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Visit by IPA Sussex to Waldshut-Tiengen and the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Constance IPA on the Island of Mainau. Dave Stamp , chair, Sussex Branch The Black Forest town of Waldshut-Tiengen is in the south-west corner of Germany on the Rhine which separates it from Switzerland. The town has had a long association with the county town of Lewes with which it is twinned. During the Crusades Waldshut-Tiengen was a traditional meeting point for the armies involved. Sussex IPA has had a long association with their IPA friends in the Black Forest since they first visited Sussex as a group in 1996 and the groups have met up, on average every two years. In 2013 Sussex members joined Waldshut-Tiengen members to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

S uch is the close relationship between the groups that in 2001 the then Major of Lewes, Maureen Messer invited the Waldshut- Tiengen group to a reception to thank them for their financial contribution to her relief fund following the 2000 flooding of Lewes. Between the 12th and 15th October 2017 thirteen members of the Sussex Branch visited their Black Forest friends for a long week-end with them, which would include the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Constance branch on the flower island of Mainau on the western shores of Lake Constance. Landing at Zurich on the Thursday we were picked up and taken to a wooden community hall in Kussaberg-Reckingen where everybody met for lunch before the group split to go with their respective hosts. The first day as a group was free until 4:00pm when we met up at Hochenschwand Naturpark, to see the straw sculptures and pumpkin displays which is a bi-annual event aimed at encouraging tourism, which is suffering from the closure of many traditional Sanatoriums in the area. The Rothaus Brewery is 1000 metres above sea-level and, thanks to the rigorous German Purity Laws, produces the finest beer in the World! The party had an informative after- hours tour of the site which was ultra clean and devoid of any brewery smells at all. This was followed by vast quantities of beer, cheese and cold meats served in the brewery restaurant. The tour guide was given the compulsory bannerette and Marcus Schaff of the Waldshut-Teingen IPA was presented with a bottle of Bolney Winery Lynchgate Red from Sussex in a decorative bottle holder which was well received amidst much laughter. On the second day the group, totalling thirty members, motored down to the flower island of Mainau to join the 60th anniversary celebration of the formation of the Constance IPA. One hundred and twenty IPA members were gathered from Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Bavaria and

other parts of Germany. A coffee and cake welcome preceded a conducted tour of the island and its incredible gardens was made whilst a Zeppelin cruised overhead. The formal evening started at 7:00pm in the Comturey Cellars overlooking the Lake where the organiser, Michael Reichenbach, addressed the gathering followed by a welcome from the Baden-Wurttemberg Chairman, Dieter Barth. Bettina Countess Bernadotte formally opened the event by welcoming the assembly to her island and spoke briefly of her charity “Mentor Stiftung Deutschland”and the conservation work done in conjunction with Tim Smit of the “Lost Gardens of Heligan” and the nearby “Eden Project”. The Countess was presented with the compulsory bannerette. Dave Stamp, the current Sussex Chairman, presented Michael and his group with an engraved glass plate and the, ever popular “Bobby Helm”. The helmet was supplied by a retired member as the Sussex Police was unable to supply a helmet on security grounds. After a sumptuous banquet and socialising the party left the celebrations soon after 11:00pm whilst they were still in progress in order to return to Germany and get some sleep. There was a lot of interest in the UK’s forthcoming 70th anniversary event scheduled for 2020. I only hope we can meet the standards set by our Swiss and German friends. The final day was spent on the Swiss side of the Rhine at the Rheinfalls before the return to Zurich Airport and Gatwick. The weather was good to us, the early morning mist soon burning off to reveal bright Sun and intense blue skies. The trip was subsidised by the Sussex Branch, was well supported and a great success. The true ideals of international friendship shone through and thanks to all in both countries for their efforts. See you all in two years time.

POLICE WORLD Vol 63 No. 1, 2018

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