If it's June it must be another cultural-awareness-raising-English-language-practising-on-tour-residential

Eva samples Beer

In 1992 Bridgwater twinned with Uherske Hradiste…but it was a close run thing as at the same town the South Bohemian town of Ceske Budejovice also made a similar request. That’s how popular we were. We had of course already committed to UH so on June 18^th that year we became the first British Czech post velvet revolution twinning. But that didn’t stop the boys and girls from Budvar keeping up their Bridgy link. Every year since then they’ve sent over their students on tour programmes which we’ve called ‘Practice your English in England’.  The main conspirator in all this is English teacher and anglophile Eva Kordova and this year naturally they came again. 

The easiest way to Somerset from the Czech Republic is flying from Prague to Bridgwater International Airport (Lulsgate, Bristol) – but sometimes the cheapest is Prague to one of the London airports. So this time , spotting a cheap flight to Gatwick, Eva chose that one. Which meant myself and fellow councillor Ian Tucker, who has already circumnavigated the globe  on numerous occasions as a matelot, drove up one bright Summer  morning to collect them and bring them back to the land of loveliness itself. Well, after a winter of rain a bit of sunshine was rather welcome.

Lost Czechs

Minehead and Chips

Stopping for a break at the Avebury stone circle – the only stone circle with wifi in the middle of it (c/o the pub there) we reached Somerset by mid evening. Minehead in fact. There’s a lovely youth hostel there. Badgers feast off the remnants of your evening meals, deer wander fleetingly through the forests and squirrels join you for breakfast.

That first night however we had fish and chips. That saved cooking.  And where better to eat them than on the sea wall looking directly at Port Talbot. 

Found Czechs

Dead Bohemians Ditched

The following day we sent them all off on a trek over Exmoor to Dunster –which they liked – so we thought we’d  set them an orienteering challenge and give them a few maps and loose them on the Quantocks. Which was exactly what happened. We lost them on the Quantocks.  Well it seemed a good idea on paper. Starting at Lydeard Hill and with Dead Woman’s Ditch clearly marked as a destination it just meant you had to follow the contours and you’re there. So they didn’t. They descending crow like in a straight line, which took them down into thick forest, a wooded and streamed valley  and several hours longer than we hoped.

Finally, while the Quantock ponies had almost completely eaten Ian’s minibus, they appeared from the opposite direction. Phew. Not lost after all. And what better reward than an afternoon’s shopping in Bridgwater. 

IQ levels put to the test

How do you spell France?

Next up on the British cultural tour was a pub quiz. The kids of course weren’t pub age but the ‘quiz’ is becoming a fad in modern Czecho so we thought we’d run one for them.  And to make it more interesting each of the 4 Czech teams was provided with at least one English Cultural Attache – of varying degrees of helpfulness. The Czech kids joined in enthusiastically and competitively…and in the great British spirit of things. Cheated.  Well, of course in my day we never had phone apps that could recognise the name of a tune just by humming into it…..so mixed feelings on that one….should people be able to use ALL modern options at hand?? Marathon runners be given Triumph Bonnevilles? Wrestlers be given chain saws??  Not sure . The Juries out. (is it eckerslike the cheating little sods).

So after a lovely traditional British chilli in pitta bread meal provided by Purple Spoons Kate Gardner (which hopefully they choked on whilst fighting back the spasms of guilt) it was off back to Minehead.

Interesting places to see as Ian prevents a child crossing

The crooks and nannies of Dorset

One of the best things about Bridgwater is how  ideal it is for visiting other places. From Bridgwater we could easily taken in Wells and Glastonbury  and even get down to the South Coast for a swim in the  (still too cold for them) English Channel as it forms the cosy Jurassic nooks and crannies of Lyme bay. The little port of Beer has a very well equipped youth hostel. And that doesn’t just mean a telly where we could watch the world cup. Although it did. And we did. A perfect self catering kitchen where we  cooked a traditional English meal of largely Mexican origins and let them wander off to Branscombe in case any ocean going cargo ships had beached and could be pillaged clean by the ‘finders keepers’ locals.

Then it was further west. A sunny drive to Plymouth, which had a nuclear submarine paying a visit. Luckily, one of ours. If the Czechs ever built any nuclear submarines – look out Slovakia!! (well, keep your eyes open for periscopes in the Danube, Bratislava maybe…)

Enter the Squirrel....

