21
POLICEWORLD
Vol 59No. 3, 2014
IPANews
Meetings
inMalta
StephanWest discovered that IPAmembership
canaidan introductionwhenoverseas. He
explains in thisarticlewhy apolicepatchmay
alsoproveuseful.
A cruise? I was somewhat alarmedwhenmywife
informedme that wewere goingonholiday for 3
weeks ona ship. Theunearthly hour, 2am, that we
were to set off was alsounfamiliar.
Prior to leaving I contacted various IPASections as
I wished toorganisea fewmeetswith fellow IPA
members. I was pleased to get responses from
memberswhowouldbeavailableat someof the
portswewouldbe stoppingat. I was alsokeen to
try, if theopportunity arose, to introducemyself as
an IPAmember to fellowofficers.
My first such contact wasmademorewith luck
than judgment as therewas apoliceoutpost at the
airport. I introducedmyself and found the reception
tobe verywelcoming. Unfortunatelywewereonly in
Venice for a fewhours soour chat had tobebrief.
Next stopMalta. Having read thearticleby Pat
Bailey inPoliceWorld, Vol. 58No.42013, about
thePoliceMuseum inMalta, I was verymuch
looking forward to the visit. Onarrival we took
a tour aroundValetta.What a city! Thewhole
experiencewas enhancedby our carriagedriver
who tookusmuch further thana tour guide
usuallywould go. Hedroppedus off at the south
sideof Vallettaandwe then tooka stroll through
the citywith itsnarrow roadandoldbuildings.
Definitelywortha visit - peoplewere so friendly and
welcoming. On thewalk, I cameacrossquitea few
officers and they kindly pointedus in thedirection
of themuseum, unfortunately JoeBorda, the
curator, wasnot available.
Not toworry, I said tomywife, we’ll just have to
comebackandwas expectinga loud laugh, instead
she replied, “Yeswewill.”
A littleadvice to fellow travellers - youdoneed to
lovewalking - asnot all areas areaccessibleon
wheels, unless youhaveaSegway.
Next stopMalaga, Spain.Wemanaged to catchup
with IPA colleagueshere too. Oh, and just to rub it
ina little, temperaturesnever droppedbelow21
degreesCelsiusduring thewhole3weeks, quite
enjoyable.
On toFunchal in theMadeira Islands, what a
friendly place. As I speak very littlePortuguese it
is amazinghowmuch you can communicate just
withhand gestures. It turnedout tobeabusy day,
meeting lots of officers. Thingsdid get interesting
when I tookapictureof adiplomatic car and
theofficer standingnext to it, who straight away
questionedmy doing so.
Thenext 5days tookus across theAtlantic.
Onarrival at St.Maarten, in theCaribbean, I
introducedmyself at the local police station
andmet Inspector BenjaminGout whowas very
welcoming. Even thoughhehadhishands full he
took the time to chat. Definitely aperson to contact
should you visit.
Later, Imet upwithmywifeandmother in the
KangarooCourt bar - another place to see. You
must takeapolicepatch from your forceas the
owner collects them.Most of thepatcheswere
American, just one solitaryUKexample from
Hampshire so there is certainly room formore.
StephanWest
, Hampshirebranch
StephanWestmeets
anofficer inMalta
ThankYou Judith
2Region, Northern Ireland, recentlymade
apresentation to IPAmember andDeputy
Chief Constable JudithGillespie tomark
theoccasionof her retirement from the
PoliceServiceof Northern Ireland.
Judith completed32 years of service
in theRoyal Ulster Constabulary and
PSNI andwashighly supportive to the2
Region committee. She regularly lent her
assistance inpublicity initiatives, including
appearing in the recent “Benefits of IPA
Membership” videoandduring theWorld
PoliceandFireGames inBelfast in2013.
Judithwas presentedwithaCertificateof
Appreciationandoneof thenew IPAmetal
badgesmountedonawalnut plinth, by2
RegionChair Carol SpenceandPublicity
Officer, BrianKennedy.
Commentingon thepresentationCarole
said,
“All of us in2Regionwish Judith the
very best inher retirement andwe look
forward to seeingher at IPAevents in
the future”
To view the video visit:
Thepolice station
inStMaarten
Momentous
Meeting
InApril, VicePresidentMarkKernohan
metMichelleHarris, thePresident of
SectionAustralia, inBrisbane.
The
AustralianNational ExecutiveCommittee
washaving itsNational Half YearlyMeeting
andMark joined themas a guest.
During lunchMarkpresentedMichelle
witha2RegionNorthern Irelandpatchas
amemento.
