The East Sussex Bach Choir were the hosts of a visit to Lewes of the Kantorei Hochrhein Choir from Waldshut. On the evening of their arrival on Thurday 26th May the visitors were treated to a meal held at the Depot for the visitors to meet with members of the E.S.B.C. The following day they had a tour of the Sussex Coast and Lewes. Then in the evening the Mayor of Lewes Councillor Shirley-Anne Sains welcomed the visitors to a reception at the Corn Exchange. After the reception the visitors and members of the E.S.B.C. rehearsed together for a concert which was held in the Town Hall the following evening. On the Sunday the visitors began their journey home. 

​At the Three Town Zoom meeting held on Saturday 19th June everyone was feeling more positive on the way forward for Twinning events to start happening from this Autumn.

We heard that great progress has been made in uniting students from Schools and Colleges in Lewes and Blois and hopefully soon between Lewes and Waldshut. 

This summer there will be students from Lewes and Waldshut-Tiengen on work placements in Blois Chateau and it is hoped that next year we will be able to take students from Blois and Waldshut-Tiengen in Lewes.

In September, Blois will be holding their annual Heritage Day and Crafts people from Lewes and Waldshut-Tiengen will be invited to take part.

In October this year Waldshut is very keen to host the Three Town Summit meeting in Waldshut and they hope that large numbers from Lewes and Blois will attend.

We will keep members updated of the current situation but there can be no doubt that with more and more people being vaccinated against covid-19 the mood is positive and we will be starting to plan events at our next Committee Meeting. So watch this space and if you want to take part please contact us.
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On Saturday 6th February at 9.30am GMT the Twinning Committees from Lewes, Blois and Waldshut-Tiengen along with guests the Mayor of Lewes Councillor John Lamb, the Mayor of Waldshut-Tiengen Councillor Dr. Phillipp Frank and Deputy Mayor Councillor Cedric Marmuse from Blois Council.

At that meeting we learnt that there would be no Blois Carnival this year and at the moment no decision has been taken regarding the Fete de la Musique in Blois on 21 June 2020. Sadly, we also heard that both Schwyzertag and the Jazz Festival held in Tiengen in July have also been cancelled. Nothing has been said about Chilbi in August. On the plus side however, it is hoped that the Three Town Tennis Weekend at the end of July in Blois will go ahead this year and also the East Sussex Bach Choir will hopefully visit Waldshut-Tiengen in December. The Blois Committee would like to visit Lewes in the the Spring of 2022 (this was postponed in 2020) and we will know by June if the Heritage Day (Craft Fair) in Blois will go ahead in September as well as the History Day in October.

Blois Council are also extending an invitation for a work exchange student to work in the Chateau over the summer holidays and it is hoped that we will be able to reciprocate by offering a work for an exchange student here in Lewes.
More importantly, to help young scholars to learn their French language the Blois delegates would like us to try to setup a school exchange with a Primary School in Lewes, this could start as an on-line exchange, but it is hoped it will lead to a mutual exchange between the schools.
In addition to this, Sarah Beauchamp one of our committee members, is actively pursuing an online exchange between students from the Lewes area with Blois and Waldshut as an aid with their foreign language classes. This was reported on during the meeting and it is hoped that schools from both Waldshut and Blois will participate.
 
We are all hopeful that twinning activities will resume in the summer or autumn of this year with a programme of events and normality of some kind returning in 2022. The committee are still seeking new ways to promote twinning between the three towns and are continually looking for new twinning activities between partner organisations to expand our friendships. 
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Paul Mockford
Chairman - Lewes Twinning

Back in the summer our Chairman received a very unexpected phone call from a Mr Levi. Mr Levi explained that on his way to stay with his son and family who had recently moved to Firle he noticed as they drove through Lewes, a sign showing Lewes was twinned with Waldshut-Tiengen. Mr Levi said that he was born in Waldshut in the early 1930’s and his family then moved and lived in Tiengen for a number of years before being evacuated before the second World War. After taking some details our Chairman then shared the information with his contacts in Waldshut-Tiengen and in October Mr Henry Levi (88) was then invited to our Summit Meeting in Lewes where he also met visitors from Waldshut-Tiengen and exchanged information about his past. On 20th November this year Henry Levi visited Waldshut-Tiengen for two days as a guest of the Mayor where he was made contact with the other former evacuees and their relatives and given a tour of the Towns and recalled some very emotional times.
This story shows the value of bringing people together through Twinning
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On the 16th November the Waldstadtfagar Guggenmusik Band from Waldshut-Tiengen celebrated their 40th Anniversary. To help them celebrate the band invited their Revival Members along with guests from the Commercial Square Bonfire Society from Lewes to take part in a procession through the Town and on to a Concert at the Town Hall where Waldstadt Fager along with other Guggenmusik Bands gave a loud performance that went on into the early hours. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, with members of the Bonfire Society singing a resounding Auld Land Syne.
On the Sunday after the visitors from Lewes were taken on a tour of the Black Forest where they visited a Schnapps Museum, and some enjoyed a traditional Black Forest Gateau. In the evening the guests were given supper and a jam session with both the Revival Band and the younger Waldstadt Fager Band. Afterwards presentations were exchanged, and each guest was given a CD to commemorate the 40 years.

