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Gimborn
is
“Thriving
and Vital”
at 50
D.B.Lewis
, IPA Writers Group / Scarborough Branch
“Thriving and vital” would be anyone’s view of the IPA following
the 50th anniversary celebrations at Gimborn. Our Study Centre’s
half century was another brilliant milestone for the IPA, bringing
international concord from every corner of the globe. Afternoon
temperatures touched 38 degrees, but this was soon washed
away during the evening dinner-dance by a downpour of monsoon
proportions, which did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm.
T
his was a celebration of the IPA’s partnership with IBz
in the ancient
schloss
in North
Rhine Westphalia. Representatives from close to 60 member countries of the IPA started
gathering on Friday and soon filled every corner of the grounds. Vitality filled the air; this was
a thriving and purposeful organisation celebrating another important milestone in its life. Section UK
was represented by National President, Clive Wood & his wife Helen, Vice President, Martin Turner &
his wife Sarah, Stephen Crockard from Northern Ireland, Head of Administration on the International
Executive Board and Gurmit Kaur MBE from Nottinghamshire Branch.
I was there to represent our Writer’s Group, which proved to be of great interest to the hundreds
of people visiting Gimborn for International Police Day. Over 60 visitors attended our stand during
the afternoon, including 14 National Presidents or Vice Presidents, many of whom left messages of
encouragement and support.
May – Britt Ronnebro, Section Sweden President and lead for Professional Development said,
“I love the idea of ‘Police Writers’ and to share our story of daily life; this is so important and a
great way of showing IPA’s essential purpose of friendship, as well as displaying our commitment to
developing interests, professional and cultural, amongst all of our members across the world.”
Both Clive Wood and Martin Turner from Section UK were thrilled to be at Gimborn for the 50th
celebrations. They praised the organisation of the weekend and commented on the Writers Forum
stand: “
What a wonderful idea, and a very promising way forward in developing Section UK
”
Amongst the many highlights of the weekend was the German youth engagement Clown Circus,
complete with acrobats, fire eaters, jugglers, clowns in police cars made from old bicycles, trick dogs
and all the trappings of the circus world. The crowd roared in appreciation, which the youth team
deserved. Their circus was an amazing community engagement project.
Other displays included police self-defence, the always popular dogs, a whole car park of
national police vehicles including a mighty Ford Mustang and Luxembourg’s Teslar, apparently for
engagement purposes only. A chase between those two might prove very interesting indeed.
Saturday night saw a gargantuan buffet of international flavours, followed by the presentation of
cheques to Gimborn from many national sections and supporting organisations. The fundraising
was boosted by the re-launch of the Buy a Brick campaign which proved very popular. After the
downpour, which plunged the event into temporary darkness, the assembled guests were treated to
dancing and song, led by Cat Lee King and His Cocks.
A huge ‘well-done’ to everyone involved in the planning of this complex and important event in the
IPA history; it was a truly fantastic experience to witness.
For those who haven’t discovered Gimborn yet, a treat awaits you.
Annual
Clay
Pigeon
Shoot
Steve Hunt
, 10 Region Secretary.
Windy conditions along with
brilliant sunshine welcomed the
participants to the 10 Region
IPA annual Clay Pigeon Shoot at
Purleigh near Chelmsford Essex.
T
wenty participants of all skill levels
gathered together to compete for
the ‘Dave Ross’ trophy. New and old
competitors met up to renew friendships, and
make new ones, in true IPA form. Following
a safety briefing they split into three groups
and after a 20 shot warm-up, fired their 30
competition shots. After much smoke and with
many clays dispatched, the competition moved to
a nail-biting shoot-off for second place between
Matt Deane and Phil Matthews.
•
The ladies winner this year was novice shooter
Amy Paris with a score of 23
•
The men’s runner-up was member Matt Deane
with a score of 25
•
The overall winner was IPA friend Geoff Lloyd
with an impressive score of 28
The prizes were kindly donated and presented
by Graham Ferris, the shoot proprietor, who also
presented the Dave Ross Trophy to Geoff.
10 Region promote IPA membership by offering
a £5.00 discount to current members attending
events.
Ladies winner,
Amy Paris
Mens winner,
Jeff Lloyd
Article
10
POLICE WORLD
Vol 64 No.4, 2019