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AGM

By on Jun 10, 2023

The next meeting of BBTA will be our AGM on Thursday, 15th June, at 14.30 in the Mayor’s Parlour.  Members and guests are welcome to join us.

Visit to Brunswick

By on Jun 10, 2023

Visitors to the website will know that a visit of bridge players to Brunswick has been planned for a long time.  We finally made it there at the beginning of June, and the photo shows bridge players from Bath and Brunswick, together with members of the DEG attending a reception in Schloss Richmond hosted by Frau Bürgermeisterin Antonelli.  The reception was later attended by a group of young students of German from a High School in Omaha, Nebraska.  This town is one of Brunswick’s nine twin and sister cities, and its representatives were signing an official agreement on mutual co-operation and support with the President of the DEG, Paul Kavanagh. Our visit was a great success, with a full programme of bridge, some sight-seeing and some travelling to towns near Brunswick.  We were also able to meet our friends from the online book club, and help with the preparations for Braunschweig International, a festival celebrating all the different national communities living and working in Brunswick.  Our thanks go to all involved in the preparations for our visit. © City of Braunschweig/Nielsen © City of Braunschweig/Nielsen © City of...

Birdwatching Walk At Prior Park Gardens

By on May 28, 2023

On a beautiful early summer’s day in mid-May a group of members of BBTA and BGS was guided around Prior Park Garden by our members Pat and Bob.  This walk had been postponed from March, but was well worth the wait.  The Garden was alive with birdsong and we identified many different varieties, including our favourite:  the “Zilpzalp” (chiffchaff)!  Some of us had to admit to difficulties distinguishing a “Blaumeise” from a “Kohlmeise” (blue tit and great tit) but Pat and Bob were always at hand to explain and help.  Not to mention distinguishing a “Saatkrähe” (rook) from a “Rabenkrähe” (crow) – a crow is slightly bigger, usually (but not always) seen alone and has a black beak, a rook is usually (but not always) in a flock and has a light beak.  We also glimpsed an “Eichelhäher” (jay) flying through the trees. We also investigated the flora, admired the views, and discussed the literary associations of the House and Garden.  Some of us can be seen on the famous Palladian Bridge, possibly counting the ducklings just below...

Upoming Events

By on May 5, 2023

As Coronation fever reaches its peak, members of BBTA continue to enjoy other ways of forging friendly international relationships with our counterparts in Brunswick and among our like-minded compatriots.  We are planning many social activities for the coming months, and among these are the walk round Prior Park Garden (which was postponed to 22nd May) and a visit to the Theatre Royal to see BODS performing “Guys and Dolls”.  This has been well-reviewed in the local press and we are looking forward to an entertaining show.  BODS have previously visited Brunswick to take part in the Kulturnacht, and this year some young musicians from Bath Spa University will be demonstrating their talents at this lively festival on 17th June. A group of Bath Bridge players will also be visiting Brunswick at the end of May to take part in several tournaments, meeting some of the friends who first came to Bath in 2016, and exploring Brunswick and the surrounding area. Our monthly online book club with members of the DEG continues to be an enjoyable chance to discuss some interesting books and to exchange news.  The May session will discuss “Lessons in Chemistry”.  The BBTA chair will also be leading a discussion on a newly re-published East German novel for the German Society in June. Members and friends are always welcome to join us in these activities, or at BBTA meetings – the next one of which is on Thursday 25th May, and will once again be held in the Guildhall.  For further details of how to become involved please contact our secretary...

BBTA News

By on Mar 6, 2023

Every year Bath celebrates its status as a World Heritage City and this year’s event coincided with the second Assembly of the Great Spa Towns of Europe.  Bath is one of the 11 towns which share this World Heritage Site, a distinction awarded by UNESCO in July 2021 and which complements Bath’s first award in 1987.  To mark the occasion an exhibition of local conservation and heritage projects was held, involving many “hands on” activities for younger and not-so-young members of the public.  One of the speakers at the event was Anna Maria Boll from Bad Kissingen (one of the three German Great Spa Towns) who explained her town’s historical, architectural and even political significance.  Bad Kissingen lies to the south of Brunswick, but would be well worth a visit. In the meantime, members of BBTA and the Bath German Society will be exploring more of our heritage in a walk around Prior Park Garden;  we hope to expand our ornithological and botanical vocabularies, and possibly even our waistlines.  Our March newsletter has now been published, and our next meeting will be on 23rd March, in the Guildhall.  All members are welcome to...