Dartmoor or less

Hotter and sunnier even was Dartmoor. A perfect place to be in gorgeous blue skied sunshine and summer warmth. Dropping the group at Postbridge, stocking up with supplies from the local shop (there is just one, and it is ‘local’ – they even slapped clotted cream on my ice cream-but don’t tell Jana) they headed off along the river Dart until they joined us drivers at the nearby (but not too near) Bellever Youth Hostel.

Bellever is a very well situated hostel right on the edge of the forest, alongside the river and slapbang in the middle of the moors. They pride themselves on their closeness to nature. They even have a ‘wildlife viewing area’ well, a ‘window’.  Ian was able to engage them in conversation for most of the night with his tales of seafaring adventure, battling the 3 nosed spiny terrorfish of Guatemala, boarding  ship to ship with cutlasses in mouth, grappling hooks tight in the rigging. Well, they didn’t know at the time it was a French cross channel ferry.

'Wildlife viewing area'

London and out

And then it was all over. Well for us anyway. We drove them up to London  (stopping at Bath en route) and left them at Holland Park – another well located hostel and the most central of the YHA stock. Good for them for the many walking tours of London they’d mapped out for themselves for the next few days.  Sadly, it’s going to be closing soon.

These cultural-awareness-English-language-practising-on-tour-residentials have been a feature of  Bridgwater International for over 20 years now and remain ongoing, open to any Nationality and a good way to get to know Britain. So diaries are open for the rest of this year , next term and 2015.

Clarinets, Klezmer, Cider and Cheese as Czechs and Italians Choose Continental Co-operation

Two Mayors at a church

It was a funny time to visit Britain. Everywhere you looked  a party calling itself the ‘UK Independence Party’ had put up posters vilifying foreigners for ‘coming over here’, claiming Rumanians were largely criminals and suggesting the  ferries, flights and foot passages were full of foreign benefit scroungers. You’d be forgiven for thinking foreigners might feel a little unwelcome, that ‘little Englander’ was a badge of honour and that Europe had some ancient Britanosaurus around it’s neck.

Cllr Smedley  with Angelo Delogu, Mayor of Priverno

Still, come they did. That’s the Mayor and Chairman of the pleasant hilltop town of Priverno in Italy, not far from where Brits,Poles, Americans, Canadians  and a host of others had joined forces with Italian Partisans to overthrow Fascism back in the 1940’s. Thirty minutes drive from Priverno is the allied landing ground of Anzio and another thirty the Monastery of Monte Cassino. Both bloody moments of a war that destroyed Europe and from out of which the European Union came to ensure it never happened again.

Italians from Priverno

Mayor Angelo Delogu is from the Green Left and at 34 the youngest Mayor we’ve seen in Bridgwater probably in living memory. Chairman Roberto Antonini is from the Democrat Party and together they formed a coalition in Priverno that brought to an end several years of Berlusconi rule in that town.  Sometime back a link had been formed with Bridgwater’s Czech twin town Uherske Hradiste and it needed a bit of a kick starting after the change of Government –so what better place to do that than Bridgwater…despite the Ukipperation that greeted them.

Czechs from Uherske Hradiste

Mayor Kvetoslav Tichavsky, Deputy Mayor Evzen Uher and  town councillor Jaroslav Tarcala are all Czech Conservatives. But from different parties. Since the collapse of Communism the Czechs have tried many different type of Toryism but still don’t seem convinced they’ve got it right. Still, Twinning isn’t about political parties it’s about people and so along with this mish mash of ideologies came a couple of Educationalists – Ferdinand and Katerina from the Bata University, translator Adela Tobolova  and to top off the delegation, Susie Cioe, confusingly an Italian American from Chicago living in Priverno.

They come over here

Czech-Italian delegation on King Square

The minute they stepped off the plane the miserable English winter ground to a halt, the sun came out and the day they left there was  a storm and the rain chucked down again. UKIP’s argument against the EU demolished in one single benevolent act of God. (note- this may be pushing the boat out…).

The purpose of the visit was to establish a 3 way partnership that could attract EU funding and encourage cultural, business and other community people to people link ups.

So, the task ahead was to show them what we had on offer.

Star attraction number one was Bridgwater College.  Young people are our future etc, and Bridgwater College is the biggest repository of such in the county. Each time you visit a Guide  doubles the number of students there. There’s currently more students at Bridgwater College than Welsh speakers in Patagonia ( that’s a hilarious joke, but the real figure for both is genuinely  about 12,000).

