2019 was a difficult year in Britain as the Government was stalemated about the dreadful plans for Brexit..everything that we had worked to avoid. We continued nevertheless. A big programme with many countries and even a new twinning with Camacha in Madeira, Portugal.
28 Jan – Feb US band Gangstagrass came over to do their second UK national tour which included London, Portsmouth, Bristol, Exeter, Oxford, Manchester, Glasgow, Inchyra, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Birmingham.
10-16 February Ian Luckhurst and Bridgwater College students visit Prague
20-25 February Planning trip to Madeira. Brian Smedley, Tim Mander, Julie Cooper, Diogo Rodrigues (as Mayor) plus Analuisa and Milene. Travel to the Portuguese island to plan the later twinning trip. We meet the President of Madiera Miguel Albuquerque, Mayor of Camacha Pedro Fernandes and Funchal Mayor Paulo Cofofo. We also link up with Jose Julio to plan the choir link.
26 Feb-4 March Italian students from Priverno visit Sedgemoor to link with Kings of Wessex
12-25 March. Italian students from Priverno stayed in Bridgwater and engaged in work experience with local businesses.
25-30 June Ljuba’s Slovenians do a tour of the West Country including Bristol, Cheddar, Bath, Avebury, Salisbury, lulworth, Exeter, Dartmoor,Tintagel, Barnstaple, Minehead, Bridgwater, Glastonbury, Wells.
18-22 July Italian band the Loreans came to Somerset to take partb in the Twinning event and did a few other gigs including Bridgwater Art Centre, West Bagborough village hall, Pebbles-Watchet and Bar Brunel. The guys also found time to join us in a football match against Syrian refugees. They were supported by the Dave the Milkman Big Band.
23-29 July Ivana Karlesova and her family hire us for a tour of the west country which she’d visited some years back as a student on a trip with us.
5-9 September Czech rock band THE VILLAINS tour Somerset including the Bridgwater Arts Centre, Frome Cheese and Grain and the Sheppey inn, Glastonbury,
12-22 September Pavla Pracnova round Scotland trip. 30 people, 2 minibusses, 3 drivers (Brian, Hilary & Leigh) Marilyn and Ian make a Scottish meal in Inverness.
3-10 October Bridgwater-Camacha twinning. Yvettes Voice of the People choir tour madeira along with a civic group from Bridgwater to formalise the twinning with Camacha the hill top town and birthplace of Diogo Rodrigues. Mayor is Tony Heywood,
10-14 October Tadeja and Slovenians visit Bridgwater to link with media students
15-20 October The Sheldon singers joined us on a trip to Croatia and Montenegro. Flying out to Split we headed down to Makarska where they sang in the St Marks cathedral linking with the Nepredak choir the heading across to Mostar in Bosnia and down to Montenegro. The choir led by Julie De’ath linked up in the city of Budva with Danijela and her Montenegrin choir performming at the Jovo Gallery and the caathedral of St Tryphon in Kotor. Returning via Dubrovnik.
24-29 November Bex Miller from Bridgwater College took some students to Prague visiting Lidice, Terezin, Resslova, and Arabska Gymnasium