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Gallusmarkt, Grunberg 2017 John Bull , Thames Valley Branch Secretary For 30 years Anitra and I, together with various other Thames Valley members, have been attending the annual October market in the Central German Town of Grunberg. We have been hosted by our friends Karl-Ludwig & Doris Ruckelshauss. This year we were accompanied by Moyra Richardson. O n arrival Doris had prepared a meal , we then went to the Gasthof where Moyra was staying. There we met two Russian and one Polish members who were stopping over on their way from the IPA football tournament in Amsterdam. Monday saw us at the volcano Tuesday we were taken to Point Alpha which was formerly an American Army unit on the old border with East Germany. We climbed the U.S. watch tower and looked over the fence at the East German tower some 100 meters away. The two spent 24 hours a day just looking at each other. The area was one where it was anticipated that a Russian invasion would take place through the Fulda Gap. The exhibition emphasised how sensitive the area was and how close we came to war on a number of occasions. It was quite eerie to see photographs taken at the time. Those of us who had memories of the cold war fully understood the background to the exhibition. Chilling. Tuesday night is open pub night and we met up with friends old and new from Russia, Hungary, Poland, Belgium, U.S.A. and Germany. Much downing of beer followed in a number of pubs. Wednesday is market day and our annual visit to Horst’s wine stall followed by lunch in the wine and chocolate departments of the local supermarket. It was quite strange sitting down to eat amongst the shoppers. Also our American friend, Aaron from Chicago, took part in the Bavarian Olympics which involved sawing a trunk of wood, hammering a 6 inch nail into a log and standing with a litre of beer at arm’s length for as long as possible. He won third prize which was a crate of beer. One of the main events of the week is the Thursday Fruhshoppen which is held in a tent with over 2,500 people attending. The Burgomeister and the Marktmeister make speeches of welcome and making fun of the neighbouring rival town of Laubach. Then comes the highlight, the speech of the Burst(brush)meister. His speech is very humorous and he makes political jokes especially about the Burgomeister who this year received the award for the third most expensive mistake of the year in Germany. He also gave names to the three recently erected power windmills, models of which were on the stage, he christened them with a water pistol and named one after the Burgomeister. Four people are then honoured with birth status in Grunberg for moving to the town and contributing to the life of the town. This is done with a scrubbing brush (hence brushmaster) scrubbing the back of the recipient. After that there is more eating and beer drinking well in to the night. As I said Anitra and I have been visiting there since 1987. We have made many friends in the town and with visiting IPA members from other countries, especially Poland. These friendships have resulted in us visiting Poland and Hungary and many visits to all parts of Germany. The International Police Association opens many doors, this friendship opened many for us. museum in Shotten in the Vogelsburg which is a huge dormant volcano. This was a recently opened attraction and had English captions and commentary which was most helpful.

Burnham on Sea Rally 2017 Keith and Jenny Nicholls On Wednesday, 1st. November 2017 fifteen members of the IPA Caravan and Camping Club gathered at the grounds of the Burnham-on-Sea Rugby Club in order to attend the annual Carnival Parade. This was the seventh rally organised here by Mike and Sue Paxton. Members came from all parts of the Country, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Norfolk, Sussex and Suffolk and these days there is a 50/50 cross section of caravans and motor homes. We were very fortunate with the weather and most people travelled long distances during the day to visit sites of natural beauty including Cheddar Gorge and the towns of Lyme Regis, Seaton, Sidmouth and Exmouth on the south coast. Each evening we had access to the Rugby Club bar and on Thursday night we had a skittles evening, playing ‘Killer’ which Keith ended up winning. On Friday night we all sat down to a super meal prepared by Tannia the bar manager. Every year she really spoils us and again we had a lovely meal, prepared in a cramped kitchen, which was appreciated by all of us. Sunday evening we all made our way to the jetty in Burnham for a fantastic fireworks’ display lasting over 15 minutes Of course, on Monday night we were all out on the streets for the two hour carnival parade. Each year exceeds the previous years and the mechanism on the best carts is just awesome. After a leisurely Tuesday, sharing the weeks’ experiences with our other caravanning friends we were all up steadies on Wednesday morning and a safe tow home Keith and his wife Jenny have been members of the IPA Caravan and Camping Club for the last seven years and have attended rallies in Yorkshire (Tour de France Rally), Ludham, Norfolk (Broads Rally), Littlehampton and other rallies in Worcestershire and Derbyshire. He has met IPA members from all over the Country. The next meeting is the AGM Rally at Stratford Race Course, starting on 26th. April, 2018. See you there…?

POLICE WORLD Vol 63 No. 1, 2018

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