PW_4_2019

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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

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No.4, 2019