2022
Wöllstein visits Great Barford
At 6am on June 2nd our visitors boarded their coach in Wöllstein to begin their journey to Great Barford. Unfortunately they knew before they started that the original bus driver was ill and the replacement did not have the correct driving permit to cross the Channel. As the journey progressed, Johannes, the Mayor of Wöllstein, was exploring all of the possibilities to get to their destination. Could they transfer to become foot passengers on the ferry and a coach or a fleet of drivers pick them up from Dover? No. The ferry company could not accommodate that. Could the coach connect them with a train via the Channel Tunnel? Yes, but they had to go to Lille first. When they got to Lille they were informed that there was not enough space for the whole group on the train and some would have to wait 2 hours for the next available departure. Amazingly all went well despite a delay on the second train and even then they arrived in Bedford sooner than they would have done by coach! However, there was a negative consequence because all the lovely Wöllstein wine, which they were bringing for us to enjoy, could not be carried on the train. It had to go back, on it's own, on the coach.
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This year we welcomed 34 visitors from Wöllstein to Great Barford, including 2 teachers with a group of 10 students. The school arranged their own accommodation and activities, joining us for the Official Dinner. |
The Programme for the Visit
Friday 3rd and Sunday 5th were free days to give us an opportunity to take our partners to join in some of the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations. On Saturday 4th June Great Barford Bowls and Petanque Club invited us to visit them and to try their hand at bowling and Petanque (French Boules) helped and coached by club volunteers. This was to be followed by a light lunch provided by the Club. The enthusiasm was so contagious that when the food was ready most were too engrossed in the games. Fortunately the onset of rain had us heading for the clubhouse. Some of the children were having too much fun to come in and battled through the rain. I hope some of the sandwiches and cake was kept for them.e kept some of the super sandwiches and cake for when they finally came in! Many thanks to all those Bowls and Petanque Club members who made the visit so enjoyable. |
After a well deserved rest we all congregated, with local dignitaries and guests at the Great Barford Village Hall for the official dinner. The room was packed out with people enjoying the unique partnership two communities joined in friendship (though separated by distance and country). It is usual that the white wine on the tables is from Wöllstein but, of course the wine for the occasion had already been returned to Wöllstein in the coach. Nevertheless, in good Partnership style we had made the most of the circumstance and provided an alternative. The outside caterers produced an excellent meal. The evening finished with speeches from John, chairman of the Great Barford committee, and Johannes, the mayor (Burgermeister) of Wöllstein. As usual Helmut provided the translations. The last official act was the raffle.
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On Monday 6th of June our guests departed from Bedford Station on the return train journey. We were sorry to see them leave but were delighted to be invited to visit them in Wöllstein again next Year.