CHAIRMAN’S REPORT. NOVEMBER 2011
There are many activities and events on which to report since the last AGM but I must commence by noting the passing of people who were very instrumental in founding the Twinning Association. I speak, of course, of Hilda Baker and John Morris. I paid tribute to them at the Celebration Dinner for the Anniversaries in April but it must be permanently noted in this written report that we owe them a great deal for their vision and hard work. We have also lost very loyal members in Hilary Everest and Sue Roynon.
Our main event has been the celebrations in April of the 30th Anniversary with Ettlingen and the 20th Anniversaries with Epernay and Middelkerke. This was done in fine style with a total of 62 guests arriving to join us (including the three mayors). These were either booked into hotels or hosted by families and I am proud of the way that twinners rose to the occasion and escorted their guests to the various events and helped to make the weekend such a resounding success. Here I must pay particular thanks to Clevedon Town Council. The then Chairman, Cllr.Colin Hall worked tirelessly to organise the funding for the hosting of the delegates and for the Anniversary Dinner at the Walton Park Hotel. He then worked with the Committee to ensure not only the attendance of many Councillors but also the smooth running of the evening. Our publicity machine sprang into action, thanks to Mike Bisacre, and there was coverage and photos in the local press.
On to other matters: In the absence of a general Christmas Social Event we held
a Committee dinner at Scoozi in December. In February we held our annual
fish’n’chips Quiz with a full house and had an enjoyable evening. In September,
Clevedon had a further visit from Marcus Neumann, the Manager of the Kulisse
Cinema in Ettlingen, who came to view the latest renovations at the Curzon and
to present a cheque for £200. This represented a public collection at his cinema
when they showed some British films. I organised and hosted an informal dinner
to welcome him with representatives of the Pier, Council, Clevedon Pride and the
Curzon. It was interesting to note that the majority of those present were also
CTA members, which shows either the diversity of our commitments to Clevedon or
the fact that the same busy people do all the work!
There has been a CTA presence at local fairs, namely the Lion’s Fair at Sunhill Park, the Clevedon Pride Fair at Queen’s Square and the Marlen Festival on the Salthouse Field. At these events we continue to offer the Treasure Hunt for Champagne on a poster of Epernay and the general public are now familiar with this idea, (or perhaps resigned to it!)
In August Brian Chislett and Dennis Summers represented us once again at the Ettlingen Markfest selling English tea and items from the Clevedon Pier gift shop.
I received interest from a couple of other local groups who wish to visit our twin towns, namely one of the Probus groups which is going to Epernay in 2012 and the conductor of Nailsea Choral who is exploring the idea of a combined choir visit. This is exactly what we want and although we will not organise these ventures we are keen to facilitate in any way and can provide contact details and advice.
There is an ongoing Art and Photographic project involving Clevedon School and schools in Epernay and Middelkerke. This is being organised by Henri Thierry from Epernay and our involvement is represented by Joe Norman.
The CTA has adopted a corner of Queen’s Square. A plaque is attached to the former wishing well and the flower beds are gradually being stocked. Another example of us raising our profile in Clevedon.
Our web-site continues to reflect our activities with reports and photographs. I give sincere thanks to Maggie Norman, our web-mistress.
Now I wear my other ‘hat’ of ‘thanksperson'. I am grateful to a committee who are so supportive and helpful. To Ted, our Treasurer, who also arranges the use of the Bowling Club for meetings and the quiz and updates the mailing list. To Brian, for his Ettlingen Markfest connections. To Barbara for the raffles, delivering newsletters and for being a great support in many ways. To Alexander for his secretarial support and who this year celebrates 25 years of twinning involvement, and also to Jenny Janes, Joe Norman and Joy Wileyman. I remain grateful for the enormous contribution made by Cllr Colin Hall in the arrangements for the anniversaries in April. I leave until last my acknowledgement to Mike Bisacre, the Vice-Chairman. In a busy year he has given his support and presence at all our ventures and is such a vital part of the CTA. Thank you Mike.
In conclusion, our funds are
satisfactory, the links with our three twin towns appear to be stronger than
ever and we have established a good working relationship with Clevedon Town
Council. There will always be expectations from some quarters that we should be
doing more, travelling more and attending overseas events more often, but within
the restraints of a self-funding CTA where costs of overseas travel, expenses,
time and willingness of participants all have to be taken into account, I feel
we are holding our heads high, standing alongside and competing with the
enhanced funding available to our twin towns.
Thank you.
Janet Wildgoose
Chairman of Clevedon Twinning Association.