Sending them all back

Boom Town Twinners

This year we sent the  Bridgwater College media department to Priverno and to the Cinecitta film studios in Rome. Uherske Hradiste has an International summer film festival, Bridgwater has an innovative film and media centre in the Engine Room, and you can see link-ups springing up all around you.

Convincing people that Bridgwater is the boom town of the next 10 years has to involve  a visit to Hinkley point nuclear power station, which, if it doesn’t ‘go boom’ , will be a source of major investment in people, jobs and income to the town. Italy had given up it’s nuclear programme after Chernobyl, the Czechs still had a couple of Power plants (designed by Russians and run by Americans) and in fact exported energy to nearby nuclear free Austria. So we took them to Hinkley Point to look at a whole world of possibilities for energy in the future. There were questions, there were answers and nothing exploded.

Lock them up

A visit to Sedgemoor District Council featured a talk by Planning officer Nick Tait who had already taken part in one EU funded project to discuss comparative solutions to Town centre management and urban development. The three councils were keen to co-operate further, share best practice and learn from each other. 

Insp Pritchard at the custody desk

And then it was time to bang everyone up in the cells. This therefore required a visit to the new Police station. Inspector Andy Pritchard , Bridgwater’s new Police Chief, had worked all around the world from Namibia to Afghanistan to Burnham on Sea, and now he was in Bridgwater at a time when Policing was changing to such an extent that the town centre cop shop was shutting up shop and a massive Fort Apache was being built on the edge of town. The Czech and Italian groups were the first to visit it. Looking slightly ‘Palatial’ and maybe a little ‘Hotelic’ in places, it was in pristine pre public use  condition and included a suite of glistening cells, changing rooms that rivalled any public baths  and an impressive three floor open plan hot desking rake of offices. The Italians and Czechs were impressed. Especially by the journey there and back  in an armoured  Police vehicle. 

Both International Mayors have personal control over Police in their towns –whereas here we’re probably lucky that’s not the case. All were keen to learn more about British Policing and Inspector Pritchard was only too willing to share his experience with them. So another project in the offing.

Party like it was 1685

A local 'borrows' the Mayor's tie

Friday night was Mayor making night. Conveniently. After sitting through an interestingly Medeaval ceremony in a church where old and new Mayors changed clothes and dressed each other in ermine decked robes, frills and 18^th century felt hats- to show ‘how we do things here in England’  the group was entertained at the Town Hall by an interestingly Medeaval folk band Dragonfly (or possibly Dragonhead) and an interestingly Medeaval set of Mayors from across Somerset. Such an abundance of gold around the necks of this chain gang and you’d have thought you were in the presence of Royalty. Or the Village People. 

New Mayor of Bridgwater, Cllr Steve Austen, with a stiff British upper lip (possibly caused by the starch on the lace necktie he was wearing) bore it all with fortitude , and welcomed his foreign guests, at the same time agreeing to visit UH next month to see how they do things in central Europe.  Pretty much the same but with knee length leather boots, velvet trousers and copious gallons of plum brandy so they don’t remember it the next day.

But how to prove Bridgwater was the exciting place that we’d told them it was….well, luckily top music agents Midnight Mango were doing a midnight music event at the Bar 27 that  same night with dancy Irish  rockers Mad Dog McCrea. So we took them there. That clinched it. Off they went dancing, cider tasting and locals meeting. “Give me yer tie” said one. So Angelo did. Lovely tie too. Who’d have thought Bridgwater Town Council ties would be so popular. ‘Hey, everybody wants a piece of Bridgwater Town Council” concluded Angelo. As the mildly drunk fellow tied it round his head and dragged the Italian Mayor onto the dance floor.

Tasting our cheese and cider.....

Late night Bridgwater

Saturday saw a flying tour around the rest of Sedgemoor with the help of SDC Chairman Cllr Peter Downing. The visitors’ dream had been to see cheddar cheese distilled and how scrumpy cider was drilled out of the clay and so Sedgemoor’s top man made it come true. They ate all the cheese in Cheddar and bought up half the cider shop at Rich’s in Watchfield and then were on their way.

After a relaxing lunch at the Red Brick Building in Glastonbury where the enigmatic Paul Sander-Jackson gave an inspiring talk on how a dedicated team of locals can change a derelict factory site into a thriving community space, , more Euro link projects were on the table, this time investigating the British tradition of ‘volunteering’ – not so common in Italy and Czech. 

