Visit to Sochi to mark 60 years of twinning

To mark 60 years of twinning with the city of Sochi in Russia, three members of Cheltenham Twinning Association were invited to visit the Black Sea resort in November to  strengthen relationships between the two “sister cities”.

Whilst in Sochi, the group attended the 4th Sochi International Film Festival Awards and the closing ceremony and considered plans for Cheltenham to host the 2021 UK event. They then attended the Sochi International Tourism Forum were they promoted our Festival Town to the Russian tourism market.

 

 

 

 

The group also visited the Olympic Park, location for “Professional Football Club Sochi” to discuss opportunities for sporting links and also participated in Sochi Day, an annual event held to mark the anniversary of the founding of the city.

The group were well looked after by their colleagues at Sochi City Administration and the busy programme enabled them to see much of the twin city. They experienced a classical concert, Georgian food, watched a live ice hockey match in the Olympic Park, attended a formal meal with traditional Russian dancing and singing and were warmly welcomed wherever they went.

 

 

 

 

One of the delegation, Martin Kimber, had visited Sochi before.  He went twice in the 1990s when setting up youth exchanges and he noticed many changes.  Martin commented,” The beautiful scenery on the Black Sea coast with the mountains behind and its warm climate, attracts many tourists.  As a result of the massive investment for the Winter Olympics in 2014 which led to vastly improved infrastructure, including large numbers of new quality hotels and excellent transport links, Sochi now offers visitors a unique and enjoyable experience and is now a truly international resort. What hasn`t changed though is the friendly and hospitable welcome offered by the Russian people.”

On their return the group comprising, Richard Gibson, Martin Kimber and Dominique Leonard presented the gifts they had been given to the Chairman of Twinning in the Mayor’s Parlour.

The Cheltenham Twinning Association are hopeful that good relations have been re-established with Sochi and that following on from discussions held during the visit, school and football exchanges will be progressed and that there will be an opportunity to showcase Cheltenham to a delegation from Sochi in the near future.

 

Annecy’s Retour des Alpages 2019

The Retour des Alpages (Return from the mountain pastures) took place on 12 October this year and a group from Cheltenham were in Annecy to see this wonderful traditional spectacle.

 

 

 

 

This vibrant Annecy festival is one of the highlights of the Annecy year attracting many, many thousands of visitors from all over the world! It celebrates rich traditions of music, craftsmanship, Savoyard gastronomy and much more!

 

 

 

 

A procession of local and international folk groups in traditional costumes including the amazing Gloucestershire Morris Men process through the streets of the old town of Annecy together with geese, cows, St Bernard dogs, donkeys, chickens, horses, goats and sheep. Throughout the day the city comes alive with music and dance performances, opportunities to sample the best of Annecy and Savoyard foods and drinks, and chances to understand more about the local and historical traditions.

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in finding out more about the annual Retour des Alpages or many of the other festivals, events and touristic activities the beautiful city of Annecy has to offer visit:  https://www.tourisme-annecy.net/retour-alpages.html

 

Homestay in Annecy

Written by Sophia Malden 11S1

At the ungodly hour of 4am, 11 year 10s from Balcarras School embarked on a challenging yet incredible opportunity – to spend a week living with a French family in Cheltenham’s twin town, Annecy.  After our flight, we arrived in Geneva airport and travelled through the mountains, across the Swiss border and into Annecy.  As soon as we arrived, we were thrown into the deep end as we spent the whole of the rest of the day with our French family. We arrived on the 14th July, the national day, so we celebrated the day with garden parties, picnics and fireworks by the lake. The rest of the week we spent exploring the beautiful old town of Annecy by having a guided tour, boat trip and a day on the Semnoz (a huge hill) doing fun activities like sledging. We also attended a reception at the town hall with the Mayor and were featured in the French newspaper! This experience really improved our French skills and developed our understanding of French culture.   We are thankful to Mr Seguin and Mrs Hockenhull, our French teachers, for making this trip possible.

Des élèves de la Balcarras School de Cheltenham, en Angleterre, sont reçus à l’Hôtel de Ville d’Annecy par Valérie Gonzo-Massol, maire adjointe de la commune déléguée d’Annecy et chargée du jumelage avec Cheltenham, le mardi 16 juillet 2019, dans le cadre d’un séjour organisé avec l’alliance française d’Annecy.

