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St Ives Market - Saturday 4th September 2010 The St Ives Twinning Association set-up a stall recently on a Saturday, at the town market. They held a raffle to raise funds for the Association, and to explain to the public what they did. A good time was had by all and, as can be seen from the photos, they attracted plenty of interest! Visit to Hessentag Festival in Stadtallendorf June 2010 A party of over 20, including St Ives Town Mayor, Cllr David Hodge, the Deputy Mayor, Town Clerk and Mace Bearer, was invited by the Burgermeister, Herr Vollmer to take part in the Hessentag Festival. The hospitality of our friends was exceptional, beginning by being met on our arrival at Hahn Airport by Jurgen Breitenstein, PA to Herr Vollmer. The next day began with a visit to the Town Hall, an introduction to councillors and members from Coswig, Stadtallendorf’s twin town from the east of the country before reunification, and a very interesting talk on St Ives during World War II given by our Deputy Mayor, Cllr Martin Collier. After lunch we enjoyed a coach trip of the area, visiting the local mosque and catholic church, and in the evening a civic meal hosted by Herr Vollmer and Stadtallendorf councillors. Read the talk given by Martin - download PDF The following day, Sunday, was very busy for the St Ives civic party, who wore their robes in the Parade on a very hot day, accompanied by four members of the Twinning Committee and two members of the St Ives Table Tennis Club. The Parade was spectacular, with 151 floats and groups from town and villages across the state of Hessen. Over a million people visited the event over its ten days – quite a number to host by a town with a population of only 21,000. Our final and very enjoyable visit was to the Ferrero chocolate factory, followed by lunch with the Burgermeister and our hosts at a local restaurant, before leaving for our flight back to Stansted. Visit to St Ives by Stadtallendorf - May 2010 A party of six Councillors from Stadtallendorf came to St Ives for the Anglo Norman weekend, part of the “St Ives 900” celebration year. On arrival at their hotel, on Sunday 2nd May, they were greeted by the Deputy Mayor, Cllr David Hodge, and Twinning Chairman, Kay Hewitt. They then visited Nobles Field, where they were shown around by the Mayor, Cllr Brian Luter, and watched the burning of the Viking ship. In the evening thy were entertained by members of the Twinning Association and guests at the Dolphin Hotel. The next day the visitors enjoyed a trip on a replica Viking long boat, when they had the opportunity to try their hands at a little rowing. They toured the Anglo-Norman village and were very interested in our history, talking to many of the craftsmen and artisans. In the evening the Mayor hosted an official dinner at Slepe Hall Hotel, together with other members of the Town Council and the Twinning Association Committee. Before the Councillors departed on Tuesday, 4th May, they had a very informative walk around St Ives led by the town’s museum Curator, Bob Burn-Murdoch, ending with a light lunch at the Oliver Cromwell public house, before leaving for Stansted Airport. Thirty-four guests arrived by coach in St Ives on the evening of 1st April, to be hosted by local families. The next morning the Curator of the Norris Museum, Mr Bob Burn-Murdoch, took our visitors on a tour of the town, before they visited the Town Hall to meet the Mayor and Mace Bearer. The afternoon saw the start of the table tennis Team Tournament at the St Ivo Centre, playing towards the Wilhelm Triebel Memorial Trophy: the result was St Ives 38, Stadtallendorf 55. That evening a social event was held at Lakeside Lodge Golf Centre at Pidley, with ten-pin bowling available for those who still had the energy. The next day our guests enjoyed a sight-seeing coach trip to London followed by free time for shopping, while others stayed in St Ives for the start of the St Ives 900 celebrations. The next morning saw the table tennis Individual Tournament, open to guests, hosts and any members of the Table Tennis Club. Points scored were St Ives 6, Stadtallendorf 21, which were added to the Team scores two days before. The overall result, therefore, for the Wilhelm Triebel Memorial Trophy was St Ives 44, Stadtallendorf 76. The following day our guests spent a full day in Cambridge, followed by an evening at St Ives Golf Club, attended by 84 diners, with speeches and presentation of the Table Tennis Trophy to the winners. Early the next morning we said good-bye to our table tennis friends as they set-off on their return to Germany; they arrived home at 10pm. On behalf of the St Ives Table Tennis Club I would like to thank St Ives Twinning Association for their grant towards our expenses for this visit, and to also thank none club members for hosting our Stadtallendorf guests.
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