A more sobering visit came later that day as the group dropped in on the flood stricken village of Moorland. Both communities had suffered flooding themselves and so meeting Cllr Julian Taylor and learning first hand how the Moorland and Fordgate villagers had pulled together to deal with the recent disastrous flooding of the levels  was an eye opener for them. In the Czech Republic ,UH flooded in 1997 when their river Morava overflowed straight through  the town while in Priverno one of Mayor Angelo’s first jobs was cleaning up after floods there. Julian had seen his home flooded and over 2 months later the devastation was still evident to all as we walked through what was his living room , now looking like a house in the early stages of new build with stone walls, barren floors and bare wires everywhere.

Comrades come rally

That evening the Twinning groups in Bridgwater came together for a party. Chosing the St George’s hall in the Newtown estate as the venue, Czech, French, German, Italian, Maltese and Hungarian twinners got together to celebrate internationalism. No xenophobic ‘Kippers’ allowed. Although, of course that’s hard to tell.

Beardy Bob’s jazz band blasted out the blues with the sensational Liz Brown on vocals then suddenly into their midst stepped Czech vice mayor Mr Uher and his collapsible clarinet, then instantly the whole band was jamming  Klezmer with him to the tune of Hava Nagila. 

An Italian 3 course meal was provided by  Kate Gardener and her mum, flags of all nations peppered the walls  while waiters from all corners of the globe (English, Czech and Polden) collided with each other serving the continental grub.

The Bridgwater International cup losing squad

On the final Sunday there were 2 choices. The Czechs chose the relaxing option of a sedate stroll around Bristol with tropical hatted Irish historian Eugene Byrne whilst the Italians opted for the football pitch along with the multi talented/stomached Cllr Smedley.  

Taking part in Bristol’s famous  Sandino Football tournament has become an annual event for Bridgwater International. Competing against teams such as Red Star Bedminster, Dukla Henleaze and Incommunicado Westbury on Trym we always come off worse. And this year was no exception losing every match but scoring one single sensational goal only made possible by a Rivelino-like overhead pass from Cllr Ronaldo to the well positioned Dickie Weaving  who tapped it effortlessly home. At least we gave the Italians a taste of what they could expect in Brazil next month!!

And then they were gone. One of the more successful trips for many a month with the hope of more positive links to come and between all 3 countries.

Now about that cake…..

Italian Twinning Backed by new Mayor as Bridgwater College students visit Priverno

February 2014 and Sedgemoor's floods are global news. Sitting on the plane heading from Bristol to Rome I spotted a copy of my neighbours 'Daily Mail'."Any news about the flooding?" I asked."Only more nonsense from that idiot MP" said the lady from Cheltenham. So Bridgwater was making it's mark again - well done Mr Liddell-Grainger. Not.

But as ILG was telling the world that there were apparently some intemperate, rude, name calling pseudo-dignatories in this part of Somerset, the Bridgwater College students, off to Italy on a study programme, made exactly the opposite impression. No less than 3 different people mentioned how polite, well behaved  and cheerful the students were. First the bus driver, Augusto, was nervous when the singing at the back of his bus started, and had to be reassured that 'the wheels on the bus' didn't refer to a diversionary tactic to nick his hubcaps, then said he had never had such good natured students on board. Then it was Genny the manager of the aptly named  San Francesco 'Charming' Hotel, the delightful wedding themed  lagoon side accommodation where the students were staying. "It was lovely to have them, they were polite, tidy and looked after the rooms and each other".

Priverno

New Mayor of Priverno Angelo Delogu

And crucially it was the new Mayor of Priverno, Angelo Delogu, who welcomed the students and their Italian partners with a rousing internationalist speech at the  Teodosio Rossi  High School  and who joined them on the dancefloor for a farewell Italian reggae party at the hotel, that added the icing on the wedding cake of our new civic courtship, saying he was pleasantly surprised by the Bridgwater students and that their visit made him even more keen to come to visit Somerset and develop further links. Angelo, a 34 year old lawyer and musician, looking startlingly like a young Cat Stevens, has been Mayor of Priverno for less than a year and is already making an impact in his town where he is proving a popular choice as civic leader. On the day we visited the town, banners from striking workers who were occupying the town hall in protest at lack of wages from the Region had been proudly permitted by the Mayor who was a strong advocate for their case.

