Police World Edition 2 2014

Article

Double Vision DaveLingwoodgot involvedwithanhistoricmeetingbetween ScarboroughbranchandLudwigsburgbranch. Offeringanewmember’s perspectiveonameetingwhichbrought IPAmembers together to formalizeandcelebratea twinningagreement between the twobranches. I n2013, 13 friends and I fromScarborough branchwere fortunateenough to visit LudwigsburgandStuttgart, Germany. The people, andorderinga few ‘steins’ wewereall struckby thewonderful atmosphere–many localmen, includingPeter, wearing lederhosen and thewomenwearing traditional dirndl. It was great tobeapart of theexperience.

tripwas organisedby Ludwigsburgbranch, in order for theofficial twinningagreement between the twobranches tobe signed. Beinganewmember of the IPA, I was excited to visit Germany,make connectionswithGerman colleagues, and sample someof the country’s great culture. Onarrival at Stuttgart railway station, wewere warmly greetedby Peter Kolwe, Ludwigsburg branchChair, andhis colleagues - witha sparklingwine reception. Mostmembers of our group thenwere soonoff, in full policeuniform, toa local restaurant for an evening function tomark the twinningagreement. En route, a fewof the locals gaveus puzzledbut friendly looks. During the celebratorymeal, Peter andour ownViceChair, CraigRegan, formally signed theagreement andexchanged gifts. Short speechesweremadeby Peter andScarborough branchSecretary, ChrisCharlton, whichwas ably translated intoGermanby branch Treasurer JudithSmith. Judgingby theapplause, the translationwas verywell receivedby our German friends. To celebrate, Ludwigsburgbranch thoughtfully gaveeachof us a limitededitionbottleof wine that hadbeen labelledespecially for the occasion. After some time socialisingwithour newGerman friends, andabit of spontaneous andquestionabledancing - youknowwho youare - we retired toour hotel for thenight. For a few, the secondday beganwitha tripand guided tour around thepolice station in the nearby townofMarbach. Formost, the second day beganwitha trip to theMercedesBenz museumandUntertürkheim factorywhere thousands of vehicles areproducedevery year. A personal highlight formewas theopportunity to sit behind the steeringwheel of oneof the latest Mercedes andalso toobserve the company’s many intelligent roboticmachinesworking effortlessly to create these vehicles in the factory. In theevening, wemadeour way downtown to the famous ‘Cannstatter Volksfest’ –Stuttgart’s3 week longbeer festival. On takingour seats in the giant Göckelesmaier tent, whichholds over 2,500

The followingdaywe visited thenearby city of Ludwigsburg, wherewewere treated toa guided tour around thebeautiful Residential Palace, oneof the largest baroquebuildings inEurope. Wealso visited thePalace’sbloomingbaroque gardens, temporary home to the largest pumpkin festival inGermany. It waswith great sadness that our triphad toend after 4days. Reflectingonour time inGermany, weall agreed that it hadbeena fantastic experienceandhopefully the start of a longand fruitful friendshipwith LudwigsburgBranch– themembers arewonderful people. As anew member of the IPA, and speakingas someone whohas experienced first hand thebenefits that it canoffer, I would certainly recommend it to others. The trip gaveme theopportunity tomeet many new friends, seeadifferent part of the world, and gavemea real insight into lifeas an officer inGermany. I would like to thankall themembers of Ludwigsburgbranchwith specialmentionof Peter Kowle,Walter Reichert, UweFritz andHelmut Wonka for their friendlywelcomeand tremendous hospitality that they providedonour trip. Finally, a special thank you toChrisCharlton, Secretary of Scarboroughbranch for organisingour schedule andkeepingus all out of trouble. We look forward towelcoming the Ludwigsburg branch toScarborough soon. They have certainly set thebar high! DaveLingwood , Scarboroughbranch

Vintage IPA

Theofficial signing

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POLICEWORLD Vol 59No. 2, 2014