Article
6
POLICEWORLD
Vol 59No. 2, 2014
Berlin:
SteveHunt, 10RegionSecretary andSouth
East Essexbranchmember, andhiswifeKaren
flewout toBerlin tomeet upwithmembers
fromMonchengladbachbranch for an IPA tour
of Berlin.
Monchengladbachhasbeen twinned
withSouthEast Essex branch since1989.
Around10members ofMonchengladbachbranch
travelled toBerlin tomeet upwith localmembers
whoactedas guides.
After tasting thedelights of a ‘Currywurst’ the
group tooka tripon the river Spreewhich gave
great views ofmany famous landmarks - including
theGermanParliament buildings.
Steve said,
“After theboat tripwewent toaWW2
air raid shelter/bunker at Brunnenstrasse - one
of the few remaining suchbuildings still in its
original formandnowpreservedas a tourist and
educational site.”
Themilitary theme continuedas the tourmade its
way to thewell known tourist spot of ‘Checkpoint
Charlie’ and thenon toan
exhibitiondedicated to the
BerlinWall.
Steveadded,
“We thenwalked to the
BrandenburgGate.We sampledour first
Gluhweinat theSiegessäule, theGerman
‘Victory’monument, and then tookabus
ride toKurfürstendamm–oneof the first
avenues tobebuilt inBerlinwhich isnow
famous for all thewealthy andwell known
Berlinerswho live there.”
Thenext day saw theGermanparty leave
for home. Steveexplained that after waving
them goodbyeat theundergroundhe continued
toexploreBerlinand visitedamuseum that
showed thebeginnings of Berlin to themodern
day. Another highlight for SteveandKarenwas
a visit to the ‘Topographiedes Terrors’ exhibition
inNiederkirchnerstraße formally Prinz-Albrecht-
Straße, on the siteof the infamousSSand
GestapoHQ. Thisbuildingportrays the riseand
subsequent fall of theNazi party.
Steve summedup the trip saying,
“Wewould
highly recommenda visit toBerlin– there is so
muchhistory thereandgreat places toeat and
drink. It is oneof themost cosmopolitanand
vibrant capitals of theworld– somake themost
of your IPAmembership.Wedid!”
These reportsare just twoof themany published in thiseditionof Police
World. Read theaccountsbelow todiscover thebenefitsof nurturingand
makinguseofworldwide IPAcontacts.
France:
Duringanextended visit toFrance, and
with theassistanceof IPAFrance, I had the
opportunity tomeet IPAmembersand take
part in their ‘ceremoniesof bestwishes’ -
NewYear celebrations.
It appears that throughout January, the
various IPARegions throughout France,
organisea function to celebrate theNew
Year (‘ceremony of best wishes’). This gives
members theopportunity tomeet eachother
and thank individuals andorganisationswho
havebeen supportive in thepast - and towish
themwell for the future.
Georges Lakser, SectionFranceVicePresident,
arranged formy attendanceat three separate
‘ceremonies of best wishes’ and tobeanobserver
at theSection’sSocial Commissionmeeting.
I alsohad theopportunity tomeet several
members, including theSectionFranceNational
ExecutiveCommitteeandalso visited two
IPAoffices.
Onanother occasion I was takenunder thewing
of IPAmember Olivier Boulenguez. He introduced
me to fellowmembers includingMichel Cadin, the
President of theEcosseaMontmartreAssociation
– (Scotland&MontmartreAssociation) and
Director of Hotel Britanny.Michel organises abi-
annual Scottishorientatedevent to tie inwith the
Rugby Internationalmatch that sees France take
onScotland inParis. The interior of hishotel is
decoratedas a tribute toScotland.
Fourteen years agomy family homehosted the
daughter of aFrenchmember, her cousinanda
friend. A fewmonths after their visit toScotland,
I was inFranceandhad theopportunity tomeet
the girl, Christealeandher parents.My family
hadanovernight staywith them ina village in
Normandy andenjoyed their hospitality. At oneof
the ‘ceremonies of best wishes’ that I attended,
I had thepleasureofmeetingChristeale’sDad
JeanYves Lesage. Hewas very surprised to see
me there. Hephonedhisdaughter andpassed the
phone tome. It was great to catchupwith themand
demonstratedwhat the IPA is about.
I am very grateful toall of the
members of theFrenchSectionwhomademe feel
verywelcomeduringmy stay inFrance.
During this summer wehave twoUKparticipants
attending the International YouthGathering
inFrance. Anexcellent programmehasbeen
prepared. I am convinced that it will bea great
event andabrilliant opportunity to continue to
foster good relationshipsbetweenour twoSections.
I look forward tohearingabout their experiences.
RonnieDukes
, VicePresident
SteveandKarenmakingnew friends
Checkpoint Charlie
Ronniewithmembers of SectionFrance
