25 / 32
Gallusmarkt,
Grunberg
2017
John Bull
, Thames Valley Branch Secretary
For 30 years Anitra and I, together with various other
Thames Valley members, have been attending the annual
October market in the Central German Town of Grunberg.
We have been hosted by our friends Karl-Ludwig & Doris
Ruckelshauss. This year we were accompanied by Moyra
Richardson.
O
n arrival Doris had prepared a meal
, we then went to the Gasthof where
Moyra was staying. There we met two Russian and one Polish members
who were stopping over
on their way from the IPA football
tournament in Amsterdam.
Monday saw us at the volcano
museum in Shotten in the
Vogelsburg which is a huge
dormant volcano. This was a
recently opened attraction and had
English captions and commentary
which was most helpful.
Tuesday we were taken to Point Alpha which was formerly an American Army unit on
the old border with East Germany. We climbed the U.S. watch tower and looked over
the fence at the East German tower some 100 meters away. The two spent 24 hours
a day just looking at each other. The area was one where it was anticipated that a
Russian invasion would take place through the Fulda Gap. The exhibition emphasised
how sensitive the area was and how close we came to war on a number of occasions.
It was quite eerie to see photographs taken at the time. Those of us who had
memories of the cold war fully understood the background to the exhibition. Chilling.
Tuesday night is open pub night and we met up with friends old and new from Russia,
Hungary, Poland, Belgium, U.S.A. and Germany. Much downing of beer followed in a
number of pubs.
Wednesday is market day and our annual visit to Horst’s wine stall followed by lunch
in the wine and chocolate departments of the local supermarket. It was quite strange
sitting down to eat amongst the shoppers. Also our American friend, Aaron from
Chicago, took part in the Bavarian Olympics which involved sawing a trunk of wood,
hammering a 6 inch nail into a log and standing with a litre of beer at arm’s length for
as long as possible. He won third prize which was a crate of beer.
One of the main events of the week is the Thursday Fruhshoppen which is held in a
tent with over 2,500 people attending. The Burgomeister and the Marktmeister make
speeches of welcome and making fun of the neighbouring rival town of Laubach.
Then comes the highlight, the speech of the Burst(brush)meister. His speech is very
humorous and he makes political jokes especially about the Burgomeister who this
year received the award for the third most expensive mistake of the year in Germany.
He also gave names to the three recently erected power windmills, models of which
were on the stage, he christened them with a water pistol and named one after the
Burgomeister. Four people are then honoured with birth status in Grunberg for moving
to the town and contributing to the life of the town. This is done with a scrubbing
brush (hence brushmaster) scrubbing the back of the recipient. After that there is
more eating and beer drinking well in to the night.
As I said Anitra and I have been visiting there since 1987. We have made many
friends in the town and with visiting IPA members from other countries, especially
Poland. These friendships have resulted in us visiting Poland and Hungary and many
visits to all parts of Germany.
The International Police Association opens many doors, this friendship opened
many for us.
Burnham on Sea
Rally 2017
Keith and Jenny Nicholls
On Wednesday, 1st. November 2017 fifteen members
of the IPA Caravan and Camping Club gathered at the
grounds of the Burnham-on-Sea Rugby Club in order to
attend the annual Carnival Parade.
This was the seventh rally organised here by Mike and
Sue Paxton. Members came from all parts of the Country,
including Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Norfolk, Sussex
and Suffolk and these days there is a 50/50 cross section
of caravans and motor homes.
We were very fortunate with the weather and most people
travelled long distances during the day to visit sites of natural
beauty including Cheddar Gorge and the towns of Lyme
Regis, Seaton, Sidmouth and Exmouth on the south coast.
Each evening we had access to the Rugby Club bar and
on Thursday night we had a skittles evening, playing
‘Killer’ which Keith ended up winning. On Friday night we
all sat down to a super meal prepared by Tannia the bar
manager. Every year she really spoils us and again we had
a lovely meal, prepared in a cramped kitchen, which was
appreciated by all of us.
Sunday evening we all made our way to the jetty in Burnham
for a fantastic fireworks’ display lasting over 15 minutes
Of course, on Monday night we were all out on the streets
for the two hour carnival parade. Each year exceeds the
previous years and the mechanism on the best carts is just
awesome.
After a leisurely Tuesday, sharing the weeks’ experiences
with our other caravanning friends we were all up steadies
on Wednesday morning and a safe tow home
Keith and his wife Jenny have been members of the IPA
Caravan and Camping Club for the last seven years and have
attended rallies in Yorkshire (Tour de France Rally), Ludham,
Norfolk (Broads Rally), Littlehampton and other rallies in
Worcestershire and Derbyshire. He has met IPA members
from all over the Country.
The next meeting is the AGM Rally at Stratford Race
Course, starting on 26th. April, 2018. See you there…?
25
Article
POLICE WORLD
Vol 63 No. 1, 2018