Priverno town hall under occupation

Having such good civic links with the town of Priverno  clearly helped us develop a programme for the Bridgwater College students. Visiting the Teodosio Rossi school, where his vice Mayor Anna Maria Bilancia was head teacher, the College students were able to meet with Italian students who were involved in making their own newspaper and participated in a piece of journalism which ended up in the local press. 

Latina

While at the school the students watched a film made by a local Italian student about the dangers of Fascism.  And what better place to investigate this subject than the province of Latina where Mussolini (the well known Italian fascist) had embarked upon his fascist dreamplan by draining the local swamps and building several 1930's style 'Fascist New Towns', resettling party members from around the country there in their own individualistic villas and  relocating sections of the working class from out of their urban communities and into more divided and isolated small towns. Well, it didn't stop them from eventually stringing him up feet first from a petrol station at the end of world war two, so ultimately not the best advert for the subject.

Luigi and Egidio at Lazio TV

The Mayors contacts proved invaluable for the day in the city of Latina where we were able to visit Lazio TV and were taken on a tour of the studios by Mayors assistant Luigi to meet the stations top anchorman and director Egidio Fia and then invited to an audience with the Latina Oggi Newspaper's  star journalist Mino Picone who talked frankly to the media students about a day in the life of an Italian journo.

Lazio

Polish war cemetery at Monte Cassino

The Lazio region of Italy is rich in not only Roman and Renaissance history but particularly more recently the story of World War Two was played out in this part of the world. One day we took the students to the heights of Monte Cassino where a 6 month long battle raged in 1944 as soldiers from all over the world attempted to dislodge the German paratroopers from the monastery on it's summit.  Several students were deeply moved on the visit to the Polish war cemetery  sitting as it does on the ridges where the Polish units within the Allied army finally broke the German defences and took the mountain marking a turning point in the liberation of Italy from Fascism. Whilst visiting the Monastery itself (rebuilt after the American contribution to the battle involved flattening it with an aerial bombardment) the group was warned by a guide from Senegal to dress appropriately and respect the place. And then would you know it the same guy half an hour later joined the litany of compliments about the students good behaviour.

Sabaudia

Italian students from Teodosio Rossie

But of course one of the main positives of linking with this region is it's proximity to Rome. A two hour flight from Bristol and you're in one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world then a short drive down the coast and you're in the resort town of Sabaudia then up into the hills and you're in the medieval town Priverno. A perfect place to have a twinning!

Rome in a day is not easy. But we tried. Starting on the steps of the Campidoglio, designed by Michaelangelo (some time back now) we wandered  around the ancient Roman Forum to the  currently scaffolding clad Roman Colloseum (building works can take some time in Italy apparently...).

Roma

Mino De Francesca in his element

Taking a short walk across the Tiber (where someone had apparently just jumped in) we arrived at the Vatican (where someone set fire to themselves). A typical day in Rome no doubt.  Then we wandered back into the centre and had a look around the Pantheon, a place where you could pick a God of your choice and then stare at him (her,or it) through a big hole in the roof. Which today was letting the rain in a bit.

Then it was 'hunt the missing students' . Only 2 this time. Taken in no doubt by the breathtaking beauty of their surroundings. Or possibly in a pub.  Suitably rounded up we headed back to the coast.

Italian students identify themselves, sometimes as continents

Every year college lecturer Mino De Francesca takes his department to explore the Media options in different countries with us. We've done Czech Republic , Hungary, and Slovenia, but this is the first time he's taken his students back to the same place. Maybe there's an element of reconnecting with his own Italian roots, but that's twice now we've visited Rome and with the aid of our new friends in Priverno -the Mayor, the Teodosio Rossi school, Marissa and her staff at the Oasa di Kufra in Sabaudia and crucially our hard working interpreter Susie Cioe (from the Italian colony of Chicago,USA)  this link is proving one of our most successful so let's hope we can develop it to a full twinning.

On the final day the group returned to Rome for their key visit which was to the Cinecitta film studios. Being Media students, this was a must. And being media students, they probably filmed everything. But we've yet to see the evidence.

EASTOVER 'AKROPOLIS' PROJECT

Czech Family Centre workers at Eastover Childrens Centre

Our second major EU funded project of the year saw 13 Family Centre and related workers from our Czech  twin town Uherske Hradiste and it's environs spend 2 weeks in Bridgwater to study social inclusion in the Eastover ward. Well, some of them spent a bit of that time in Worcester studying the Snoezelen project, but they were all here for carnival.

