Dear Member,

The Summer has started in great form with a highly successful weekend hosting the runners from Ettlingen and Lobau after their 790 mile relay run, calling in at Epernay and Middelkerke on the way.

The picture show the runners with some members of Clevedon Athletic Club and Hash House Harriers who joined them at Yatton

Our programme for the weekend commenced with an evening meal at Scoozi’s to welcome Karin Heyder-Gysser, the lady responsible for the German Twinning Link and Markus Neumann, the Manager of the Kulisse Cinema in Ettlingen. The runners arrived at the Salthouse Fields the following day bearing aloft the invitation to attend the 30th Anniversary celebrations which was presented to the Town Council at an official reception and buffet lunch at the Council Chamber.

In the afternoon it was the turn of the Curzon Cinema to hear at first hand the opportunities in store for them,starting with the donation of 2000 Euros. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees outlined some plans to use the donation and there are great opportunities for future cooperation between the two cinemas. We can now say that there is a first ‘Cinema Twinning’ with ideas involving young people learning the skills of film-making in the respective towns. A projector presented to Ettlingen from the Curzon Collection will be displayed there.

Myself, Karin, Brian Chislet,   Hilary Neal - Chairman of Board of Trustees of Curzon. Markus Neumann - Manager of Kulisse Cinema and Maurice Thornton - curator of Curzon Collection.

The day concluded with a dinner at the Conservative Club where all runners and their medical team were applauded and a splendidly produced official reply to the invitation was handed over by Chairman of Clevedon Town Council, Colin Hall. This reply will be taken by boat by Brian Chislett, through the canals and rivers of Europe, to arrive in Ettlingen in August. Official documents are not simply sent by mail these days. There are many ingenious ways, using the maximum publicity, to ensure their dramatic arrival! It all makes for tremendous fun and interest.

Karin Heyder-Gysser, myself and Chairman of Council Colin Hall.

I offer my sincere thanks to all who hosted the runners and their back-up medical team. We can always rely on ‘twinners’ to step up and offer support and to attend the various functions and it seems that at the moment there is a marvellous spirit within the Association. The German contingent was thrilled at the hospitality as we have a reputation for the warmth of our welcome. To all involved, hosts,Town Councillors, and above all, the Twinning Association Committee, my grateful appreciation. I was proud to be representing the Clevedon Twinning Association. We plan to have a display of Twinning functions at the library for a week in November. If you have good photos of the recent weekend, please let me have copies so that we can show a good selection.

Well now, onwards and upwards. Our next big event will be the visit to Ettlingen in October for the 30th Anniversary Celebrations. This promises to be a remarkable few days as the Germans will also be playing hosts to representatives from their other twin towns and we shall be including some of our own Town Councillors in our group. Mike Bisacre is responsible for the logistics of the coach trip,although I know that some people will prefer to fly and will be making their own arrangements. Full details are now available with this Newsletter and we expect demand for places to be high. We invite you to come along with us and let us have your bookings soon.

Janet Wildgoose.