Forres and District-Vienenburg and Goslar Twinning Association celebrates 40th anniversary
A group of around 50 Germans are visiting to celebrate the 40th anniversary of twin towns next month.
Forres and District-Vienenburg and Goslar Twinning Association (TA) is using £3,900 from the Berry Burn wind farm Community Fund towards the cost of the event, which will entail sightseeing, wining and dining.
TA chairman Dave MacFarquhar confirmed the TA has reached out for further financial assistance.
He explained: “Fortunately, Berry Burn generously agreed to our funding request, although our other hoped-for source of financial assistance - the Forres Common Good Fund - could not.
“The local authority confirmed this is owing to unprecedented pressure on Moray Council's budget.
“We will have to scrape the bottom of our own barrel to ensure the full visitors’ programme goes ahead and recoup our losses via a Bierfest we’re organising in Forres Town Hall in October.”
The charter which created the partnership was signed in the Tolbooth Courtroom in April 1984. An official reception will be held there on Friday, September 20 to celebrate and reaffirm the partnership.
Over the intervening years, in 1984, Scotland was still 15 years short of having its own parliament; Germany was still divided (with Vienenburg and Goslar just a few hundred metres from the border with communist East Germany); and the Cold War, which dominated European politics, showed no sign of ending.
Dave said: “Shortly after the partnership was created, visitors from Forres to Vienenburg had the extraordinary and slightly scary experience of looking with binoculars over to the heavily-guarded border fence where chained dogs and automatic machine guns welcomed trespassers!
“Fast-forward 40 years and we live in a completely different world. Most of the original signatories of the twinning partnership are sadly no longer with us.”
However, the first chairperson of the association, Dick Ross, formerly principal teacher of Modern Languages at Forres Academy, will be in attendance in September alongside many others from both sides who were there in 1984.
Most of the visiting party are flying to Glasgow, staying overnight, then busing to Forres via Loch Lomond, Glencoe and the Great Glen.
“This is to let them know that Moray is not the only spectacular part of Scotland!” said Dave. “Owing to the size of the party, it was impossible to put more than half of them up with Forres members. The rest will stay in B&Bs while a deputation of five including the Oberburgermeisterin (Lord Major) from Goslar Council will be put up in a local hotel.”
Visits have been arranged to places of interest and trips have been organised as far north as Dunrobin Castle and as far east as Lossiemouth and the Spey Valley.
“Inevitably, a couple of distilleries will benefit from a visit!” added Dave.
There will be a barbecue at Forres Golf Club on the last evening.
At the main get-together events, entertainment will be provided by a ceilidh band, Scottish country dancers, Highland dancers as well as Forres and District Pipe Band.
A team of young footballers from Vienenburg plus coaches will arrive on the weekend to play against Forres Soccer Sevens on the Saturday. They will be housed in the pavilion in Grant Park and will join in the weekend festivities.