Simon Hann enthusiastically gets down to work

This is the 4th project fronted by Akropolis Director Dagmar Mega, and the aim this time was to do a thorough survey of Eastover, match 'needs' to 'resources' and meet the people from all walks of life who made up that Community. To make sure something tangible came out of this we roped in Cambridge Graduate Simon Hann and are expecting the 'Hann Report' by the  end of the month.

Roped

Sadly not roped in anyway was Cllr Julian Taylor, who was on the scene on Day 1 to share

Julie Simmonds explains Eastover visions and values

his Social Work expertise with the Czechs and provide them with the methodology for the project and  lay out some ground rules whilst trying to convince them of the relevance of 1940's sociological theories.

The key visit for the Czechs was to the Eastover Childrens Centre, where centre manager Julie Simmonds and her staff were available to show them round the place and to introduce them to centre users so they could ask for themselves.

Engaged

Bridgwater Senior Citizens get stuck in

One extremely rewarding day involved a meeting with the Bridgwater Senior Citizens Forum who instantly proved warm and friendly and immediatly engaged them with a list of problems in the town and district as long as their combined ages. 

For a weekend break they popped down to Devon and stayed overnight on Dartmoor -which in between the showers turned out to be rainbow central. You couldn't move for them. And a special treat was in store. Having been moved out of the hostel we were meant to stay at we found ourselves in an obscure little moorland hostel yet with the only other 2 guests being a possibly fictitious elderly couple from a Middle England that long ago ceased to exist, who had brought their concertinas and entertained the Czechs with traditional English songs and dances into the early hours.

Feudal

The Czechs join the crowds at Carnival

This of course prepared them well for the Bridgwater Carnival - a 400 year old saturnalian feast commemorating the hang drawing and quartering of catholic rebel Guy Fawkes - but who knows that these days...mind you when people say the only man to enter Parliament with good intentions was Guy Fawkes...you have to think that maybe re-introducing a feudal dictatorship from Rome might not have been 'such' a good outcome...But the carnival these days has very little (maybe nothing) to do with persecuting catholics and was a merry night out for everyone concerned which the Czechs loved. Especially Zdenek the cave dwelling didgeridoo player (don't ask) who had to stop the bus 3 times the following morning to 'take the air'.

Simon and Eeyore (Simon is on the left)

The group were able to visit West Somerset to compare and contrast the Eastover experience, and were welcomed to Alcombe Childrens centre in Minehead by cllr Maureen Smith and the staff there. This was accompanied by talks in the new Minehead Eye with staff from Homestart.

Back in Bridgwater the group visited the newly established 'Food Bank'. Shown around by volunteer Ted Stock who explained it was a sad reality in modern Britain that such places existed.

In Bridgwater the group had to study all levels of Government and were invited around Sedgemoor District offices by Chairman Cllr Peter Downing and supported by Communities officer Julie Cooper 

The key youth provider in Bridgwater, the YMCA . was host to a session on youth networking and workers from various sectors welcomed the Czechs to take part in a mapping session of wider youth provision . 

Community

Marcela sums up for the Czechs

A wash and brush up session at Bridgwater Town Hall included contributions on Housing from Deputy Mayor Cllr Steve Austen and community engagement from cllr Ian Tucker. A working buffet lunch was provided by Mayor Cllr Dave Loveridge who also spoke of his triple hatted role as a town,district and county councillor. 

But it wasn't all work  for the Czechs. They were able to sample the wider delights of Somerset in their free time and outings included climbing Brean Down and shopping in Burnham on Sea, Climbing Glastonbury Tor and shopping in the Hippy Bazarres, pebble gazing in Watchet, Cathedral roaming and shopping in Wells, and yet more shopping therapy in Bath and Bristol.

And it wasn't just shopping. On a couple of nights we had a bit of a sing song. Noticeably at the Bridgwater Arts Centre and again at Cllr Tuckers house. Where we also had a firework display. Thanks Ian and Sonia.

On one weekend they found time to visit Oxford where they were invited to observe a Family Centre group run by the Russian community and follow this up by a fish and chip supper in Stratford on Avon. Exactly the traditional British night out that Shakespeare himself would have had.

SEDGEMOOR & UHERSKE HRADISTE - THE PLANNERS COMPARE NOTES

Getting down to serious talks

Early in 2013 Bridgwater's twin town of Uherske Hradiste gained European funding to help it's workforce investigate Local Government practices in their EU Partner towns. From Mayen in Germany they chose to study the Education system, from Priverno in Italy they looked at Tourist and the Museum service and in Bridgwater they looked at Town Planning and the Environment.

