On the evening of Friday 24th August 2012 a party of
38 from Verwood’s German twin town of Liederbach arrived to spend the
Bank Holiday weekend being hosted by members of the Verwood &
Three-Legged Cross Twinning Association.
They were greeted by Verwood mayor Cllr Simon Gibson before being
whisked away by their host families. A full programme of events lay
ahead.
 On Saturday morning
most of the guests were
taken for a visit to the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford St
Mary, followed by lunch at the Botany Bay Inne at Winterborne Zelston.
In the evening guests were welcomed with a glass of Pimms to the
superb surroundings of Remedy Oak Golf Club, where with their hosts they enjoyed an informal soirée.
Gifts were exchanged and speeches given by the Burgermeisterin of
Liederbach (Frau Eva Söllner), the Mayor of Verwood (Cllr Simon Gibson)
and the chairman of the Verwood Twinning Association (Mr Terry Bright)
as shown above. A buffet meal
was followed with entertainment by close harmony group Sodapops and a
chance for everybody to socialise..
This photograph of Verwood was
given to Liederbach am Taunus.
 Sunday was a “rest” day spent with hosts, but it started with
the official naming of Taunus Way, the previously anonymous road
connecting Black Moor Road to Liederbach Drive. Verwood Twinning
chairman Terry Bright thanked Verwood Town Council for facilitating the
adoption of this name before inviting the mayors of the twin towns to
unveil the name.
Cllr
Simon Gibson, Mayor of Verwood and Frau Eva Söllner, Burgermeisterin of
Liederbach,
unveil the new road name “Taunus Way”.
Members
of the road naming party pose around the road sign for Liederbach Drive
Bank Holiday Monday is of course
Rustic Fayre day in Verwood. In the morning our guests were treated to a
visit to RNLI headquarters at Poole, where they had the opportunity to
“drive” a lifeboat simulator - much to the regret of the simulated
casualty! Returning from Poole they were taken directly to the Rustic
Fayre where they were given lunch in Café René before enjoying all the
other attractions of the Fayre.
 Early on Tuesday morning hosts took
their guests to their coach on the Hub car Park for a 6 a.m. departure
on their return journey to Liederbach. It had been a busy weekend, which the Germans found very interesting. And so we were
left with good memories and an invitation for a return visit in June
2013.
Verwood is also twinned with the canton of Champtoceaux in
France’s Western Loire Valley. Anyone interested in Verwood’s
twinnings or the work of Verwood Twinning Association can get more
information from this "website" where contact
information can also be found.
pictures and text by Stuart Clifton.
|
Verwood
and Three Legged Cross Twinning Association - UK
