a good time was had by all. Everyone enjoyed the German-style buffet, and chatted and drank while the Karnevalsmusik played and pictures from Germany with merrymakers in colourful costumes came through on the TV. Our German guests guided us through traditional Karneval songs, whilst...

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** On February 27 BHC members linked up with the German Historical Institute in London for a talk by Professor Maren Röger (Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe) on (Cold) War Games: Scenarios on Both Sides of the Iron Curtain. Germany was and remains to this day a country where games particularly board games are very popular.  Games in West Germany were often played by all the family but In East Germany they were mainly designed to educate children. During the Cold War these games took on a deeper ideological meaning. From the 1960s onwards in East Germany games...

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** Former BHC chair Ann Kennard was invited recently to an event at the German Embassy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the destruction and ultimate journey of renewal of the city of Dresden. After an introduction by the ambassador, Miguel Berger, the Dean of Windsor, Dr Christopher Cocksworth, recollected his time as Bishop of Coventry from 2008-2023, during which time there were many visits of youth groups, school and cultural groups to and from Coventry’s partner city, Dresden. . Ambassador Berger speaking . The two main speakers were Edmund de Waal, artist, potter and author,...

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