Police World Edition 2 2014

Article

for Sussex In2013, Sussexbranchwas invited toattend the30thanniversary of Waldshut-Tiengenbranch. DavidStamp tells the story.

I knewwewereattendinga special event whenwewere told that wewerewalking in the footsteps of royalty! During a conducted tour of theancient townof BadSäckingenour guide informedus that we werewalkingon the stones that KingRichard the Lionheart walkedwhen the townwasusedas amarshallingareaduringoneof theCrusades. The tour was part of theevent’smainattractions and finishedon the14thCentury roofedwooden bridge, which connects the townwithSwitzerland. TheGerman townofWaldshut-Tiengen is situated in theBlackForest on thebanks of theRhine, which forms theborder withSwitzerland, on the extreme southwest corner of Germany. The townhasbeen twinnedwith Lewes, the county townof Sussex, for some years and the two IPAbranches from these regionshavebeen enjoyingbi-annual exchanges since1996. Blois, inFrance, is also twinnedwith Lewes and Waldshut-Tiengenand their IPA groupshavebeen exchanging visits since1988. Whenwe first arrivedCaryl,mywife, and I were met by ArnoldWieser who tookus toour hosts, theFaralisch family, whowehaveknown since 1996.We stayed in their enormous18thCentury farmhouse in the townof BadSackingen. Some French guests fromBlois occupied the ground floor. Onehighlight which showed thewarmthof the local peopleoccurredon theday of the mainevent. Our hosts tookus for a short walk in the townwherewewere giveneggs in the

localmarket. All attempts atmakingpayment was refused.Wealsomet theMayor at the

Trumpeter’sCastle inBadSackingen. Later, weallmet in thenew sports centre in the town for adinner accompaniedby aperformance froma local orchestraand singer. Ademonstrationof gymnastics and cycling skillsby the youngpeopleof the town followed. I was pleased tohave takenwith meanumber of IPApennants

Above: the trumpeter of BadSackingen Below: 14th century bridge

which I exchangedafter the speecheshad takenplace. I alsopresentedapainting of TheSevenSistersCliffs, together with theever popular ‘Bobbieshelmet’- which is always abighit. This areaof Germany is ideal walking country andwe enjoyedwalking in the ‘Sound ofMusic’ likemeadowsbefore stopping for a coffeeand the inevitableanddeliciousBlack Forest gateaux. ArminPetzmann,Waldshut- TiengenbranchSecretary, was alsokindenough to show us around thearea, including the Jesuit Collegeat St. Blaise’sAbbey, an incredible Benedictinemonastery in the villageof St. Blasien. My thanksmust go to Waldshut’sChair,Markus Schaaf, andhishardworking teamwhich includedhiswife Monica - whoassistedme in communicatingwithour IPA colleagues. Theevent was a great success and it’s good to seean international celebratory event held in the true spirit of IPA in this very attractivepart of Europe. DavidStamp , Sussex branch

DavidStampandMarkusSchaaf

DavidStamppresentinga bannerette toAlexander Guhl - Mayor of BadSackingen

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POLICEWORLD Vol 59No. 2, 2014