Visit to Brunswick
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.
Birdwatching Walk At Prior Park Gardens
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 us.
Upoming Events
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 on: bbta18@hotmail.com
BBTA News
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 attend.
BBTA Chalet At The Christmas Market
This year Bath-Braunschweig Twinning Association organised a chalet at Bath’s Christmas Market for the first time. Our volunteers braved the cold and had an enjoyable time talking to visitors to the Market, many of whom had a German connection, and who were interested to hear more about Brunswick and to take away a taste of Brunswick and various booklets.
On 6th December we were joined by friends and members of BBTA and Bath German Society to sing Weihnachtslieder, and the Mayor (Cllr Rob Appleyard) kindly joined in all the singing, too. The following evening, members of the ukulele band “Uke can’t be serious”, who had visited Brunswick for the Kulturnacht in 2019, also performed in front of our chalet
The festivities continue on 15th December, when the German Society hosts the annual Christmas party at BRLSI.
BBTA Chalet at the Bath Christmas Market
Plans for our Chalet at the Bath Christmas Market are making good progress and we will be there to welcome prospective customers of Brunswick memorabilia and more general inquiries from 6th – 8th December. We can be found opposite the Abbey, and next to Brown’s Restaurant. If you can’t wait until then, some of us will explore the market on Monday 28th December, starting from “our” chalet at 11.30. Members and friends are welcome to join us.
Brunswick’s own Christmas Market will start at the same time as Bath’s and looks just as magical.
There has been some talk in the local press of Bath finding a Ukrainian twin. Meanwhile, in Brunswick the Lord Mayor, Dr Thorsten Kornblum, has proposed that Brunswick should establish a partnership with the Ukrainian town of Bila Tserk. We look forward to hearing more about such links.
Braunschweig International
Braunschweig International was a great success last weekend and you can see photos of the DEG stall here: https://www.deg-bs.de/deutsch/fotogalerie/ Our friends were offering British finger food and books, as well as information about Bath, and tell us that they attracted many German and international visitors, including the current and previous Lord Mayors. We hope we can manage something similar at Bath’s Christmas Market in December.
Visit To Bath & Next BBTA Meeting
At a time of national mourning, it is with regret that the civic visit of Brunswick’s Lord Mayor and colleagues, which was planned for the weekend of 10th – 12th September, has had to be cancelled. The Lord Mayor has paid tribute to the late Queen in a letter to the Mayor of Bath. It is hoped that the visit can be re-scheduled for later this year.
One visit which did go ahead, however, was that of some former school pupils of Belfast and Marburg (Kirchhain) who still meet regularly to celebrate their first exchange back in 1966. We owe this contact to a member of the Cardiff-Stuttgart Association, and members of BBTA and Bath German Society had great pleasure in meeting them and showing them the famous – and some less famous – sights of Bath, giving them a guided tour in English and German.
Online meetings with the DEG continue, most recently to discuss the theme of travelling in poetry. The book chosen for the next meeting is: “The Dictionary of Lost Words” by Pip Williams. Bookworms are welcome to join us by contacting the secretary of BBTA.
At the end of September Brunswick is hosting a festival “Braunschweig International” celebrating – as the name implies – our twin town’s international links. We have contributed information about Bath for potential visitors.
Our next meeting takes place on Friday, 16th September, when we hope to make plans for October.
BBTA AGM
The AGM of the BBTA will take place on Friday, 22nd July, when the committee will start planning for the next round of exchanges.
Visit From Bristol-Hannover Council
On Sunday, 17th July, members of the BBTA were pleased to welcome members of the Bristol-Hannover Council and many of their exchange partners to Bath. The guests were especially interested to visit the Herschel Museum (Herschel was born in Hanover) and later to meet Bath’s MP, Wera Hobhouse, who was also born in Hanover. For the latter meeting, the guests were welcomed to the Abbey by Jeremy Key-Pugh, who told them something of the history of the Abbey. It was a pleasure to meet so many people for whom twinning has been a part of their lives since their schooldays.