At the beginning of October we welcomed representatives of the Blois and Waldshut-Tiengen Twinning Associations in Lewes. The main event of the weekend was the annual three town summit meeting, held in the Town Hall.
This meeting was very well attended. As well as our French and German friends, there were members of the Lewes Twinning Association and representatives of a range of local organisations which are involved in twinning activities.
The meeting started with a welcome and introduction by John Lamb, the Mayor of Lewes and was followed by a review of events held over the past year and a discussion of plans for the forthcoming year.
We are organising an exciting programme of events including visits to Lewes, Blois, and Waldshut-Tiengen by music and sports organisations. There will also be trips for local festivals such as Schwyzertag in Tiengen and the Carnival in Blois and a group from Germany will be in Lewes to join in the bonfire celebrations. There are strong links between Commercial Square B.S. and Waldshut-Tiengen, also between Cliffe B.S. and Blois they are both planning visits to Germany and Blois in the coming months.
The Twinning Associations are particularly keen to involve young people in links and visits and to work with local schools and the College. An idea was suggested that perhaps we should organise a debate between youngsters from the three towns to discuss climate change and the environment.
After the meeting a dinner was held and earlier in the day the visitors had enjoyed visiting the market and seeing the festivities for the introduction of this year’s Harvey’s Old Ale.
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Whilst two members, travelled to Waldshut by train on the Thursday; six of us travelled by plane on the Friday morning, leaving Lewes at 5am to catch our plane from Gatwick to Basel. The plane journey went well, and we arrived more or less on time. We were met at Basel airport by a large taxi to take us to our hotel in Waldshut and we arrived in fine warm weather. Once we were unpacked and refreshed, we all had some late lunch and afterwards a siesta was in order. At 5pm we had a reception to attend at the new Town Hall. This reception was to welcome us and the Mayor of Lewes and his guests from Lewes Town Council. Here we were met by the Mayor of Waldshut Dr Phillipp Frank and the Waldshut-Tiengen Twinning Committee including the Vice President Elvira Hansmann and other civic dignitaries. Afterwards the six of us retreated back to the Kaiserstrase to a restaurant for dinner which was finished off with an ice cream looking over the Rhine.

On the Sunday morning we woke to a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. We had free time, some when to church and others went for a walk. At lunchtime there was a small reception before the start of the Chilbi procession in the afternoon. Then it was all up to the marquee again for more food and beer. In the evening some of us were invited to dinner at the Waldshuter Hof as guests of the Mayor of Waldshut. After dinner the party broke up and we were all able to view the “Romantiische Sommernaght” when the Kaiserstrasa is illuminated by Chinese lanterns. The only problem was the rain, but the night sky was also illuminated by streaks of lightning.
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In 1986 Lewes Bridge View Junior FC represented Lewes in an International Tournament  played at the impressive Stade des Allezs in Blois. The hosts Blois Union Sportif (BUS) returned to Lewes and competed in our own International Tournament at Malling Fields. There began a relationship that has lasted ever since seeing teams of all ages making the journey back and forth to play. After a break of 4 years, Lewes FC Veterans took up the challenge and a Tournament was organised again in Blois at the same stadium involving two teams representing the Ville de Blois and the Portuguese Sports Club of Blois aided by Blois Twinning and a certain M. Thierry Fontaine. Also participating was a team of veterans from the now disbanded BUS, who were incorporated into Blois 41 a semi professional club playing in the 4th tier of French National Leagues, who had several players from the ‘80s teams.

On arriving in Blois the team toured the magnificent Chateau Royal de Blois and the Maison de Magie of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin  the world famous 19th century prestidigitator and illusionist.  They were later greeted at a reception held at the Mairie hosted by The Deputy Mayor for Sport M.  Joel PATIN and Blois Twinning President Mme. Maryse Fontaine (no relation to Thierry) at which gifts and speeches, Pete Bull the Lewes Manager did particularly well, were exchanged and a splendid buffet shared.
Saturday saw a fine day with a visit to the locally much celebrated Marche de Blois, a proper French Market with a huge number and variety of stalls from the region. The tournament in the afternoon began with a very closely fought match ending with a 1-0 win for BUS over Lewes. Pete rallied his team and they won their next two games 1-0 and 3-0 against Ville de Blois and Portuguese Sports Club respectively. The final saw a very competitive match between Lewes and BUS, who had Wayne Woollard playing for them. Wayne is a true veteran of the Bridge View/BUS tournaments having played in at least 15 tournaments  over the years as a young lad and now well into his 40s, haha, sorry Wayne!! The match ended in a 1-0 victory for BUS and was followed by the presentation of trophies by Mm. Isabelle Laumond-Valroff, another Deputy Mayor, at The Portuguese Club House. Lewes Veterans were presented with a Runner-up Trophy, Best Foreign Team Trophy and an Historical Cup to be awarded at the next tournament to be arranged in Lewes in 2020 and all subsequent tournaments. The Player of the Tournament was presented to Wayne having topped his performance by scoring the winner in the final. M. Bernard Jousselin was the official photographer.
 
After the rigours of the Tournament and hostelries of Blois, Sunday dawned a bright sunny day and accompanied by Thierry and his brother Alain we all set off for a trip down the Loire valley to visit Plou & fils, a magnificent Vineyard that has been run in the same family since 1508. The tour was conducted by a son who is the one of the 24th generation. Having politely sampled their huge range of whites, reds, roses and sparkling wines , enthusiastically purchasing various bottles and cases, we set of to Amboise to look round the ancient streets, Chateau, Leonardo Da Vinci museum and the occasional restaurant.  Returning to Blois everyone gathered for a celebratory meal to embrace the great success of the weekend and to toast Thierry, Alain and Blois for their wonderful hospitality.
Monday was an early start to return to Lewes, a bit too early for a farewell reception from Blois, but they had already shown what real hospitality is.
Looking forward to next year at the Dripping Pan, Lewes.