The Verwood & 3 Legged Cross Tw

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2017
http://twinning.verwood.org
email:- twinning @ verwood.org (remove spaces)

We held our AGM on Thursday 26 October when all committee members were re-elected. We have one new committee member, Sébastien Bouchereau, from Champtoceaux our twinned town. Sébastien has been living locally since 2016 and we would like to welcome him to the committee. Clive our Chairman thanked the committee for their hard work over the previous year. Clive was thanked by the committee and members for all that he does for our Association.

Forthcoming Events

Thursday Members’ meetings
- held at the Heritage Centre commencing at 7.30pm

8 December – our Christmas party for members at the Heritage Centre. Tickets are on sale at £2 per person which includes nibbles, wine and entertainment. We look forward to seeing you for a fun evening to start off the Christmas festivities.

11 January – Colin Stone will be talking about the Swanage Railway.

8 February – Wildlife on route to Spain is being presented by Brian Pettit.

Trip to Harrogate 23^rd to 26^th March 2018 - the cost is £165 per person and includes an excursion to the historic City of York. We had an excellent response after the details were circulated by email. Apologies to those who do not use email. We will be keeping a waiting list in case of any cancellations so please do let Julie know if you are interested.

Previous Events

Members’ meetings – we enjoyed a cheese and wine evening in June in place of a speaker. There was an informative talk in July on the Okhle Village Trust which helps communities in Nepal. The October talk was on the life of Walter Nichols, a Titanic survivor and a secret participant in both World Wars; it was not until the end that the speaker revealed he is the grandson of the late Walter Nichols who is buried in West Moors cemetery.

Visit to our Twinned Town Liederbach in June – we had two groups, one travelled by plane and the other by car, visiting historical places along the way. The official programme began with a visit to the town of Heppenheim followed by a lovely meal in picturesque surroundings at the Burgschanke Starkenburg restaurant next to the castle. The group was then taken to "Morlenbach" in order to board the world’s first solar powered trolley ride on a beautiful listed railway line. Some of us still had to pedal hard to make the trolley move!

Verwood & Three legged Cross members set up a stall at the annual street festival and sold Dorset produce. The trip concluded with a ceremony at Liederbach Halle to mark the 25^th anniversary of Twinning between the two towns. The Twinning Charter was renewed and signed by our Chairman, Clive Grove, and the Burgermeisterin of Liederbach, Eva Sollner.

Please select here for a full report of the visit by Verwood and 3LX to Liederbach in 2017.

Rustic Fayre Monday 28^th August – another enjoyable and successful year. Thank you to

all members who helped on the day, which was extremely hot and tiring.

Visit to our Twinned Town Champtoceaux in September – many thanks to Debbie Scott and the working party for organising this trip. Many difficulties emerged with the transportation planning as there were so many individual requirements. Some people flew to Nantes, others drove themselves and some were already in France on holiday. On Friday evening a welcome reception was held where local wine and nibbles were offered and an opportunity to meet again with old friends.

Saturday was a busy but thoroughly enjoyable day. A coach took the group to Nantes to board a riverboat and travel up river to view the many chateaus and mansions on the return trip. After a gentle walk through the town a trolley train was waiting for the group to take them to explore the city. Next on the schedule was a guided walk around the magnificent cathedral; many thanks to Catharina for stepping in to translate for those with French understanding difficulties! A wonderful lunch was then enjoyed in a beautiful restaurant. A coach returned everyone to Champtoceaux for aperitives with our hosts and then onto a soiree in Landemont (with another dinner and more wine!). Sunday was spent with our hosts prior to the journey home on Monday.

Your Committee Members - contact ( twinning@verwood.org ) :-

Chairman

Clive Grove

01202 826449 or twinning @ verwood.org

Vice Chair

Julie Blackwell West

Secretary

Carol Geary

Treasurer

Sandra Grove

Minute Secretary / Publicity

Sheila Hollingworth

Membership Secretary

John Pettitt

Speaker Organiser

- vacant

Website.

Stuart Clifton,

webmaster @ verwood.org

Newsletter Editor

Julie Blackwell West

01202 900867

Committee:-

Sébastien Bouchereau, Shiela Burgess, Pat Danes, Avril Pettitt, Debbie Scott. Joyce Timpson.

Council Representative

Susan Shaw

Honorary President

Cllr Lindsey Dedden

Mayor of Verwood - 2017/8

Normally the Committee meets on the 1st Monday of each month.in the Town Council Offices.

