PW_1_2019

Article

The Highest IPA Member in the world? Andy Amos , Hertfordshire Branch I have recently returned from the Himalayas with some retired friends, where we trekked to Everest Base Camp. I submitted my Travel Form to the office before I left, but unfortunately they had no contacts in that country. W e flew from Kathmandu into Lukla airport , a tiny mountain airstrip. Then, we trekked up seemingly endless steps to Namche Bazar, which is the main gateway town to Everest. On our return leg I found the local Police Office and introduced myself. One of the guys spoke reasonable English, they gave me tea and we swapped patches.

IPA 35th Anniversary Celebrations in Lignano-Basso Friuli Dave Tetlow , Bolton Branch and Neil Baldwin , Rochdale Branch

During September 2018 Bolton and Rochdale Branches represented Section UK for the Italians’ four night programme of celebration. As usual, there was a lot planned in such a short time. T he other countries represented at the celebration were: Switzerland, Malta, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Dominican which was quite high up with panoramic views of the surrounding area. We only had a “light” lunch of five courses, some of which we found difficult to finish.

On Saturday evening we attended the final Gala Dinner, along with 150 people. After the first few courses, we exchanged gifts with our hosts and thanked them for the wonderful time we had enjoyed. We were then served a piece of cake from the biggest anniversary cake we have ever seen. We said farewell to all our friends, both old and new. We are all looking forward to 2023 which will be their 40th anniversary.

Republic and of course several members from different branches in Italy. Some of the members we knew from previous visits to Denmark and Hungary. Like all good IPA celebrations, new friends became very good friends in a short space of time. Lignano is a beautiful town located in the north east of Italy, with a long beach (appropriately named Sabbiadoro, which means sand of gold) overlooking the Adriatic Sea. From our hotel rooms we could see as far east as the coast of Slovenia. The weather was sunny and warm and the supply of wine provided by our hosts seemed never ending. Thursday started very early when we were taken by coach to the historic city of Udine for a guided tour of the city, which stands at the foot of the Italian Alps. Wherever we went, our guides spoke Italian, German and English. At the end of the tour we had lunch at the “Restaurant al Castello”,

We then had a guided tour of Cividale del Friuli, after which we were taken to a vineyard to sample the local wine. We noticed that the Italians and some of the other guests were adding water to the wine: a good idea when there is so much of it about. On Friday morning, we walked to the harbour and from there were taken by boat to the lagoon of Marano Lagunare and to the mouth of the river Stella for lunch at a typical Casone, a unique fisherman’s lodge made with cane and wood. We were wined, dined and entertained with folk music and Italian songs by the boat crew. After dinner we went onto the beautifully named Terrazzo a Mare, a pier near the hotel, where we were entertained by a local Folk Dancing group. We also had a performance by a mentalist who had been a finalist on Italy’s got talent.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No. 1, 2019