 

 

Tea with the Mayor

Annecy work placement students Elise Collon and Mathis Lecry joined the Mayor and his wife for afternoon tea in the Mayor’s Parlour.  Elise and Mathis have spent the month of August in Cheltenham,  Elise working at the Cheltenham Trust and helping with Parklives and children’s workshops and Mathis working at the many community events that Cheltenham Borough Homes organise throughout the summer.   Both stayed with local families and thoroughly enjoyed being immersed into family life, English culture and improving their already excellent English.

A Celebration of 68 years of Twinning between Cheltenham and Göttingen

This summer Cheltenham Twinning Association and some 70 residents of Cheltenham and beyond participated in the highly successful 2019 Big Party visit to Göttingen. Making their way by trains, planes, cars and a comfortable Marchants’ coach, participants were given a very warm welcome on arrival and at a formal welcome ceremony at the Altes Rathaus (Old Town hall), where two David Austin ‘Golden Celebration’ roses were presented by the Mayor of Cheltenham, Roger Whyborn, and later planted in the rose garden in Cheltenham Park, Göttingen.

 

 

 

 

Guests as well as hosts enjoyed a joint church service, a guided tour of Göttingen on the double-decker ‘Miss Marple’ bus, a bus tour on the new e-bus led by the Göttingen Integrated Transport Association (GŐVB) as well as a demonstration of the latest hybrid technology.

 

The opening of the Cheltenham Göttingen photo exhibition by Mayor Ulrich Holefleisch at the Torhaus Gallery showcased a selection of outstanding photographs organised by Mike Walker of the Cheltenham Camera Club. Highlights of the 5-day visit included trips to the Friedland Museum, the historic city and castle of Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains and Scharfenstein Castle as well as the traditional party at the Kiessee.

The benefits of the trip are manifold and encompass a renewed commitment to peace. With longstanding and active twinning links between Cheltenham and Göttingen dating back some 68 years, the significance of the enduring peaceful relations, which continue to exist between the two countries, should not be forgotten. Information about policies and best practices in e.g. environmental developments in public transport were shared. In addition, through a working meeting, Cheltenham’s status as a ‘Festival Town’ was promoted and opportunities for mutual collaboration discussed. Links with the University of Göttingen as well as educational establishments and Göttingen’s tourism office were reinforced, and youth exchanges and work experience programmes were reviewed. At a personal level, old friendships were celebrated, and new acquaintances kindled.

This would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment in Cheltenham and Göttingen of respective Mayors, Twinning Officers, host families, interpreters and friends of twinning to whom we send a big thank you.

 

 

 

 

In summer 2021 we look forward to welcoming Göttingen guests to Cheltenham, when the two twin towns will celebrate their 70th anniversary. In the meantime, if you are interested in connecting with a business, educational establishment, club, society, or if you are a young person interested in doing a work experience placement in Göttingen, Annecy or any of Cheltenham’s other twin towns, or perhaps you might be interested in hosting guests from our twin towns, do please get in touch with Annette Wight.

Carol Stephens,Vice-Chair Cheltenham Twinning Association

 

 

 

 

 

Weihai Students in town

In July the Mayor welcomed over 50 pupils from our Chinese twin town of Weihai  who were in Cheltenham for 2 weeks.  There were two groups; one from the Ivy International School in Weihai

who stayed with local families and attended Gloucestershire College’s international summer school.

The second Weihai Yubo Group were attending a summer school programme organised by the British Study Centre  and stayed at the Cheltenham Ladies College.  We were delighted to see so many young people from Weihai who embraced the language and cultural differences with maturity and challenged the Mayor with some tough questions on Brexit and presented him with many gifts from China.

Göttingen Students meet the Mayor

A group of 11 young people and their 2 leaders from our twin town of Göttingen, Germany, met the Mayor for coffee and cakes in the Parlour during their stay in Cheltenham.   The youngsters were in Cheltenham for 11 days, staying with local host families and enjoying an organised programme of language learning, sporting activities at Leisure at Cheltenham, and sightseeing in Stratford, London, Bath and Clearwell Caves.  The 13-17 year olds told the Mayor that one of their best memories will be the food (Yorkshire pudding!) and the friendliness of their host parents.