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BBTA Newsletter No. 10

By on Jul 31, 2017

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Two Countries, Twin Flags

Bath – Braunschweig
Twinning Association
Newsletter
No 10 Aug 2017
In This Issue
Monthly meetings
? Trams for Bath
Erwin Klein
AGM 2017
Bridge News
Letter from Braunschweig
Braunschweig Youth Choir Visit
Did you know?

Monthly meetings are held in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Guildhall in Bath
Next meetings:
   Friday   4 Aug              2 pm
   Friday   1 Sep               2 pm
   Friday   6 Oct              2 pm
   Friday   3 Nov              2 pm
   Friday   1  Dec              2 pm
To join, contact:
Hilary Elms, Secretary BBTA
208, Old Frome Rd
BATH  BA2 5RH
01225 837790
h.elms412@btinternet.com
Quick Links
www.bath-braunschweigtwinningassociation.co.uk
www.mayorofbath.co.uk

? Trams for Bath
  
Our new mayor Cllr. Ian Gilchrist recently visited Braunschweig. As a keen supporter of a possible tram system for Bath he was particularly pleased to have been given the opportunity to drive a tram in Braunschweig. He gave a short presentation of his recent visit at our AGM (see below)

 Braunschweiger Zeitung’s
    Erwin Klein

returned  on 11 June after visiting the 8  towns in the UK that are twinned with Braunschweig. He noted  a wide range of opinions on Brexit – from ‘completely crazy’ to ‘a great opportunity for the UK’! On the subject of twinning he observed that the twinning associations with municipal support seemed to be more successful. He also felt that the nature of twinning had changed from its beginnings in the 1950s and that it was important to introduce ‘young blood’

 
 
BBTA AGM
was held on Friday 7 July 2017

The officers were all reelected:
Chairman Bryan Chalker
Vice Chairman Jeremy Key-Pugh
Secretary Hilary Elms
Treasurer/Min.Sec. Tony Horstmann
There are in addition 6 committee members. We are sad to record the recent death of Mark Gilbert who was elected a member of the committee earlier this year.  Diana Guest was elected.

Bridge Exchange 2017
At the end of May, 11 bridge players from” Bath Bridge Club” and “Bridge and Games – Bath” travelled to Brunswick to meet the friends who came to Bath in the first stage of the exchange in 2016. At an initial reception in the club rooms of “bridge + art”, an engraved bowl from Aqua Glass was presented to their chairman, Michael Seiffert, on behalf of the City of Bath and the two bridge clubs.
We were able to play bridge on two consecutive days in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere at a beautifully restored former railway station. The visit concluded with a celebratory meal of locally grown asparagus and an afternoon bridge session. Language was no problem, but the game itself sometimes had us puzzled.
Our hosts were generous in their hospitality and made us very welcome in their city. The Bath visitors were welcomed officially by the Mayor, Frau Ihbe, and in a short time we soon felt at home, admiring the medieval architecture of the city (which was 90% destroyed in 1944), the many green spaces and extensive network of cycle paths. We also had the chance to explore the surrounding countryside, and to visit the VW headquarters at Wolfsburg, which offered a contrasting vision of the 21st century.

Letter from Braunschweig
 
This summer the highlights in Braunschweig definitely were the numerous visitors from Bath, namely the Bath Bridge Club in May as well as members of Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society in June. The latter gave a brilliant concert performing the most wonderful songs from their broad repertoire, partly in cooperation with Cortez Musik Theater. Everyone agreed that “Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory”, as Oscar Wilde once said. We also had the remarkable honour of welcoming the Mayor of Bath, Cllr. Ian Gilchrist, and Cllr. Colin Blackburn in addition to BODS at our annual garden party. Thank you for having been our guests!
Katrin Landsmann (Deutsch-Englische G’schaft)

 
Visit of the Braunschweig Youth Choir
On 29 June the 75 strong Braunschweig Cathedral Youth Choir gave an excellent afternoon concert of choral music from both Germany and Great Britain in Bath Abbey under the direction of Domkantor Gerd-Peter Münden and Kantorin Elke Lindemann.
In the morning the group attended a Civic Reception hosted by Mayor Cllr. Ian Gilchrist and then went on to visit the Roman Baths.

Did you know?
The Horstmann family have lived in Bath for over 150 years. Gustav Horstmann originally from the Prussian province of Westphalia set up in Bath as a clock and watchmaker in 1854. In addition he invented a micrometer accurate to 1/10,000 inch.
His son Sydney, together with Hermann, Sydney’s brother, founded the Horstmann Gear Company in 1902. Sydney went on to design and produce cars in Bath setting up in 1913 the Horstmann Car Company (later Horstman Ltd.)
Horstman (the second ‘n’ was dropped during WW1) cars were made in Bath
between 1913 and 1929. In all about 1500 were made of which 10 exist today.
Tony Horstmann, great grandson of Gustav Horstmann, is Treasurer of the Bath Braunschweig Twinning Association.
 
         
1923 4 seat Horstman Tourer
An original 1914 Horstman Light car and also a copy of Gustav Horstmann’s micrometer can both be seen at Bath’s Museum of Bath at Work

Individual Exchange visits:
are you interested in visiting Braunschweig?
perhaps staying with a family in Braunschweig?
and maybe inviting them to stay with you in Bath?
Contact Barbara Heck at the DEG (see link)

Stammtisch


If you would like to practise your German in a friendly informal atmosphere over  ‘Kaffee und Kuchen’ come to the Stammtisch –  every Wednesday throughout the year between midday and 1:00pm, in the upstairs room at Cafe Retro, 18 York Street, Bath (by Bog Island).

Ladies’ Choir from Waggum

When I stay in Braunschweig in the summer months, I sing with this wonderful choir of 55 ladie.  They are a friendly group of singers, many of whom form the church choir, and also sing at events in Waggum, a small village just outside the city of Braunschweig.  I travelled with the choir on their recent trip to England from 18 to 23 May
On 21 June we sang at the morning service in St Michael’s Without, where we were welcomed by the former Mayor of Bath Cllr. Paul Crossley  and his wife Margaret who also attended the service.
Vicki Messam
(BBTA Commitee member)
*, *, *, Bath, Somerset * United Kingdom
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