SPRING NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2017
http://twinning.verwood.org
email:- twinning @ verwood.org (remove spaces)

Christmas seems a long time ago and we can now look forward to the warmer, longer spring days. We have had four members’ meetings already plus a trip to Antwerp, Belgium; carry on reading to see what we have arranged for the months ahead. We have ideas for further events which we hope to publish soon. Please contact Julie if you receive a printed version of this newsletter and would prefer it in a larger print as this can be arranged.

Forthcoming Events

Thursday Members’ meetings at the Heritage Centre commencing at 7.30pm

8 June – to use up the wine brought over by our Champtoceaux guests we are having a French themed cheese and wine evening instead of a speaker. The entrance fee will be the same as usual to cover the cost of the cheese, crackers and hall.

13 July – Richard Backwell MBE is the speaker, a retired teacher and expedition leader who set up The Okhle Village Trust in 2003 to provide funding to assist local communities in Nepal.

Please note:
- there are not any members’ meetings in August and September

12 October – we will learn from Howard Nichols about the mysterious life of Walter Henry Nichols, a steward and survivor of the sinking of the Titanic survivor. Walter was a past resident of West Moors living in Station Road and is buried at Priory Road cemetery.

26 October – our AGM will be at the Town Council Office.

Visit to our Twinned Town Liederbach in June - we have one group flying plus another group driving and extending their holiday. We are due to receive the formal itinerary shortly and this will be forwarded to everyone attending together with all other relevant information. We will be taking Dorset produce to sell at the fete in Oberliederbach. A guided tour of Heppenheim and a train tour up to the hills is included in their programme.

Rustic Fayre Monday 28^th August - you will receive further information from Clive in due course but in the meantime please put the date in your diary. Volunteers to help on the day will be much appreciated – give your details to Clive. Let your family and friends know about Café Rene so they may support us by buying lunch including scrumptious home-made cakes.

Visit to our Twinned Town Champtoceaux in September – arrangements are currently being made by our French liaison team. Please contact Clive urgently if you wish to be included. Some members will be driving and having an extended holiday. It is proposed that the rest of the group will fly as there are not sufficient numbers to make a coach trip cost effective.

Previous Events

Members’ Meetings - we enjoyed the antics of a retired police officer; a very interesting talk about the late Donald Campbell who died trying to set a new water speed record; an informative evening learning about Ian Fleming the author of the 007 James Bonds novels; our last talk was about smugglers in Dorset and it was surprising to learn it was so widespread.

Trip to Antwerp, Belgium – the reports back from participants all state it was a successful trip with a very good hotel. There were plenty of interesting sites to see including the Gothic Cathedral of our Lady which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. Those that visited Antwerp Central Station, constructed between 1895-1905, report that it is an awe-inspiring building. In 2014 a British-American magazine awarded it first place for being the most beautiful railway station in the world.

Europe Day 9^th May – we were asked by our friends in Liederbach, along with their other twinned towns, to commemorate Europe Day by each town sending postcards to the other twinned towns. Your committee members sent postcards to the various towns and we received some in return; they are available to see at the Town Council Office in Verwood.

The British-German Association Conference on 12^th May – Clive, Sandra and Julie, as delegates for theTwinning Association, attended the conference at Bristol City Hall. We listened to speakers from Bristol and Hannover as well as some members of local twinning associations. There were over 100 delegates from all over the country who shared their experiences in workshops running during the morning and afternoon sessions. We gained some valuable fund raising information as well as ways to try and encourage younger members to join. We will be discussing the ideas at our next committee meeting and hope to implement some of them.

Your Committee Members - contact ( twinning@verwood.org ) :-

Chairman

Clive Grove

01202 826449 or twinning @ verwood.org

Vice Chair

Julie Blackwell West

Secretary

Carol Geary

Treasurer

Sandra Grove

Minute Secretary / Publicity

Sheila Hollingworth

Membership Secretary

John Pettitt

Speaker Organiser

- vacant

Website.

Stuart Clifton,

webmaster @ verwood.org

Newsletter Editor

Julie Blackwell West

01202 900867

Committee:-

Shiela Burgess, Pat Danes, Avril Pettitt, Debbie Scott. Joyce Timpson.

Council Representative &
Honorary President

Susan Shaw

Normally the Committee meets on the 1st Monday of each month.in the Town Council Offices.