In June this year they visited Sedgemoor District Council - the relevant service provider in these areas for Bridgwater, thus concluding their tour of European Council offices. In October a major Conference was held in Uherske Hradiste to bring together the findings.

The Sedgemoor Delegation + Martin Sevcik

The Bridgwater delegation was led by Conservative District Chairman Cllr Peter Downing from Cheddar and Bridgwater Labour Cllr Brian Smedley along with Senior Planning Officer Nick Tait and Head of the Environment Section Adrian Gardner.

Schools

The Sedgemoor group were able to spend a night in Prague before driving the 3 hours eastwards to the Moravian twin town where they were joined by the German Delegation which included the Burgomeister and 3 Head teachers from the Rhineland towns schools. 

On this occasion there was no show from the Italians as elections had got in the way and the new administration was 're-looking at' the towns apparently extensive list of twinnings.

UH-Azilovy Dum / Homeless hostel

For the Sedgemoor team the visit included not only the usual ceremonial fanfares and touristic 'look at our town and how lovely it is' programme, but an insertion into the rougher end of the townscape and the councils work. One visit included a Homeless hostel, which was essentially a line of 'containers' fenced in and clumped together. One 'inmate' described how they obviously got 'very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter'. And of course there had been protests from the (somewhat distant) neighbours against even siting it near them on what was essentially an industrial estate in the first place.

Environment

Adrian is shown around a typical residents flat

Another visit included a Womens refuge. On this occasion in the suburb village of Vesky which was a remarkable contrast being a several story high Moravian country house run by caring staff and in a pleasant environment. The residents were happy to invite the Sedgemoor officers into their homes, to take photos and even had tea and biscuits ready for us.

The conference itself saw extensive presentations by the Czech Council departments into what they found in their partner towns and how they operated. For the Czechs, Jaroslav Bican and Martin Sevcik, the heads of the planning department in UH found several similarities - noticably the opposition they had run into in the siting of a major supermarket on the edge of town site of a former military barracks and a narrow 14-13 vote to get the development through, yet the conclusions were odd. They admired the 'strategic' perspective of Sedgemoor and it's District overview, because their town, Uherske Hradiste, had to stop it's planning at the town boundaries and couldn't influence it's neighbours - meanwhile in Bridgwater the issue is our town can't seem to influence the wider Sedgemoor District planners NOT to do what they like with our townscape.

Bican & Sevcik outline Czech planning policies

Contrast

But the conference wasn't about trying to say who was right or who was wrong but to compare and contrast , learn-if necessary, and reject where useless.

The UH planners were very impressed by the 'Bridgwater Vision' approach to longterm planning especially it's end target of 2060 and also to the Developer  surcharge on planning in floodable areas to 'build up a kitty for future flood defences'. The Czechs saw this as the Brits taking seriously global warming and environmental change and considered their own strategic and longterm approach comparatively weak. They were also very impressed by the water harvesting scheme planned for the Steart peninsula in the same vein. This controlled inundation was something they would consider for management of the Morava river and nearby floodplains. They were also  attracted to the idea of constant evaluation of the projects and plans and keen to know from Sedgemoor about their approach to wider 'consultation' .

Nick Tait discusses supermarkets

At the subsequent workshops and roundtable discussions both sides got to grips with practical approaches to problem solving and questioned each other on policies and reality. Nick Tait observed that the Czech town plans were far more detailed and prescriptive than the UK ones leaving ours more flexible. In theory. 

Security

It was of course made clear that 'planning' was associated more with the Communist period which involved '5 year plans', and whilst officers appeared to crave this  security, it was an uncomfortable absence in the modern capitalist Czech Republic for fear of this 'association'.

The conference came to it's wash and brush up session and Nick Tait was pushed behind the main michrophone to give the verdict of the UK jury. Very impressed by the barrack development and it's perceived 'regeneration'  but on the whole hoped that 'we'd all learned from each other and the co-operation would continue into the future as a practical example of the benefits of our twinning'.

Barbora and Pavel share a glass of Moravian vino

The Moravians then let us let our hair down. Which isn't easy with a bald patch as it may never return.

Thanks to the UH council for organising the event and to Barbora Szolonyova for her 24 hour assistance.