POLICE_WORLD_2_2017

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IPA CARAVAN & CAMPING GROUP Mike Paxton - Chairman. The Caravan and Camping Group is part of The Association but is run by its own committee and is independent of any Branches or Regions. Those involved with this type of group will be aware that The Caravan Club has very recently changed its name to the Caravan and Motorhome Club as many people are now purchasing motor homes. This reflects our Group really where we have caravans and motor homes and occasionally tents. T he group is made up of about 100 serving and retired IPA members from all over the UK who enjoy caravanning/camping/motorhoming in a relaxed and friendly environment. Various rallies are held throughout the year and our first one this year is from the 6th April to the 11th April when we hold our AGM rally at Stratford upon Avon Racecourse. Further rallies throughout the year are being held at Seaford, Littlehampton, Ludham, Baston Fen (to coincide with the 1940’s weekend), Batemans Brewery at Wainfleet, Clacton on Sea, Knaresborough, Belford and finally Burnham on Sea. We encourage our members to bring children and/or grandchildren with them and most rallies allow pets, but this has to be checked with the rally organiser first. If you are an IPA member you just need to attend one of the rallies and you become a member of the group. You can bring along family and friends with their own units who are not IPA members to most of the rallies but priority is given to members at rallies where space is limited. If you would like to attend a rally then contact either the rally organisers shown on the web site or contact our Secretary, Dave Ashley, at caravan-and-camping@ipa-uk.org

That evening all delegates attended a gala dinner in the hotel. As is the case at such events, speeches were made and gifts exchanged. On behalf of the U.K. Section, Sean presented a Jedd print each to the newly re-elected president of the Polish section, Frederyk Orepuk, and Aneta Sobieraj. The main attraction of such events for me is the chance to meet officers from other countries. I spent a very interesting evening on the Friday talking with a Greek sergeant who gave me a ground-level view of the migrant crisis in his country while on the Saturday I had the opportunity to talk to two Romanian prison officers about youth crime. To sum up the whole weekend was great opportunity to meet colleagues from other countries.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 62 No. 2, 2017

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